As Busy as a Beaver!

Hawk shows the dam he worked on. Did it hold water on the pond side?

Beaver Moon, a Supermoon, appearing soon near you!  The first full moon in November is November 5. It will rise in the Eastern sky and it will be big, round and bright. The closest it will ever be to Earth! 

According to Indigenous legend, this moon tells us the beavers are busy getting ready for winter.  The Turtles started their day as busy as beavers! Pruning our garden, making beaver masks, completing a log obstacle course!  Do you wonder what the beavers are doing right now?  

Maybe they are building a dam and a lodge.  Do you remember the difference between the two?  Hint the answer involves a stream and a pond.  Meet you at Mystery Forest…but wait!  Don’t forget to plant the seeds we collected.  Do you think the Purple Hyssop or the Joe Pyeweed will grow in the spot you selected?  What did your spot on the trail or in the forest offer that is ideal for plants to thrive?  How about the seeds Owl collected on his sweater as he rolled down Sunrise Hill?  An expert seed releaser!  Let’s keep looking for different leaves and seeds around the trails.  The sorting continues back at the Hall!

Time for some problem-solving!  What materials did you use with your partner to build a beaver dam?  When you added water, did the dam work to keep the water from flowing to the other side?  Tell your family what happened and how did you redesigned your dam so it wouldn’t leak!  Would you build it differently next time? Can you remember three things you learned about beavers after hearing the story Building?  How about the number of branches a beaver needs to eat to survive the winter?  With Dragonfly’s help, we calculated it was around ten bigger sized branches.  Was your estimate higher or lower?  Did this number surprise you?  It surprised Cardinal, that is for sure!

Grey Squirrel reminded us with the book Waiting For Winter that squirrels are also busy preparing for winter.  I wonder if squirrels would enjoy munching on Indian Corn?  Maybe not on the bead and pipe cleaner version we made! Do you remember what the three sisters are? HInt: they are vegetables that can grow together and help each other out. Did you grow squash or pumpkins this year? Did you notice how it grows?

Off to Butterfly Hill for some quiet sit spot time!  Everyone needs a break to rest and reflect. Busy beavers and even the Turtles need a break.  Where did you choose to make your sit spot?  Did the story Picture The Sky inspire your nature notebook entry?  Snapping Turtle drew the view he saw from his tree friend, Owl used a cloud spotter to see small parts of the sky and even saw a fish jump out of the water!  Bald Eagle and Hawk drew themselves with their tree friend.  Think of some ways you would like to spend your sit spot time.  What do you hope to see or hear next time?

Time for work, time for rest, time for play!  All with our friends at Harrington!  Lots of reasons to feel grateful!  What were you grateful for today?