5th Graders "Hit the Dusty Trail"

Okay, first things first: SNAKE ALERT!!

But you'll have to wait till the end.

Because I've got a couple of exciting nature

hikes to tell you about.  This time it was

SFL 5th graders of Mrs. Cioccolanti's and

Mrs. McFadyen's classes.

From the moment we enter the trail, students are
encouraged to utilize all of their senses to study
and evaluate everything they encounter on the walk.

We wonder how many more years "Old Man Poplar"
can survive before its own weight topples it in
some high wind or violent storm.

In an ecosystem, even dead organic material like
this standing dead dogwood tree are a crucial part
of nature's cycles.

Every student was glad to get the unusual view at
our iconic trio of poplars: Jack, Will, and Tom.

This view is hard to beat!

Students survey the canopy of trees above.  With the
fall of leaves, the appearance of the forest will change
dramatically over the next few weeks.

Fall is when God plants His garden.  Almost every
plant in nature forms and drops its seeds at this time,
in contrast to most human gardeners and farmers.
These red berries are the seeds of Jack-in-the-Pulpit,
one of our favorite wetland herbs.

Mushrooms are a plant that can appear unexpectedly
from one nature walk to the next.

This netted-chain fern is dying down.  The more fragile
ferns have already died down.  But the trail's Christmas
ferns will continue to display green fronds year-round.

We encountered numerous spider webs along our
stroll.  Most were orb-weaving spiders like this one.
There were also spiny-backed spiders.  We observed
how webs are attached and where spiders are likely to
hide from predators.

This millipede was one of numerous examples of
small wild creatures we identified.

It's always nice to see water in the stream, signifying
adequate rainfall in recent days.  This 30 year-old
bridge leads off the "official" trail.  We crossed it
anyway and proceeded a little ways farther.

Fall leaves are beginning to cover Big Rock and to
float downstream.

Students crowded the stream bank for a better look
at Big Rock.  Miraculously, no one toppled in, either
accidentally or on purpose!

We stopped a few times for me to use a bird call to
try to stimulate some bird conversation around us.

Many students were familiar with St. John, "The
Toilet Tree."  They had remembered it from nature
walks in 2nd grade or from being told by other students.
If only we could make the rest of our curriculum
so memorable!

Everybody loves MOSS!

Moss grows well on rotting wood, mainly due to
its high moisture content.

We paused for a "Sourwood Snack" just before we
returned to the school for lunch.  Most students spoke
favorably about the tasty leaves.  But they were
cautioned not to try this without a leaf expert around!

We saw that the dreaded kudzu continues to be a
threat to the native trees of our trail.  First frost will
stop its growth for this year, but it is relentless and
pervasive.

As we returned to our starting point, we gave a
herculean effort to try to straighten Old Man Poplar.

Do you think we made much progress?

I took a little time to scientifically explain how to
"POP" a poplar leaf (or any broad, tender leaf).
My grandchildren also demand this, repeatedly.

Is the SFL Nature Trail a worthwhile way to spend
an hour of our school day?

ABSOLUTELY!  Just ask these boys, who found an
owl pellet, and have already spotted tiny bones in it.

Or ask this young lady, who found a most
remarkable specimen of a sugar maple leaf.

The teachers sent the students forth with specific
learning goals.  Their observational skills were
challenged, and they will have opportunity to
chronicle their findings in science class.

On the way to my car, I took a peek at a cluster of
pine trees near the tennis court.  For three decades,
I've been able to find the discarded exoskeletons of
cicadas, the locusts that breed and hatch here year
after year.  Look in the dead center of this photo and
you'll see that I found what I was looking for!
Nature is both predictable AND unpredictable.

As a postscript to our two days of nature walks, let
me explain that I was back at school the following
Monday.  As luck would have it, (like Bilbo Baggins,
I was born with a good share of it-- just ask Gandalf),
I was summoned by Pam Cameron to deal with a
little zero-legged friend.  My favorite.  Thank you,
Pam, for the great photos.

Mrs. Auman's class took time from their busy schedule
to pause for a brief, impromptu snake show in a crape
myrtle tree.  Then we left the snake alone, perhaps to
contemplate a suitable spot for winter hibernation.
One thing is certain, there will be more black rat
snakes around campus for years to come.  And I
trust there will be eager, inquisitive students still
walking those trails for many years to come, as well.

If you haven't been to the nature trail recently, I invite
you to take a fall or winter stroll.  You will be delighted
with the trail itself, and you are certain to see something
you've never seen before.  As I told the students, I have
walked the trail hundreds of times in 37 years, and I
see something new every single time I visit it.