A Robin Wintering In Connecticut

Sometimes Nature reminds us that even the very familiar can be special.  Even though the robin is a common backyard visitor and often the  harbinger of Spring known to every child,  this  puffed-up, haughty fellow sitting in my evergreen  on this very cold February morning reminded me how Nature can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary if we are willing to take a moment to appreciate it. You can see the look in my visitor's eye. Can you hear him saying? "I know I am the most handsome..."

Read All About It


Sharing The Wonder of Birds With Kids by Laura Erickson

A Robin's First Spring Nest

"Cheer up! Cheer up!" Finding a nest with baby robins is a great way to listen to the robin's call and 'cheer up.' These three robins are eagerly awaiting a tasty worm.


Do You Know? Robins build several nests throughout the season. For their first home they usually choose a securely nestled place in an evergreen tree.
Can you guess why they move to deciduous trees later in the summer?

Read More About It!

My Spring Robin
By Anne Rockwell, Harlow Rockwell, & Lizzy Rockwell. Age: preschool-K

Vernal Pool

It seems that not too long ago, we referred to a wet, sloppy area surrounded by forest, as wetlands. In our ever growing environmentally conscious society hard fast laws started to protect this valuable habitat. Recently, new, more precise language describes these temporary breeding grounds. The vernal pool is not only important to our ecosystem but a great place to explore with children. We will be following a vernal pool in Connecticut that is just about to wake up. To see a time lapse of a vernal pool waking up in Massachusetts visit You Tube.Today, it is still covered with a thin layer of ice, but there is much going on below the surface. Watching this awakening with a child can be exciting and meaningful. Teaching respect for the fragility of the pool and its residents and watching new life emerge will be priceless moments for you and the young mind nature is nurturing.
How do you observe without disturbing this cycle is the first lesson. Gathering some facts before visiting is a good way to start.
Playing detective to learn who lives here brings mystery into this expedition.


Read More About It:
Frog Heaven: Ecology of a Vernal Pool
by Doug Wechsler; ages 9-12.

The Night of the Spadefoot Toad
by Bill Harley; fiction for young adult

There will be much more on vernal pools in the coming blogs. After all, vernalis is the Latin for spring. From mid-March to late April the vernal pool becomes the home of many animals that need its water to keep its species alive.

Is It Spring Yet?

No. But I can dream, can't I?