Even though Valentine’s Day just past love is still in the air! Everyone at the ranch is showing their appreciation for the things they love. We love the moon for lighting up the sky during our night hikes, and the horses for taking students on rides through the beautiful meadow. We show our appreciation for the moon by telling students interesting facts such as the line between the dark and light side of the moon is called “The Terminator.” We show our appreciation for the horses by feeding them their favorite treat, chaffhaye.
We appreciate the teachers and parent chaperones who help make these outdoor education trips possible!
What do you love? How can you show your appreciation for the things and people that you love? How about telling your friends and family how much you love them, or writing them a note, or doing something nice for them! We can show our love for nature in a bunch of different ways like picking up trash we find, recycling, stopping to smell the wild flowers, and doing our best to take care of our planet! Hopefully your love and care will be contagious and spread to others around you!
“All those who love Nature she loves in return, and will richly reward, not perhaps with the good things, as they are commonly called, but with the best things of this world-not with money and titles, horses and carriages, but with bright and happy thoughts, contentment and peace of mind.” -John Lubbock
Don’t forget to show your appreciation for the people and things that you love!
With all our love,
The Pathfinder Ranch Naturalists
Things were busy here at the Ranch before our season ended in the middle of December! We’ve had a lot of schools visit us over this past fall (about 20 in total). Thank you to all of our fall schools. What a great season! We’ve enjoyed the holidays with family and friends, cooking delicious foods, and building fires to keep us warm on cold nights. Even some of the animals at the Ranch have had the holiday spirit. Take a look!
When they aren’t playing with the animals and teaching classes, the Naturalists at the Ranch have been hard at work this season designing new programs that can fit into our classes! One of the newest additions is an indoor planetarium that will soon be used during our Astronomy evening program! Sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate the way we wish it would, so on rainy or cloudy nights we can potentially use this to help students see constellations and stars in our night sky!
Once inside we can project pictures of different constellations, stars and planets that we talk about during astronomy!
If you’re interested in building one of your own or seeing how it works, here is the website: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/videos/playVideo.cfm?videoID=28
Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful time of year! Besides the current week of oddly warm temperatures, it has definitely gotten colder and colder here. So, why not warm up with this delicious hot chocolate recipe?!
Slow Cooker Deluxe Hot Chocolate
Hot Chocolate:
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 (6-oz.) pkg. (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
2 quarts (8 cups) milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
Toppings:
Whipped cream
Miniature marshmallows
Miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Toffee bits
Cinnamon sticks
Peppermint candy sticks
Assorted liqueurs and flavored syrups
Chocolate cookie crumbs
Crushed peppermints
Directions:
YUM!
Happy Holidays and See You Down the Trail,
Pathfinder Ranch Outdoor Education Staff
A glistening blanket of snow greeted our students as they pulled up to the basketball court Tuesday morning. They rushed out of the bus and immediately flocked to the mounds of snow all over campus, creating their first snowmen of the winter season. The excitement spread like a wave from the students to the staff, and carried over to the many adventures that followed that week. Things started with an epic game of Predator/Prey. The students adapted different roles within the food web and hunted for food, water, and shelter. As in nature they learned the benefits of behavioral adaptations such as ambushing and stalking their prey. In this particular game, the insects bore the hardship when they were attacked from all sides by the lizards and snakes. The students really embraced the trials and tribulations most animals deal with on a daily basis.
The enthusiasm from the snow and Predator/Prey carried over as the students tried out their trail reading skills while summiting Rock Point. They put to use their ethnobotany expertise by identifying useful plants along the way and even stopping for a quick snack followed by dental hygiene with some hiker’s toothbrush.
Our week came to a close surprisingly fast, but new adventures awaited the staff that made the trek to Utah for some skiing and snowboarding. The 9-hour arduous journey provided to be well worth the drive with great snow and a friendly mountain atmosphere. After rejuvenating ourselves it was time to meet our new group of budding naturalists.
Bright and early Tuesday morning our new group arrived starry eyed and full of questions. The students instantly started exploring their new environment and soaking in as much information as nature and the outdoors could provide. They were like sponges about to explode. Their first night at Pathfinder Ranch was dedicated to investigating the night sky. Although there were some clouds, no one’s spirits were extinguished as the students created their own constellations in the Milky Way.
The rest of the week was met with challenges and new experiences for both students and staff. Students were able to test their climbing, riding, and archery skills. The staff was challenged to push themselves to keep up with the expanding sponge-like minds of their students. Some of Pathfinder’s favorite critters helped in this challenge by teaching our students key ecology concepts as well as exposing them to a love for animal care and the environment. A final challenge from Mother Nature that was met with some reservation, but mostly excitement by the end was the hike to a geographical wonder, the Land Bridge. There’s nothing like almost three inches of snow to end a trip to Pathfinder Ranch!
Until next time young naturalists!
And remember “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Dragonfly and Your Pathfinder Naturalists