Nature is a Great Teacher

We are on the tail end of our Winter Break, so I took the mancubs and divas to a local nature boardwalk over the weekend.  Because, where else except Florida can you take a nature hike in shorts during Winter Break? :)

We had a great afternoon, although the kiddos (ok, and Momma, too) were all disappointed that the nature center was closed.  So, we will be taking a trip back soon to explore the nature center.  The younger mancub did make sure that I didn't leave until we had one copy of every informational brochure they had on the stand outside the nature center, though. lol

We saw some really cool things during our hike along the boardwalk.  God's creation is always amazing - the way it displays itself, the evidence of surviving damage, the harmony of working together.  There is beauty in all of it and I love teaching our kiddos to appreciate it.

Here are some of the neat things we saw:

I love the learning opportunities that nature so readily presents, as well.  As we were walking, we noticed a teeny tiny caterpillar descending on a silk thread from the tree canopy to the boardwalk below.  Once it made it to the ground below, the perfect opportunity to discuss camouflage in nature presented itself. 

I should probably brush up on my knowledge of caterpillars since finding baby caterpillars seems to be our thing. We didn't touch this one because I couldn't identify it and I didn't want to risk getting stung.

The younger mancub and older diva both enjoyed getting to touch some lichen that was growing on a lot of the trees.

Red blanket lichen

We also got to hear a variety of birds and saw a ton of spiders.  I tried to get a photo of one particularly colorful spider, but it started jumping towards me when I got too close to the web.  I guess he was camera shy. ;)

It was an awesome day and I'm glad we were able to get out for a quick "field trip" with the mancubs before they go back to school.

God bless!