Ok, I'll be back from Glacier when you read this, but I am still preposting one more rerun. I'm typing this before I leave, but I know how much recovery time I'll need after spending a week in the tent with two little boys. You know there is an inordinate amount of laundry. I'll be back live in the next post, but this is a good one!

This is the first in a series of posts on macroinvertebrate activities.

Who doesn't like to crouch on the edge of a stream, or stand knee deep in crystal clear water, looking under rocks? First the water rushes by and chills your fingers, then you feel the smooth texture of a well-weathered stone as you pull it from the streambed.

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Several people have been writing about observing critters in their home lately. Debi and her kids watched a caterpillar metamorphose into a butterfly. Others are growing herbs on the windowsill or raising chicks.

We decided to get an ant farm.

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I’ve posted about building a house for bugs before. This version is even easier.

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I guess it is time for me to admit that spring is here. Or at least almost here. I hate to say goodbye to winter, but the time has come.

So now we turn our thoughts from playing in the snow to playing in water.

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Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better. – Albert Einstein

I went to college in northern California at a little school called Humboldt State University. It was nestled in the redwoods between the Pacific Ocean and the coast range. It was wet and foggy (except in the summer and early fall when it had the best weather in the world). Mold grew on everything — trees, plants, rocks, shower curtains, slow-moving people. It was a great place to find rotting logs.

Let’s look deep today.

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Have you ever wondered where insects go in winter? Or are you just glad they're gone?

I find bugs to be fascinating, when they aren't biting me, that is. (Don't start with me about how not all insects are bugs, I know that. I'm using the word colloquially.)

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This is one of those "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" kind of activities.

Since puddles are magnetic to kids anyway, dress them up and let them go crazy. With the right clothes and frame of mind, puddle pouncing can be a great way to burn off energy, have fun and very directly connect with the natural world.

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