Posts Tagged ‘winter’
Do Animals know it’s the New Year?
Do animals know when to celebrate New Year’s Eve or do they celebrate it whenever they want? Well, animals probably don’t celebrate it at all but, they do follow environmental cues. An environmental cue is something like the days getting longer or the blooming of certain plants which are food sources. Animals have always had…
Read MoreSnowman Handprint Craft
While 5 snowmen seem like a lot and like it would be a lot of work, I promise, it’s not. This snowman handprint craft is very simple and very fun for the little ones. In the spirit of the holidays, make this cute snowmen craft and show us by sharing it on social media and…
Read MoreThere are no reindeer in Iowa but Santa loves them
As Christmas draws closer, we’re going to take a look at some information about reindeer. Reindeer are native to the Arctic tundra and forests of Greenland, Scandinavia, Russia, Alaska, and Canada. While in Europe, reindeer are always referred to as reindeer but in North America, they are called caribou in the wild. When the caribou…
Read More5 Facts about the Winter Solstice
Today is the Winter Solstice but do you know what that means? The Winter Solstice is the first day of Winter but also the shortest day of the year. This year is occurs on December 21st. In Okoboji, we will only receive 8 hours and 57 minutes of daylight with the sun rising at 7:50…
Read MoreHow Chipmunks Survive Winter
Chipmunks are abundant creatures in the summer but where do they go once fall and winter finally come around? During the fall, they prepare for hibernation. Well, kind of. They gather food to store for the winter. Some species keep the food in their burrows, but others don’t. Chipmunks eat a variety of food but…
Read MoreHow Do Chickadees Survive Winter?
The Black-capped Chickadee is one of the most common birds in the northern half of North American meaning you have probably seen one or many in your backyard. Since these birds are so common, you might have noticed they’re still around eating from birdfeeders. But shouldn’t they be migrating by now? Most birds have migrated…
Read MoreHow animals survive the winter
Humans often hole themselves up in their houses to survive the winter in front of the fire with hot chocolate. However, animals have to survive the frigid chill outside in the elements, and they have different ways of dealing with the change in seasons. Let’s take a quick look at how these Iowa animals survive.…
Read MoreSpring and winter coloring page
When you sit down to color a picture, it’s usually pretty obvious what you’re coloring. What’s fun about folding pictures is that you have to finish it before you can see exactly what you’ve done. As we transition from winter into spring, we thought it would be timely to create a folding picture that encompasses…
Read MoreHow honeybees survive the winter
The numbers of bees in the indoor beehive have gone down. But that’s pretty normal this time of year. It just means that our bees have entered winter mode and are getting ready to survive cold weather. Baby, it’s cold outside. As the weather cools down, a honeybee hive starts to change. One of the…
Read MoreGrackles, blackbirds and starlings don’t like safflower
Dark-eyed junco Dark-eyed juncos have made their way to northwest Iowa to overwinter. Black-capped chickadees are flocking to feeders. White-breasted nuthatches are looking for nuts to get fat and ready for the cold. Food is a constant necessity for birds to survive through Iowa winters. Their feathers are wonderful insulators, but the food is what…
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