Labor Day at Cobus Creek

Our family spent Labor Day afternoon out at Cobus Creek in northwest Elkhart with a picnic for our church. The church had rented the pavilion for the day. As we headed out the door, I grabbed stuff for giant bubbles and nature scavenger hunts, though there were plenty of activities to do. I will say I felt like the Pied Piper with the under 5 crowd with the bubbles. It's pretty amazing to see giant bubbles. I've made them a few times and they're always a hit! See the recipe I've used here. While the boy doesn't look too happy below, he really enjoyed walking around and making marks for all the different things he saw . . . . beetles, ants, butterflies, flowers, and more! He also found a spider on a tree eating a caterpillar. He amazes me with his focus on details. 

Cobus Creek: Summer Time!

Cobus Creek is such a fun place to be. We haven't been recently, so was surprised to see the changes that summer brings. Here is a hike we took here on a mild winter day. I really like the diversity of habitats at Cobus Creek. There is a prairie area, meadow, river, woods, pond, and more! It's on the far west side of Elkhart, very close to the county line road, so it's very accessible to both Elkhart, Granger, and Mishawaka. When I was visiting this last Saturday, the pavilion was busy. People had music, were enjoying the beach volleyball area, and were gathering at the park. It was good to see people out in nature!

Winding Down the Year: 2013 Top Ten Posts

Looking back over 2013, I appreciate you all joining us for the journey! Our family has enjoyed being out in nature over the last year. It always makes my heart sing when friends of Inside Outside Michiana share a resource or tell me your family was inspired to get outside by one of our posts.

In case you missed some of our posts from 2013, these were the most viewed:

1. Wellfield Botanic Garden Spring Marketplace--This is a beautiful botanic garden! We actually took a chilly winter walk there yesterday. They had several community gatherings there this last year, bringing together many natural resources and vendors in the greater area.

2. Potato Creek State Park Nature Center--We enjoyed this last winter and went sledding after! We have several great nature centers in the area, each with unique characteristics.

3. Nature Study, Soccer Mom Style--This is one of my favorite posts of the year, too. During soccer practice, I followed my preschooler around with the baby, discovering what the schoolyard had to offer in regards to nature. What a great learning and nature study opportunity!

4. Strawberry Picking--I can almost taste them now! We picked strawberries at Yoder's UPick in May and then went to the park. I included tips for picking strawberries with children and nature study applications.

5. Made in Michiana--This is a fun store in Downtown South Bend with many natural elements included in the artwork down by local artists. I just saw they are relocating, but will still stay in the downtown area. Watch for their new location on Facebook!

6. Maker Faire: A Tinkerer's Dream--What an inspiring festival in Fort Wayne! I truly was amazed with the creativity present. Plenty of nature present as well. I hope we all are exploring our creative sides a bit.

7. Bluebird Houses and Bat Boxes--As part of Third Fridays in Middlebury, I took the boys to the library to make a bluebird and bat box. The price was right, the materials were precut, and there was help when we ran into any snafus. Thanks to Middlebury Parks!

8. Places to Walk for Free or Low Cost in Elkhart--Elkhart has so many green spaces that are easily accessed for free.

9. Labor Day at Cobus Creek--We had fun at a church activity at Cobus Creek. While we had a picnic and recreational activities, the natural setting allowed us to explore the creek with other families. Beautiful natural space!

10. Meet New People Monday: Artist Grow--I started a new series last year that didn't go very far. I would like to bring it back in 2014! I started with Artist Grow, a unique natural artist. Read about him in the post!

Did you have any favorite Inside Outside Michiana posts in 2013? We've had great nature fun in 2013--here's to more great experiences in 2014!

Thinking of my own "favorites", I've enjoyed great training through Flying Wild, Hoosier Riverwatch, Project Learning Tree (a high ranker as well), Environmental Educators Association of Indiana, Indiana Master Naturalists (another high ranking post), Family Nature Clubs, and Outdoor Classrooms. I also enjoyed being involved with Nurturing Acorns (or "nature preschool" as my son calls it) at Woodlawn Nature Center and many other programs at Elkhart County Parks. I've enjoyed doing nature studies with inspiration of the Handbook of Nature Study and Outdoor Hour Challenge. I also just enjoyed exploring the Michiana area with the family. We also went to all the nature centers we could find! It's been great to explore my grandparent's property more and help serve them as an extended family. I also had a blast preparing classes for Children, Art & Nature. I started 30 Days of Nature Art and 31 Days of Nature Kindness as well. I'm looking forward to finishing both of these up in 2014! Our Town Elkhart was also an interesting experience! What a great nature filled year!

Michiana Winter Guide

Michiana Winter Guide

by Dr. Carla Gull

insideoutsidemichiana@gmail.com

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?

J. B. Priestley

It's cold outside. How do you connect with nature during the winter? We have great options in the greater Michiana area.

Cobus Creek

Saturday was a beautiful day! We headed out to Cobus Creek County Park for the day. This was my husband's first time to the park, but I've taken the kids several times and even had a class here for Indiana Master Naturalists. We took out wildflower books to fields to identify prairie plants. This is the newest Elkhart County Park. I like that it has such diversity, with prairies, woods, a creek, a pond, the sensory garden, play area, and sand volleyball pit. I recommend a visit to this park!

I snapped a shot of the map when we arrived. It actually came in quite handy as we were navigating the trails. In the past, I've been out on the trails a little longer than we expected with friends because we didn't know the trails very well. I offer this tip: Take a picture of the trail map so you can review while walking.

There is a small play are at the park. My kids really like the big stones that are out! Next we checked out the Sensory Garden. This is a neat concept and has many textures, smells, tastes, etc. even in winter. I was relieved to see no gardeners here today. We appreciate their efforts!

The boys enjoyed the pond and rocks. Ice is such a fascinating thing to investigate! I think the green rocks would have been moved if not cemented down. Smart move, Elkhart County Parks!

More textures!

When we were watching the ice, my nephew mentioned this is how the continents once were . . . five minutes later, my husband started a lecture about how the continents once were together . . .  a little late.   Good connections for them all, though!

Later, we took a hike through the woods. We saw holes in the ground and wondered what might live there.  

Interesting trees to climb . . . this was like a fortress of sorts. The kids loved it!

Note the many birdhouses in the background . . . there are several informational placards throughout the park. I appreciate this as learning tools when we're out.

We checked out the creek and talked about trout.

Note the footprint on the rock in the middle? My niece exclaimed there was a fossil! Turned out to be a footprint. Still, she understand the concept!

My son found more treasures! I'm reminded of this type of blocks whenever I see these. I also think of the invention of velcro and hitchhiker seeds.

We found this beautiful tree conglomeration. This is huge! This was our attempt at "tree hugging".

We also found a geocache. This was a little tricky as the kids wanted to follow the direct route to the geocache; however, we needed to follow the trails to get there. This was a unique hide. It's always neat to see the ingenuity of containers and how they are hidden.

Travel bugs are kind of neat. They have unique tracking numbers so you can track everywhere they've been. If you take a travel bug, it should quickly be taken to another geocache so it can move along its way. We've seen some neat ones, like a plastic hamburger that wanted to travel to the best burger joints. People take pictures with it along the journeys and upload them to the website. We left it there as we don't have a good track record with travel bugs. 

There was a little bit of SWAG. We didn't bring any extra stuff to trade so it stayed there. We hadn't planned on geocaching, but checked the app on my phone while out for geocaches. This app was $9.99, which is more than I've ever paid for an app. Compared to the mega money we've paid for GPS units in the past, the endless papers printed, and information downloaded, the $10 for the app is a steal! All the needed information is right there and we don't have to do as much planning ahead to go geocaching. I can just pull out my phone and see if there are any caches nearby.

The kids loved this little grouping of rocks!

And some "loose parts". The sticks were a hit with all ages!

We found quartz embedded in the rock.

We also noted these two rocks seemed to fit perfectly together.

We even tried to see if they would fit, but it was quite heavy. Still we could see close enough that these were once one.  Here is a little information on weathering and erosion.

We found woodpecker holes and hideouts.

We found the frozen pond and other nearby wetlands. The kids found the ice fascinating.

Another gall . . .

More berries . . .

A fisherman passing by. There were a fair amount of people out at the park. While it was balmy for this time of the year (about 57 or so), one man was in shorts and a t-shirt. Others were walking their dogs. One man was just sitting in his car reading the paper. It was good to see people use this great park!

While I'm sure it wasn't JUST us, I think we're partially to blame for this fence from a previous visit. At least I'm glad they are clear that they don't want us to walk in this area. Sometimes I wish this park had more posted rules as we've had the gardeners tell us specific rules, yet they weren't posted for us to know.

We ended with a treat back at the van. Treats can be powerful!

Our Town Elkhart: Nature!

Not too long ago, I helped out with a documentary by WNIT called Our Town: Elkhart. WNIT put out a call to videographers to help see Elkhart through different perspectives. I signed up for a slot on NATURE! Lucky me, I got to traipse around all the beautiful spots in Elkhart. Here are a few of the notes as I prepared for my interview, reflecting on why I chose nature as my topic. The show was aired August 18th.

Inside Outside Michiana Summer Guide 2014

Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water bugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb, brooks to wade, water lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields pine cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries, and hornets. And any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of education.

 –Luther Burbank

Michiana Summer Guide 2014

By Dr. Carla Gull

insideoutsidemichiana@gmail.com

http://insideoutsidemichiana.blogspot.com/

Follow us on Facebook! Check out Pinterest boards!

Here is a post with links to the "official" city guides for the area.

Inside Outside Michiana Summer Guide 2015

Last summer, I made a guide for summer. Find it here. It has been one of the most popular posts on the blog and many moms and grandparents tell me it is an excellent resource. I'm updating it for 2015 as prices change and new areas to explore pop up. This is concentrated on Elkhart County, though there are many great places a short drive away. See other places below the table. Feel free to share additional places we should explore. Thanks!

Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water bugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb, brooks to wade, water lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields pine cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries, and hornets. And any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of education.

 –Luther Burbank

Michiana Summer Guide 2015

By Dr. Carla Gull

insideoutsidemichiana@gmail.com

Nature Inspiration Collage

Day 25: Nature Inspiration Collages

It's been a chilly few days (and getting colder next week!). The cousins were over and they did go outside for a while, but we also needed some inside activities that didn't include technology. I have stacks of magazines to repurpose and was thinking about the new year, so that we would make collages or vision boards for our nature plans for the upcoming year. 

The kids spent plenty of time going through the magazines and finding the pictures that spoke to them. I questioned some of the "connections", but maybe they were hoping to eat whoopie pies while staring at the stars! 

Pictures were carefully arranged and chosen. 

I needed to spread mine out on the pages, trying to fit in all the elements. 

My requirements were to fill up the space (still working on that!) and make a title. They also needed to write 3-5 nature or outdoors related goals on another piece of paper. We used their nature journals we started a couple of years ago. We need to use these more! 

 

I would say one child may end up a farmer. He wants to be more involved in our garden this year. Another one is thinking about lots of processed foods and having fun with his cousins! 

 

Our younger son seemed obsessed with watches and electronics. I think he didn't get through too many magazines! I can see him doing this over and over and over again based on his recent letter, envelope, and wrapping presents fixations. 

Mine did fill the space a little more, looking at nature, recreation, healthy eating, etc. I included found words and phrases as part of mine. I chose not to write down my goals, as the collage spoke for itself.

I loved reading the kids' goals! We're working on the snow fort tomorrow. :-) He's homeschooled and actually gets to take a Young Outdoorsman class this next semester at a nearby YMCA camp. I want to tag along! He also did the Junior Indiana Master Naturalist program this summer. We'll have to invite him over when we tap trees this year! 

My niece had equally interesting goals. We're looking forward to exploring the children's sensory garden at Wellfield when it opens later this year. We also like the one at Cobus Creek! 

It was interesting to see my son's goals. We used to have a rabbit. I didn't realize he wanted another pet. We haven't been to Utah for a couple of years. Maybe we can fit it in and visit some National Parks on the trip. We used to always go to the zoo, but haven't done it as much since we moved up here. We'll have to change that!

My oldest son's goals were very action based--building, climbing, creating, shooting. Good thing he received a bow for Christmas! 

My self professed "nature" 4-year-old boy was in a bit of a mood. He at least had some outdoor activities to work on. He received a skateboard for Christmas. When the snow dies back a bit, it will be much easier to work on it! He's usually a good tag-along for our nature activities! 

What are your goals for getting outside in 2014? Have you tried a nature inspiration collage?