Shout Out

Barking Frog Farm would like to give a Shout Out to the European countries that have banned the bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides. These pesticides are commonly used to keep insects off corn crops. Dramatic recovery in bee populations have been seen in these countries since the ban took effect. The health and number of honey bees in Italy rebounded the very first year of the ban, according to The European Media Research Centre (EMRC)

Now it’s time for the United States to do the same. The EPA needs to ban these pesticides in our country. To learn more, visit the links below. To sign a petition calling for a US ban on these pesticides visit Avaaaz.org.

U.S. EPA about Pesticides

Institute of Science in Society

Avaaz.org The World in Action

Friday Photo

A Sharp Shinned Hawk sitting on a bird bath heater

Barking Frog Reads – January

I love books and I love book clubs, so it just seems natural to start a book club within this blog. On the first day of each month I will announce the book we will share. We will read the book and post comments.

One Tiny Turtle: Read and Wonder is the story of one Loggerhead turtle’s journey from hatchling to egg laying mother. We travel with her from nursery to stormy ocean, then to feeding grounds and finally, back to the beach she left behind many years before. The text is written in a poetic fashion that is fun to read aloud. In addition to the loggerhead story the book contains some general sea turtle facts, such as, “Fish breathe underwater, but turtles are reptiles and need to come up to the surface for air.” The playful text written by Nicola Davies and the painterly illustrations by Jane Chapman combine to make a book that could be called a work of art. One Tiny Turtle was published in 2001 by Candlewick Press. Eleven years later, when I am in a library I often see One Tiny Turtle pulled from the shelves and given a place of prominence. And during story times in the preschools and libraries I visit it is still often read. A statement to its popularity and timelessness. One Tiny Turtle will appeal to anyone who loves sea turtles, though it is geared toward children 5-8 years old.

Nicola Davies is a zoologist, as well as a writer. Her books all have nature themes and impart scientific information that is age appropriate for her young readers. Illustrator Jane Chapman is a published author and illustrator of many children’s books, including the Bear Series, Bear Stays Up for Christmas, Bear Feels Sick, and Bear in Bed.

Other Books by Nicola Davies:

Bat Loves the Night: Read and Wonder

Big Blue Whale: Read and Wonder

Surprising Sharks: Read and Wonder

Extreme Animals: The Toughest Creatures on Earth

Poop: A Natural History of the Unmentionable

Science Kids: Oceans and Seas

Ice Bear: Read and Wonder: In the Steps of the Polar Bear

What’s Eating You?: Parasites — The Inside Story

Other books by Jane Chapman:

Grumpy Badger’s Christmas

Bear Feels Sick

The Dark, Dark Night

Bear’s New Friend

The Bears in the Bed and The Great Big Storm

When We’re Together

Bear Wants More

Bear Feels Scared

A New Year’s Pledge

Just before Christmas, Aurora’s Brownie Troop made coupons as Christmas gifts for their mothers and fathers. The coupons read:

• This coupon entitles you to 1 big hug.
• This coupon entitles you to 1 set table: knives, forks, spoons, napkins and even beverages.
• This coupon entitles you to the last cookie, serving of ice cream, bit of chocolate milk, you name it and it’s yours.
• This coupon entitles you to 1 story read by me.
• This coupon entitles you to have me pair all the socks in a load of laundry.
• This coupon entitles you to one boardgame played with me.
• This coupon entitles you to 1 chore: pick up the living room, vacuum, wash the counters, you name it, I’ll do it.

The girls enjoyed decorating the coupons and wondered how their parents would react to each one. The activity was a success. The Brownies liked the idea of giving their mothers and fathers time, affection, labor, indulgences and activities.
As the new year approaches, I wonder about gifts for the planet. Pledges and promises of conservation, awareness, protection and stewardship are the valued gifts we need to shower upon our Earth. Think about our beautiful planet, then think about your place in the world. How can you make a difference, what can you do to make the world a better and healthier place? Once you have settled on your pledges, go out into the woods, stand by a river, sit on a beach, visit the natural setting that inspires you to pledge your allegiance to the planet and say those pledges out loud. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• I pledge to use less water.
• I pledge to hold a year-long litter cleanup campaign: When I see litter I will pick it up.
• I pledge to become a member of a local or national environmental organization, Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund.
• I pledge to learn more about an endangered animal and will tell others about it.
• I pledge to reduce my use of plastics.
• I pledge to learn the definition of sustainability
• I pledge to buy local foods.
• I pledge to learn the real story about global warming.
• I pledge to grow a least one type of food, tomatoes, beans, corn, spinach, lettuce, this year.
• I pledge to use less fuel.
• I pledge to recycle.
• I pledge to stop drinking bottled water.
• I pledge to hike trails, canoe on rivers, walk beaches, kayak on lakes, summit mountains. I will enjoy and appreciate our natural resources and natural settings.

A Day Without Plastic

21 Practical Ways to Help the Environment

Climate Change Kids Site

Sustainability

100 Ways to Save the Enviornment

Globalwarming.org

Sustainabilityinstitute.org

50 Ways to Help the Planet

50 Quick, Painless Ways You Can Help the Environment Today

Happy New Year from Barking Frog Farm

Friday Photo

The wind blew, the snow flew, and the kids went sledding.

Take it Outside

Turn off the screens—the television, the computer, the video games. Take time from work, from chores, from the day to day tasks that keep us busy. Adults and children take it outside. Every couple of weeks I will challenge you to see and hear new things—to hunt the woods for wildflowers, to find shapes in nature, to sit by the waterside and listen for unique sounds. So much to experience out in the world.

• This week’s challenge: Look for signs of wildlife: trees cut by beaver, deer rubbings, squirrel nests and rabbit poop. Animals eat, drink, sleep, and play in the wild. Venture out into a forest, walk beside a pond or through a meadow, think about the animals that might live in that setting and then look for signs. Wildlife signs can be divided into the following categories: 

• Homes: nests, holes, molehills, spider webs, cocoons
• Tracks: paw, feet, and hoof impressions in mud, sand or snow
• Feeding: chew marks, piles of feathers or bones, empty shells, holes in trees, piles of seed pods
• Trails: tunnels in thicket, paths worn in meadow grass,worn or scratched areas on tree trunks and logs
• Sightings or hearings: animals scurrying, birds chirping
• Scat: animals poop in the woods and animal’2s scat looks different

So, open your eyes, your ears and your mind and start hunting. Let us know what you find.

Wildlife Sign Walk

Wild Kids

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas, All the animals stood

In the crisp peaceful silence, Of their home in the wood.

The trees towered in might, Their branches did clatter,

As the squirrels come out, Of their nests, pitter patter.

The deer came together, they met, they communed

And from beyond the hilltop, rose the shimmering moon.

The fox, the badger, even the skunk,

Came out of their dens, At the base of the trunk.

“Merry Christmas,” they say, as they wait in a group.

Santa is flying the world in his loop.

He will stop here to see us, For just a brief time.

But during those moments, Our woods will sure shine.

Then the reindeer and Santa will fly out of sight,

The shout “Happy Christmas,” will ring through the night.

Ann Courcy, December 24, 2010

Happy Holidays from Barking Frog Farm

Christmas Bird Count

Birders are busy in late December, but not hunting for deals on Christmas gifts like so many other folks. They are out counting every bird that hops, swims or flies into view. For more than 100 years, individual bird lovers, families, students and scientists have volunteered their time between December 14 and January 5 to participate in the longest-running wildlife census. The Christmas Bird Count began on Christmas Day 1900. Prior to that, a Christmas tradition among hunters had been to organize themselves into teams and hold competitions to see who could shoot and kill the most birds. Ornithologist Frank Chapman proposed a new holiday tradition, a “Christmas Bird Census.” Participants in the census would count birds rather than kill them.

The data collected during the Christmas Bird Counts gives the Audubon Society and other environmental organizations information about the long-term health of bird populations across North America. This knowledge, combined with information from other surveys, has helped scientists identify changes in bird populations over the past 100 years. The information helps scientists make conservation plans to protect birds and their habitats, and also helps identify environmental issues and their implications for life on the planet.

To find out more about volunteering for the Christmas Bird Count click on the link below or contact your local Audubon. Make counting birds a Christmas Tradition for your family.

Get Involved with the Christmas Bird Count

NPR’s Bird Note

Christmas Bird Count

Friday Photo

Over the river and through the woods…

Share your nature photographs with us. Email them to ann@barkingfrogfarm.com, type Friday Photo in the subject line.

Friday Photo

Snow Covered Giants

Share your nature photographs with us. Email them to ann@barkingfrogfarm.com, type Friday Photo in the subject line.