Into The Woods VT

05/10/2023

Fresh spring green leaves are emerging on the hillsides and valleys in Vermont right now. The color is bright green, and that along with tree flowers blooming makes a gorgeous spring foliage extravaganza. Where have you been seeing beautiful trees?

05/08/2023

A simple walk in the woods provides many health benefits and these beautiful spring days are a great time to get out.

New research suggests that a brief walk through the forest reduces anxiety.

08/25/2020

Hello Woods Wanderers and Forest Explorers! Below is your challenge for the week. Share your discoveries using our hashtag, or as a comment and you are automatically entered into our weekly random prize drawing.

What am I?

There are no colorful flowers
No berries bestow
The tips of these small plants
Nor tubers below.

They don’t grow very tall
And in fact are quite tiny
They hide low to the ground
Some may look a bit shiny

Common names may describe them
Like pincushion and stairstep
Haircap or knight’s plume,
Pine tree, rose, or windswept.

They may grow anywhere
In swamps, streams or a bog
On mountain top rocks
On the top of a log.

Sometimes I imagine
There’s a miniature town
When I look really close
With my face looking down

I wonder if someone else
Just looked up
And screamed at the giant
Above their gemmae cup!

Sometimes they look dead
When the weather is dry
Like this Vermont summer
With temperatures high.

But rainwater or dew
Is all that they need
To breathe life into this plant
And turn it back green

I love to lay down
On a bed of this stuff
It’s so soft that I figure
It’s just natural fluff!

Have you figured out
What I am describing to you?
Can you tell from this picture?
I bet you can, too!

Take a walk in the forest
On dark paths and light
Many mosses are out there
They are a beautiful sight!

Share a close-up picture
Of your woodland moss
And make up a name
To describe it to us!

08/08/2020

Hello Woods Wanderers and Forest Explorers! Below is your challenge for the week. Have fun exploring and share a photo of your discoveries as a comment or using our hashtag, and you are automatically entered into our random weekly prize drawing.

Why?

It might be something tiny
It might be something huge
It might just be a place to go
Your favorite forest refuge.

Maybe it’s a place to play
Maybe a place to learn
What if it’s both of these ideas
Full of animals, trees, and ferns?

It may be quiet with a breeze
Or loud from the birds singing
Or you may listen to a stream
With all the water it is bringing.

Whatever reason that you go
And spend time in the forest
Take a minute and explain
Your reasons back to us!

You may do it through a picture
Or draw something that shows
Your heart when in the forest
And the joy that it bestows.

07/27/2020

Hello Woods Wanderers and Forest Explorers! Below is a wonderful adventure for you. Have fun exploring, take a photo, and share your photo with us as a comment or by using our hashtag and you will be automatically entered into our weekly drawing. Have fun out there!

Unmapped trails…

Have you ever noticed a trail
An open path leading to somewhere
No signs or markers
No maps to show
The road in the woods, the way to go?

The grasses and sedges might be smashed down
Or a muddy footprint could be found
Through the weeds
And under the bushes
Next to the swamp and in the rushes .

Tracks and s**t may be a good sign
Of wildlife moving and trying to find
Food to munch on
And water to drink
And a safe place to sleep I think.

They don’t use Google, Alexis or Siri
To move up mountains and in the valleys
Their paths aren’t straight
But find the best way
To travel the forest at night and day.

Look closely to see what animal trails
Might be in your woods, or wetland or fields
Take a picture
Or draw one too
And post it here for us to view!

07/17/2020

Hello woods wanderers and forest explorers! Here is your challenge for this week. Post a photo of your discovery as a comment, or using our hashtag and you are automatically entered into our weekly prize drawing. Thank you for participating and have fun out there!

A rectangle, circle and square went into the forest….

In the forest, among the shadows
In the sunlight and the trees
All around are shapes and colors
Different sizes for you to see.

Round and square, oblong and jagged
Pointy, tall and short and stout
Giant boulders, tiny pebbles
All unique without a doubt.

Look at a plant, can you tell me
Are the leaves a triangle, or egg-shaped?
Is it green, red, yellow, speckled
Does its fruit look like a grape?

Are there any purple flowers
Maybe blue or maybe red
Are they tall, with lots of petals
Have square stems and leaves that spread?

So much life throughout the woodlands
Leaves, and branches, patterns on bark
Tracks of wildlife in their travels
Have tell-tale shapes that leave their mark

See how many shapes and sizes
In the forest you can find
Colors, shades of woodland nature
All to enjoy, if so inclined.

In the forest, among the shadows
In the sunlight and the trees
All around are shapes and colors
Different sizes for you to see.

So take a picture or draw one too
Then post it here for us to view!
Instagram or Facebook – both will do!
We’ll draw a name, and it could be YOU!

07/10/2020

Hello Woods Wanderers and Forest Explorers! Here is your activity for the week! Did you know that you can participate in these activities even if you are not in Vermont? Everyone is welcome to explore and if you share a photo of your discovery here as a photo comment, or using our hashtag, you are automatically entered into our weekly Friday prize drawings. Here is your activity for this week:

What ate that….? Do you think when a rabbit is hungry, his stomach growls?

As you walk through the woods, and look all around
Are there signs of chomping on plants or seeds near the ground?
How about up high on the leaves of the trees
Maybe some caterpillars float on strands in the breeze?
Rabbits, deer, moose and porcupines all like to chew
On bark, succulent stems especially the new
Growth on the young shoots of trees, shrubs and plants
But have you also considered the ants?
Or beetles, bugs, worms, flies, grubs, bees, moths, mosquitos?
They’re small and are everywhere, so even under your nose
You might not notice the bite in a leaf, berry or mushroom
Or on sedges and grasses or flowers in bloom!
Maybe turkeys, bear, grouse, squirrels and chipmunks might seek
Some hazelnuts, acorns, nuts from hickories or beech.
Look closely, and don’t miss signs of critter feasts
But be quiet and don’t scare away all of the beasts!

So take a picture or draw one too
Then post it here for us to view!
Instagram or Facebook – both will do!
We’ll draw a name, and it could be YOU!

07/03/2020

Hello Woods Wanderers and Forest Explorers! We are re-sharing our challenge from last week with extra incentive--if you share another forest bird experience here, on our original post, or using our hashtag on Instagram, you will automatically get two entries into our drawing for the VT State Parks punch pass! We will do the drawing next Friday. Have fun out there and keep an eye out for Bald Eagles!

Hello woods wanderers and forest explorers, here is your challenge for the week. Share your photo below in comments, or on Instagram with our hashtag, and you are automatically entered into our weekly prize drawing. Have fun out there!

Bird Songs

Spring and summer bring back the songbirds
They sing songs that some never heard
They chirp and they cheep
Do they ever really sleep?
And their songs are really bird words!

Did you hear Poor Sam Peabody say?
It’s going to be a very fine day?
Even though he sounds sad
His song makes me glad
To hear a sparrow with a white throat to display!

The ovenbirds sounds like a loud-speaker
When he sings to his mate, Teacher, Teacher
He sings it so loud
It’s heard over a crowd
Of other birds voices that are all weaker!

In openings you might hear this bird sing
Pleased, pleased to meet you and show off his bling
Of a chestnut colored side
And yellow on his backside
Chestnut sided warblers are small and have zing!

In the morning, evening and all day long
Birds talk but their words are a song
To draw in a mate
And then procreate
And have more birds in their sing-along!

How many bird songs can you hear?
Probably more birds than you know are near
Since they flit and they fly
In trees, bushes and sky
And sing mostly this time of the year!

You might not get a picture, but you can draw one too
And post it here for us to view
Or describe the birds you heard today
And tell us what you think they say!
Instagram or Facebook – both will do!
We’ll draw a name, and it could be YOU!

07/01/2020

This week's prize in our random drawing is a Vermont State Parks punch pass! This pass has ten punches, which means ten visits for one person or two visits for a carload of five people. Share your photos, drawings, or stories about birds you have seen or heard in the woods lately and you will automatically be entered to win this great prize! Have fun out there!

Hello woods wanderers and forest explorers, here is your challenge for the week. Share your photo below in comments, or on Instagram with our hashtag, and you are automatically entered into our weekly prize drawing. Have fun out there!

Bird Songs

Spring and summer bring back the songbirds
They sing songs that some never heard
They chirp and they cheep
Do they ever really sleep?
And their songs are really bird words!

Did you hear Poor Sam Peabody say?
It’s going to be a very fine day?
Even though he sounds sad
His song makes me glad
To hear a sparrow with a white throat to display!

The ovenbirds sounds like a loud-speaker
When he sings to his mate, Teacher, Teacher
He sings it so loud
It’s heard over a crowd
Of other birds voices that are all weaker!

In openings you might hear this bird sing
Pleased, pleased to meet you and show off his bling
Of a chestnut colored side
And yellow on his backside
Chestnut sided warblers are small and have zing!

In the morning, evening and all day long
Birds talk but their words are a song
To draw in a mate
And then procreate
And have more birds in their sing-along!

How many bird songs can you hear?
Probably more birds than you know are near
Since they flit and they fly
In trees, bushes and sky
And sing mostly this time of the year!

You might not get a picture, but you can draw one too
And post it here for us to view
Or describe the birds you heard today
And tell us what you think they say!
Instagram or Facebook – both will do!
We’ll draw a name, and it could be YOU!