Monsters in the Garden at Wellfield Botanic Gardens

We had a wonderful fall walk and trick or treating at Wellfield's Monster in the Garden program. They had the place decked out for the season!

Approaching Fall Guide--Lists of 5!

The Michiana Summer Guide was popular, so I thought I'd put together a few items for fall that may be of interest. I encourage you to also check out the Natural Calendar of Events that I host on Inside Outside Michiana, as there are many neat nature activities in the area.

A few things we like doing as fall approaches . . .

Festivals:

1. The Pow Wow up in Dowagiac is super cool! We love the bright colors, ceremonial dances, and fry bread.


2. Heritage Day at Bonneyville Mill is always a tradition for us! See information on the September 12, 2015 celebration here.

3. Check out Owl-o-Ween at Gene Stratton Porter's house. We had lots of fun! If you don't want to make the drive, Woodlawn Nature Center will have a Creatures of the Night Festival on October 10, 2015. Also, check out El Bosque Encantado through Merry Lea.

4. Go back in time! We really enjoyed Stone Trace in early September. The prices were inexpensive and there was plenty to see and do. Take a walk in the past  Gathering at Five Medals is October 17 and 18, 2015. It's always been great as well.

5. Holiday at the Mill is a fun time to get ready for the holiday spirit! It's usually early in November.

Holiday Activities: 
Halloween Nature Fun is a great way to look at the natural side of the holiday. Hosted at Woodlawn Nature Center in Elkhart. Check for other seasonal activities.

Halloween Hayrides at Oxbow--I don't have a blog post about this, but we've gone several years, even before we lived up here! Be sure to get your tickets early in the day as they will sell out. There are corny jokes on the hay ride, yummy treats, and decorations as you walk through the trails.

Check out natural holiday decorating ideas from Linton's. This was a fun class! Woodlawn Nature Center is hosting a class in early October.


Fall Activities:
1. Go apple picking at Kercher's or another orchard. See our 10 Reasons to Go Apple Picking.

2. Visit a fall activity area. We have enjoyed Knollbrook Farm and Pumpkin Patch for several years.

3. Go to a nature center! Visit Kalamazoo Nature Center, Fernwood in Niles, or Woodlawn Nature Center in Elkhart. All are great places to see as the seasons change. A "preferred" membership from Woodlawn Nature Center offers reciprocity to these other great places! Pair your visit with a program and a hike.

4. Go camping! I love the crisp weather of fall for a bonfire and sleeping in a tent! Woodlawn Nature Center is hosting a very reasonably priced family campout in September. Preregistration due by September 13.

5. Take a fall hike! We really enjoy Lieber Nature Preserve in Bristol. We also had a great fall walk at Wellfield Botanic Gardens. This is a perfect place to snap a few seasonal pictures, too! We stopped one evening when we had on costumes, making it even more exciting.

Try it at Home: 
1. Try using leaves as part of your art or play. See 11 Ways to Play with Leaves.

2. Build fine motor skills with Pumpkin Pounding and other pumping decorating. 

3. Go on a fall flower hunt! See our Ideas for Fall Flower Hunts.

4. Fall is a harvest time. Start collecting seeds and pods. See 20 Things to Do with Seeds, Acorns, and Pods.

5. Spend some time with trees! Check out this popular post about the nature preschool program at Woodlawn Nature Center.

You might also enjoy the Summer and Winter Guides as well! 

By the way, we absolutely LOVED the Maker Faire in Fort Wayne! In 2015, it was in August. Watch for it next year. Regional tinkerers shared their love for creating things. I could see the creativity level of my children soar!

A Fall Walk at Wellfield

Before a Trunk or Treat last week, I stopped by Wellfield Botanic Gardens with the kids and cousins. It was really hit or miss as it had been rainy and a little blustery all afternoon. I'm glad we went!

I love seeing small changes each time I visit. There are also some big changes as they continue working on construction. Here is a neat wooden bench near the entrance. With the wet afternoon, it was fun seeing reflections of trees in the puddles!

Pumpkin Pounding

Last month we saw golf tees pounded into pumpkins at a fall festival at the Early Learning Center in Granger. Of course, we had to try it. This morning we tried it out at nature preschool at Woodlawn Nature Center; however, my 5-year-old had been itching to try it once he saw the golf tees . After school I let him pound away!

I found a big pack of golf tees online and figured we could find other uses for them as well. Some people may be working on carving pumpkins; we're working on fine motor skills, using tools, and building skills.

It was so popular that the older boys (8 and 10) wanted in on the action. The younger one (2) wanted more turns and has now learned the word goggles. We even had to bring it all down to Grandma and Grandpa's house so the fun could continue through the evening! It was a hit with all the boys from ages 2-10!

My tips:

1. I like the kids using the safety goggles. I'm not sure they are essential with the mallet, but having eye protection is helpful. Plus, it helps it feel more official. We used a real hammer while at preschool today. As I saw the claw heading back toward toddler faces, I was assured that they were wearing goggles.

2. Some of the heads ended up getting damaged. I wonder if we'll be able to use these tees again. Still it's been an interesting challenge for them.  

3. Child sized tools are helpful. We used what we had, but tools their size would have been better.

4. We can't wait to introduce rubber bands to these to make pumpkin geoboard shapes! I wonder how the children will help expand how these may be used or how they might embellish them more. 

5. My 5-year-old wanted to push the tees into the pumpkin enough to get it started. He's still figuring out how to hold the tee while it gets going. I started the tees for the 2-year-old. 

6. It seemed helpful to have a large pumpkin. 

7. For younger children, holding the tool closer to the head gave more control. 

Leaf Salt Dough Bowls

At church recently, I noticed the upper elementary girls making a fun project that I thought I'd document. They made salt dough in a variety of colors and squashed the colorful balls down to make a calico of colors. After rolling the dough out flat, they used leaves for a template and cut around the shapes. It's colorful and organic shaped!

They draped their cut out leaves over bowls to air dry as a bowl shape. These will be so pretty! 

Owl-O-Ween!

Last night we went to Gene Stratton-Porter's State Historic Site for their Owl-O-Ween! We have been for tours of the house in the past. Read about it here. It's a great place where nature, history, and literature converge! It was a great evening to attend the Owl-O-Ween! The grounds were decorated for the festivities, with decorations along our walk and many stations to visit. It cost $3/person, with the youngest free. I thought it was a reasonable price with all that was included. Excuse the blurry picture, but we made treat bags as we entered, with markers and stickers available.

The woods welcome visitors with lists of Gene Stratton-Porter's books. I've enjoyed many of them! We stopped at the sounds of the night station first, feeling a coyote pelt and listening to various sounds we might hear in the night!

Decorations were all along the stroll, with ghosts, creepy hands, black cats, and more! It was dark by the time we left; however, there were some lights to illuminate the creepy features. 

 

We were able to learn about bats at another station, seeing taxidermy bats, some in acrylic blocks, and learning more information about bats. They are often misunderstood. It was a nice evening for a stroll. Dressing up was bonus for the kids! Okay, they really liked all the candy they got along the way as well! 

The fall colors were a gorgeous backdrop for Gene's garden! Soarin' Hawk Raptor Rehab was there to release several birds back into the wild and to educate us about a few birds that are injured and cannot be released. It was great to see the Red-tailed Hawk released! What a treat! 

We saw several types of owls, including these short-eared owls, which are rare in our area. They have their own stories and personalities. The young lady on the right is Alexandra Forsythe. She does a lot of work through the Indiana Young Birders Club--she's going far with her outreach, knowledge, and ambition!

We also saw a couple of screech owls, both the red phase and the gray phase. They are a lot smaller and more common in this area than some of the other owls. Another bird was released as well.

Another station had a simulated night area--a fun place to crawl! We could also sort animals by nocturnal, crepuscular, and diurnal. I think we don't always realize there is greater variety than just saying nocturnal or during the day as far as habits of animals go. I know I've seen and heard some of them outside of the "typical" time. 

Another station had salamanders, turtle shells, snake skins, frogs, and a toad. Fun to see these up close!

The fall colors over the lake were gorgeous! 

Tours are available at the house during normal hours. It's neat to see how Gene might have lived, her book collection, and her attention to natural details throughout the home. It looks great in fall! 

There was a craft station with spider web rubbing plates. I loved how they used glue to make a raised surface and enlarged the designs of smaller ones from the Growing Up Wild resource for additional ones. 

 

They also could make cute, cute toilet paper roll owls! We just saw this option online recently. Fun!

The last stop we visited had hot chocolate, pop corn, and owl pellets! My friend, Jay, from Indiana Master Naturalists was helping at the owl pellet station. It's always nice to catch up with him. I know it takes lots of volunteers to make something like this work. I appreciate how welcoming they were to my children and the knowledge they shared with us about creatures of the night. Thanks!

The owl pellets were a hit! My 8-year-old son really took time and concentrated on getting out every single bone he could from the fibers! They matched up bones to the different animals that were on the chart and also took their baggie of bones home with them. 

 

It's always nice to see owls out as well! We saw real ones and others that were preserved. The hot chocolate and popcorn, as well as a place to sit for a few minutes and listen to nighttime sounds.

I saw this tree walking around earlier and she let me take her picture. Love it! She even had leaves on her feet! There is also a display on the passenger pigeon upstairs as well. My children were surprised that an animal that had been so numerous that it covered the sky for 14 hours at a time while migrating is now extinct. This was a perfect end to remind us why we need to learn about our natural world and appreciate it. Thanks!

What did the kids like? The candy, of course! Digging a little deeper, they enjoyed seeing the birds of prey and their release, hearing the sounds of night creatures, and being outside in this beautiful fall weather!