Seasons – September 2021

Contrary to popular belief, Texas will drop below 90 degrees at some point in the year. It’s a short-lived treat that families and wildlife alike probably take for granted. But when it does, the cool breeze is a much-appreciated change from the summer winds that seem to originate in a furnace. This time of the year draws the bucks into rut, the doves to the sunflower fields, and the families outdoors—and you don’t even have to be sitting in a tube floating down a river to stay cool.

As kids, most of us grew up outside flipping rocks, or fishing, or just exploring the woods somewhere. The youth’s appreciation for the natural world has since been slightly blurred by screen time and other indoor activities. With the aroma of sunscreen and the 14-hour days becoming a memory of the summer months, now is a great opportunity to get involved with your family and get them outside. Recall the times that you drowned worms in an attempt to hook onto a largemouth bass that you would later tell stories about; brag of the enormity of the trees that you once climbed without effort; and speak of the beauty of nature to your young ones whether it be the Hill Country, the Piney Woods, or the open prairies with Big bluestem 5-feet high scattered across the landscape. In Central Texas, it’s not difficult to get back to nature with state parks and natural areas scattered throughout the Edwards Plateau ecoregion.

One of the most rewarding things in life is witnessing a young child put together how nature works. The questions they ask, and the creative thoughts that fill their heads, can instantly bring a smile to your face and are likely questions that you have never thought of. The importance of allowing younger generations to explore the outdoors and appreciate the natural world goes far beyond establishing creative thinking. It also provides many physical and mental health benefits.

My favorite pastime is being outside with my two young kids. I have a 3-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy that I take with me everywhere I go. They bring John Muir’s quote to light each time we get outdoors: “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” As an avid outdoorsman and a family-oriented father, I love sharing my experiences with others, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant at the time. Sharing the fun and the fallouts helps others realize they don’t have to do it perfectly to reap the benefits.

Activity Suggestions for Your & Your Family

The most obvious activity that can really get kids to appreciate the outdoors is camping. Something about sleeping under the stars and the sounds of crickets in the trees tend to humble oneself. You don’t have to be an expert to make it happen, and trying to get everything REI has to offer can be overwhelming if you let it. Keep it simple—bring fire starters and some hot dogs, and let the natural world clear your mind from the chaos. Although not many want to face sleeping in a un-airconditioned tent during a Texas summer, state parks in Texas fill up quickly when you can wake up and jump into the Frio, the Blanco, the Pedernales, the Guadalupe, or the Llano River…not to mention fishing and well-maintained trails draw in crowds all year long. Although worth it, one does not necessarily need to make the trek out to Big Bend National Park or Caprock Canyons State Park to enjoy sleeping under the stars or a dark night sky. Wimberley Valley and Dripping Springs are both recognized as an International Dark Sky Community, and a tent set up in the backyard is a safe and fun way to mimic the camping experience.

Here are a few camping essentials you won’t want to forget: bug spray, snacks, sunscreen, and plenty of water.

Fishing is another obvious activity that connects us with nature at any age. When that bobber disappears below the surface and the fight between man and fish is underway, there’s instant gratification for your accomplishment—whether the fish makes it to the shore or not. I know some adults whose enthusiasm for hooking onto a fish has been the same since they were a child. Kids are fascinated with scales, fish’s ability to breathe underwater, and fins in place of arms and legs. Again, you could easily get disoriented and spend thousands of dollars in a Bass Pro Shop, but I have never been one to spend too much on fishing gear. I often lose and find lost lures and other tackle along the banks and in the trees near the water. You may also find it enjoyable to catch your own bait, as I do, and save some money that way. When my 3-year-old daughter landed a 14-inch bass with her Disney Frozen fishing pole out of a pond at Palmetto State Park, it only warranted my decision to not go after the “biggest and baddest” of fishing gear. Now, fishing and catching are two different things, but as Henry David Thoreau once said, “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”

Fishing essentials to consider: a body of water (preferably with fish), snacks, plenty of drinking water.

A less obvious and broader activity for families to enjoy together is the act of simply discovering and identifying. For example, when my kids were very young they used to collect fallen leaves and make leaf prints by putting them behind a piece of paper and coloring the page. Another easy and fun activity my daughter would do, is (sneakily) pick a variety of flowers on our walks and when we got home, we’d lay them out and figure out what each type was before giving them to mom. As the kids got quicker and more coordinated in life, so did the wildlife they collected. Flipping rocks and logs (with supervision) became our new way of finding wild things like roly-polies and beetles, and they have since developed a fascination with lizards and snakes. Obviously being with them along the way ensures you can remove them from anything less than a “safe find”, but it also allows you to learn about the organisms being found right along with them.

A more advanced version of wildlife identification that I am slowly introducing to the kids is birding. There are so many similar birds out there that getting started can be intimidating, but introductory birding can be done with no equipment at all. As you learn and develop as a birder, you may want to invest more into it, but to start just remember to keep your eyes peeled and listen to the specific calls and songs which will help you to identify bird species as you go. With cooler weather in Texas, birds begin migrating south, and many different species winter in Texas that were not here during the rest of the year. Teach your kids that the red bird from the popular children’s book is a Northern Cardinal—they’ll be proud to teach others what they know. (My son’s favorite is the Great Blue Heron that he watches catch fish with its long narrow beak at the water’s edge.)

Wildlife identification essentials you and your family will need: observant minds, snacks, and plenty of drinking water.

Connecting with Nature in Your Everyday Life

We live in a world where you can never fully escape from technology. Instead of pulling the smartphone away from your older kids, teach them to utilize it in nature. Consider combining the natural world with our technological advances and look into some apps that benefit both newbie and expert naturalists, as well as contribute to citizen science in studies of organisms. One of my favorites is “iNaturalist” (see how-to blog and video below), which allows you to snap a photo of a living organism, denote the location and date of the photo, and determine the species. With the help of experts using the app, the photo can be identified correctly and that information is used to understand the range of the species. If you are birding, there are a handful of apps available to help narrow down the species seen and heard in the area such as “eBird”, which comes up with checklists for your area. Some other helpful birding apps are “iBird Pro” and “Merlin”. For plant species identification, “Picture This” as well as “Plant Snap” are good options.

The greatest part about sharing nature experiences with my children is that it gives me hope that they will realize the importance of it in our world. It does not take an expert biologist to enjoy the natural world around us, nor to learn more about it. When you appreciate the things that inhabit the area around you, you feel more connected and are more adept to want to preserve and conserve that area, so that the plants and animals that inhabit it will continue to thrive.