One of the simple little things our homeschool does for the environment is to keep the invasive plant purple loosestrife off our three-acre property, about half of which is wetland. Although purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is beautiful, it can harm native plants as well as wildlife. Purple loosestrife was introduced into North America over 200 years […]
100 Species Challenge
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
When the shy bloodroot flower peeks out from its one protecting leaf, we know that spring has come to stay. The amazing single leaf can wrap completely around the flower! We’ve always been fascinated by it. Years ago, before we knew it was endangered , the children dug some plants up and we were all startled […]
A Woodpecker Walk
Our eleventh Rideau Trail walk, the longest yet, covered snowy terrain through woods, along a railway, and into a residential area. The theme of this walk seemed to be woodpeckers, but we noticed a lot of other interesting things, such as this tree. We found fairly large skeleton with extra bumps on the spine toward […]