In addition to sprouting seeds in a jar or in shallow soil, save egg shells, orange or grapefruit halves to create decorative containers for fun decorations.

If you have lots of old seeds, save them for making pictures or jewelry.

Sometimes a nature walk is all about color.

Here’s a simple activity to explore the depth and range of color. It’s an excellent way to improve your observation and discovery skills and a refreshing alternative to typical nature identification activities.

This annual summer event will peak on August 12 this year.

While viewing is best after midnight and far from city lights, the proliferation of meteors (an average of 65 shooting stars per hour) in the northeast sky promises some exciting viewing.

I was a toddler when my grandparents gave me money to buy a toy. Before my parents took me shopping, they said, “Remember, if you buy a toy in the first store, you won’t have money if you see a better toy in the second or third store.” By the time I could tie my shoes, I understood that I could not spend money I did not have.

I was in grade school back in the days when a child could bring a dollar to school once a week for the bank representative to deposit to your account. That lesson in compounding interest helped me understand numbers.

When I was a junior in high school, I got my first wage job. My parents taught me how to balance a checkbook, before I opened a checking account in my senior year of high school . By my sophomore year of college, I had in addition to a savings account and a checking account, student loans and my first credit card; my parents would not co-sign either the loan or the credit card application.

My Dad was around for my first credit card purchase. His advice has proven to be effective.

Here is a list of residents of the pond.

Using the same micro hike observation technique, find the plants and animals listed – and add your own observations to the list. Combine with home-made pondscope project for a delightful way to spend time outdoors.

Besides being the only natural (non-landscaped) park on Manhattan Island, trees in Inwood Hill Park have not been cut since the late 1700′s, when the American forces built Fort Cox.

Popular folklore has it that Peter Minuit made his legendary purchase of Manhattan Island from the Lenape people living here in 1624; lnwood Hill officially became a New York City park in 1916, saving more than just trees.

Here is a list of things ways to have fun in nature.

There are the familiar activites, like how to make a grass whistle and a few new ideas I’ve learned from other naturalists.

Enjoy!

I was traveling in Israel last year at this time.

I have been struggling to comprehend what is going on and why. I received an email with two letters that left me asking the question: Could I survive in this environment?

For me, the difference in attitude between what each woman thinks is possible is key. I bolded the text that impacted me when I read these letters.