making tracks: a plaster cast tutorial

One of our favorite things to do on walks is look for tracks.  Since most wild animals are active during the early morning or evening - times when we're usually cozy at home - tracks are one of the best ways to observe who's been there and what they've been up to.  

A few weeks ago, we discovered several sets of deer tracks on the sidewalk outside our house.  We had so much fun following the tracks, imagining the family of deer that walked by while the neighborhood slept! 

I decided to build on this interest by making plaster casts of a few tracks with Elise that we could bring home. Something to actually hold in our hands and study!  

Here's how we did it:

What you'll need:

• plaster of paris - we made 4 tracks and used about 2 pounds
• water - we used less than our 32 oz bottle held
• long strips of poster board - ours were about 3 x 18 inches 
• paper clips - for fastening the poster board strips around the tracks
• disposable bowls - for mixing the plaster
• spoons - also for mixing the plaster
• not pictured:  paper towels (this project is NOT as clean as I've made it look!!!) and bags for cushioning and transporting the finished casts 

^^ Find a track - the deeper and more well-defined the better! ^^

^^ Bend a strip of poster board into a ring slightly larger than the track, secure with a paper clip, and push securely into the ground. ^^

^^ Use a spoon to measure the plaster of paris into a bowl - we weren't too exact!  ;) ^^

^^ Add water and mix well - the ratio should be about 2 parts plaster of paris to 1 part water. ^^

^^ Gently pour the mixture over the track - an inch or so will do. ^^

^^ Have a snack - the plaster of paris will take about a half an hour to set. ^^

^^ We had hoped to make a Rosie track, but she was not cooperative - imagine that! ^^

^^ Use the trowel to loosen the soil around the track, and lift it out - wow!  ^^

^^ We let our casts set completely overnight before giving them a good scrub! ^^

^^ Guess that track!  We've been using our field guides to identify the tracks and read about the animals who made them.  I haven't done it yet, but I've been thinking about making a set of animal cards to match with the tracks...  I'll be sure to share them if I do! ^^

nest! (and a giveaway!) - CLOSED

^^Can you spot the osprey and its nest?!^^

This morning, as we walked along the river, Elise and I had the good fortune of watching an osprey work on its nest.  Elise has been really interested in nests lately, and here was a GIANT nest being built right before our very eyes!  How exciting!

Pulling branches off trees, swooping down to pick sticks up off the ground, and occasionally calling out - Elise and I had a front row view of the busy osprey!  Usually, when we watch birds or other wildlife, it's from a distance, so I'm not sure how much Elise is actually able to see.  This time, I knew Elise was catching all the action because SHE was the one pointing out everything to ME!   

A few interesting facts about osprey and their nests:

• Although osprey mate for life (20-25 years), they do not migrate together or spend the winters together.  Our osprey just got back last weekend, and is waiting for its mate to arrive.  Kind of romantic, right?
• Osprey nest on platforms near water- tall trees, man-made structures, light posts, etc.  Our osprey pair nests on a man-made platform between the river and a baseball field - before the platform was built, they nested right on a baseball light pole!  
• Osprey add new material to their nests each season.
• After osprey young have fledged, unlike other raptors, they return to their nest each night.  

(Birds of Prey of the West Field Guide by Stan Tekiela)

When Elise wasn't totally mesmerized by the action, she was busy making her own nests.  Of course, she offered all the best sticks to the osprey!  ;)

Back at home, Elise and I filled an empty suet container with scraps of yarn I had been saving from my knitting projects... 

We hung it outside in our apple tree - hopefully, a bird or two will use some of the yarn for nesting material. (Inspired by The Magic Onions post, Helping the Birds Make Beautiful Nests)

OK, now for the giveaway!  Last spring, I made this felted wool nest for Elise.  It has been inspiring so much play around here lately, I'd like to make another nest for one of YOU to enjoy with your little one/ones!

So, in honor of my 300th post - is that even possible?! - I am giving a felted wool nest and two wooden eggs to one lucky itty bitty love reader!  

How to enter:

• Leave a comment on this post and tell me about a bird you enjoy watching and what color nest you would like (natural brown or a whimsical color - rainbow, purple, green, etc).  

Additional entries:

• "Like" itty bitty love on Facebook and tell me in the comments.  If you've already "liked" itty bitty love on FB before this giveaway, tell me in the comments for two extra entries! 

I'll choose the winner at random on Friday at 6 pm (MST)!  Good luck!!!

Drum roll, please... 

The winner of the felted bird nest is Alexis!

Congratulations!  

Thank you to everyone who entered - I had so much fun reading about all your bird watching adventures!  :)

happy valentine's day!

Here's a little video from Elise's first day skiing at Bridger Bowl.  We had so much fun!  I love sharing the things I love with the people I love..... sharing the mountains with my little daughter and sharing Montessori ideas with all of you!  Yay!

Hope your life is full of love today and always!  :)

e's first ski day

Elise tried out skis for the first time today!  

Yay!  

We also did a little sledding...

Elise would sign "more" each time we came to a stop at the bottom.  ;)

For those of you who like to play "Where's Rosie?"

I think this sledding photo is kind of a fun one.  What a crazy herding dog!

Here's to a winter full of adventure!

Happy Halloween!

Happy

Halloween!!!

Hope your day is sweet and spooky!  

an autumn nature table

I love the idea of a nature table:  a special place to display natural treasures found outdoors.  The objects on the table change with the seasons, reflecting and celebrating the rhythm of the year.  Some nature tables I've seen are more whimsical than others, but either way, they instill a sense of wonder in children and adults alike.

When Elise woke up from her nap to find the leaves, seeds, and pebbles we collected on our morning walk carefully arranged, she was so excited and fascinated!  She spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the nature table with all of her senses.  I wasn't sure if any of the leaves or seeds were edible, so I did have to place some limit on her sense of taste!

I actually decided not to get out the camera because I didn't want to interrupt Elise's experience, so I'll close with a photo from our walk instead...

^The Yellowstone River is the longest undammed river in the lower 48 states, 

and we're lucky enough to live just a few minutes away!^  

Here's to a weekend full of adventure!

Have you set up a nature table?  I'd love to pick up some tips and inspiration for next time!  Please share your experience in the comments, or if you've posted about it, share your link!   

raspberry pickin'

Picking your own raspberries

at Rocky Creek Farm

is so much fun!

  What???  

You mean raspberries 

don't just come from the grocery store 

in a little plastic box?!

 No, silly!  They grow on raspberry bushes!

Oh, and they taste the best if you eat them off your fingers

right after you pick them... YUM!

 We can't wait to do it again!

one year ago today...

One year ago today, Hubs and I did a little pregnancy photo shoot after work.  I felt like I was about to pop and completely certain that I was going to give birth at any moment.  Little did I know that I still had 23 more days to go - ha!  I'm getting another looking back at baby Elise post ready for Thursday, but I thought it would be fun to take a little look back at myself, too! 

looking back at baby elise part one: nature baby meets mr. universe

Elise turns one in a little more than a month!!!  Over the next few weeks, I'm going to celebrate by posting some of my favorite memories of her first months that I haven't shared on itty bitty love.  :)

 

When Elise was two weeks old, we took her on a hike to Pine Creek Falls.  At the time, she didn't like riding in wraps or slings, but we were desperate to get out and do something, so Hubs carried her, sleeping, in her car seat.  It's only a two mile hike, but it was hot and Hubs thought his arms were going to fall off.  (Not to mention, I had just given birth to a 9 lb 2 oz baby, and had spent the past several months before that eating A LOT of ice cream!)  Anyway, I was right in the middle of teasing Hubs about how buff his biceps were going to be, when who do we cross paths with?  The muscle man himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Random.  Judging by how sweaty and breathless he was, we figured The Arnold was pretty impressed that Hubs was hauling a baby in a car seat around the woods!

Well, nearly a year has gone by, and we made it back to Pine Creek Falls this past weekend.  No celebrity encounters, but Elise road in a backpack instead of a car seat, and she was awake the whole hike, soaking it all up.  When we got to the falls, she ate cheese and cucumbers, and WALKED all around picking up sticks and rocks.  I am completely in awe of how much she's changed in a year.  Human development is amazing right?  My sweet little babe is growing up so fast - sigh - but I am truly savoring every moment of this adventure!

Hasta la vista, baby!

happy birthday, hubs!

Let's go skiing!

ski day #1 & #2

hike, hike, hike

excited dog, excited husband
{I'm excited, too.}

Weeeeeeeeee...

...eeeeeeeeeeeee!!!


Rosie
{the abominable snow-dog}

LOVE!

snow?

Ummm... I can't quite believe it,
but the cold white stuff fell all day here.
{It was 82 degrees F and sunny yesterday, btw.}
All I can say is,

Yee haw!
Keep it coming!

reduce, reuse, recycle

Let me try to explain...
in Montana, we have these transfer stations where people who "rough it" in the country can still throw away their garbage. Most people who choose to live this way do it quite poshly, so I think it's worth peeking through their "trash" every once and awhile...

I promise I don't do this very often!

...but, Hubs and I were going on a hike, and there was this PERFECT chair by the side of one of the green cans when we first went by...

We decided that if it was still there on our way home, we would pick it up. Of course, it was gone. I was crushed and there were tears, but Hubs made it up to me by agreeing to let me check all the cans for some sort of suitable replacement.

It turned out to be a stack of children's books.

Who would ever throw away Mrs. Rumphius?
Or any book for that matter?!!!
Geez Louise, people, it's a recession!
Even if it wasn't, haven't they ever heard of reduce, reuse, recycle?

Good thing I didn't fall in! ;)

birthday adventure

brown bear, brown bear

what do you see?

I see a bear across
the creek from me!

(just far enough away
to appreciate his
handsomeness)