Tracks are often well defined in shallow snow, so after examining your own tracks look for those made by other animals that are winter-active in your area. You may only find prints left by neighborhood dogs and cats, but check for those made by birds and, in areas that support these animals, those left by squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, and deer, to mention just a few. Follow any tracks you come across, and try to piece together something about the animal’s activities. You may find evidence … [Read more...]

Did you know that ten inches of snow are roughly equal to one inch or rain? You can measure the amount of snowfall with a homemade gauge made from any container that you can mark off in inches or centimeters. A simple but effective gauge can be made from the bottom half of a clear plastic soda bottle, marked with an indelible laundry marker on the outside. Although less reliable because of the way snow drifts, you can also measure snowfall with a yardstick. Put several gauges outdoors - - … [Read more...]

The Inuit language has more than 50 words for snow, from ganik (means: snow that is still falling) to pukaq (means: crusty snow) and masak (means: mushy snow). When the temperature at cloud level is at freezing or below, and the moisture-filled clouds can hold back no longer, be on the lookout for snow. If the air close to the ground is warm enough, the precipitation that started out as snow may turn to rain by the time you see it falling. (snow, however, is not frozen rain, which is … [Read more...]

We humans have come up with some ingenious ways of dealing with the cold, often by changing our surroundings to suit us rather than adapting to the environment as most other animals do. While we have borrowed many ideas from nature, we have gone one step farther in many cases. We insulate our homes, just like squirrels do their nests, but we also heat them artificially. Place thermometers both inside and out to see what a difference this makes. We also dress for the weather, since we have … [Read more...]

Start by setting aside a spot to house and show off your nature treasures and projects. This needn’t be elaborate. While a table that can remain set up with your collections would be nice, a windowsill can easily be turned into an ever-changing exhibit space. A bulletin board is ideal for tacking up pictures and information, but the refrigerator works just as well with a good supply of strong magnets. Explore the possibilities of using pegboard or a free-standing oversized box to tape things … [Read more...]