Revisiting some favorite parks

The weather has been so nice lately I just had to get out of the house and revisit a few of my favorite parks that are here.  I have even taken a stroll around the neighborhood near where I work in Baltimore.  Ended up back at Federal Hill Park, walking up from the back area is much easier than climbing up the stairs on the side by the harbor.  I can now see why it was such a great place for a look out to get a good view of the harbor and incoming ships.  Of course they didn't have the big buildings surrounding the harbor as there is now.  I am glad I made Federal Hill part of the B'more Outdoors SCVNGR trek.  It makes going there even more adventurous as it I get to see other peoples perspectives of the park along with my own.  I hope you get a chance to play along if you are in the Baltimore area, there is a link on the right-hand side of this page that will take you there to see all that you can do. 

Another place that I revisited recently was Patterson Park, which is also a stop on the B'more Outdoors trek.  A fun trivia question must be answered to get the points there.  I have always looked at Patterson Park on a map and can see it is big, but it is not until I get there that I can appreciate how much open green space that is there.  Each time I have been there I seem to find myself looking at it from a whole new location than the time prior.  There were lots of families around, children of all ages, even some walking their dogs.  Let me tell you I think each dog that walked by was a totally different breed, and different sizes too, some small and some big, young and old.  This time I was there to see the lake (pond?) that is in the center of the park.  Seemed to be a whole flock of ducks there.  I recognized some as mallards and others looked similar to mallards but something was different about them. I could tell the female mallards from the male ones as the males have the great iridescent green heads and the females have just a splash of blue on their wings, but there were a few odd ducklings out there as well.  My guess, was that some were blended with another type of duck to give them the interesting patterning, turns out I might be right.  I went to WhatBird and entered what I remembered as the pattern and look of the ducks I saw.  It just seemed like these ducks related to mallards but not a mallard, the America Black Duck might just be the duck I was looking for. 
In general they seems to look like female mallards but with a twist.  Of course I don't think the pictures I have shows enough detail.  According to WhatBird sometimes mallards and the American black duck hybridize so what I saw that was mallard-like but odd, could have been a hybrid.

I really enjoyed my time at Patterson Park.  I think the last time I was there was is spring time, so it was just getting warmer out after a chilly winter.  So from baby ducks to a full grown flock sure seems to be a nice way to experience the seasons.  I didn't have my camera with me the last time I was there but this recent time I got to see the lake and had to take a few while I was there.  This wider shot is still just part of the lake there I couldn't quite capture all of it, perhaps next time I will try to do a panorama shot.  If you look closely at this one, across the water are some of the ducks from earlier but they decided to be a little farther away from the small crowd that was forming on my side of the water. There were a few other water birds along the far side but of course they flew away before I could take a picture of them.  Something to look forward to next time.

I hope you are taking time to go back to your favorite parks and even just to walk around the neighborhood to observe the changing of the seasons as we get farther into autumn.  Perhaps there are some fall festivals you can explore.  Meet Me Outdoors.

Hot days and cooling rains

All across the States there has been reports that this summer so far (we are only half way done) has been filled with days with record breaking heat.  My earlier post 'Wow! It is hot outside!' includes some ideas to stay cool on such hot days.  I have since spent entire afternoons outside when it was very hot out. For example I went to outdoor festival called Artscape, where they had misting cooling stations scattered about so people can have some relief.  Another day I took a walking tour of the Naval Academy in Annapolis with my family, where we sometimes were indoors but other times it was walking across the yard resting under a few shade trees as we learned about the different locations. On both occasions I had a water bottle that I filled up to stay hydrated, had sunblock and a hat to protect me from the Sun's rays. 

I noticed that with the heat wave lots of trees started dropping leaves because there was a small drought in the area.  Once the rain came the trees and plants perked up a bit soaking up all the water that they could.  I am amazed how much a little rain can do to refresh everything and making it green again.  I am sure the animals were happy as well to get a bit of cooling rain.  Last week I was looking out my window and saw a squirrel digging a small hole under a bush so that it could hide low in the shade of the plant.  I tried to take a picture but the animal was so well camouflaged as I looked through the window but it didn't come out well enough.  I was happy to see that even the squirrels find a way to stay cool when it is super hot outside in the summer time. I hope the little guy was happy when it rained as much as I was.  Have you noticed any changes like I have with the weather?

You don't have to go far to enjoy the great outdoors, and on some of these super hot days a small excursion to your backyard or near by park is all that is needed.  The Maryland Science Center has a whole weekend dedicated to this type of adventure called Backyard Science Days filled with animal encounters and hands-on activities for visitors to take part in. This year it is happening on the weekend of August 12 -13 in the afternoon. If you are in the area and are looking for something fun to do you should come check it out.

I hope you can join me in enjoying the nice weather we have as the summer continues.  Stay cool, Meet Me Outdoors.

It was just around the corner

While still being new to town I knew there was lots of hidden places to be discovered. Little did I know there was one just around the corner from me.  I was heading out to meet some friends and needed my gps to get me there as I had no idea where I was going, when it sent me down a road that I pass by every day but never thought to go down.  That is when I made the discovery of a fun little park with a small pond that had flowers around it in colorful patches as well as water lilies.  As I drove by I knew that I wanted to return later that day to get a closer look but it was pouring out that afternoon so I had to come back another day.

There are 5 ducks in this picture. Count them if you don't believe me.

Can you find the ducks?

I went back the next day when it was clear out and took lots of pictures of what I found.  There were families sitting out either on the benches or along the edge of the pond, and some walking along the path around the pond.  It funny that the area was called Springlake when it was too shallow to be a lake, but still beautiful. 

I did spot some animals in and a round the pond.  There were mallards (ducks), the females were swimming in the water and the males were standing on the wall of the pond. I tried to take pictures of them but the animals look blobby as they kept moving around, and they blend in, camouflaging with their surrounding. 

When I got close enough to the pond to look in it I saw something orange moving under water.  It was fish called koi, they are kind of like goldfish but bigger.  I think there were 5 in the picture I took, but with the clouds reflecting on the water, it was hard to see some of them. 

Now that I know that this little park is near me I can go visit any day and enjoy it.  Perhaps there is a park like this near where you live and you may make a new discovery like I did.  Now that it is nice out why not try going for a walk around your neighborhood on an adventure to discover how close nature is to you.  Go on, get out of the house and explore! Meet Me Outdoors

Wow! It is hot outside!

Wow is anyone else experiencing this massive heat-wave?  Lately it has been reaching as high as 100 degrees Fahrenheit and it is hard to escape the heat.  While finding your local swimming pool or a nearby beach to go for a swim is a great way to keep cool there are some great tips I have learned over the years. 

First off wear light layers of cotton clothing as it is more breathable and remember to wear sunscreen and a hat to protect you from the sun.  Don't forget to reapply the sunscreen if you have been outside or in the water for long periods of time, as the sun protection wears off over time. 

Secondly, you should drink lots of water so you don't get dehydrated.  A great tip I learned from going to camp for many years is to fill a plastic water-bottle with water and stick it in the freezer at night, you will get a bottle full of ice water in the morning.  The ice will melt as the day goes on and your water will stay cold longer.  Also while the ice is in there you can hold it to your forehead help cool you off as you are waiting for some of the water to melt to drink.  Sports drinks with electrolytes also help keep you from getting dehydrated, you can freeze those, too. 

My favorite part of summer is eating things like watermelon and other fruit.  If you decide to go on a picnic, make sure to keep the fruit chilled.  Makes for a refreshing treat.  Another fun summer treat is ice cream, just be careful for drips as it the hot weather it will melt fast, unless you like being covered in ice cream.  :-)  I personally like sorbets, especially strawberry or raspberry.

Another great tip I have learned is to not be outside in the middle of the day since that is the warmest part part of the day.  If you go outside in the early part of they day or later in the afternoon it will be cooler out.  While I do encourage people to go outdoors, please know that if it is too hot it's ok to stay indoors where it is cooler.  You can do lots of fun nature related activities inside after a quick trip outside, or even in a good shaded area.  Things found in the Nature Crafts page or Explorations page can be a great start for ideas.  If you have any ideas that I didn't list and want to share email me or add a comment to this post. I love learning new ideas for having fun outdoors, and I am sure the readers do too.

Stay cool everyone! Meet Me Outdoors.

Special find

On Friday after work I walked along the harbor and spotted something really amazing. I saw two mallards, one male and one female, swimming near the edge of the water along with their baby ducklings.  The baby ducks weere so cute I had to take a picture to share it with you.  Now I know they aren't the greatest pics, but you  get the idea.

I'll be on the lookout for more great nature finds to share with you.  Maybe you can find some of your own. Have fun, Meet Me Outdoors.