Wild Earth Integration

Happy Friday everybody! I’m ready for the weekend, how about you?

I was recently minding my own business, researching caves on the internet (as one does), when I came across this awesome experiment. Not only will it make you smarter, but it will impress the you-know-what out of your kids/friends/dog.

Have you ever seen the deep, dark caves of the world? Have you noticed the drippy rock structures that hang from the top and pierce up from the bottom. You may know that those are called stalactites and stalagmites. (Stalactites hang tight to the ceiling, while stalagmites are mighty, because… um.. they’re on the floor. You get it.)

Here’s the rundown.

• water
• string
• epsom salts
• 2 jars
• pilfered rocks from neighbor’s garden outside
• small saucer

Fill the jars with water and add salt until no more will dissolve. Dip the string in the water to wet it completely, and tie a rock to each end. Drop your rocks into each jar, leaving a bit of string hanging in between over the saucer.

Presto – you’ve got yourself the beginnings of a cave! Put your contraption somewhere the cat won’t find it (it’s her saucer, I presume) and check back each day to see if stalactites and stalagmites have formed.

Listening to this will definitely speed up the process. (Come on, today would have been Elvis’ 75th, and the song has ‘rock’ in the title. It’s like it was meant to be.)

I hope someone got my title pun…

On my recent trek (which you know as Planet of the Ducks), we also came across some 60 pound rodents. Don’t worry, we weren’t being taken over by giant rats. Nope, we were in beaver territory.

I was floored by how many trees they had taken down. Judging by the forest, beavers must have a pretty spectacular work ethic, if I do say so myself. In fact, if there’s one animal that makes everyone feel guilty about how little they accomplish, it’s the beaver.

Think about it – these guys waltz onto the scene, looking relatively unassuming, bat their big, brown eyes at you and then quietly carry on with their task of taking over the world.

What’s the secret behind nature’s architect? Read on, brave adventurer.

• Beavers have a flap of skin behind their teeth. That doesn’t seem to impressive until you realize that this means they can chew underwater. And here we are wasting time breathing air like suckers.

• Beavers have a built-in kickstand. Also a built-in rudder to help them steer while swimming. One tail, many uses. Score 2 for beavers.

• Four words: Free-running circadian rhythm. You’ve heard people complain about wanting more hours in the day. Well, beavers are too cool to complain. Instead, they do something about it. In the winter, they stop leaving their lodges at sunset and returning at sunrise. By staying in more, they don’t see the sun. This allows them to set their own biological clocks. For beavers, the day actually has 29- hours. Booya.

So, now that you feel completely inferior to a rodent, how’s work going?

Another week already! I hope you folks aren’t suffering from a case of the Moandays. Just in case, this might cheer you up!

To celebrate the New Year, my man and I decided to check out some new nature spots on the weekend. After traveling for about an hour, we found this little gem of a waterfront spot, right along some bluffs.

For some reason, it felt like finding a teeny piece of Ireland in Canada (minus the green, the sheep and the leprechauns of course.)

The first thing we came across was some wicked sticky mud that is now permanently adhered to our boots. The next thing was some animal evidence. Check out the size of this print compared to my little paw. Awesome. Little did we know what lay around the corner.

After exploring and doing our best to ward off the pesky frostbite (who needs fingertips, really?), we were just about to head home. Then we heard a commotion. Honks, squawks and water splashes. It sounded like a water park gone mad.

Ever the zoologist, investigate I did.

Suddenly, there were ducks. And I’m not talking about a ‘quack-quack’ here and a ‘quack-quack’ there. I’m talking ‘Lookout Old MacDonald, these ducks are going to take over the farm’. More ducks than I’ve ever seen in my life. It was like Planet of the Ducks. I heard the Hitchcock theme to ‘Birds’ in my head.

Apparently this spot was a communal feeding ground for ducks, swans and Canada geese. We watched as they battled it out for food and generally caused a rumpus.

Eventually, we noticed something in all the madness. Can you see anything weird in the picture above? How about this one?

I’ve never seen a duck with this coloring before and I think it might be an albino. Any duck experts out there care to weigh in here?

Of course, no post about a great duck caper would be complete without a Wild 5. So without further adieu, here are your wild 5 duck facts. Bring ‘em up at your next cocktail party. Really, be that guy.

• It takes about 2 months for a young duckling to learn to fly. During that time they’re dabbling in the water, learning from their parents and generally being adorable.

• Ducks (and other birds) have 3 eyelids. The top and bottom lids have little bristles on them that look like eyelashes. The third eyelid is called a nictitating membrane. This eyelid is blinked about 35 times a minute. If you threw something at a duck (please don’t, this is just a hypothetical), then it would blink its nictitating membranes to protect its eyes.

• Mallard ducks (like the ones above) have less than 500 tastebuds. To compare, you’ve got about 10,000. Compared to a duck, you’re a super taster.

• A group of ducks is called a sord. Not to be confused with a sword. Ducks will not help you defeat dragons.

• Mallards are by far the most abundant species of duck on the planet. They’re even more popular than Donald.

Thanks for stopping by!

*No ducks were harmed in the making of this post*

Happy New Year!

Are you ready for another year? I have big plans for 2010, so let’s hit the ground running, shall we?

If there’s one thing I wish for everybody for the coming year, it’s to spend more time in nature. It will make you happier, healthier, smarter and quite possibly better looking. (Hey, it can’t hurt.) But according to the National Wildlife Federation, many kids are only spending four to seven minutes outside a day. Kid or adult – you need to get outside.

Here are 15 ways to get out there and rock the natural world.

1. Everyday when you wake up, take a deep breath. Air connects you to the rest of the world. Think about it – it’s quite possible that you’re breathing the same atoms that Da Vinci breathed in, hundreds of years ago. Thanks to Zen Habits for reminding me to breathe.

2. Go outside and look up. A change in perspective opens you up to new things. I promise you’ll see something new.

3. Go outside and look down. Ditto.

4. Touch trees. It sounds cheesy, but when you touch trees you’re reminded of what it feels like to be truly grounded.

5. Forget about the sanitizer for now and play in the dirt. Make moats, dirt castles and claim your land with a little flag.

5. Take off your shoes. Feel grass, puddles, soil and even snow on your feet. You’ll definitely make people wonder with barefoot prints in the snow.

6. Take a count of all the living things in your house. Try to double, or triple that number. Plants count.

7. If you have the resources, adopt a pet from your local shelter. A dog’s joy is one of the most authentic things in life.

8. Collect rocks. Stack them somewhere. Reflect on how much older than you they really are.

9. Get down close to the ground and see the world from an ant’s perspective. Stay there long enough to get used to it. Stand up and feel like a giant.

10. Climb trees. Pretend you’re Tarzan (or Jane). Loincloth optional.

11. Check out a zoo (a responsible one) and look a wild animal in the eyes. Feel that awe you get when encountering something that powerful.

12. Make a deliberate choice to learn more about nature. Read books, watch documentaries and take a new path. Thanks to Henry David Thoreau for reminding me to live deliberately, and to Melissa for writing about him.

13. Look for incredible natural patterns around you. Need a start? Look at a shelled walnut. Now look at a picture of a brain. Cool huh? Also check out trees, snails and leaves.

14. Start a nature journal. There is an astounding amount of beauty in this world, but training yourself to notice it is a skill. Take time, get your family involved and create a nature journal to document the world around you. Sketch, sculpt or take pictures of what you see. Bring the outside in.

15. Learn about a new organism everyday. Spread the word about the awesome species living in the world – the more they know, the more they’ll care. Of course, this blog is a great place to start!

All the best in 2010! As always, feel free to drop me a line in the comments – how will you discover nature this year?