Invite Wildlife to Your Yard - Wildflowers

It's easy to attract wildlife to your yard.  In return you will enjoy many hours of entertainment and your children will enjoy the process.  This week I am going to focus on wildflowers and why they are good for your kids, your backyard and wildlife! 

Often ornamental flowers are chosen in lieu of wildflowers because they are more showy, bloom for longer periods and there are many more varieties and colors available.  However, in many cases they require intense care which includes chemical fertilizers, pesticides, constant watering and time.  Natives are a nice choice because they require little care once they take root and are beneficial to wildlife.  An  added benefit it that you avoid adding unneeded chemicals into the ground, which pose a danger to your family, your pets and wildlife.  Additionally, some natives are deer proof, which means you won't have to battle them eating your buds anymore.  You can check with your state's cooperative extension service to obtain a list of recommended plants.

Product Review - "Gus Outdoors" Natural History DVD's for Children

There are thousands of videos on the market for children today that offer entertainment value, but in my opinion, few are truly educational and worth time it takes children to watch them.  That is not so with a great fledgling video series I was introduced to by my sister when she gave Gus Outdoors, the very first DVD ever produced by Sand Video, to my daughter as a present.  It was an instant hit and she watched it every day for a month!  Now that my son is old enough to watch videos, Gus Outdoors is his favorite series as well.

According to the producer,  "Gus Outdoors is a series of natural history DVD's for kids created by Gus (7-years old) and his Dad, Sean (39 years old). Throughout Gus' childhood [they've] spent a lot of time looking for adventures that kids can safely enjoy in their own backyards."

Wildlife Watching - Deer

 Photo of deer family as seen in our woods during a snowstorm

We have a large family of deer that uses our property as part of their home.  We have seen a doe and her six fawns and three bucks that pal around together.  They have provided my family with quite an education in deer behavior.  We first met the doe the summer we moved into our house.  At the time she had two fawns.  They were seen once in a while on the outskirts of the property, chewing the underbrush.  Each summer since, she has birthed two to three more fawns, which has made for quite a large family.

Critter Corner: Deer

Fascinating Deer
What animal arouses more emotion, controversy, interest, anger, compassion and awe than deer?  They live throughout the United States, in the cities, the country and the suburbs.  Deer are magnificent and fascinating to watch if you are lucky enough spy one, can provide a delicious and healthy food source and can wreak havoc in gardens, woodlands and on roadways.  Grown ups know them for all of these qualities and, love 'em or hate 'em, they provide an awesome opportunity to promote nature appreciation in children.