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Recently I walked down to our children’s playground here in West Virginia, where there is a small patch of trees, a bookhouse and some play equipment. Last year the area behind the playground was full of trees. It was a rural woodland. Trees covered about 10 acres...

My daughter and I have been walking most December days on a farm in Kearneysville, located in the easternmost county of West Virginia, it is only about 65 miles from Washington, D.C. There is a lovely little brook that gurgles through our favorite corner of the hay...

When it is cold outside, I take pleasure in reading about nature. Yes, I still continue to walk. Sometimes I just walk through the unfinished parking lot of a nearby shopping mall, and sometimes I walk on my daughter’s farm. Either way, the usual buzz of insects is...

Our human lifestyle has become so fast with cell phones, computers, email and fast automobiles, that we miss most of what is right before our eyes. We just zip past it! Whoosh! For those of us who are walking and looking, there are lots of small things to notice....

I was planting acorns recently, and noticed how the falling leaves from nearby trees formed a soft protective layer over the acorns. Many animals and plants prepare themselves for cold winter months. They are vulnerable to predation during this time by birds,...

As we walk along our late fall trails, what insects are we seeing? Insects are cold blooded, so when it gets cold, they can’t move quickly to get away from predators. It is a dangerous time for them. In spite of that, many will come out in the middle of a sunny day to...

As the days get shorter, we need to walk earlier in the day. This is always an inconvenience, if you are working a nine to five schedule. The sun just doesn’t hang around into the late evening. The remaining birds, or the newly arrived birds that will overwinter here,...

For this walk you will want to take a small bag to collect fruits. At this time of year I think of seeds when I eat an apple. Buried inside the fruit there are always seeds that are carefully protected by that delicious fruit. And where do we throw the “core” when we...

Flowers come in many shapes and colors. Some of them smell very pretty, some don’t smell at all and a few even smell like rotting fruit. It takes a lot of energy for a plant to create a flower. Why has it evolved to create a color and fragrance that will attract a...

1. Grab your back pack of Nature Walk Items. Where are you planning to walk today? Down the street? Through a nearby park? Around a field? 2. Before you leave make your Title Page. Put your title (You can call it simply “Nature Walk,” or something more creative, if...

You will want to have several things ready to start your nature jottings.Here is a short list with some pictures of appropriate items.1. A paper Journal about 11 x 14” or an equivalent size. It should be big enough so that you can tape leaves onto a page and have...