Our March Towards Spring: What’s Going on in Ohio
This past weekend we got a sneak peak at Spring: Mason Bees were buzzing, Timberdoodles were “peent-ing”, Silver Maples were blooming and the sun was shining! Then… rain! While the bees and birds tucked themselves back in for the storm, the Spring Peeper frogs and salamanders wiggled out of the mud to have their party!
Mason Bee: “Oh, hello! I think I’ll buzz out for a quick Maple sip!”
Hopefully you and yours enjoyed the sunshine and the rain (By the way, Pro Tip: wetness and coldness aren’t bad… but clothes can be! Make sure you have the right gear for the weather… I highly recommend Frogg Toggs for rain… kids AND adults!)
Quick side-story: as my daughters and I enjoyed our land Saturday morning, a cute little Mason Bee like the one above landed on my one and a half year-old’s head! If we had smacked the bee or freaked out, I’m sure Savannah would’ve been stung… BUT, instead we simply waved as I said “Hi!” and Savannah said “Bzzz, bzzz!”. The bee just sat on her head for a second cleaning her antennae, then flew off when I tried to take a picture… I suppose a ginormous cellphone coming towards you would be scary!
You should definitely try this:
I feel like we all intuitively know that spending time outside and connecting with the nature around us is good for our hearts and minds… especially when there is lots of different stress going on! So, here are some cool ways to do that without driving to a National Park:
Go somewhere awesome:
Fun fact: this amazing nature center at Battelle-Darby Creek Metropark was actually designed by a former LDBB dad!
We are super blessed to be surrounded by so many awesome and awe-inspiring parks here in Columbus! To keep this brief, here’s a super quick breakdown of some of my favorite parks and what to do there:
Battelle-Darby Creek: Visit the living stream in the nature center, see the Bision on the prairie, explore the creek (one of Ohio’s healthiest!) and enjoy the bluebird songs!
Glacier Ridge: Climb the lookout tower in the Wetland area, listen for Bluebirds and Meadowlarks in the prairies, look and listen for all sorts of frogs and birds in the woods, compete on the obstacle course, enjoy a super cool playground and natural play area complete with forts!
Sharon Woods: Enjoy an expansive natural play area where you can go anywhere and climb anything! Look for animal tracks along the stream, listen for woodpeckers in the woods.
Highbanks: Hike back to the Bald Eagle nest, meet some cool critters in the nature center, enjoy vast woodlands full of birds, squirrels, deer and more!
Glen Echo: Checkout the vernal pool (but don’t wade in it!), look for salamanders under logs and rocks (then put them back exactly as you found them), see if you can find the Barred Owls!
Shale Hollow: Wade in a shallow creek, find cool concretions, listen for singing Chipmunks, enjoy waterfalls.
Kiwanis Riverway Park: Look for Skunk Cabbage (Ohio’s very first blooming wildflower each year), look and listen for frogs, enjoy up close visits from Chickadees and other birds, walk the boardwalk and look for Muskrats, ducks, and Great Blue Herons.
Sit somewhere awesome:
Be sure to bring a comfy chair
Don’t wanna go anywhere? That’s totally fine! You can sit outside your house and let the adventure come to you! Simply sit outside calmly for 20+ minutes and you’ll notice all kinds of cool animal brothers and sisters: perhaps a flying ladybug, a crawling ant, a singing Cardinal, and chattering squirrel… or even just the wind and the clouds! It’s amazing what this simple “magic spot” can do. You can do this with your little ones too… make it interactive, looking to see who can find an animal and then say “Hello!”. If you want to bring even more magic to your place this Summer, see my super jazzed face below!
Make something awesome:
This pinecone brings all the birds to your yard
It’s the go-to nature craft: the famous pinecone bird feeder! Simple yet effective, this craft really will bring the bird party to your place! Simply find a pinecone at a park, roll it in peanut butter or your favorite peanut butter substitute, then cover in sunflower seeds (which bring way more birds than if you use the generic bird seed mixes… just buy sunflower seed bags at a hardware store). You can make as many as you want!
Hang these on a branch you can see from a window and enjoy! It may take a day or two, but once the birds find your pinecones, they’ll keep coming back for more. The best part? Unlike a metal birdfeeder, you don’t have to clean this! Once it’s used up, simply remove the string and toss the pinecone outside!
Oh, by the way, checkout this cool stuff:
Caw caw caw!
We are learning all about crows this month! I find crows and their intelligence so fascinating! I’ve partnered again with crow researcher Dr. Jennifer Campbell-Smith to create 3 weeks of immersive, ground-breaking crow activities! It was such a hit last year and I’m so excited to be doing it again! Check out a whole bunch more about this in last March’s blog post.
That is one jazzed Mr. Jared!
We announced last month our super-exciting partnership with Peter Harrington and his local business Native Landscaping & Consulting, LLC! He’s giving us a super sweet special: for $300 he comes to your place, installs a 60 sq ft butterfly garden and BAM! You’ve got a totally sweet magic spot for your family to enjoy that also helps the world! Find out way more in last month’s blog post!
Oooooh, aaaaahhh
We are reading my third book With Feathers and Feelings in nature class this month. This book features mushroom siblings Mooshy Moo & her grumpy brother Grumpus as they explore and learn about bird language… that’s right: birds talk AND your family can learn how to understand them with this book! Oh snap! As of today, I currently have 4 copies left at home. Send me a message on my instagram @jaredthenatureguy or my email: Jared@ldbb.care to order for $12.99 each. I can then deliver to your kiddo’s school!