Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) are a common sight here in our town in northern New Mexico. They are native to the western US and are most commonly found in the Rocky Mountain region. They are typically seen near rivers, lakes, and streams, as well as in the open fields of farmland in the area. The sight of them grazing in the fields, or visiting the nature center near the river for some bird seed, never gets old.

Read on to find out a bit more about mule deer as well as to download printable sheets of useful photos and information about them. Each Wednesday, check the bottom of the “What’s That?” post to find a PDF containing a fact sheet about the day’s featured item, as well as photographs and other resources ideal for using in a nature journal, research binder, or lap book.

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Some interesting things to know about mule deer:

- Mule deer are native to the western US and are commonly seen in the Rocky Mountain region.

- They are so named for their large ears that resemble those of a mule.

- They are related to white-tail deer, but are distinguished from the white-tail by their large ears and black tipped tail, along with the shape of the antlers in males.

- Mule deer mate in the fall, have a gestation period of approximately 190-200 days, and give birth in the spring.

- It is common for mule deer to give birth to two fawns.

- The fawns stay with the mother until the next fall when the mother mates again.

- Mule deer forage on a wide variety of plants including woody trees and shrubs, and conifers. They eat very little grass but instead rely on berries, acorns, apples, and landscape vegetation, changing their diet to adapt to the season.

- Along with human hunting mule deer are also prey to mountain lions, coyotes, and gray wolves. Bobcats, bears, and wolverines have also been known to hunt mule deer or forage on the carcass of a deer.

Click here to download the mule deer nature journal resource pages to use with your own family.

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Hitting the Trail is a weekly feature here at Mud Puddles to Meteors. In each post we will share trails, parks, beaches, and museums from around the country (and sometimes even beyond). If you would like to join in and share a special nature location please send us an email at [email protected] with the details listed at the bottom of the post and links to the photos. We would love to share your nature adventure!

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New England Aquarium (Boston, Massachusetts)

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To view a quick video of one of the star’s of the aquarium, the giant sea turtle, click here.

Some Things to Know

Location: The aquarium is located on the Boston Harbor, in downtown Boston, Massachusetts.

Website: New England Aquarium

Favorite Exhibits: There are a couple of great features at this aquarium, but our family tends to particularly like visiting the penguins (there are multiple varieties scattered throughout the first floor of the building) and the giant coral reef display, a cylindrical enclosure that goes the entire height of the building and can be viewed on each floor as you move up through the other exhibits.

Special Features: The aquarium also offers whale watching tours seasonally, and word on the street is that the odds of seeing a whale are pretty high. So much so that visitors receive a free ticket to try again if a whale doesn’t appear on during their tour.

Best time of year to visit: The aquarium is open year round, but weekends, vacation days, and summer afternoons can be almost unmanageably busy. Shoot for an arrival around opening, or visit during the off season, to get the most out of your trip.

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Nature in Your Neighborhood

February 10, 2014

Nature In Your Neighborhood is a weekly feature that focuses on the nature that we all interact with in our everyday lives. Through the window of these posts you can catch glimpses of nature in action in locations across the country (and sometimes beyond). You are invited to add photos of your own nature finds for sharing here to the Mud Puddles to Meteors Flickr group. Please just remember to adjust your Flickr settings for sharing!

From the changing leaves on the biggest tree in the neighborhood to a tiny beetle scurrying across a sidewalk, we’d love to see what is happening in the natural world where you are.

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From creature in the sea to critters in the air, from the icy cold of winters beauty to the amazing colors of sunset, the pool is filled with wonderful images again this week!

 

...Laguna Beach

tide pools, by Kim
California

 

barnacles and ice
British Columbia, Canada

 

HFF

fence, by Joke
Netherlands

 

winter 2014 : 11

winter, by Tara
Maine

 

37 | 365

Sunset, by Allison
British Columbia, Canada

 

Japanese Maple

Japanese Maple, by Jessica
Pennsylvania

 

Varied Thrush
Varied Thrush, by Ship Rock
British Columbia, Canada

 

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Nature Around the Net

February 9, 2014

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As always, there were some neat things that popped up around the net this week.

Here are a few we thought you would like:

- Forty-two meteors showers in two months! This article also has an awesome infographic about meteors. Great for even the littlest space enthusiast.

-What do oil shale, algae, and totally amazing insect fossils have in common? Find out here!

- Frog lovers out there just have to see this little leaper.

- Some super great ideas for putting together and using a field art journal. Great for nature study!

In Mud Puddles news…

- We were very excited to be interviewed by the wonderful folks over at Imagine Childhood and they are giving away a copy of our ebook, “The Weather Watcher’s Handbook!”

- If you missed them earlier this week, we have some super sweet little nature inspired valentines you can print and give for the big day coming up at the end of the week.

If you have come across something interesting that you would like to share please leave a link in the comments. Thank you!

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Valentine Cards text 3

Perhaps this year you find yourself a little allergic to the store-bought cards littered with simi-obnoxious cartoon characters (you may or may not recognize). Or maybe you just find that it is the night before the big day and you didn’t quite manage to craft a set of handmade valentine’s for all of those folks that you like so very much. Either away these easy printables could be just the thing.

To use them simple print them up and cut the cards along the solid lines. Then doodle them up, write sweet sentiments, sketch tiny declarations of love. That sort of thing.

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If you like, cut out the matching envelope templets for your chosen cards, and turn them into envelops for you valentines by simply folding along the dotted lines and using a bit of glue to secure all but the top flap.

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And there you have it! Super cute, easy peasy, valentine’s for your Valentine!

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To download the Valentine card & envelope PDF click here.

 

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Nature Hearts Collage

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and one can’t help but want to hang a heart, or two, to help spread the love. We decided to make some hearts out of things we gathered from nature. They are super simple and require little supplies, but offer endless possibilities for creativity. We headed out to collected our supplies the other day, having a nice conversation about plants in winter, seeds, and what will happen in the spring. I filled my basket, he filled the pocket of his hoodie, and we heading back in to make our hearts!

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What you need:

- Nature’s art supplies: sticks (for the base), grasses, stems, rocks, seeds, dried rose hips, etc…

- Glue (We used a low heat glue gun.)

- Paper (Card stock and/or cardboard if making a heart that will be filled in)

- Pen or pencil

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One way to make a nature heart:

1. Draw a large heart on the paper. This will provide an outline for your nature heart.

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2. Lay sticks down around your heart outline so that they overlap and glue the sticks where they touch.

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3. Keep glueing more and more sticks to build up the outline. If you like to keep things super simple you can stop as soon as you have a stable heart. It does look nice with just the sticks.

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4. Begin adding other nature finds around your heart. You can add as little or as much as you like, cover some or the entire heart; it is really up to you.

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5. Tie a string or ribbon through the middle of the heart to hang.

6. Hang and enjoy!

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Another way to make a nature heart:

When we laid out all of our materials my son started filling in his heart with the nature he had found. I had envisioned the heart above for this project, but he took off and starting with his “center rock” he began filling in and building a beautiful heart filled with his finds, and a few of mine. It turned out wonderful and was fun for him and much easier than the heart above.

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1. Draw a heart as above.

2. Glue in nature finds to fill in the heart.

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3. Keep as is or cut it out and hang. (He is still deciding if he wants to glue this one to some cardboard, cut it out, and hang it.)

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That’s it! Super fun and very simple, but got us outside gathering, learning, and observing, along with creating for a good part of the day.

If you make a nature heart, or two or three, please share. Whether you twitter, Flickr, FB, or Pin we would love to see them.

 

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Since we have had birds on the brain this last week here at Mud Puddles to Meteors, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to share a bit about a feathered creature that just so happens to be a personal favorite of both of ours: the pileated woodpecker. Beautiful birds with a striking appearance and a distinct personality, pileated woodpeckers are favorite friend to spot in backyard trees and on local wooded trails.

Read on to find out a bit more about pileated woodpeckers as well as to download printable sheets of useful photos and information about them. Each Wednesday, check the bottom of the “What’s That?” post to find a PDF containing a fact sheet about the day’s featured item, as well as photographs and other resources ideal for using in a nature journal, research binder, or lap book.

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- Pileated woodpeckers are primarily black and white, with a red crest on top of their heads. Males also have red stripes along their cheeks.

- When they take flight, the birds show a striking white underwing.

- Unlike most other woodpeckers, the pileated woodpecker makes oblong, rather than circular, nest holes. The holes are large, and it can take as long as six weeks to complete excavation.

- The male woodpecker does most of the work on creating the nest hole, but as it nears completion, the female will often help some as well.

- Pileated woodpecker nest holes are often used by other animals and birds once they have been abandoned by the woodpeckers that created them.

- Pileated woodpeckers eat a variety of foods, generally uncovered by making deep, rectangular holes in dead trees. The primary food source for pileated woodpeckers are ants, particularly carpenter ants.

- Pileated woodpeckers have long, barbed tongues that they use to pull insect larva from deep inside the trees where they forage.

- Pileated woodpeckers are the largest woodpecker in North America, after the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, which was rediscovered in 2005, but has been difficult to locate again since then. Pileated woodpeckers can be up to 19 inches long.

- Pileated woodpeckers are monogamous, and mate for life. They will seek a new mate if one bird in the pair dies.

- These woodpeckers lay 3-5 eggs per clutch, generally one time per breeding season. The eggs are about an inch to and inch and a half long.

- This video is a particularly fun one… just be patient!

Clickhere to download the pileated woodpecker nature journal resource pages to use with your own family.

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Hitting the Trail is a weekly feature here at Mud Puddles to Meteors. In each post we will share trails, parks, beaches, and museums from around the country (and sometimes even beyond). If you would like to join in and share a special nature location please send us an email at [email protected] with the details listed at the bottom of the post and links to the photos. We would love to share your nature adventure!

……….

Halifax Museum of Natural History (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

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Some Things to Know

Location: The museum is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the middle of the city just down the street from the beautiful Halifax Public Gardens.

Website: Halifax Museum of Natural History

Favorite Exhibits: While there are wonderful mammal, bird, gem, and archeological exhibits, the ocean life hall, with its life-size models, tide pool tank, and detailed displays is a favorite. The lab is another favorite spot with many live animals for the kids to observe. (And the staff are great about answering their many, many questions about the creatures living at the museum.) Science on a sphere is another well loved display with its dark hall and ever changing glowing globe filled with amazing images of our changing world.

Special Features: The museum has one hall dedicated to changing exhibits; some favorites have been the mammoths, all about salt, and a visit from Sue the T-Rex.

Best time of year to visit: The museum is open year-round. Check the website for information regarding current exhibits.

 

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Nature In Your Neighborhood

February 3, 2014

Nature In Your Neighborhood is a weekly feature that focuses on the nature that we all interact with in our everyday lives. Through the window of these posts you can catch glimpses of nature in action in locations across the country (and sometimes beyond). You are invited to add photos of your own nature finds for sharing here to the Mud Puddles to Meteors Flickr group. Please just remember to adjust your Flickr settings for sharing!

From the changing leaves on the biggest tree in the neighborhood to a tiny beetle scurrying across a sidewalk, we’d love to see what is happening in the natural world where you are.

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While winter is still very much a presence, signs of spring are starting to show up in the Flickr pool. It really is right around the corner!

 

Hypsiboas sp.

tree frog, by João
Brazil

 

Early Snowdrops & Winter Aconite - Montrose

Scotland

 

...Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach by, Kim
Southern California

 

Brown Pelican - Looking for Fish

Brown Pelican, by Chris
Georgia

 

25/365

light, by Beth
Virginia

 

fungus among us

fungus among us, by Megan
England

 

Untitled

walk, by Meryl
Kansas

 

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Texas

 

Common Merganser

common merganser, by Ship Rock
British Columbia, Canada

 

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Sunrise, by Dawn

New Mexico

 

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Nature Around the Net

February 1, 2014

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There was really to much to share this week - so many neat things popping up around the net. Here is a little sample of what caught our eye!

- Frogsicles? Not really but it is amazing to know just how these frogs survive being frozen! (A fascinating video)

- Want to know more about owls? This post has all kinds of information about learning their calls, building nesting boxes to suit their needs, the best time to see them in the wild, links to owl cams, and so much more!

- It would seem that if you are looking to spot Mercury in the night sky (not an easy task) this next week is the time to get out there and look up!

- A few weeks back Kim shared their family nature journal. She has now made a PDF available for you to download. A great way to start a family nature journal at your house!

- We adore Alice’s art work and blending her art with this pattern & PDF for making up your very own Nature Explorer’s Wallet is right up our alley!

- These shots of free divers swimming with sharks and dolphins are just stunning.

If you have come across something interesting that you would like to share please leave a link in the comments. Thank you!

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