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Over the weekend we had some excitement with a native critter. For the third time since we moved into this house we got a bat trapped in the house. I have NO idea how they get in but they do. They live somewhere nearby…my attic crawl space maybe, LOL, because most warm evenings we see them swarm the pond nearby and then go hunting over the crop fields that are behind our street. They are lovely to watch but I don’t like them swarming around my head when I have laundry to do so out they must go when they get in the house. Hubs has been able to catch and release them all so far and that is very important to us because bats are very important to the environment.

If you have bats nearby then this is a sign that the area is in good environmental health without too much pollution. Bats are very sensitive to pollution and pesticides. When the bats go you have a big warning sign at hand.

Bats also love to eat mosquitoes and with all the concern about mosquito born illness like the West Nile Virus this is more important than ever. Spraying areas to kill mosquitoes will also likely drive away or kill their natural predators…bats. Not a smart thing to do. I wonder why cities aren’t looking into bat release programs and cultivating bat houses  instead of spraying noxious gas on our neighborhoods. Bats can eat up to 1000 of those blood sucking buggers an hour. They may not do it because of all the fear about rabies but only a teeny 0.5% of bats ever get rabies. In MOST cases (sans an epidemic) bats are considered completely harmless. You are more likely to get rabies from a raccoon than from a bat. Bats are also very mild animals…they don’t like to be around people anyway.

Bats also eat tons of other bugs and I know my local farmers should be grateful because they canvas those crop fields all spring and summer looking for bugs. If you DO get one in the house or where it is in close proximity to people you will want to remove them and keep kids away (just in case). A bat box would be a great relocation place.

So what do you think? Why is it so hard to break away from the evil blooding suck, rabid bat stereotype?

This is a cross post from Julia over at Our Simple Life. Make sure to stop by her blog and subscribe for updates!

I am always inspired and feel a certain reverence when I walk beneath a 300-year old valley oak tree (Quercus lobata), and I remember that it began from a two inch long acorn, century’s ago. What did the landscape look like back then? Those are oaken memories that can never be answered exactly. And if you could not tell already, oaks are my favorite trees. Here is a valley oak near where I live. We are lucky there are some ancient specimens that I can take the kids to see. This one has a trunk that is approaching fifteen feet in circumference. It’s a grand tree and makes acorns I call “lunkers” because they are so big and heavy.

Acorns consist of high energy packed in a tough but smooth shell, pointy on one end and rounded on the other. It feels great to hold a few acorns in your hand and roll them around against each other. Acorns are gorgeous in their simplicity and can withstanding the fall from as high as 50 or 60 feet without breaking. And all the animals want them: squirrels, birds, deer, pigs and even humans.

OK, so here is the important part: The fun my kids had collecting acorns today was priceless and FREE. The basic recipe for hatching an oak tree as is follows:

1. Assemble children in vehicle and drive to nearby oak groves in your area. You may have to do some homework first to know where to go before dragging kids on wild goose chase for acorns.

2. Arm children with baggies and walk them under said oak trees and show them the acorns. They will instinctively want to gather these. Point out rotten ones or ones with holes as bad. Do not collect these ones.

3. Bring acorns home. Count with children for fun and practice. Using tougher freezer type zip lock baggy, empty acorns and some wood shavings together with a light dousing of water. ONLY LIGHTLY moisten the shavings. A small bag of rodent bedding from local pet store works fine (OK. This project is almost free). DO NOT SOAK. To much water will rot the acorns and shavings. Do not totally close seal on bag. Air exchange must be able to occur. As I plan to plant several hundred oaks this winter these are the gallon size bags. Whatever the size baggy or number of acorns, it should look kind of like this:

4. Place baggy in bottom of refrigerator. The cold stratification speeds up germination. Check bag every few weeks with kids so they can see the emergence of a long white root. When roots are about one to two inches long, transplant into small pot to plant later or directly into ground (better choice of two) with your children.

5. To prepare ground: Dig one foot wide by two feet deep hole to loosen soils. Back fill hole without packing dirt. Make a shallow basin or bowl piling extra dirt around edges. Carefully place acorn with root down, into soil about 1/2 inch. Gently push acorn into soils packing lightly so acorn is firmly in the earth. Acorn should just be visible. If varmints are a problem protect using wire caging below and/or above ground. Option: plant two or three acorns in your hole. If all grow well then cull two of three. **Choose location for planting carefully since these trees will be here decades if not centuries after we are gone.**

6. By early spring you should have a shoot and leaves growing from your acorn. Have kids monitor growth, maybe measure weekly and do leaf counts. Watering of tree will depend upon your specific area. When planted as acorns many oak do not require water, so use common sense judgment. I always water at initial planting and every two to three weeks depending upon rainfall.

I have in some years donated the acorns I germinated to local restoration groups to be planted in preserves. I bet schools would also be happy for sapling tree donations. Additionally, a great resource on oaks in my state is Oaks of California, Pavlik et. all. It provides a description with pictures of all the species in our state, life history, Native American use of oaks and much more. I am certain there are many state specific books to help identify species and biology in other regions of the county.

I hope this inspires someone. Good luck and go hatch an oak tree this fall.

Julia is a former environmental consultant and now mostly a full time mom of two (three counting husband…).  She has a degree in Botany from UC Davis, in CA and worked as a botanist and wetland scientist for 13 years slogging around northern California.  Her serious hobbies are dressage, blogging, and gardening.  However, her days consist mostly of indentured servitude to her children who require meals, play time, clean clothes, baths, story time, band aides and lots of love.

One of my all time favorite things to do is hike and unfortunately I have not done any hiking since moving to Ohio. I used to hike every day in Arizona because the mountain was literally just outside my door. Check out this pic taken just 6 feet from my bedroom patio. My best friend and I used to go hiking on South Mountain in Northern Phoenix about once a week as well. A couple days ago I was going through some books to see if I could donate any and I came across my large collection of hiking and camping books and it really gave me the itch to get hiking again. There is just no greater adventure in my mind. A mountain or trail reveals itself to you with every step and tells a story you can’t see from a car window. It awakens something earthy and primal in you and makes you acutely aware of how special every moment is.

Some of my all time best memories of my 20+ years in Arizona are on the trail. I remember sliding down the mountain at slide rock, trekking across all the springs at Seven Springs, jumping off a bridge into the cool water below, traveling down into the Grand Canyon, fishing at Bartlet, and my boyfriend (now husband) taking a 30 fall off of Squaw Peak. Okay maybe that memory wasn’t so nice at the time but now it is pretty funny since everything turned out okay…save a few scars. In the mountains surrounding my home I remember the exhilaration of finding two abandoned homes and exploring them, a couple abandoned mines, seeing mountain lion tracks and spotting a few rattlers and stray cattle. Oh yes, it is time to dig out the backpacking equipment and go out to see what adventures Ohio has to offer.

My only problem is that there is nowhere to hike or backpack where I live for at least 35 miles so daily hikes are out until we move into the city which has several awesome parks with hiking and camping. I am already plotting out several day hikes and some overnight backpacking trips. We have to start getting the kids used to this sort of adventuring because I have recently revived my dream to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine…it takes six months to do. What could be better than spending six months camping and hiking with your favorite people on the planet?

For anyone interested in hiking and camping with their kids I suggest you read Trailside Guide: Hiking and Backpacking by Karen Berger. It is an awesome book with info on what you need to hike, what to wear, what to eat, what to do about blisters, injuries, and bad weather. Basically everything you need to know. My guide is waterproof even so I can take it with me. Also check out Camping and Backpacking With Children. And another good book that will inspire you is A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson who hiked the The Appalachian Trail I mentioned above.

I just picked up 50 Hikes in Ohio. Let the adventures begin! Any other hiking and backpacking enthusiasts out there? Comment and share your stories or your fears about hiking and camping with kids if that is the case.