Snow and ice on Diablo Lake
I woke this morning to what has become a common weather event at the learning center this spring, snow. Perhaps snow in April is “normal” and I’m …
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Blog
Naturalist Notes
The State of the Birds
Springtime is slowly and reluctantly arriving in the North Cascades. I’ve been delighted to hear some familiar bird songs returning; brightening up the forest and telling me …
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Tracking the Puma concolor
Puma, Mountain Lion, Cougar…regardless of nomenclature this incredible animal is synonymous with elusive. Many could spend a lifetime in cougar habitat and never glimpse even a sign …
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Twig tracking: a sport for the impatient
A winter weather advisory is currently in effect for the west slopes of the Cascades, the trails around the learning center are covered with deep, crusty snow …
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Middens abound
I went exploring last week, just to see what I could discover on a cold winter day in February. What I found was abundant evidence of one …
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Twig tracking
I’ve recently taken up a new hobby, I like to call it twig tracking. I started twig tracking to feel more connected, to feel at home in …
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The destructive forces of Mother Nature
Anyone that has spent much time at the ELC has seen, or at least heard stories, of the waterfall. Every Mountain School student secretly hopes to visit …
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Fall colors
Last week I asked my fifth grade Mountain School students how they would describe the color of a Vine maple leaf. This is not a question I …
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Mushrooms are everywhere…..
……they grow on everything. They come in all colors, shapes, textures and sizes; orange, yellow, brown, spotted, purple, red, smooth, white, black, shaggy, cupped, and fringed. Every …
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Squirrels eat mushrooms?
I had an unexpected natural history moment a few weeks ago when the first group of Mountain School students arrived. They were restlessly waiting in the amphitheater …
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