Wildlife

Wild Learning from Wildlife Encounters

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Flash cards, smartphone apps, and activity books can never stand in for outdoor learning in nature.  The thrill of spotting animals in the wild will stay with you forever!  My son is old enough to record his findings in a nature journal which he lovingly keeps up. My daughter has become an expert spotter and [...]

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Discovering the Butterfly Habitat at Mason Regional Park in Irvine

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The Butterfly Habitat at Mason Regional Park in Irvine opened in November 2010.  The kids and I finally stopped by to find the hidden garden during our summer exploring in 2011. As with most of our amazing regional parks (OCParks.com), Mason is pretty massive to cover on foot.  There are 3 play areas scattered throughout [...]

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Amateur Naturalist: Hovering Helicopter Seeds

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I mentioned “Helicopter Seeds” in yesterday’s post on Minaya Park, but I didn’t really go into detail on these wonderful finds in nature.  Joel Robinson, an expert naturalist from Naturalist-For-You, first introduced me to these seeds on one of his guided family hikes (if you haven’t been, you should go!).   The one we found on [...]

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Cute Little Goslings and Ducklings

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The outdoors is unpredictable and exciting to me. I can be in the same place ten times and see something new or have a different experience every time. Hope this video inspires you to get outside and find your own treasure of the day! [You know not to feed the ducks, right?  Read "Please Don't [...]

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Centennial Farm at the OC Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa (with Video)

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Centennial Farm is a great excursion located at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.  I took the kids on a lazy afternoon and there were way more animal residents than people visiting. Plus, we had the added enjoyment of seeing a lot of little baby farm animals. I was overwhelmed by the cuteness factor [...]

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