Knowing Nature with Denny

Dog the Walk

Every day about 1 pm, Carl wants to go for his walk. Like many folks we have a few set routes that we take. I often see other people walking their routes. Many times they are not engaged in the walk but are yapping on the phone or texting. When you do the same walks over and over its easy to tune out. You are not noticing all the things that change daily and you are definitely not in the moment.

Its easy to break the routine of the routine. Don't walk the dog, dog the walk. Let the dog take you for a walk. Just follow behind and keep a relaxed leash. Initially the dog might find this weird behavior on your part, but after a few minutes the dog will get the hang of the new game.

Don't hurry the dog and don't telegraph were you want the dog to go. Be passive and let the dog lead you. Be engaged and notice were the dog goes and what is of interest to your dog. Try to figure out what leads the dog in a certain direction and why he stops and lingers at certain things. Soon you will be guessing the dogs next move. See how good you are at this game.

I guarantee that you will learn something new about your dog. You will also learn something new about your neighborhood that you had never noticed.

Be amazed, Denny

You can't make the mountains

Lately I have spent time trying to understand the true meaning of nature. Seems that the more you think about what is nature, the more complicated and confusing the answer becomes.

I have found that if you want a simple and straightforward understanding of a basic concept you should ask a kid. My 10 year old niece, Isabelle, took just a minute to tell me what nature means to her.

 

She hit the nail right on the head. What does nature mean to you?

Be amazed, Denny

Return to Seattle

I spend my winters in Seattle and have just returned. "THEY" are predicting that this winter will be the coldest that Washington State has experienced in the last 50 years. Why? Because the 'El Nino' of the last few years has dissipated and will be replaced by an 'El Coldo'!

Ironically, Wednesday was a record breaking day in Seattle. The temp topped out at 74 degrees. This broke the last November high of 71 degrees set 50 years ago. Yes, amazingly the last record high in November was the same year of the coldest winter. Seattle had 63 inches of snow that year. That's over five feet.

So what do I do to stay active during the cold season? I go to a gym. Yoga is my favorite. Done correctly, Yoga is both physically and mentally challenging. We spend a lot of time in a pose called 'Downward facing dog'. I came across this photo of three coyotes doing the real thing. Perhaps your dog does this pose when she wakes up.

If you have been thinking about starting a regular exercise program but do not know where to begin, consider yoga. Yoga is good for your body, mind and spirit. You can work out at your own pace but still benefit from the energy and motivation of being part of a group. The instructor guides you through the class. All you have to do is just show up.

Most folks wait until January to start exercising as a new year's resolution that they never embace as part of their daily routine. I say start now before the hectic holiday pig out season begins.

Exercising an hour three times a week will change your life. Get started and

Be amazed, Denny 

 

Horse Candy

Yesterday was Halloween - "Trick or Treat"! Just ask my dogs what's one of their favorite treats. Barney and Carl would both vote for "Horse Candy".

 
Whenever I go out to feed the horses they tag along for a treat. Of course its a trick to snatch a few before I chase them away. It grosses me out to watch them eat horse s%#t and know that later they will want to lick me in the face, yuck.

However, studies have shown that horse poop contains many micro nutrients that may be beneficial to a dogs health.

 
Apparently "Horse Candy" has to be aged just right. According to the dogs, if it's too fresh, well use your imagination. If it's too old, the taste is gone and the texture is too dry. Temperature and humidity are important variables but about four hours of aging seems to be just right.

Be amazed, Denny

Chipmunks love sunflower seeds

We have chipmunks living at the house. Its an easy life of freeloading off the yard, the orchard and the garden. Much easier than living off the native vegetation.

 
Each year we plant lots of sunflowers in the garden. They produce seeds which the migrating birds and chipmunks harvest. This little one has made many trips to fill her cheek pouches with seeds to store underground in her burrow as winter food.

 

Cindy had the idea to wrap one of the seedpods in paper bags so that they would ripen and we could get to them before the animals. It was a good idea, but the reality was that the chipmunks tore a hole in the bag and pilfered every seed.

 
If we want sunflower seeds this winter, we will have to get them from the store, not our garden.

Be amazed, Dennis

Leaves are a fallin

Have you ever watched leaves fall off a tree? It is like watching time pass on a clock. Second by second, leaf by leaf. You might wonder how long it takes to bare a tree. Like time, when you are not focused on every second it has a way of passing quickly.

 

 

 

Just a few days ago this maple tree had turned from green to red. Deciduous trees turn colors in the fall as the nutrients in the leaves are absorbed into the trunk and roots to be stored. There they are available to be used as food during the winter and to grow new leaves in the spring.

 

 

 

 

Just a few days later most of the leaves are on the ground. There they will decompose and fertilize the tree, assuming that you do not rake them up and cart them off.

 
 Be amazed, Denny

ET phone home

I was walking along the sidewalk in Winthrop, a small tourist town in north central Washington. Right as I passed by this contraption, a mom and her 10 year old son passed by me going in the opposite direction.

"Hey mom, what's that thing hanging on the wall?" "It's a telephone honey." "You're kidding!"

The rate of technology advance is so fast, kids do not even recognize what a phone use to look like. I must admit that they have changed drastically in just a few years. In addition, pay phones have almost gone extinct. This may be one of the last survivors of the species.

Now I love my iPad, my cell phone, my GPS. But we have to guard against being sucked into the technology black hole and no longer being able to see the light of the natural world in which we live.

Be amazed, Denny 

Is a photo worth a 1,000 words?

The Idaho Statesman newspaper recently held a contest for the best Idaho outdoor photos submitted by readers. It is a beautiful state. Each picture is worth a thousand words.

    

Consider that a direct experience with nature is worth a thousand pictures. Do the math, each direct experience you have with nature is worth a million words!!! No words can express, no photo can convey what a personal experience means to you. This BLOG is a record of my personal experiences or those of others. They are not your experiences.

 

Collect your own personal experiences with nature. This may take the form of hanging out in your backyard, hiking the woods, photography, bird watching, fishing. Something as simple as a picnic in the park. You have got to enjoy nature when and where you find it.

Be amazed, Denny
 

 

 
 

Praying Mantis, my favorite insect

Hi folks, I have just returned from a three month hiatus. Its good to be back and I have lots to share with you in the next few weeks.

Walking down the driveway yesterday I happened upon my favorite insect, the praying mantis. As a kid, there was nothing as fascinating as watching a praying mantis dismantle a grasshopper. Yes, even more fascinating than watching a spider suck a fly dry. Did you ever throw flies into webs to watch the show?

 
This praying mantis was quite surprised when it finally noticed me, but it did not fly away. Instead it climbed to the top of the split rail fence and seemed to be fascinated watching me watch it.

 

The praying mantis is an amazing insect, don't take my word for it, check out the source of all knowledge and you too will...

Be amazed, Denny

Corn plant 'want-a-be'

I was weeding the garden this weekend. The corn is looking great, almost ready to flower, and I had just finished removing the weeds when my wife walks by and says "That's not a corn plant, that's a weed!"

Sure enough, perfectly in line with the row of corn plants was a Broomcorn Grass. So carefully had it planted itself at the end of the corn row, it appeared to be one of the crop. From my perspective, the only give away was that the Broomcorn was a runt compared to the other corn stalks.

Sometimes you just have to let nature be nature. I left the Broomcorn Grass to grow and show me what it can do.

Be amazed, Denny