A Day at Fisher Farms

Starting our day with a circle in the shade.

We spent the day with Ms. Kathleen at Fisher Farms. We explored the beautiful meadows and forests and saw the creek. Ms. Kathleen named many of the plant life we found. We also found lots of milkweed for Monarch butterflies. Fortunately, several Monarchs were visiting the park today! The milkweed plant is a host to the Monarch; they lay their eggs on the leaves, and the hungry caterpillars love to eat and eat and eat the milkweed.

We located the map of Fisher Farms. It showed bike trails, walking trails, and the creek.

We admired the forest on the east side of the park. It was green and vibrant. Ms. Kathleen showed us poison ivy and blackberry plants. They are very similar to each other, but poison ivy has 3 leaves that are pointy. We all touched the forest leaves and bark to see how they felt. We had lots of descriptive words: crunchy, smooth, sticky, soft, twisty, tickly, and fluffy. Then we crossed the park to the west to explore the other part of the forest.

Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy

The blackberry plant has thorns.

Feeling the plants in the forest.

Walking west to check out the forest.

Once we reached the west side, we noticed some very interesting plants. They are called Cleavers. They can stick to our clothes and feel like Velcro. As we walked into the woods, we could smell smoke. Ms. Kathleen explained that the forest had experienced a controlled burn. Firefighters had burned the forest to keep it healthy. We could see the underbrush was gone and the bark had dark spots, but the healthy trees were not damaged.

We hiked in the woods and found ourselves at the creek. We enjoyed seeing the water ripple, creating oxygen and habitats for fish, insects, and other animals. We discovered two tiny frogs, one red and one brown. We headed back up the hill to have a lovely lunch together. Finally, we played at the edge of the woods, racing up and down the hill, and finding lots of flowers, leaves, and branches.

What a wonderful day of exploring! One of our friends found a Luna Moth! It was not alive. Luna Moths live only 7-10 days. They do not have a mouth; they only live to create new life. It is a beautiful moth!

Elise with the Luna Moth! She has an eye for tiny things!