Update

The Garlic Mustard is blooming...

...I hope that we get our Rowe Elementary School 

plant bully helpers before it seeds.

The Red Winged Blackbird females have arrived and...

...the males are very noisy as they try to attract their attention.

The American Coots have moved on to their breeding ground a little further north...

...we will see them next at OEC in October 

as they migrate through to go south for the winter.

The BATS are BACK!

Bats are mammals

Like most mammals, including people, bats have fur, grow up inside their moms, are born live, and nurse milk from their mothers' bodies. Bats belong to a special group of flying mammals called Chiroptera (Ki-ROP-ter-a). This word is Greek for "hand-wing." Bats actually fly with a modified hand.

Bats--the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth

Many people still fear and dislike these winged mammals of the night. Several hundred years ago in Europe, bats were considered evil, dirty, and mysterious. These feelings were passed on through legends.

Today we know that the many myths surrounding bats are false. But, because of these myths, some people still harm bats. In fact, because of human actions, many species have become endangered. Bats play a valuable role in the ecosystem. Worldwide, bats are the most important natural enemies of night-flying insects. The little brown bat can eat 600 mosquitoes AN HOUR!. 

House In The Wood has bat houses to encourage these excellent means of natural pest control to live at House In The Wood. Since we are next to a marsh, mosquitoes could be overwhelming in the summer but although they can get bad on some days, they are not as bad a they could be.

ALL Bat information from my favorite Wisconsin nature site EEK!

For more information on House In The Wood please go to our website at www.houseinthewood.org

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Plant Bullies at House In the Wood!

We have plant bullies at House In the Wood. These are plants that if we let them, they would take over the whole place and NOTHING else would be able to grow. We would lose all of our beautiful Spring Wildflowers. They are also known as INVASIVE plants. One of the plants that we are working on with Rowe third graders is the GARLIC MUSTARD.

This plant must be pulled out at its root BEFORE it seeds so that it doesn't spread. And then, it can't be put in the compost pile, it must be thrown in the garbage or it will spread its seeds and make many more plants. Part of the CONSERVATION lesson with the third graders is learning to identify and pull these nasty plant bullies. And of course, they learn why it is important to make sure we have diversity in our forest. Ask a third grader AFTER they have been to House In The Wood and see if they know the answer.

The picture below is in one of the places that THIS year's third graders will pull garlic mustard. The different plants in the picture are all wildflowers. All of the different wildflowers would be gone in a few years if our third graders don't help our conservation efforts by pulling garlic mustard--our plant bullies. The garlic mustard would crowd out the other plants until JUST garlic mustard is growing.

 Do you see the garlic mustard?

See if you can tell how many different wildflowers are in this picture. 

Remember look for the different types of leaves--they will all bloom as different flowers.

Post a Comment with your answers.

More information about House In The Wood at www.houseinthewood.org.

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