Bison hike and giant leaf pile

We went to the Batelle Darby Creek MetroPark for a preschool program about autumn leaves. We did crayon rubbings, identified leaves and trees, talked about the leaves changing color, and then jumped into an enormous leaf pile.

"My favorite part of fall?"

"I'll show you"

"Jumping into huge piles of leaves!"

1, 2, 3, Go!!

Coming after mama to make sure I don't miss out on any leafy fun!

Hiking to the bison

We are lucky to have Batelle Darby Metro Park a few minutes from our house. We'll be even luckier when they complete their nature center planned for next year. It's going to be similar to the Audubon Center, in that it will be built sustainably with as little impact on the surrounding area as possible. I'm eagerly awaiting the programs that they'll be offering. In the meantime, we can visit the bison. It's a little bit more than a mile walk from the parking area/naturalists office.

Almost there...

There are 6 bison, but it's a huge area (I believe they said 23 acres), so they aren't always visible. The bison love the chilly weather we've been having, and are happily lounging around and laying on the ground. This makes them a bit difficult to see, but we were able to spot one fuzzy lump from the trail.

Can you spot it?

Though they were a bit tired after our hike, the glimpse of the bison, and anticipation of hot cocoa at home was enough to prompt an extra quick walk back to the car. Bye, bison!!

I'll race you back!!!

Harvest Jamboree at Smith Farm

Last week, we went to the Harvest Jamboree at Smith Farms area of the Three Creeks MetroPark. Admission was free, and so were many (but not all) of the activities, parking was $5 per car. We were a bit disappointed, but overall had a good day with a lot of new experiences for the kids.
The disappointing part was that there was an enormous line for the hayride that the kids were so looking forward to. I feel like there must have been some poor planning for that aspect of the event, since the turnout was huge and there was just one tractor with a single trailer that could only hold about 20 people at a time. We got there within 15 minutes of the starting time, and the line was already long enough for about an hour to an hour and a half wait. That missed hayride caused some tears, but they'll get to go on one soon at another farm.
We've been wanting to find a place for the kids to try out a climbing wall, but haven't found anywhere yet that has harnesses small enough. Luckily, the Recreation and Parks Department had a tiny harness that fit, so the kids were able to try out the wall they had set up. They didn't get up too high, but did great for their first climb. Fun fact: the Rec & Parks Dept portable climbing wall has an auto belay system, and 32lbs isn't quite heavy enough to allow it to release. So, if they'd gotten much higher, someone would have had to have gone up after them.

Straw maze

After the hayride drama, we found the pumpkin corral. I'm glad we got there when we did, or the kids would have been in for disappointment #2. But, they got to choose a pumpkin from the few that were left, and then decorate it. The boy went for the roundest, smallest pumpkin he could find, and the girl found the largest she could. There was then a flurry of glue, paint pens, stickers, feathers, and pipe cleaners, and the pumpkin creations emerged.

Decorating his tiny pumpkin

Fancy pumpkin

There were also a few creatures there from the Columbus Zoo. We got to see frogs, toads, hissing cockroaches, and crayfish. Then a bit later, we were surprised to turn a corner and find a barn owl.

Barn owl

And then, a penguin. I'm not sure what makes a penguin relevant to a harvest festival in Ohio, but the kids thought she was cool. 

Penguin

There were quite a few tables set up with autumn-related crafts for the kids, and they had lots of fun doing those for a while. It was very, very crowded though, and got overwhelming quickly. We decided at that point to call it done so that we could go get some lunch at...

The Loving Hut!!

Scott and I had been there once before, but this was the first time for the kids. Everything they serve is 100% vegan, and they have a generous selection of gluten free and raw items as well. It's so nice to be able to go out to eat and not have to worry that we won't be able to find something that won't make us sick.
The kids shared an incredible strawberry/cashew smoothie that I would love to reconstruct at home. I barely had time to taste it since they inhaled it so quickly. They and I also shared a raw salad with beets, sweet potato, apple, avocado, olives, and sprouts. It's called Love Letter From the Earth, and it was amazing! We then tried the raw french fries, which are avocado slices rolled in spices and nuts.
The Loving Hut is located in such an unlikely, ignored little strip of stores in Reynoldsburg. But, they prepare their food with such care and everything is always presented beautifully. We will definitely be back to try more of their menu.

Slightly underwhelming natural history exhibit, saved by the public library

Stick Insect

We visited the World of Wonder exhibit at the Grove City Town Hall and Visitor Center, thinking it would be a good afternoon activity. However, even though the collection was pretty impressive, it is most certainly not for small children.

Green Nymph Stick Insect

 The Visitor Center has a small collection of historical items from Grove City's past and are also currently exhibiting an aisle of display cases containing the Rodney Eaken Collection of crystals, insects, fossils, and shells. Our small group of 2 adults and 5 children walked into the Town Hall/Visitor center, and were greeted only by dozens of small signs warning us not to touch anything. We never did find anyone to answer any questions about the historical items or the natural history collection. The kids enjoyed looking at the insects and fossils, but I found myself having to constantly remind them not to touch, leaving us all feeling tense before we'd finished looking at everything. We'd been pretty excited to see the dinosaur egg fossil, but sadly ended up missing it.

Walking Leaf Insect

Ammonite Fossils

Trilobites

 After a snack and a calm-down on a park bench outside the Visitor Center, we all decided it would be a good time to walk across the street to visit the library. We knew that there were a few more cases of shells over there, and the kids wanted to pick out some new bedtime books.

More enormous shells

 I knew that the larger libraries in town had extensive collections of in-library materials for kids, and computers set up with learning games, but I didn't realize that our little local branch had those resources as well. The kids had some fun playing on the computers, but then found the LeapFrog readers and decided to park themselves at a table for a while with them. It was really cute watching them figure out the systems. They told me pretty emphatically that they want to go back to try the other books soon.

Having fun with soft toys and puppets at the library

 All in all, it was a successful outing. We got to see some really interesting fossils and insects, and the kids are even more excited to be able to go to the Smithsonian Natural History museum someday. We also learned about a cool new feature of our local library, and got to visit with some of our favorite friends. Bonus: the kids stayed awake on the way home, and went to bed easier and earlier than normal. Yay!

Why, yes, we did go back to the Audubon Park

 

We happened to show up just as volunteers were bringing out nets and buckets for kids to search the wetlands for critters.  

 

Perfect, since H had decided that morning that he was going to be a creature all day. We never did figure out what kind of creature, but it involved paws, and didn't speak, but was an excellent critter finder. 

dragonfly larva

 We didn't get to see any frogs or turtles this time, but saw tons of damselflies mating and laying eggs, and quite a few dragonfly larvae.

We learned that grasshoppers like indeterminate creatures!

 

and regular kid-like kids too :)

  This guy spent much longer riding J's shoulder than I would have imagined,

 and then decided to take the creature for a spin.

J even bonded with a small mouth bass. She's the one on the right. 

I'm sure we'll be back again soon, there's a geocashe there that I will not let win.

Exploring Gantz Park

 It was a perfect day for an adventure, so we headed out to Gantz to do some exploring. First thing out of the car, we searched for and found a letterbox. After adding our stamp and replacing it safely, we headed down the path toward the gardens. The kids said hi to the reading girl statue, visited with a cat that was lounging closeby, then ran off to walk the labyrinth.

Don't forget to stand in the center to hear the echos!

 

Callicarpa japonica

 We found this shrub, which caught our attention with it's striking lustrous purple berry. It's not one we were familiar with, so we made sure to look for the sign. It's called Japanese Beautyberry (Callicarpa japonica), and seems to be related to Verbena. 

 While we were there, a bride and bridesmaids arrived to take photos. The kids were quite curious about them.
After a walk around the park and some squirrel watching, we explored the creek a bit. There were quite a few fish, and H and I surprised a small water snake while walking across some partially submerged rocks.
To finish off our adventure, we hopped back into the car and drove a few miles away to find our first geocashe!

Rainy day at the Audubon Park

We went back to the Audubon Park today, despite the dampness outside, and had a great time. The climb up the water tower was quite exciting, since we'd forgotten to do that last time. J&H were so thrilled to be able to see the whole park from up there.

Going up the watertower

Checking out the view

Looking up

 We also had a rainy walk across the wetland area, where we got to see lots of ducks, frogs, water skimmers, and even got a glimpse of a quick little turtle that declined a photo.

Ducks!

Huge frog

Then we went back inside for a quick visit to the library, where we read a few books and did some birdwatching. The view from the library is amazing. You can see the whole wetland area from there.

View of the bird feeder from the library window

Trash butterfly

On September 10th, from 9am-12pm, the Scioto Audubon Center is having an Eco Back to School Event. There will be a children's clothing swap, raffles, games, and green products from local vendors. See the link above for more info and directions to the Center. 

Finally, when we got home, we were greeted by a brown praying mantis hanging out on our front porch. I'm sure it will be having a filling meal this evening.

I totally look like this jump rope, don't I?