It's Woolly Bear Season

Fall is Woolly Bear season, which means that you see these Isabella tiger moth caterpillars crawling across roads and trails. There is a myth that the orange stripe predicts the winter weather. I wish it were true, because the large orange stripe on this little guy would indicate a very mild winter this year- the larger the stripe, the milder the winter. Find a Woolly Bear and want to raise it from caterpillar to moth? Click here for directions. Woolly Bear Care Sheet.

House In The Wood is a program of Northwestern Settlement, Chicago, Illinois

Tales from Val's Vacation...The Lone Goose

Terry and I were tent camping in Copper Falls State Park near tiny Mellen Wisconsin. We woke up in the tent at 3 a.m. one morning and spent some time listening to the night sounds. First we heard the high pitched yips of a pack of coyotes and then...coming from far away we heard the honk, honk, honk of many geese. There had to be at least 50 of them. They came closer and closer until it sounded like they were directly above our tent. So loud! If we had been asleep, they would have woken us. They flew past still honking in the distance and then finally silence. Next we heard the faint far off sound of a barred owl hooting once, twice and then one last time. Silence, not a sound, not even the wind. Terry and I started to drift back to sleep. And then faintly in the distance we heard honk, honk, honk from a single goose. We listened intently as the goose got closer and closer. It seem to be saying "Where did everyone go?" All we heard was just that one goose in all of that silence. Honk. Honk. Honk. That one goose continued to honk, "I'm lost. Will someone answer me?" We listened as that one lone honk faded in the distance--never once did we hear an answer.

House In The Wood

Delavan Wisconsin

Valerie Wright Copyright 2016

LOOK UP! See FIVE Planets!

How very frustrating that it is so cloudy that we can't see this totally kool event--FIVE PLANETS IN THE SKY AT ONCE! Well, just in case, 45 minutes before sunrise is roughly 6:30am as sunrise is about 7:15am this week and next. Here in Delavan, Wisconsin it looks like there may be a break in the weather on Friday morning. Happy viewing!

Sky and Telescope Diagram

Here's the view 45 minutes before sunrise as plotted for February 1st, about when Mercury should be easiest to spot. Major constellations are also shown. For several days the waning Moon is marching eastward among the assembled planets.

More Information at Sky and Telescope's Week at a Glance

House In The Wood

a program of Northwestern Settlement

Science Surrounds Us!

Cool Infographic and Educator Toolkit with Citizen Science Links for school or home
from National Environmental Education Foundation

House In The Wood 

A program of Northwestern Settlement