Walkin' in a Winter Wetland

Today I went for a winter's walk in a special place. It is called a "wetland." A wetland is an environment that has squishy, wet soil that is squishy and wet most of the time. These wetland places would be ponds, bogs, marshes, and meadows. Today, I was walking around a big pond. Because the land around this pond is always squishy and wet, it is called a wetland.

In this special place, certain plants and animals survive well. Some plants and animals cannot survive here at all. Did you know you can over-water a plant til it dies? It's true. Also, some plants and animals would not be able to survive here because it is too cold.

Here are three organisms that survive well in this Orange County wetland. The first is moss. Moss looks like a low carpet of green. When you look at it very closely with a magnifying glass, this "carpet" is made up of hundreds of tiny plants with teeny leaves. Moss can only grow where the soil is very wet and the sun is not too strong. The next group of organisms are fungi or mushrooms, one of the FIBs. These mushrooms were growing on a dead log. These mushrooms or fungi are busy breaking down or decomposing the log. Finally, we have lovely ferns growing in the shade in the damp soil. These ferns would not survive on top of a foothill here in Orange County. There would be too much sun and not enough water.

Where do you think you would not be able to survive well? Do you prefer hot days or cold days? Do you love rainy days or do you love sunny days, or both? Where would you survive the best on planet Earth?

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Got Cat-Tails?

I think that many people living in Orange County today have the wrong idea about tribal people. They believe that tribal people were starving, naked, and homeless.
Nothing could be further from the truth. For thousands of years, nature provided the tribes in Orange County with everything they needed to survive.

Check out this funny looking plant, the Cat-Tail. This tall, reedy plant provided tribes All OVER THE UNITED STATES with food, shelter, clothing, and medicine. Hard to believe? Let's take a closer look.

Most of the Cat-Tail plant is edible. When the green shoots first start growing out of the mud or sand, they can be eaten raw or cooked. Next, you can eat the stems. I have harvested and eaten Cat-Tail stems. It's fun and easy. Cat-Tails grow in fresh water. (This helps humans find water that is not too salty.) You can pull the new stalks slowly out of the soil. Rinse, cut, and eat! It tastes like celery.
The pollen of the Cat-Tail can be used like flour. Before the "flower" looks like a corn dog, it is green. These green pieces can be snapped off and roasted and eaten. The roots can be dug up, washed, boiled, and mashed. This root paste can be used like a French "roux" (roo) for thickening soups and sauces.

The reeds or leaves of the Cat-Tail plant can be used to make many, many products. The long, stringy fibers can be twisted into string or twine. The leaves can be woven and made into floor mats and clothing. Double layers of woven leaves were placed over branches to make shelters called wikiups (wik-ee-ups). Baskets, bags,
and belts can be made from Cat-Tail leaves.

Look at the second picture. Do you see how the "corn dog" is starting to fall apart? The Cat-Tail "flower" is made of fluffy stuff that is tightly squished together. Over time, the fluff starts to become loose. This fluff was used for mattresses, pillows, clothing insulation, ...and even diapers!

Different parts of the Cat-Tail plant can be used for medicine.

What an amazing gift from nature is the Cat-Tail plant. What would you make if you had these plants in your back yard? Clothing, a house, medicine, food?

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A Secret, Historical Spot

What does this look like to you? A beautiful little stream? Autumn leaves on a stone? A hole in the rock, filled with water for birds?

Well, I get a chill when I see this place. That circle in the rock is an ancient acorn grinding hole. It was used for thousands of years by hundreds of women who would sit and grind acorns into flour.

The tribes in this area were the Juaneno, Luiseno, and Gabrielino(Spanish names). Each year, they would gather acorns that fell from oak trees. They would crack open the acorn shells and take out the nut meats. Acorn nuts are very bitter. The people would have to soak them in water to remove the bitter stuff. This is called leaching out the tannins. Once the tannins were removed, the acorn nuts pieces would be dried. Then they were placed in these holes. With a rounded rock, women would grind the acorns into flour. The Spanish word for the hole or dish is "metate." The Spanish name for the grinding stone is called "mano."

I can only see one "metate" on the side of this stream, but I feel like there are probably more that I cannot see. Usually there are several grinding holes on one rock. I have seen another grinding rock area about two hours away from here where there were about 15 holes. I have seen pictures of some where there are a couple of HUNDRED holes on one huge stone area! You can just imagine several women talking and laughing here while they were grinding the acorn meal. Once the acorns were ground into meal, it was made into bread or pancakes. And what do bees make that is sweet? Honey! What a treat for them to have pancakes and honey.

This metate was probably being used up until about 150 years ago. Before that, it was used for thousands of years. Seeing this metate makes history come alive for me. It makes it easier for me to imagine the Juanenos living, playing, and working here in nature.

Does anyone in your home sing or whistle, laugh or talk while they are doing chores?
What do they do?

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A Sign of New Life

Yesterday, in between two sessions of opening presents, my husband and I went on a hike. It was a beautiful day! The sky was crystal blue. The air was crisp and cool.

After months of appearing gray and brown, the landscape is showing signs of getting green again. The seeds blew off of the dried grasses back in October and November. The seeds landed on the dry soil. Then, the rains finally came and watered the seeds. The rain made the seeds sprout. The sun is making the grasses grow. We will get more rain as winter continues. The grasses will grow taller and taller.

Grasses are amazing and necessary for our existence. They take in carbon dioxide, which we breathe out, and they absorb sunshine. Then, like little factories, they use the sunlight to turn CO2 into sugar and oxygen. Grasses and other plants are the main source of energy in the food chain. Have you ever eaten rice, oatmeal, or wheat bread? All of these foods come from grasses. And what do you breathe in to survive? Oxygen, of course!

So, as these grasses sprout, it reminds us of the promise of new life. Some animals survived the long, dry summer and autumn. They will eat these new grass shoots. The grasses will grow taller and wider. When there's lot of food available for many animals, the adult animals will have babies in the spring.

Three cheers for grass! You can play soccer, and baseball, and football on it. You can go to a park, have a picnic, and lay on grass. AND, grass gives you oxygen and energy!

Have you ever tried to make a grass whistle? Check out this video...
http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-whistle-with-a-blade-of-grass-279448/

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"Hollywood"

Over a hundred years ago, the name "Hollywoodland" was given to a hillside area in Los Angeles. Later it was shortened to "Hollywood." The reason is that the hills looked like they were covered with holly plants in the winter. Holly grows in snowy places and it has red berries in the winter time.

The plants on the hills were not holly at all. These big bushes are called Toyon. Toyon grows very well in southern California. They need little or no care. These pictures are from the Toyon growing on my back slope. I had to water it a little when it was tiny, but now, it just grows on its own. It just needs rain water. They can keep water inside because the leaves and branches are sort of waxy. The plant is also resistant to fires. Hopefully, more people will find out about this plant and use it in their landscaping.

Toyon has beautiful red berries in the winter. Birds love to eat them! Before the Europeans arrived in Orange County, tribal people had many uses for the berries, leaves, and branches. The berries are edible. (ONLY TRY BERRIES FROM ANY PLANT WITH PERMISSION FROM AN ADULT!! YOU MAY BE ALLERGIC OR SENSITIVE!! THE BERRIES MAY BE POISONOUS!!) Toyon berries can be roasted and eaten, or eaten raw, or mixed with water and honey and made into a beverage. The leaves were used for tea which helped with stomach aches. The bark and leaves could be boiled, cooled, and used like Bactine. The wood was used for many things including arrows, spoons, and hair pins.
What would you make out of the branches?

So now, when you hear people mention movies made in Hollywood, you can tell them how the city got its name. If you could rename the place where you live, what would you call it?

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The Winter Solstice

December 21st is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. This morning, we could see the sun at 6:54 a.m.. The sun dipped below the horizon at 4:47 p.m.. So we could only see the sun for about 10 hours today. On June 21st, 2009, we could see the sun for about 14 hours. Why does this happen?

We are on the Earth. Our planet goes on a loooooong nearly circular journey around the Sun. Would you believe every year you go on a 584 MILLION MILE TRIP around the Sun?!! Yowzah! While the Earth goes around the Sun, it is not straight up and down. It is "tilted." In the winter, Orange County is tilted AWAY from the Sun. That's why we only see the sun for 10 hours in the winter. In the summer, we are tilted TOWARDS the Sun. So we see the Sun longer in the summer.

Tomorrow, at 12:00 noon, have someone measure the length of your shadow. Right it down on a piece of paper, and put it in a dresser drawer. Then mark on your calendar to do the same thing on June 21st of 2010. That will be right after school gets out in June. Once again, have someone measure your shadow at 12:00 noon. You will see that winter shadows are much longer than summer shadows. That is because the Sun appears to be lower in the sky in the winter. Actually, it is always in the same place. But, because we are tilted towards or away from the Sun, the Sun seems to be higher or lower in the sky. Also, you can stand outside the front door of your home. Watch where the Sun sets tomorrow. Write down that it set over your neighbor's home, or over a tree, or over a building. Then, on June 21st of 2010, do the same thing. You will see that, in the summer, the sun sets way to the right of where it sets in the winter. Cool!

Here is a beautiful poem about winter. It is by a poet named Robert Frost. He wrote this while he lived in Vermont a long time ago. Vermont gets very cold and it snows there. People were still using horses for transportation. Robert Frost mentions, "the darkest evening of the year." Close your eyes, and have someone read the poem to you so you can imagine being in that place that Mr. Frost describes. Do you think he is talking about the winter solstice, or something else?

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Romantic Mistletoe

What is that green blob up in that sycamore tree? It is Mistletoe. Mistletoe is a strange plant. It attaches itself to a "host" tree. It lives off the nutrients inside the tree. Mistletoe has berries that are white. Birds can eat them, but not humans.

Research is being done to find out if chemicals in Mistletoe can be used in medicine. Some scientists think that these chemicals might stop cancer cells from growing. It would be AH-SUM if what they think is true.

Did you know many, many helpful drugs are made from plants? Tribal people would use plants to take care of hundreds of body illnesses. Plants would be used in many forms for health treatments. They would be dried, ground into powder, mixed with hot water, and made into tea. Or plants would be eaten. Plants would also be ground and added to oils to make "first aid" cream.

Maybe within a few years, the chemicals in Mistletoe will bring some relief to people with cancer or other health problems.

So Mistletoe maybe used as a drug. Did you know that it is used for romance?! Yup, let me explain. Has anyone ever hung a piece of mistletoe in your home during December? You're supposed to hang mistletoe over a door. The custom is that, when two people meet under the mistletoe, they must kiss! So, if you give a bag of mistletoe to someone you like, they'll get the idea ;) Do you have someone in mind?

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More Animal Tracks

A BIG rainstorm passed through Orange County. Remember the pieces of dried up clay that looked like broken pottery? Well, all of that clay is wet again. This layer of wet clay is perfect for finding animal prints after a rain. The first prints are of raccoon prints. Look how much they look like our hand print! Crow prints are in the next picture. The next print is a coyote! See the claw marks? Coyotes are in the dog family. Dogs cannot pull in, or "retract," their claws. But cats can retract their claws. That's why dogs make a clickety clack sound when they walk across floors. The next cute prints are those of a gray squirrel. And finally, the tiny prints are those of a wood rat. Look around in the mud around your home. Do you see any tracks yet?

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The Life Cycle of the Tree

In Irvine Park, there is a spectacular grove of sycamore (sick-ah-moor) trees. Not only are these trees beautiful, they are as tall as a ten-story building! They are HUNDREDS of years old! And what a story they have to tell. Just think how many children have played on and around these trees. They have scars just like people. Their limbs have been bent or broken over time. They die just like people, but they make new little baby trees while they are alive.

When I was hiking, I could see that a big storm was brewing. The wind blew and the clouds gathered. There was going to be heavy rain and lightning. In the third picture, do you see the branch sticking way up high? It acts like a lightning rod. It attracts lightning. You can see burn marks on the branch.

Look at the fourth picture. Do you see the lightning "scar" on the tree. Lightning is made of incredible amounts of heat. The heat makes the tree catch on fire. Part of the tree burns, but the rest of the tree lives on.

Lightning can zap a huge branch right off a tree, just like someone snapping a twig off of a branch. In the fifth picture, you can see that lightning blasted this huge tree trunk right to the ground. There are burn marks all over the trunk. When the trunk got burned, it got weak, so it broke into a few big pieces. Next, just like with boulders, the dead branches get weathered by wind and rain. They break apart into smaller pieces.

Finally, the "FIBS" go to work, chipping away at the dead pieces on the ground. In the sixth picture, you can see tunnels made by termites. Termites are insects that chew up wood. They make teeny, tiny poopie doobles which IS soil. So, the dead pieces of wood and the dead leaves are broken down by the FIBS. The FIBS create wonderful, rich soil. And what needs wonderful, rich soil to grow? A brand new baby sycamore tree! You can see a baby or "seedling" sycamore tree in the last picture, growing right in front of a tree with a big lightning scar.

So just as humans make youngsters and pass on, so do trees. Who is the oldest person you know? Who is the newest baby that you know? Now think about trees in your neighborhood. What is the biggest tree around your home, and what is the smallest? How old do you think they are?

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The Shrinking Boulder

How big do you think the boulder is in my first picture? Can you see my keys on top of it? I put my keys on top so you could see the size of the boulder. This boulder used to be clinging to the side of a mountain. Something broke it off of the mountain. Sometimes tree roots grow in between rocks. When the root grows bigger, it pushes the boulder off of the mountain. Something else can break boulders off of mountains. It is water, or rather ICE. When water freezes it gets bigger. So, sometimes water seeps in between the boulder and the mountain. Then in the mountains, the water freezes. The water grows or "expands" and pops the boulder off of the moutain. Sometimes earthquakes shake loose boulders off of mountains.

We learned on November 4th about the power of water. Water gushing through a creek bed after a rain will push, or "transport" a boulder downstream. As the boulder tumbles and spills downstream, it gets chipped and broken. The boulder breaks into smaller pieces called rocks. You can see boulders with rocks around them in the second picture.

This process continues. The wind blows and removes pieces of the rock. The rain washes away parts of the rock. The rock shrinks. It becomes a stone. This process of rocks getting worn away is called erosion. Erosion can happen from rain, wind, waves, or glaciers.

Erosion continues and the stones get smaller and become pebbles. See all of the beautiful colored pebbles in the fourth picture? Why are there so many different colored pebbles? Did you say, "Because they are made of different things?" If you did, then you are correct. Rocks are made of all kinds of elements. We'll talk about this later.

These pebbles keep rubbing against each other as they are tossed downstream. It is like they are being rubbed with sandpaper. The pebbles get broken down into smaller bits called sand. Sand appears to be gray or brown. Look closely, though, and you can see all different colors mixed together.
Finally, sand gets crushed into a fine powder. Do you know what is made when you mix the powder with water? It makes clay! Dishes and vases can be made of clay that has been cooked in an oven. Have you ever played with squishy clay? In the winter and spring, the fine powder mixes with water and makes clay. This clay settles to the bottom and the sides of a stream. Then the hot, hot summer comes. What happens to the clay? Correct, all of the water dries out of it. So pieces of dried up clay crack apart and look like broken dishes. (These pictures are from last week, before it rained.)


So we see that a boulder pops off a mountain side and gets pushed down a stream. The boulder erodes by being beaten by weather and chipped by other boulders. It keeps moving down the creek bed, and gets smaller. It turns into a rock , then a stone, then a pebble, and then sand. The sand breaks down into clay and gets placed or "deposited" far away from the mountain where it started.

If you were a boulder, where would you like a stream to deposit you?

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A Trail of Trash

I went for a hike and I was saddened by what I saw. I decided to take pictures of all the trash I came across within a few minutes. People carelessly throw down trash at picnics or parties.

Let me tell you why you CANNOT throw trash on the ground. First of all, it is illegal. That's right, it is against the law. You will have to pay a fine of $100-$1,000!!! You will be ordered by the court to pick up trash for 8 hours.
If you do it again, you will have to pay $500-$1,000 and pick up trash for 16 hours.

Besides, trash is ugly. Look at these pictures. No one wants to see this garbage when they are hiking through a beautiful park. No one wants to see this garbage in their neighborhood, either.

Also, trash does not just magically disappear. Most of the trash found on our streets is made of plastic. PLASTIC DOES NOT GO AWAY!!! It is on this Earth to stay, my friends. When it finally rains, all of the trash on the street gets washed into our streams and into the ocean.

Next, throwing trash on the ground is a horrible thing to do to animals. Why?
Animals find bits of trash on the ground and they try to eat it. They choke and die. Or it goes into animal stomachs and makes them sick and they die. Or pieces of trash can get stuck around animals necks or wings or fins. They cannot move and they die.

So what are some things you can do to clean up your neighborhood and your parks? You can tell your family, friends, and teacher at school what I just told you. Tell all of those people to tell 10 people that they know. The word will spread.

If you have a party outdoors, set up a large container for recyclable things. You can make MONEY from recycling bottles and cans! After the party, make sure you pick up all of the pieces of balloons, balloon strings, bottles, cans, paper plates, and all the trash. When you are about to leave the area, tell everyone to look around and make sure the place is free of trash.

If you go exploring at a park and you have a drink or food with you, hold onto the bottle, can, or bag until you can find a trash can. When you are through walking around, you can throw your trash into a trash can, or recycle it.

If you eat in your car, do not throw your trash out the window! Hold onto it until you get out of the car and then throw it away in a trash can. Would you want animals to come drop some poopie doobles in your kitchen or throw trash in your bedroom? No? I didn't think you would. So keep poisonous, ugly, and dangerous things out of the place where animals live.

Finally, if someone in your family works on cars at your home, make sure they put oil in bottles and take them to a hazardous waste place. Make sure your cars are not leaking transmission, radiator, or brake fluid onto the street or driveway. If they are, they need to be fixed. Ask an adult to fix the car. Wash your cars at a car wash, not on your driveway. Why? Because, when it rains, all of these fluids get washed right into streams, lakes, rivers, and the ocean. What is something that lives in lakes or the ocean that you like to eat? Did you say fish? Then you are correct. If the fish take in all of these nasty fluids, it winds up in their bodies. So when you eat fish and seafood, you eat the nasty stuff that got dumped onto the street. Ooooh, yuck!

So, you can see that you and your family can make the world a better place very easily! Recycle, throw away trash in a trash can, and keep car fluids out of the street. Your children, and grandchildren will thank you. And so will all of the animals!!

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Sedimentary Rock

It looks like we might be on the surface of the moon. But, we're not. We're right here on Earth. How did these stones get all of these cool looking curves and holes and cracks?

Well, this stone is called sandstone. It is a kind of sedimentary rock. What is sediment? Y'know when you find a water puddle in mud after it rains? If you stir up the puddle with a stick, little pieces of leaves and dirt make the water look dirty. But then the stuff settles down to the bottom of the puddle. The water looks clear again. Sand and things that were once alive will float to the bottom of the oceans and lakes. This layer of stuff at the bottom is called sediment. Over millions of years, these layers of sediment will turn into rock. So you get...sedimentary rock.

Wind has blown over this sedimentary rock. Rain has fallen onto this sedimentary rock. The wind and the rain take little pieces of sand with them. The rain will take the sand downstream. The wind will blow the sand onto another rock or field.
The wind and rain work together to carve the sandstone. The wind and the rain made all of these cool shapes. It took a loooooonnnnnnng time to do this.

Can you think of something that happens that can make the Earth change fast? Something that you have safety drills for in school? Something that makes the Earth shake?? Did you say earthquake? Then you are correct. Look at the second picture. See the pink line next to that big crack? That crack used to be flat like a floor.

This hill is made up of layers of sandstone. Believe it or not, all of this used to be under an OCEAN! Yup, a looooooooonnnnnnnnng time ago, these rocks were sedimentary layers on the bottom of the ocean. The ocean dried up. The layers of sedimentary rock were left with no water on top of them. Then, over many years, earthquakes pushed the rocks. Earthquakes moved the rocks from being flat, like a floor, to up at an angle. Millions of years ago, that these cracks used to be flat, or horizontal. Then earthquakes forced the rock up at an angle. Amazing!

So these rocks used to be stacked up like pieces of computer paper. Then, over time, rain and wind carved them. Earthquakes broke them and pushed them up and down. The wind, the rain, and earthquakes made some secret hiding places in the second picture. Can you find them?

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Duck Eggs in the Food Chain

Do you like scrambled eggs, or huevos rancheros? Me, too. Well, these Mallard Duck eggs provided meals for many different animals. First of all, a raccoon probably found them near the creek. It chewed through the shell and had a tasty meal of eggs. Next, a little wood rat might have come along and eaten leftover egg. Then, flies and ants most likely ate some of the egg.

Here is a big word...microorganism. Mi-cro-or-gan-is-m. Microorganisms are teeny, tiny living things that can only be seen with a microscope. After the flies and ants leave, microorganisms will break down the small bit of egg that is left. Microorganisms can be fungi and bacteria. Remember the FIBS? Fungi, Insects, and Bacteria.

All of these animals took care of the yolk and white. But, who will eat the shells? Well, the raccoon ate part of the shells. Did you know worms eat shells? Yes, worms will come and slowly chew up the shells.

I know you may say "icky oooo," but all of these animals will eat the egg, and then make "poopie doobles," or scat. The scat breaks down into soil. So, my friends,
what growing things need soil, and water, and sun to live? Correct, plants! And, my friends, what is one of the things that ducks eat? Did you say plants? You are correct!

Have you seen a piece of metal chain? It is made of metal ovals called links. The links are all connected to make a chain. In nature, there are "food chains." Different living things are linked by what they eat. A plant is eaten by a duck. A duck makes an egg. An unhatched egg is eaten by many different animals. The animal scat turns into soil. The plant uses the soil to grow. And it goes on, and on like this, like a connected chain.

What things do you eat in the food chain?

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Tracking Animals in an Ecosystem

Hello! I took off some time for Thanksgiving. I hope your holiday was great. It is good to be out exploring again.

We found out last time that scat proves animals live in a certain ecosystem. An ECO-what? An ECOSYSTEM. An ecosystem is an environment or community or special place. Different plants and animals live in this ecosystem. They interact with and rely on each other.

The area that I visited today was a chaparral ecosystem. Some common plants in a chaparral ecosystem are California Sagebrush, California Buckwheat, Toyon, Scrub Oak, and Wild Oats. Some animals that you might see in a chaparral ecosystem are woodrats, coyotes, deer, wrentit birds, and rattlesnakes. (Yup, I've seen rattlesnakes on the trail, but they were in a big hurry to get away from me. They must have heard me coming.)

Scat is one way to prove that certain animals live in an ecosystem. Today we're going to look at some pictures of proof that animals live here in the chaparral ecosystem. We are going to look at pictures of animal tracks. The first picture is the hoof print of a deer. If you put together your hands, sort of like you are praying, and then you cup them a little bit, you will see the shape of a deer hoof print. The next picture is the four little foot prints of a rabbit. Can't you just imagine it hopping along in the dirt? The next print is that of dove feet. Doves are gray birds. They eat seeds off of the ground. Finally, what do you think made those strange prints? These are the prints of a lizard. See the little claw marks that it left behind?

So, even though I did not see these animals, I know that they live here in this chaparral ecosystem. I also saw tracks of other creatures and things that visit this ecosystem, but then leave at night. I saw the prints of horses, people, and dogs.

The next time it rains, look in some mud. Usually, animals get drinks from rain water. You might see bird, kitty, and dog prints in the mud. People like to play in the mud. You might see shoe prints or tracks from bicycle tires. These tracks are evidence that things are alive in your ecosystem!

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