Alligators

Having lived much of the last fourteen years in Florida I've learned to harbor a healthy respect for alligators. There are the obvious reasons - the danger of being bitten or worse, but then there are the ecological and biological reasons. First, alligators are a keystone species - this means that they are the top predator on the food chain. So, what's the big deal with that? In Florida many species depend on alligators because in the dry season, when there's not enough rain to keep ponds filled, alligators swish their tails around in the mud ensuring what little water there is remains, thereby providing much needed water to all the other species.

One of the coolest things I learned about alligators is that the gender of the offspring is determined by temperature. If the eggs are in a warm environment, perhaps in sunlight, the babies will likely be male - if the eggs are kept cool, then they are more likely to be female. Don't ever get fooled into thinking alligators are slow moving. For short distances they can run up to 20 mph. The most important thing for kids (and adults) to learn is never feed alligators, or any wild life for that matter.
                                                           Learn more about Keystone Species
I never included the Alligator song on any of my CDs. If you would like a copy of the song, send me a message and I will send you an MP3 for FREE.

My Backyard!

Summer's here... well, it is almost here, it's actually trying to snow in Saint Sauveur, Quebec where I'm writing this Blog Post from. But yesterday it was beautiful and the bees were buzzing, the birds were singing and the leaves are bursting forth on the trees! Life is emerging. My grandsons came to visit yesterday and we had fun digging in the soft earth, discovering ants and worms and all kind of interesting critters.
My song, My Backyard mentions seventeen different creatures that can be found in most North American backyards. You can play the song HERE, (click on the button About Me and the Song button will come up) and you will see the lyrics. Listen to the song with your kids, then see how many of the creatures you can spot in a week. I didn't see the two in the photo below, but I did see five others that are mentioned in the song - within an hour!

                  

                                                                 Photo Credit: Piepie
Simply the best way to nurture a love of nature in kids is by taking them outdoors and getting them interested in the critters that are there. Within minutes my grandsons (aged 5 and 18 months) were imitating crow's "cawk-cawk", they quickly learned blue jay's raucous cry and were fascinated when I called the chickadees in. Magic happens when we take kids outside. Have fun exploring your backyard, or the park, or any neighborhood place where there's a tree and a bit of grass. Life is everywhere!