Check Weekly Lessons https://sites.google.com/firelandsmontessori.org/nature/lessons

Welcome to my Nature Log Page! This is an example of journaling you may wish to begin and continue during this time with your child or as a family, daily or once a week. Highlighted bold print are Wild Words; words to write, read, identify, or research, or an activity prompt. Start where your child is interested. Contact and share discoveries with Michelle Bock M-F 8-3: michelle@firelandsmontessori.org

FMA Families: Let's go outside and explore nature together!

Toddlers and preschoolers are learning to explore and observe nature

Kindergarten and Elementary are learning to study and investigate nature while exploring and using their observations Outdoor learning Tips https://www.nrpa.org/blog/keeping-a-safe-social-distance-in-parks-and-on-trails-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/

Nature, the Montessori way: https://montessoriguide.org/the-childs-innate-love-for-nature

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

March 18, 2020

Hello FMA families

If you haven't already met me, I'm Michelle Bock, and I have been teaching nature enrichments and expanding on Montessori outdoor learning and Ohio wildlife connections with the students since November. I have been involved in Ohio's environment education (EE) movement for over 10 years and I am a certified environmental educator with Ohio's Environmental Education Council of Ohio.

Prior to teaching at Montessori, I was assisting with K12 environment education, community education, professional development, and ecological restoration programs at Old Woman Creek State Nature Preserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve (OWC SNP NERR). During these changes of events and unsure times, it is most important to continue to connect to the natural world. If you are looking for ways to spend time as a family, please know that OWC is a unique place and their hiking trails, and barrier beach access are open daily dawn to dusk. Sheldon's Marsh and Dupont Marsh are also State Nature Preserves, in Huron. The same rules and times apply; no pets, no swimming, no fishing, no hunting, and all wildlife is protected and nothing leaves but trash. Due to the virus, many programs or facilities are closed but utilizing these green space trail systems, at this time, are still an option. We are so lucky to have so many natural resources being preserved in our area and they are great places to study wildlife!

http://coastal.ohiodnr.gov/oldwomancreek#education

https://www.nrpa.org/blog/keeping-a-safe-social-distance-in-parks-and-on-trails-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/

You may have noticed that Kindergarteners and Elementary children came home Friday with green nature journals. Toddlers and preschoolers simply need to experience and learn about nature. This week's nature assignment is to explore, observe, and investigate natural areas. Nature enrichments usually take place on Friday afternoons for an hour. Daily the students usually have recess outside for an hour. I enjoy seeing how they interact with and connect to nature. This has been such a mild winter, I recall only having indoor recess maybe 6 times total. We have all been most fortunate to spend a generous amount of time together outside. Over this extended break time, I encourage them to get outside for 1-3 hours everyday to explore (toddler), observe and use senses (preschool), find wildlife evidence (kindergarten) and do field investigations (elementary). This can be done in your backyard, the Erie Metroparks, Lorain Metroparks, and the State Nature Preserves. They may record their data and complete sheets in their journals or simply start their own. Please feel free to contact me with your student by email with any questions or discoveries. Students may send pictures, a video or they can simply keep track in their journals to share when we return to school. Here are some links of places to go to study and experience natural connections.

https://eriemetroparks.org/parks

https://www.loraincountymetroparks.com/park-district

http://naturepreserves.ohiodnr.gov/findapreserve

This is a site where you can research Ohio species identification booklets, for example, this is most helpful when trying to ID a bird you observe out in nature. Possibly students can take pictures and then look them up at home. This is a good way to identify and remember wildlife species in Ohio.

http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/education-and-outdoor-discovery/conservation-education-project-wild/education-materials.

I will continue on providing more nature lessons during the extended break. I have attached some resources below that we have used and may be used again. I look forward to working with you all during this time!

Get outside :) Michelle Bock michelle@firelandsmontessori.org

March 18, 2020

Hello FMA Kindergarten Families,

In February, unfortunately, we had to cancel the Old Woman Creek field trip at the last minute. The students were excited and ready, so we went with plan B. Attached is a picture story of our adventure. Please share with your kindergarteners and have them read it to you. Perhaps they will even tell you more details of their discoveries :) Sometimes things don't always carry out as planned. It ended up being a great trip after all!

"Do what you can, where you are, with what you have." Teddy Roosevelt

Continue to take time as a family to explore, appreciate, and take care of the natural resources we depend on.

Sincerely :) FMA Teachers

March 19, 2020

Hello FMA families,

Thanks to some parents of preschoolers, there is an interest in a nature log. It's been a joy teaching and exploring with toddlers and preschoolers. Consider saving paper "tree resources" where we can.

I took some pictures of a journal we can start, you may print or your early childhood student may draw or write in his own journal from the sheets in his own way, montessori way. For now, you can find anything the child wishes to use as a nature journal. Be creative, be resourceful, reuse materials like a cereal box, newspaper, or shipping material. For the kindergarteners, we simply used construction paper as the cover and plain paper for drawing and writing paper for the inside. We poked three holes down the side and tied with yarn.

I'm happy to hear preschoolers may be interested in a log too. When it comes to preschool age, let's focus on observations on the senses; see hear, smell, taste, feel. Let's keep simple concepts like focusing on one animal, one plant, one habitat, or one concept. This is a good opportunity to practice letter recognition and formation, for example "Hh" for habitat or "Bb" for birds. You can draw the letter on their journal page and have them trace it and write next to it. This is a good time to identify objects and express with drawings or clipping pictures out of magazines to glue for each nature log entry. They can bring them back to school when they return. The toddler approach will be similar. I included a first impressions sheet. When introducing or exploring concepts like "bats' ask them what they feel about bats and why? Further discussion can be what do you know about bats? What do they want to know about bats? This gives you the opportunity to make it your own lesson and see where the child's interest lies in further research or investigation.

Thanks for this inquiry :) Michelle

March 20, 2020

Happy Nature Friday FMA Families!

"If you build it, they will come."

Last Friday, students planted seeds of hope and native habitats for birds and pollinators. The sunny weather, enthusiasm, and many changes ahead made it most enjoyable. The soil was nice and workable from the previous rain. Students each had a spot where they scattered their seeds and stomped or patted them in. The ground froze a day or two later with snow, then later rain, giving good conditions to germinate. Native seeds are great because they have evolved here for a long time and there are so many species that depend on them for habitat or as a food source to survive. They require no watering and will germinate if the weather conditions and soil quality suits them. We look forward to seeing what sprouts when we return. These plantings can provide opportunities for ecological science study and for recording citizen science data. Many pollinator species and bird species are in decline due to habitat loss and pollution which is impacting climate change and the spread of invasive species. Fingers crossed that our efforts take root.

"Where flowers bloom, so does hope."

Toddlers planted common milkweed seeds for monarch butterflies (planted along the building in their playground). We did a lesson on milkweeds and a monarch's life cycle and then went outside to plant seeds and blow on the silky fibers to see them fly about. There are 15 species of milkweed in Ohio. If you want to provide habitat in your yard with your child, the one's native to our area are; butterflyweed, common milkweed, sullivant milkweed, and swamp milkweed. Here is a fun video to watch about these amazing creatures and their habitat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBakLuH6kDY

Kindergarten planted three areas by the playground entrance. Students were each given a stick with a plant name they tried their best to read, and then they walked in a circle to find the bag of seeds with the correct name. They did such a good job.

(planted at the corner plot between building and buddy bench)

Milkweed-Levi

Ironweed-Hunter

Aster-Jameson

Goldenrod-Honor

Dense blazing star-Emma

Anise hyssop-Sam

(planted at the left side of the entrance before entering playground)

Mountain Mint-Rocco

Echinacea-Claire

Bergamot-Cameron

(planted at the right side of the entrance before entering playground)

Joe Pye Weed-Alice

Woodland sunflower-Zora

Vervain-Elliot

Blue Lobelia-Emmy

Boneset-Vivi

*They may find a picture of the plant each one planted, label it and write about it.

Enrichment (under office and toddler room windows) and Elementary (next to the composter along the fence) planted a mixed native plant seed mix from Old Woman Creek staff collections. Their ecological restoration plots are geared towards rain gardening, a solution to water pollution, and pollinator habitat education. Please note none of the seeds were taken from the nature preserve and we had permission to have and plant these seeds.

"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow."

If you are interested in researching more about plants and pollinators, here are some links I highly recommend :)

This is the US database for native plants in our area https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/java/

This is a phenology calendar in Ohio for timing of plants blooming and insects emerging https://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/gdd/CalendarView.asp

This is the hub for pollinator study in Ohio and citizen science efforts https://u.osu.edu/beelab/

This is a the Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative to plant for pollinators http://www.ophi.info

This is an organization sworn to increase and monitor monarch populations https://monarchwatch.org

PS...We are doing the best we can! Let's continue to grow together :) It's a beautiful day to take the family OUTSIDE.

Thanks :) Michelle

"In joy or sadness flowers are our constant friends."

March 22, 2020

Hello FMA Families :)

Celebrate World Water Day Today. I'm excited to start off Monday with an awesome opportunity to learn about the Great Lakes each day this week 10:30 am :) See details below.

Wild facts: Did you know? 20% of the world's freshwater comes from the Great Lakes. We get our drinking water from Lake Erie! We all live in a watershed. What watershed do you live in?

Clean water matters :) Michelle Bock

​​​​​​​​Hello FMA Families

March 24th 2020

I hope everyone enjoyed nature on Friday and is making sure that you take time to go outside. On Nature Friday, I decided to venture out to Wakeman's Bellwether Farm https://www.bellwetherfarm.com/ to donate some volunteer time to helping my friend Farmer Kyle plant some flower and vegetable seeds for their garden. Some of the seeds we planted were garlic onions, chives, pak choi beets, and flowers to deter insects and promote pollinators. It was warm and very windy!

I am getting my grower station, at home, ready to plants our family garden seeds. I am looking forward for the weather to warm up so I can work more on my gardens, I have a continuous fruit plot, raised beds for annual vegetables and herbs, and my landscaping for pollinators, beauty, and perennial native plants and herbs. It has taken me 13 years to build up my yard. I have come to the point where I am now growing over 140 plant species, native and non invasive non native plants that are food for wildlife and my family.

Below I have attached a monthly calendar and a growing calendar that Farmer Kyle suggests as a guideline. I-means start seeds inside, T-means transfer plants, and O-means outside sowing. Perhaps your family is already growing. Feel free to share with me what your family or child is planning or working on. If not, then this may be a great project to work on together. Practice and define the Wild Words.

Happy planting :) Michelle

March 25, 2020

Hello FMA Families,

Take advantage of the sunny warmth today! We sure did in the Bockyard :) I took a video of our home's waste operation. We have two teenagers in our family of four, and we live in the country. We do not pay a garbage fee, we buy blue bags. Because we recycle, burn, compost and practice many other ways to reduce and reuse, we put out one bag every week or go 2-3 weeks without putting out trash. It's possible! Talk together and strategize a waste plan for your family.

What's good for us, is good for our Earth :) Michelle

March 26, 2020

This weather is amazing! I'm going to tend to my ecological landscaping today :) I just participated in a permaculture webinar today for today's victory gardens. Research the words I highlighted! Tell me about the plants you love and why they are important. I posted some pictures below of our school garden, so we can compare how different it looks when we return to school. I wonder what was planted in the school garden? Over the winter, at recess, some of the students were digging out carrots. We also took out all the walnuts because they produce a toxin which stops food from growing. Please reach out and let me know!

Plants make me happy :) Michelle

There was lots of yard work. I wasn't sure which project to start and the sun went away. Change of plans, I took a hike in the forest instead. Here are some pictures. Can you identify what is in the pictures? I provided wild words in a random order.

What did I see on my hike?

Wild Words: trash, living moss on dead tree, wild berry canes, skunk cabbage, Forsythia buds, forest , Walnut snag, Forsythia blooms, OWC tributary, Walnut stump, tree buds

Keep Wild :) Michelle

March 27, 2020

Hello FMA Families,

Happy Nature Friday! Today is an excellent time to look around and find trees that are forming buds and getting ready to bloom. Can you figure out what the picture of the seedling is below with the pretty flower? HINT... It was one of Zora's tree species in her work listed below. The other picture is of a tree over one hundred years old found at Old Woman Creek. Eagles often need to build their nests in them because they are sturdy trees and Ohio has older orest growth with this species. HINT...it forms a nut that is very important to species of wildlife. I have added the Ohio tree guide below. We can identify trees by leaves in fall, bark in winter, buds and blooms in spring, and nuts or berries in the summer. Find out what tree species are in your yard. Thank you Zora and William for sending me your findings :)

http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/portals/wildlife/pdfs/publications/ID%20guides/Pub%205509%20Trees%20of%20Ohio.pdf

"Stand for something or you will fall for anything. Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground."

Be strong :) Michelle

March 28, 2020

I was curious to hike in the rain. I found a skunk cabbage patch below. Wild Facts, observations, and inquiries: It's one of the 1st wildflowers to bloom in Ohio, smells rotten and is pollinated by flies. The saturated puddles on the forest floor are called vernal pools, or mini wetlands. Thousands of insects and amphibians use them early spring when the snow melts and the rains come to lay their eggs and develop. Have you ever seen a vernal pool? If not, now is a good time to look and find one outside and investigate the life you see. I also observed that the Walnut tree was wet on one side, why does it do that? I enjoy watching the dew drops and raindrops collecting on the plants and branches. What do you like to watch in the rain? The creek was turbid. When flooding happens erosion of soils can cause an issue for wildlife and water quality. How do we know when the water quality is good?

Stay curious about nature :) Michelle

March 29, 2020

Spent all day together as a family outside tending to the Bock yard. Mr. Bean was very curious on this warm windy day. Most days he's a house cat because we'd like to keep all the birds in our yard. What did you and your family do over the weekend? How do your pets like to explore outside? Talk to your child about the needs and differences from pets versus wild Ohio animals.

Wild Ohio animals belong outside :) Michelle

March 30, 2020

Welcome to the 3rd week of discovering nature together! Brittany and William Dean say Hello and hope everyone is staying healthy and exploring outside! They shared with us their hike at Stemler Cave Woods Nature Preserve, in Illinois. It's a nature preserve like OWC, so everything is protected.

What is the purple stuff growing on that dead tree? Is it a lichen or a fungi? Do you have a wild adventure to share with our FMA family?

There may be a fungus amongst us :) Michelle

“Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.” “Within the child lies the fate of the future.” “Of all things love is the most potent.” Maria Montessori

March 31, 2020

It appears we will be extending our home learning for another month. This is a good opportunity to connect with the natural world around us and to interact with our families, near and far, in ways we may have not had time to do otherwise. As time consuming it can be to be on multiple group chats and meetings, I am very thankful to know I have such an amazing network of friends , family, and co-workers. I have a real sense of community during this shelter order.

With my husband's business, my jobs, and my high schoolers' busy schedules, we haven't gardened for years and our time to manage yard work and household projects has been behind. As hard as this is on our graduating senior, part of me is so excited that I have this special time with her before she leaves next year to pursue her future. My husband and I embrace this opportunity to share together our trades, our feelings, and our talents and to make our relationships stronger. Over the weekend, we designed and sewed her a dress. Our days together have been so wholesome, reminding me of the days I've cherished and have been deeply missing when they were younger and it was a different type of busy, busy as beavers. Today I share my family, my best gift. Time goes by fast, make every day count! There are many ways wildlife raise their families. Some never know or meet their own. Research how beavers spend time as a family or choose your own animal of interest.

I am enjoying sharing with you my nature journal. The weather still needs to warm up for some of us, but try to get outside daily. The state is discussing the new protocol for outdoor spaces, but for now, I added the link at the top of this page on what is expected when you go to a natural area. So for now, take advantage of that choice and respect others. I hope you are experiencing nature and renewing your spirit.

The Bock Family planting...How many seeds do you think we planted? What is your favorite herb or vegetable? In the evenings, my on going project has been studying all the benefits, importance, and medicinal properties of the plants in my yard and the nutritional value and calendar to what we are planting this year. Perhaps your family can identify all the plants in your yard to build your database, or think about container gardening? There is still time.

May today bring you peace, hope, love, and joy :) Michelle

April 1, 2020 WILD WEDNESDAY

All bees and wasps are insects that sting! APRIL FOOLS :P Wild Fact: They are insects indeed, but only the females sting, using their ovipositor, which is also used to lay their eggs. When they sting, they are defending themselves. Depending on the species, some can only sting once and then will die. Some can sting multiple times and there is a Schmidt pain index for each sting. No worries, if you leave them alone, they will leave you alone ;) One way, you can tell if a bee or wasp is male is because they have a yellow face.This time of year most likely you are only seeing females. When clearing out my garden, I found a female solitary bee, living in the ground on its own and a social wasp, which lives in a paper wasp hive like I found in a tree below. 1000s of bees check on wood, making paper and layer and make the nest together as a team. They leave it after a year. This nest was empty when I found it. Bees are herbivores, plant eaters, and wasps are carnivores, meat eaters. They are so very important to our environment. Parents, before spraying in your yard, consider researching the benefits each species provides. Can you identify the species below? http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/portals/wildlife/pdfs/publications/id%20guides/Pub5488_Bees%20and%20Wasps%20of%20Ohio.pdf

If you'd like to join the Ohio Bee Atlas, a project on I-Naturalist, as a citizen scientist, you can monitor the species you find in your yard. https://u.osu.edu/beelab/ohio-bee-atlas/ I participated in a workshop that taught me how to catch them and identify them. It was so fun!

I also included the seeds my family planted the other today. Can you read them, and do you know what they look like? Is there anything you have never eaten before that you and your family can try? We will depend on pollinators, including bees and wasps, to help us have a plentiful garden this year.

Bee wise :) Michelle

April 2, 2020

I am trying to make an effort to go outside everyday, practicing social distance, it makes me feel much happier! Yesterday was my good friend's birthday and her birthday wish was to go on a nature hike with me and her two preschoolers. We had a wonderful walk at Millhollow. This is a amazing Lorain Metropark open to 6pm daily. When I got home, I wrote down all our amazing discoveries I remembered us experiencing. See what we found below. When you go outside or if you take a hike this week, see if you and your family find the same things. Did you find anything different and amazing? I wonder what will the trail look like a week or two from now? Remember to wear good shoes ready for mud!

April 1st Nature Hike Discoveries...

Animals: eagles, turkey buzzards, cardinals, woodpeckers, blue birds, wren, robin, black capped chickadee

Plants: spring beauty, cut leaved toothwort, moss, celandine, chives, daffodils, hickory blooms, multi flora rose, pussy willow

Habitats: prairie, forest, insect and woodpecker holes in tree, stream, squirrel nest, vernal pools, bird house, dead log, tree stump, praying mantis egg sac

Observations and Evidence: found deer prints, tasted chives, feel happy, smell fresh air and mud, touched good soil, noticed signs of caution for spraying, passed people walking dogs and running, played I spy for a hidden fort built by people, found stick made the letter L and number 7, used a walking stick, discovered a fairy house surprise, noted there is a fungus among us, walked on food for rabbits, spreading seeds, learned seeds stick to our clothes like animal fur, heard frogs, looked for life on the hill, practiced social distancing in nature with friends and people, stood inside a tall live tree trunk

Questions to Research: What are these nuts that look like coconuts? What plant is the seed head we blew seeds from? We wondered about oily film on puddle surface? We wondered about the scum on the stream's surface? Is it safe to hike why the park is spraying herbicides?

Challenge: walked across the mud on a balancing log, walk without a public restroom, ran across the bridge

April 3, 2020

My husband and I stopped by the Huron Pier to walk, after grocery shopping. When we first got there, I noticed a lady sitting in her car with her bird, enjoying the view. We noticed 100s of seagulls and ducks and a few geese . I was so excited to see tons of lesser scaup and red head migratory ducks wading in the water. We walked to the blockhouse. I posted a video of our view from the block house. There was a boat heading out the Huron river into Lake Erie. Other people were enjoying their walk too. It was refreshing. If you have never walked the pier before, give it a try. Many people like to fish on the pier or park their boats in the sand bar. It's also an estuary, where the river meets the lake. Recently our limestone operation closed down which was a major shipping industry in our school's town. I wonder what it will be next after the Army Corps of Engineers spend years cleaning up the site?

Wild Fact: Did you know 40% of the fish in Lake erie are gizzard shad, also called sheephead or drum fish. I saw many dead on the beach or floating by the shore. I was curious so I asked OWC's research coordinator about it. This is what she said, "They are sensitive to temperature changes. We often have a bunch of dead ones wash on shore in the spring. We just had a ton wash up on our beach this week." Many of the sports fish in Lake Erie eat lots of gizzard shad. They are important in the Lake Erie food web.

April 4-12, 2020 Spring Break "REDUCE HUMAN IMPACT"

FMA just celebrated our 40th Anniversary! Did you know this April, Earth Day is being celebrated for its 50 year anniversary?

Start a 30 day Waste Reduction Challenge or simply commit to stop one time use plastics!

1. use reusable bags for groceries 11. upgrade your toothbrush 21. grow your own food

2. use reusable bottles 12. use sustainable practices 22. use reusable safety razors

3. reduce fast food 13. use reusable pads 23. do zero waste cleaning

4. ditch paper towels 14. try composting 24. eat more plants

5. use reusable coffee cups 15. support local farm markets 25. use and wash reusable hankies

6. by non toxic materials 16. reduce junk mail 26. make home more energy efficient

7. shop in bulk 17. make or use package free soap 27. use reusable food containers/ditch plastic

8. refuse plastic silverware 18. skip the straw 28. repair broken items

9. reduce food waste 19. choose second hand 29. buy less stuff

10. say no to freebies 20. rethink gifts 30. recycle

April 13, 2020

Hello FMA families, I have missed you! Hoping you had a WILD Spring Break. Kermit the Frog and I really enjoyed seeing all your happy faces in our zoom meeting today and we are looking forward to our daily meetings to come :) I took a break from journaling over break but will post some of my WILD adventures with my family. Please check out the Wildflower Lesson plan for this week on my lesson tab. I also posted the Bird Lesson we did in school because now is an awesome time to learn about and seek birds and wildflowers. https://sites.google.com/firelandsmontessori.org/nature/lessons Perhaps you can read or write the captions below. See if these wildflowers are blooming by you.

Stay Wild :) Michelle

April 14, 2020

Hello FMA Families,

Welcome to my science experiment in its 3rd week! I provided my plant growing data. A simple math lesson with nature today would be: Which plants have sprouted most? Which plants have not sprouted at all? Which number of plants increased most from last week? Which type of seedlings has the greatest amount and which seeds have the least amount? Why are some doing plants better than others? Which ones are the biggest?

Keep growing :) Michelle

April 15 2020

Hello FMA families,

Happy WILD WEDNESDAY! Kermit the Frog and I have been so excited to zoom with you daily this week :) Guess what? Someone donated lilies to our school and Katie asked me to plant them. It was not as much fun planting by myself but I was happy to get the plants in the soil so they would survive. My parents stopped by to help. My mother is the Huron City Schools librarian and my dad is a retired History teacher from the school next door. Going to our school filled me with many emotions; excitement, curiosity, sadness and uncertainty. It's been a month now since we've been exploring nature at our school, and I bet you've been wondering, as much as I was, what has changed or is growing at our playground? I checked on our seeds we planted, and I did not see any sprout. The temperature is still cold and nature has its perfect timing.

Hope for the Flowers :) Michelle

Earth week 10 am morning zooms during spirit week kept me going!

Stay hopeful :) Michelle

Reflections from being terribly sick during the peak of Ohio's coronavirus pandemic...

It was very scary for my family, us having only one bathroom. My son had already been sick about three weeks prior and he had not gotten tested. On April 16th, when I came down with a constant 102 degree fever and a bad cough, it was intense at the Bock house. We were panicking and convinced we all had the coronavirus. I was on extra strength tylenol and ibuprofen 24/7. Already quarantined to my house, now I was isolated to my bedroom. My dear husband has been sleeping on the couch and did his best to keep me hydrated and fed. He is a super star! It was what seemed like forever since I've been allowed in our kitchen. Thankfully, I could smell and taste food and most importantly breathe. On Monday the 20th, my husband drove me to the ER. I had to go in by myself. I was tested for the virus, flu, and given a chest x ray. All the health workers were so nice and dressed in many layers and gear protecting themselves. The virus test was weird and uncomfortable, twice in each nostril, a qtip about three times long was stuck up and down before coming back out and it felt like it scratched my brain. Ohio is one of four states that have had the least amount of testing available in the United States. One test and the x ray showed I had acquired community pneumonia, the virus test takes a day or two for results. Good news on the 21st not only did my fever finally break, the medicine was kicking in, and I tested negative for the virus. SInce false negatives are a true thing, I needed to stay isolated 72 hours past my fever bringing us to Arbor Day and a week from symptoms. Here on the 27th, I am able to just start coming out of my room and spend some quality time with my pets and family. So far everyone is healthy and our fingers are crossed that we did enough hand washing and germ cleansing during that horrible time. I'm just really tired. I haven't been outside since before I was sick so I've been spending lots of time resting, reading, and watching you-tube videos and live concerts. I'm looking forward to gaining my health back more and more and hoping to play with my plants outside again soon. My advice to you if you get sick is stay calm and carry on .

Stay healthy :) Michelle

April 28 2020

Finally out of isolation, feeling much better and hunting for edible plants in the woods and in my yard. Looks like I will need to transplants these vegetables and herbs soon!

Wild treats :) Michelle

"Nature is pleased with simplicity. And nature is no dummy." Isaac Newton

April 30, 2020

Thank you ESWCD Erie Soil Water Conservation District (Angie, Bre,Tim) for giving FMA 80 seed bomb kits, seeds for pollinators!!! http://erieconserves.org/ See a video on the lessons page, sorry in advance for the length :p

"We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." Native American proverb

I took my first hike in two weeks, Sheldon's Marsh State Nature Preserve!!! I couldn't believe how much wildlife I saw and heard and unfortunately found quite a bit of trash. Can you identify the animals or see what caught my eye in nature?

"In every walk in with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir

May 1, 2020

Wild Friday...enjoy the seed bomb kits! Please share feedback to share with Erie Soil Conservation District! Before teaching my water zoom lesson today, I stopped by and took a peak at Old Woman Creek's barrier beach. Wow, what a change :o Check out the video on the lessons tab.

Have a Wild weekend :) Michelle

"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads." Henry David Thoreau

Old Woman Creek State Nature preserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve. Lake Erie water levels are high causing erosion and the barrier beach is open, the estuary is mixing with Lake Erie. Check out the video on the lesson tab.

"Nature always wears the colors of the spirit." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our family had a Wild weekend :) This pandemic and the way we impact our Earth and our health is the new norm. Social distancing is important!

May the 4th be with you! Insects are Everywhere!

"I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees." Henry David Thoreau

May 11-15, 2020 Plants, Pollinators, and People

We are all connected! What's good for us, is good for them :) Michelle

Tuesday, I took a wildflower and pollinator hike at Erie Metroparks Hoffman Woods. To see a video of a wild geranium pollinated versus one that isn't, go to the lessons tab.

Beauty is all around us :) Michelle

My Sandusky Teacher friend shared with me her nature observations from the Brown Bog Marsh and Sheldon's Marsh; pitcher plant, green frog, may apple blossom, and common water snake.

I get by with a little help from my friends and plants :) Michelle

Wednesday, when I picked up the guides, I decided to take a hike to see what was in bloom. I have really missed my daily OWC hikes!

Live everyday to the fullest :) Michelle

Weekend Nature...

Teach your children well :) Michelle

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!! I went kayaking at Old Woman Creek NERR for my birthday with my husband one day and my girlfriends another day:) We saw the eagles nest, baby foxes, lilly pads emerging, and found a Heron Rookery! I know the japanese honeysuckle is considered invasive but it smelled absolutely amazing, better than the brown water. It was like the glade of the estuary LOL!

My husband and I also took the boat out on Lake Erie and missed the storm. The lake was so calm as we coasted all the way to Vermillion's Quaker Steak Lube to pick up food to eat on the boat. I love being on the water anytime anywhere.

This weekend is a great time to reflect, work on and enjoy the yard!

Never forgotten :) Michelle