Why is nature study a priority for our family?

I have lived here for 36 years.  Locally speaking, I love to hike in the foothills, bike along the trail system, visit Horsetooth Reservoir and go up the Poudre Canyon and watch the rafters on the Cache la Poudre River when it is full to the hilt with spring runoff.  We are very fortunate to have such a wide variety of outdoor activities within a fifteen mile radius of our front door.

But

I can count on one, maybe two hands, the different number of local trails I have been on.  We hike the same trails, over and over, because familiar is comfortable.  It feels safe, and I know what to expect.  I've rafted - once.  Most of the hiking and exploring that I have done is when I was single and stupid.  I had my dogs with me, but that was not really smart.  I have a cursory working knowledge of the plants and animals in this area.  I can sum it up this way:

1.  "Leaves of three, let it be."

2.  If it makes a rattling sound, get the hell out of there.

That is not much to go on.  So I purchased a wonderful book, Handbook of Nature Study, by Anna Botsford Comstock.  I bought it two years ago.  Baby Steps!  I've read about five pages.  It takes up about as much shelf space as Gone With the Wind.  I bought a bird guide with last year's Christmas money.  Baby steps!  We used it to identify a bird about a month later.  I can't remember what it is now... the point is, I am not getting anywhere very fast in closing this knowledge gap.

I just feel that it is time to get the kids 'out there'.  Jordan is in Boy Scouts, and a wealth of knowledge about all things natural will help him immensely.  We are more mobile - we are down to one child in a backpack, so that makes it possible for me to foray out on my own with the kids in tow.

Here are some things I want to be able to accomplish:

* Locate milkweed later this spring, so that we can also locate some butterfly chrysalises.
* Start nature journals and have the kids work on sketching.
* Take some water samples and determine the health of the marsh by the variety of insects present.
* Study a prairie dog town.
* Become familiar with different animal tracks
* Research with the kids so they know what a rattlesnake sounds like.
* See a rattlesnake.  (Yes, you read that correctly)
* Watch a beaver.
* Watch an elk herd.
* Do a bird count (next month!!) - build up our knowlege about local birds
* Be able to identify local plants

And a host of other things.  Most of all - I want to know what I am seeing, hearing, smelling...and so forth.  I don't like answering the question, "Is this poisonous?" with an, "I have no idea".  I want to know more about where we live - and what else lives here too.  It is very sad (in my mind) that I don't really know much about the area, despite living here for so long.  Sure, I've been on numerous field trips over the years with school, Camp Fire Girls, Master Naturalists and so forth... but none of it has really stuck.

We have some tasks to do before we can make a real 'go' of this. 

1. We need to assemble our "Nature Outing" backpack.
2. I need to print off and familiarize myself with our Winter nature studies book.
3. Make a short-term plan for the next few weeks of what we want to accomplish before winter turns to spring.
4. Make a long-term plan.. have a family meeting and determine where our particular interests lie.
5. Get in the habit of going outside, EVERY DAY - even if it means just a quick walk around the neighborhood.  Realistically, there will be days where the weather is going to be nasty.  Those are the days that I need to have a backup - a video queued up on Discovery Ed. that discusses a topic we are learning about.

That is all I can think of right now... I am pretty excited about this.  This can go in all sorts of interesting directions, and I can't wait to get started!