Take a moment to watch the clouds roll by as you connect to the calm and beauty of nature that is always there for you.
Wishing you and yours much peace throughout your P.L.A.Y. days.
If you find the work and vision of P.L.A.Y. supports you and your family on the life learning path, please pass it forward to friends and neighbors as a Simple Gift that keeps on giving.
Whitefoot the Wood Mouse and Danny Meadow Mouse had become so interested that they decided they couldn’t afford to miss the next session with Mother Nature. Neither did either of them feel like making the long journey to their home and back again. So Whitefoot found a hole in a stump near by and decided to camp out there for a few days. Danny decided to do the same thing in a comfortable place under a pile of brush not far away. So the next morning both were on hand when the learning session began.
“I told you yesterday that I would tell you about some of Danny’s cousins,” said Mother Nature just as Chatterer the Red Squirrel came hurrying up, quite out of breath, to join the group. “Way up in the Far North are two of Danny’s cousins more closely related to him than to any other members of the Mouse family. Yet, strange to say, they are not called Mice at all, rather Lemmings. However, they do belong to the Mouse family.”
“Bandy the Banded Lemming is interesting because he is the one member of the entire family who changes the color of his coat. In summer he wears beautiful shades of reddish brown and gray and in the winter his coat is all white. He is also called the Hudson Bay Lemming.”
“Bandy’s tail is so very short it hardly shows beyond his long fur. He is about Danny’s size, and a little stouter and stockier, and his long fur makes him appear even thicker-bodied than he really is. He has very short legs, and his ears are so small that they are quite hidden in the fur around them, so that he appears to have no ears at all.”
Brown Lemming illustrated by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
“In that same far northern country is a close relative called the Brown Lemming. He is very much like Bandy save that he is all brown and does not change his coat in winter. Both have the same general habits, and these are much like the habits of Danny Meadow Mouse. They make short burrows in the ground leading to snug, warm nests of grass and moss. In winter they make little tunnels in every direction under the snow, with now and then an opening to the surface.”
“There are many more Brown Lemmings than Banded Lemmings, and their little paths run everywhere through the grass and moss. In that country there is a great deal of moss. It covers the ground just as grass does here. And the most interesting thing about these Lemmings is the way they migrate. To migrate is to move from one part of the country to another. You know most of the birds migrate to the Sunny South every autumn and back every spring.”
“Once in a while it happens that food becomes very scarce where the Lemmings are. Then very many of them get together, just as migrating birds form great flocks, and start on a long journey in search of a place where there is plenty of food. They form a great army and push ahead, regardless of everything. They swim wide rivers and even lakes which may lie in their way. Of course, they eat everything eatable in their path.”
“My!” exclaimed Danny Meadow Mouse, “I’m glad I don’t live in a place where I might have to make such long journeys. I don’t envy those cousins up there in the Far North a bit. I’m perfectly satisfied to live right on the Green Meadows.”
“Right you are Danny, you are well suited for where you live” said Mother Nature. “By the way, Danny, I suppose you are acquainted with Nimbleheels the Jumping Mouse, who also is rather fond of the Green Meadows. I ought to have sent word to him to be here this morning.”
Hardly were the words out of Mother Nature’s mouth when something landed in the leaves almost at her feet and right in the middle of their session. Instantly Danny Meadow Mouse scurried under a pile of dead leaves. Whitefoot the Wood Mouse darted into a knothole in the log on which he had been sitting. Jumper the Hare dodged behind a little hemlock tree. Peter Rabbit bolted for a hollow log. Striped Chipmunk vanished in a hole under an old stump. Johnny Chuck backed up against the trunk of a tree and made ready to fight. Only Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel and Chatterer the Red Squirrel and Prickly Porky the Porcupine, who were sitting in trees, kept their places. You see they felt quite safe.
As soon as all those who had run had reached places of safety, they peeped out to see what had frightened them so. Mother Nature was smiling down at a little fellow just about the size of Whitefoot, and yet they had a much longer tail. It was Nimbleheels the Jumping Mouse.
“Well, well, well,” exclaimed Mother Nature. “I was just speaking of you and wishing I had you here. How did you happen to come this way? And what do you mean by scaring these fine four-legged folks?” she said with her eyes twinkling. Nimbleheels saw this and knew that she was only having good fun with him.
Louis Agassiz Fuertes
Before Nimbleheels the Jumping Mouse could reply Johnny Chuck began to chuckle. The chuckle became a laugh, and soon Johnny was laughing so hard he had to hold his sides. Now, as you know, laughter is catching. In a minute or so everybody was laughing, and no one other than Johnny Chuck knew what the joke was. At last Peter Rabbit stopped laughing long enough to ask Johnny what he was laughing about.
“I’m laughing at the very idea that such a wee thing could give us all such a fright,” replied Johnny Chuck. Then they all laughed some more.
When they were through laughing Nimbleheels answered Mother Nature’s questions. He explained that he had heard about the learning sessions, as by this time almost everyone in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows had. By chance he learned that Danny Meadow Mouse was attending. He thought that if it was a good thing for Danny it would be a good thing for him, so he had come.
“Just as I was almost here I heard a twig snap behind me, or thought I did, and I jumped so as to get here and be safe. I didn’t suppose anyone would be frightened by little old me,” he explained.
“It was some jump!” exclaimed Jumper the Hare admiringly. “He went right over my head, and I was sitting straight up!”
“It isn’t much of a jump to go over your head,” replied Nimbleheels. “You ought to see me when I really try to jump. I wasn’t half trying when I landed here. I’m sorry I frightened all of you so. It gives me an odd feeling just to think that I should be able to frighten anybody. If you please, Mother Nature, am I in time for today’s session?”
“Yes, actually, you are,” replied Mother Nature. “Hop up on that log beside your Cousin Whitefoot, where all can see you.”
Wood Mouse illustrated by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
Nimbleheels hopped up beside Whitefoot the Wood Mouse, and as the two little cousins sat side by side they were not unlike in general appearance. The coat of Nimbleheels was a dull yellowish, darker on the back than on the sides. Like Whitefoot he was white underneath. His ears were much smaller than those of Whitefoot. However, the greatest differences between the two were in their hind legs and tails.
The hind legs and feet of Nimbleheels were long, similar to those of Peter Rabbit. From just a glance at them any one would know that he was a born jumper and a good one. Whitefoot possessed a long tail versus the tail of Nimbleheels was much longer, slim and tapering.
“There,” said Mother Nature, “is the greatest jumper for his size among all the animals in this great country. When I say this, I mean the greatest ground jumper. Remember when I told you what wonderful jumps Jack Rabbit can make, and if he could jump as high and far for his size as Nimbleheels can jump for his size, the longest jump Jack has ever made would seem nothing more than a hop.”
“By the way, both Nimbleheels and Whitefoot have small pockets in their cheeks,” said Mother Nature. “Would you please tell us where you live, Nimbleheels.”
“I live among the weeds along the edge of the Green Meadows,” replied Nimbleheels, “though sometimes I go way out in the Green Meadows. I do like being amongst the weeds best because they are tall and keep me well hidden, and also because they furnish me with plenty to eat. You see, I live largely on seeds, though I am also fond of berries and small nuts, especially beechnuts. Some of my family prefer the Green Forest, especially if there is a Laughing Brook or pond in it. Personally I prefer, as I said before, the edge of the Green Meadows.”
“Do you make your home under the ground?” asked Striped Chipmunk.
“For winter, yes,” replied Nimbleheels. “In the summer I sometimes put my nest just a few inches under ground, or often I hide it under a piece of bark or in a thick clump of grass, just as Danny Meadow Mouse often does his. In the fall I dig a deep burrow, deep enough to be beyond the reach of Jack Frost, and in a nice little bedroom down there I sleep the winter away. I have little storerooms down there too, in which I put seeds, berries and nuts. Then when I do wake up I have plenty to eat.”
“I might add,” said Mother Nature, “that when he goes to sleep for the winter he curls up in a little ball with his long tail wrapped around him, and in his bed of soft grass he sleeps very sound indeed. Like Johnny Chuck he gets very fat before going to sleep. Now, Nimbleheels, please do show us how you can jump.”
Nimbleheels hopped down from the log on which he had been sitting and at once shot into the air in such a high, long, beautiful jump that everybody exclaimed. This way and that way he went in great leaps. It was truly wonderful.
“That long tail is what balances him,” explained Mother Nature. “If he should lose it he would simply turn over and over and never know where or how he was going to land. His jumping is done only in times of danger. When he is not alarmed he runs about on the ground like the rest of the Mouse family.”
“This is all for now. Tomorrow I will tell you still more about the Mouse family. Have a good day everyone!” said Mother Nature as she went on her merry way.
This Curious Capkin has created moreP.L.A.Y. Adventures just for you!
Using these prompts inspired from today’s chapter draw, write, color, paint, or creatively capture your ideas and story adventures in your P.L.A.Y.nature journal!
Have you ever heard of lemmings? Have you heard of their behavior to follow one another in large groups? This is caused by mass migration, or moving from one place to another, when they are in search of food. Sometimes when humans follow one another right behind the other someone will remark “you look like lemmings”.
Mother Nature compares the Jumping Mouse to the Jack Rabbit in terms of how high and long he can jump. How high and how long can you jump? How can you measure it? How high and long can your family members jump? Talk it over and see if you can come up with a way to measure in your backyard or on the sidewalk. Then research the measurement of a Jumping Mouse and a Jack Rabbit to see in comparison (even though they are both much smaller than you!)
If you find the work and vision of P.L.A.Y. supports you and your family on the life learning path, please pass it forward to friends and neighbors as a Simple Gift that keeps on giving.
Whitefoot the Wood Mouse is one of the smallest of the little four-legged folks who live in the Green Forest. Being so small he is one of the most timid. You see, by day and by night sharp eyes are watching for Whitefoot and he knows it. Never for one single instant, while he is outside where sharp eyes of hungry predators may see him, does he forget that they are watching for him. To forget even for one little minute might mean–well, it might mean the end of little Whitefoot, and a dinner for some one with a liking for Mouse.
So Whitefoot the Wood Mouse rarely ventures more than a few feet from a hiding place and safety. At the tiniest sound he startles nervously and often darts back into hiding without waiting to find out if there really is any danger. If he waited to make sure he might actually wait too long, and it is better to be safe than sorry.
This being the way Whitefoot looked at matters, you can guess how he felt when Chatterer the Red Squirrel caught sight of him and gave him Mother Nature’s message.
“Hey there,” shouted Chatterer, as he caught sight of Whitefoot darting under a log. “Hey! I’ve got a message for you!”
Slowly, cautiously, Whitefoot poked his head out from beneath the old log and looked up at Chatterer. “What kind of a message?” he asked suspiciously.
“A message you’ll do well to heed. It is from Mother Nature,” replied Chatterer.
“A message from Mother Nature!” cried Whitefoot, and came out a bit more from beneath the old log.
“That’s what I said, a message from Mother Nature,” replied Chatterer. “She says you are to come join all of us for a learning session at sun-up tomorrow morning.”
Then Chatterer explained about the learning sessions and where they were typically held each morning and what a lot he and his friends had already learned together. Whitefoot listened with something very like dismay in his heart. That place where they gathered was a long way off. That is, it was a long way for him, though to Peter Rabbit or Jumper the Hare it wouldn’t have seemed long at all. It meant that he would have to leave all his hiding places and the thought made him shiver.
However, Mother Nature had sent for him and not once did he even think of not attending. “Did you say that you gather at sun-up?” he asked, and when Chatterer nodded Whitefoot sighed. It was a sigh of relief. “I’m glad of that,” he said. “I can travel in the night, which will be much safer. I’ll be there. That is, I will if I am not caught on the way.”
Meanwhile over on the Green Meadows Peter Rabbit was looking for Danny Meadow Mouse. Danny’s home was not far from the dear Old Briar-patch, and he and Peter were very good friends. So Peter knew just about where to look for Danny and it didn’t take him long to find him.
A meadow mouse visiting our driveway?
“Hello, Peter! You look as if you have something very important on your mind,” was the greeting of Danny Meadow Mouse as Peter came hurrying up.
“I have,” said Peter. “It is a message for you. Mother Nature says for you to be on hand at sun-up tomorrow when our learning session opens over in the Green Forest.”
“Of course,” replied Danny in the most matter-of-fact tone. “Of course. If Mother Nature really sent me that message–”
“She really did,” interrupted Peter.
“There isn’t anything for me to do then attend,” finished Danny. Then his face became very sober. “That is a long way for me to go, Peter,” he said. “I wouldn’t take such a long journey for anything or for anybody else. Mother Nature knows, and if she sent for me she must be sure I can make the trip safely. What time did you say I must be there?”
“At sun-up,” replied Peter. “Shall I call for you on my way there?”
Danny shook his head. Then he began to laugh. “What are you laughing at?” asked Peter.
“At the very idea of me with my short legs trying to keep up with you,” replied Danny. “I wish you would sit up and take a good look all around to make sure that Old Man Coyote and Reddy Fox and Redtail the Hawk and Black Shadow, that pesky Cat from Farmer Brown’s, are nowhere about.”
Peter obligingly sat up and looked this way and looked that way and looked the other way. No one of whom he or Danny Meadow Mouse need be afraid was to be seen. He said as much, then asked, “Why did you want to know, Danny?”
“Because I am going to start at once,” replied Danny.
“Start for where?” asked Peter, looking much puzzled.
“Start for the gathering space of course,” replied Danny.
“Um— we don’t begin until sun-up tomorrow,” Peter stated with hesitation.
“Which is just the reason I am going to start now,” replied Danny. “If I should put off starting until the last minute I might not get there at all. I would have to hurry, and it is difficult to hurry and watch for danger at the same time. The way is clear now, so I am going to start. I can take my time and keep a proper watch for danger. I’ll see you over there in the morning, Peter.”
Danny turned and disappeared on one of his hidden little paths though the tall grass. Peter noticed that he was headed towards the Green Forest.
When Peter and the others arrived the next morning they found Whitefoot the Wood Mouse and Danny Meadow Mouse waiting with Mother Nature. Safe in her presence, they seemed to have lost much of their usual timidity. Whitefoot was sitting on the end of a log and Danny was on the ground just beneath him.
Wood Mouse illustrated by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
“I want all the rest of you to look well at these two little cousins and notice how unlike two cousins can be,” said Mother Nature. “Whitefoot, who is quite as often called a Deer Mouse as Wood Mouse, is one of the prettiest of the entire Mouse family. I suspect he is called Deer Mouse because the upper part of his coat is such a beautiful fawn color. Notice that the upper side of his long slim tail is of the same color, while the under side is white, as is the whole under part of Whitefoot. Also those dainty feet are white, hence his name. See what big, soft black eyes he has, and notice that those delicate ears are of good size.”
“His tail is covered with short fine hairs, instead of being naked as is the tail of Nibbler the House Mouse, of whom I will tell you later. Whitefoot loves the Green Forest, although out in parts of the Far West where there is no Green Forest he lives on the brushy plains. He is a good climber and quite at home in the trees. There he seems almost like a tiny Squirrel. Tell us, Whitefoot, where you make your home and what you eat.”
A wood mouse at the edge of the forest
“My home just now,” replied Whitefoot, “is in a certain hollow in a certain dead limb of a certain tree. I suspect that a member of the Woodpecker family made that hollow, as no one was living there when I found it. Mrs. Whitefoot and I have made a soft, warm nest there and wouldn’t trade homes with anyone. We have had our home in a hollow log on the ground, in an old stump, in a hole we dug in the ground under a rock, and in an old nest of some bird. That was in a tall bush. We roofed that nest over and made a little round doorway on the under side. Once we raised a family in a box in a dark corner of Farmer Brown’s sugar camp too.
“I eat all sorts of things–seeds, nuts, insects and meat when I can get it. I store up food for winter.”
“I suppose that means that you do not sleep as Johnny Chuck does in winter,” remarked Peter Rabbit.
“I should say not!” exclaimed Whitefoot. “I like winter. It is fun to run about on the snow. Haven’t you ever seen my tracks, Peter?”
“I have, lots of times,” spoke up Jumper the Hare. “Also I’ve seen you skipping about after dark. I guess you don’t care much for sunlight.”
“Oh no, I don’t,” replied Whitefoot. “I sleep most of the time during the day, and work and play at night. I feel safer then. On dull days I often come out. It is the bright sunlight I don’t like. That is one reason I stick to the Green Forest. I don’t see how Cousin Danny stands it out there on the Green Meadows. Now I guess it is his turn to share and tell us more.”
Meadow Mouse illustrated by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
Every one looked at Danny Meadow Mouse. In appearance he was as unlike Whitefoot as it was possible to be and still be a Mouse. His body was rather stout, looking stouter than it really was because his fur was quite long. His head was blunt, and he seemed to have no neck at all, though of course he did have one. His eyes were small, like little black beads. His ears were almost hidden in his hair. His legs were short and his tail was quite short, as if it had been cut off when half grown. No, those two cousins didn’t look a bit alike.
“Danny is a lover of the fields,” began Mother Nature, “and meadows where there is little else other than grass in which to hide. Everything about him is just suited for living there. Isn’t that so, Danny?”
“Yes, I guess so,” replied Danny.
“Now it is your turn to tell how you live and what you eat and anything else of interest about yourself,” Mother Nature said encouragingly.
“I guess there isn’t too much interesting about me,” began Danny modestly. “I’m just one of the plain, common little folks. I guess everybody knows me so well there is nothing for me to tell.”
“Some of them may know all about you, however I don’t,” declared Jumper the Hare. “I never go out on the Green Meadows where you live. How do you get about in all that tall grass?”
“Oh, that’s easy enough,” replied Danny. “I cut little paths in all directions.”
“Just the way I do in the dear Old Briar-patch,” added Peter Rabbit.
“I keep those little paths clear and clean so that there never is anything in my way to trip me up when I have to run for safety,” continued Danny. “When the grass gets tall those little paths are almost like little tunnels. The time I dread most is when Farmer Brown cuts the grass for hay. I not only have to watch out for that dreadful mowing machine, I also have to watch when the hay has been taken away since the grass is so short that it is hard work for me to keep out of sight.”
“I sometimes dig a short burrow and at the end of it make a nice nest of dry grass. Sometimes in summer Mrs. Meadow Mouse and I make our nest on the surface of the ground in a hollow or in a clump of tall grass, especially if the ground is low and wet. We have several good-sized families in a year. All Meadow Mice believe in large families, and that is probably why there are more Meadow Mice than any other Mice in the country. I forgot to say that I am also called Field Mouse.”
“Danny eats,” continued Mother Nature, ” grass, clover, bulbs, roots, seeds and garden vegetables. He also eats some insects. He sometimes puts away a few seeds for the winter, although he depends chiefly on finding enough to eat, for he is active all winter. He tunnels about under the snow in search of food. When other food is hard to find he eats bark. He gnaws the bark from young fruit trees all the way around as high as he can reach, and of course this kills the trees.”
“ And I will finish our session today mentioning that Danny is a good swimmer and not at all afraid of the water,” said Mother Nature. “No one has more predators than he, and the fact that he is alive and here this morning is due to his everlasting watchfulness. This will do for today. Tomorrow we will take up others of the Mouse family.”
This Curious Capkin has gatheredP.L.A.Y. Prompts for you to ponder and explore!
Enjoy!
Using these prompts inspired from today’s chapter draw, write, color, paint, or creatively capture your ideas and story adventures in your P.L.A.Y.nature journal!
How do a Wood Mouse and Meadow Mouse look different? Are they the same in any way since they are from the same larger family?
Have you ever seen a Meadow Mouse out in a field? Did you think it was something else?
Have you ever seen a family of humans and wondered how they are all related even though they may have different hair color or texture, different skin tones, even facial features (like eyes and nose) that just don’t look the same? What were your thoughts? Could it be that we are all one human family just like all the different types of mice all belong to one mouse family?
NOTE: The specific science Family name is Muridae which comes from the Latin word mus meaning mouse.
If you find the work and vision of P.L.A.Y. supports you and your family on the life learning path, please pass it forward to friends and neighbors as a Simple Gift that keeps on giving.
“Let’s continue with other members of the Rat family. One of these is Trader the Wood Rat, in some parts of the Far West called the Pack Rat. Among the mountains he is called the Mountain Rat. Wherever found, his habits are much the same and make him one of the most interesting of all the little four-legged folks who wear fur.”
“Next to Jerry Muskrat he is the largest native Rat, that is, of the Rats which belong in this country. He is about two thirds as big as the Brown Rat and of the same general shape. His fur is thick and soft, almost as soft as that of a Squirrel. His fairly long tail is covered with hair. Indeed, some members of his branch of the family have tails almost as bushy as a Squirrel’s. His coat is soft gray and a yellowish-brown above, and underneath pure white or light buff. His feet are white. He has rounded ears and big black eyes and plenty of long whiskers.”
“Why is he called Trader?” asked Peter Rabbit.
“Oh yes, I was just coming to that,” Mother Nature chimed in. “He is Trader because his greatest delight is in trading. He is a born trader if ever there was one. He puts something back in place of whatever he takes. It may be little sticks or chips or pebbles or anything else that is handy although it is always something to replace what he has taken.”
“Next to trading he delights in collecting. His home is a regular museum. He delights in anything bright and shiny.. All sorts of odd things are found in his home–buckles cut from saddles, spoons, knives, forks, even money he has taken from the pockets of sleeping campers. Whenever any small object is missed from a camp, the first place visited in search of it is the home of Trader. In the mountains he sometimes makes piles of little pebbles just for the fun of collecting them.”
Wood Rat illustrated by Lois Agassiz Fuertes
“He is found all over the West, from the mountains to the deserts, and in thick forests. He is also found in parts of the East and in the Sunny South. He is a great climber and is perfectly at home in trees or among rocks. He eats seeds, grain, many kinds of nuts, leaves and other parts of plants. In the colder sections he lays up stores for winter.”
“What kind of a home does he have?” asked Happy Jack.
“His home usually is a very remarkable space,” replied Mother Nature. “It depends largely on where he is. When he is living in rocky country, he makes it amongst the rocks. In some places he burrows in the ground. More often it is on the surface of the ground–a huge pile of sticks and thorns in the very middle of which is his snug, soft nest. The sticks and thorns are to protect it from predators. When he lives down where cactus grow, you know those odd plants with long sharp spines, he uses these, and there are few predators who will even try to pull one of these houses apart to get at him.”
“When he is alarmed or disturbed, he has a funny habit of drumming on the ground with his hind feet in much the same way that Peter Rabbit and Jumper the Hare thump, only he does it rapidly. Sometimes he builds his house in a tree. When he finds a cabin in the woods he at once takes possession, carrying in a great mass of sticks and trash. He is chiefly active at night, and a very busy fellow he is, trading and collecting. And Mrs. Trader has two to five babies at a time and raises several families in a year.
“Now we come to Longfoot the Kangaroo Rat, so called because of his long hind legs and tail and the way in which he sits up and jumps. Really he is not a member of the Rat branch of the family, although closely related to the Pocket Mice. You see, he has pockets in his cheeks.”
“Like mine?” asked Striped Chipmunk quickly.
“Actually no, they are on the outside instead of the inside of his cheeks. Yours are inside.”
“I think mine must be a lot handier,” asserted Striped Chipmunk, nodding his head in a very decided way.
“Longfoot seems to think his are quite satisfactory too,” replied Mother Nature.
“Oh do tell us how big he is and what he looks like,” Peter Rabbit said with great curiosity.
“When he sits up or jumps he looks like a tiny Kangaroo,” replied Mother Nature. “He is about the size of Striped Chipmunk. That is, his body is about the size of Striped Chipmunk’s and his tail is longer than his head and body put together.”
Kangaroo Rat illustrated by Lois Agassiz Fuertes
“My, it must be some tail!” exclaimed Peter Rabbit admiringly.
Mother Nature smiled. “It is,” she said. “You would like that tail, Peter. His front legs are short and the feet small, and his hind legs are long and the feet big. Of course you have seen Nimbleheels the Jumping Mouse, Peter.”
Peter nodded. “Oh yes, of course,” he replied. “My how that fellow can jump!”
“Well, Longfoot is built in the same way as Nimbleheels and for the same purpose,” continued Mother Nature. “He is a jumper.”
“Then I know what that long tail is for,” Peter said with delight. “It is to keep him balanced when he is in the air so that he can jump straight.”
“You’ve got it Peter,” laughed Mother Nature. “That is just what it is for. Without it, he never would know where he was going to land when he jumped.”
“Now then, let’s see what else can I share with you,” said Mother Nature. “His fur is very soft and silky. Above, it is a pretty yellowish-brown, and underneath it is pure white. His cheeks are brown, he is white around the ears, and a white stripe crosses his hips and keeps right on along the sides of his tail. The upper and under parts of his tail are almost or quite black, and the tail ends in a tuft of long hair which is pure white. His feet are also white. His head is rather large for his size, and long. He has a long nose. Longfoot has a number of cousins, some of them much smaller than he, and they all look very much alike.”
“Where do they live?” asked Johnny Chuck who had been quietly paying attention.
“In the dry, sandy parts of the Southwest, places so dry that it seldom rains, and water is to be found only long distances apart from one another,” replied Mother Nature.
“Then how does Longfoot get water to drink?” inquired Chatterer the Red Squirrel.
“He gets along without drinking,” replied Mother Nature. “Such moisture as he needs he gets from his food. He eats seeds, leaves of certain plants and tender young plants just coming up. He burrows in the ground and throws up large mounds of earth. These have several entrances. One of these is the main entrance, and during the day this is often kept closed with earth. Under the mound he has little tunnels in all directions, a snug little bedroom and storerooms for food. He is very industrious and dearly loves to dig.”
“Longfoot likes to visit his relatives sometimes, and where there are several families living near together, little paths lead from mound to mound. He comes out mostly at night, probably because he feels it to be safer then and also in that hot country it is cooler at night too. The dusk of early evening is his favorite playtime. If Longfoot has a quarrel with one of his relatives they fight, hopping about each other, watching for a chance to leap and kick with those long, strong hind feet. Longfoot sometimes drums with his hind feet after the manner of Trader the Wood Rat.”
“Now I think this will do for this morning’s session. If any of you should meet Whitefoot the Wood Mouse, please tell him to join us tomorrow morning. And you might tell Danny Meadow Mouse if you little folks want to extend our session.”
“We do!” cried Peter Rabbit, Jumper the Hare, Happy Jack Squirrel, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, Striped Chipmunk, and Johnny Chuck all as one in unison.
This Curious Capkin has gatheredP.L.A.Y. Prompts for you to ponder and explore!
Enjoy!
Using these prompts inspired from today’s chapter draw, write, color, paint, or creatively capture your ideas and story adventures in your P.L.A.Y.nature journal!
Has anyone ever called you or a family member a “pack rat”? Now you know it is referring to Trader the Wood Rat and his liking for collecting things and making piles! Just for fun and P.L.A.Y. when you go on your next nature adventure leave a few small piles of pebbles or leaves or acorns on the side of the trail so the next person who passes by is left wondering who has been there and what were they up to!
Have you ever tried using poles or wood sticks for balance when you walk in the woods? Do they support you like the Kangaroo Rat uses his tail for support (almost like a 3rd leg)? Try using walking sticks to cross a log over a stream and then try without them. Do you feel a difference? What do you think would happen to the Kangaroo Rat if he had a short puffy cotton tail like Peter Rabbit?!?
If you find the work and vision of P.L.A.Y. supports you and your family on the life learning path, please pass it forward to friends and neighbors as a Simple Gift that keeps on giving.
“Now we come to the largest family of the Rodent order, the Rat family, which of course includes the Mice,” said Mother Nature, after calling the next learning session to order at the old meeting-place. “And the largest member of the family reminds me very much of the one we learned about yesterday.”
“I know!” cried Peter Rabbit. “You mean Jerry Muskrat.”
“Yes, Peter,” said Mother Nature smiling. “Jerry is the very one, the largest member of the Rat family. Sometimes he is spoken of as a little cousin of Paddy the Beaver. Probably this is because he looks something like a small Beaver, builds a house in the water as Paddy does, and lives in very much the same way. The truth is, he is no more closely related to Paddy than he is to the rest of you. He is a true Rat. He is called Muskrat because he carries with him a scent called musk. It is not an unpleasant scent, like that of Jimmy Skunk, and isn’t used for the same purpose. Jerry uses his to tell his friends where he has been. He leaves a little of it at the places he visits.”
“Jerry is seldom found far from the water and then only when he is seeking a new home. He is rather slow and uneasy on land; however in the water he is quite at home, as all of you know who have visited the Smiling Pool. He can dive and swim under water a long distance, though not as far as Paddy the Beaver.”
“Has he webbed hind feet like Paddy?” piped up Jumper the Hare.
“Well, yes and no,” replied Mother Nature. “They are not fully webbed as Paddy’s are, and yet there is a little webbing between some of the toes, enough to be of great help in swimming. His tail is of greater use in swimming than is Paddy’s. It is bare and scaly, and instead of being flat on the top and bottom it is flattened on the sides, and he uses it as a propeller, moving it rapidly from side to side.”
“Like Paddy he has a dark brown outer coat, lighter underneath than on his back and sides, and like Paddy he has a very warm soft under coat, through which the water cannot get and which keeps him comfortable, no matter how cold the water is. You have all seen his house in the Smiling Pool. He builds it in much the same way that Paddy builds his, and cuts and uses rushes instead of sticks. Of course it is not nearly as large as Paddy’s house, because Jerry is himself so much smaller. It is arranged much the same, with a comfortable bedroom and one or more passages down to deep water. In winter Jerry spends much of his time in this house, going out only for food. Then he lives chiefly on lily roots and roots of other water plants, digging them up and taking them back to his house to eat. When the ice is clear you can sometimes see him swimming below.”
“I know,” spoke up Peter Rabbit. “Once I was crossing the Smiling Pool on the ice and saw him right under me.”
Muskrat illustrated by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
“Jerry doesn’t build dams however he does sometimes dig little canals along the bottom where the water isn’t deep enough to suit him,” continued Mother Nature. “Sometimes in the winter Jerry and Mrs. Jerry share their home with two or three friends. If there is a good bank Jerry usually has another home in that too. He makes the entrance under water and then tunnels back and up for some distance, where he builds a snug little bedroom just below the surface of the ground where it is dry. Usually he has more than one tunnel leading to this, and sometimes an opening from above. This is covered with sticks and grass to hide it, and provides an entrance for fresh air.”
“Jerry lives mostly on roots and plants. He is also fond of mussels or fresh-water clams, fish, some insects and young birds when he can catch them whereas Paddy the Beaver doesn’t eat flesh at all.”
“Jerry and Mrs. Muskrat have several families in a year, and Jerry is a very good father, doing his share in caring for the babies. He and Mrs. Muskrat are rather social and enjoy visiting neighbors of their own kind. Their voices are a sort of squeak, and you can often hear them talking among the rushes in the early evening. That is the hour they like best, though they are abroad during the day when undisturbed. They do have to watch out for Hooty the Owl at night and for Reddy Fox and Old Man Coyote whenever they are on land. Billy Mink also is an enemy at times, perhaps the most to be dreaded because he can follow Jerry anywhere.”
“Jerry makes little landings of mud and rushes along the edge of the shore. On these he delights to sit to eat his meals. He likes apples and vegetables and sometimes will travel quite a distance to get them. Late in the summer he begins to prepare for winter by starting work on his house, if he is to have a new one. He is a good worker.”
Brown Rat illustrated by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
“Another member of this family is the Brown Rat,” said Mother Nature. “He is sometimes called the Norway Rat and sometimes the Wharf Rat and House Rat. He is big, being next in size to Jerry Muskrat.”
“He lives chiefly around the homes of humans and likes to gnaw into grain bins and steal the grain. He gets into hen-houses and helps himself to eggs and young chickens.”
“Often in summer he moves out into fields, digging burrows there and damaging crops and also eating any of the furred and feathered folk he can catch,” said Mother Nature in a matter-of-fact tone. He is not fond of the light of day and prefers the darkness. He has very large families, sometimes ten or more babies at a time, and several families in a year.”
“Is the Brown Rat afraid of any one?” asked Peter.
“He certainly is,” replied Mother Nature. “He fears one whom every one of you fears–Shadow the Weasel.”
“When food becomes scarce, Brown Rat and his family move on to where it is more plentiful. Often they make long journeys, a great number of them together, and do not hesitate to swim a stream that may be in their path.”
“I’ve never seen Brown Rat,” said Peter. “What kind of a tail does he have?”
“I might have known you would ask that,” laughed Mother Nature as she recalled how Peter Rabbit longs for a bigger tail. “The Brown Rat has a long and slim tail and it has no hair. His fur is very coarse and it is brown and gray. He has a close relative called the Black Rat, however he is smaller and has been largely driven out of the country by his bigger cousin.”
This Curious Capkin has gatheredP.L.A.Y. Prompts for you to ponder and explore!
Enjoy!
Using these prompts inspired from today’s chapter draw, write, color, paint, or creatively capture your ideas and story adventures in your P.L.A.Y.nature journal!
Paddy the Beaver has a flat tail top-to-bottom and Jerry Muskrat has a flat tail side-to-side. They both use them in the water for propelling and they have other uses. What other four-legged animals come to mind when thinking about tails and their special uses? Can you make a list with descriptions of what they look like and what they are used for? Furry? Long? Flat? Puffy? Digging? Balance?
Do you know where rats originally came from? Are they native to the United States where you live? How do they behave when living in cities vs. out in the wild?
BONUS: If you like stories with rats as characters be sure not to miss this classic: Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White in which Templeton the rat keeps busy fussing about in the barn while Charlotte the spider and Wilbur the pig have many adventures.
If you find the work and vision of P.L.A.Y. supports you and your family on the life learning path, please pass it forward to friends and neighbors as a Simple Gift that keeps on giving.
Geometric lines forming down at the river’s edge in January
Cool crystals creating “lanes” of different ice types along the river’s edge.
January and February have provided some interesting opportunities to continue my crystal and snowflake observations this year. You just never know what you’ll find on your daily walk!
I am fascinated with how Mother Nature magically “overnight” creates new artwork in the ice both down at the brook, the river, and in random locations found on my walks through the fields and forest here at our hilltown home in New England.
Geometric angles and curves formed in cool crystal fashion!
I’ve also found it takes great patience to capture photos of snowflakes and wait for just the right storms to arrive so being able to go out any day of the week in the winter and visit the ice is a bonus treat to see me through.
Curious Capkins love getting outdoors to P.L.A.Y. with you in all seasons and all kinds of weather! So step into the sunshine, snow shower, wind or rain and enjoy the adventure.
You and your kiddos will be so very glad you did!
If you find the work and vision of P.L.A.Y. supports you and your family on the life learning path, please pass it forward to friends and neighbors as a Simple Gift that keeps on giving.
Johnny Chuck and Striped Chipmunk were the only ones who were not on hand at the pond of Paddy the Beaver deep in the Green Forest at sun-up the next morning. Johnny and Striped Chipmunk were afraid to go so far from home. However, to the surprise of everybody, Prickly Porky was there.
“He must have traveled all night to get here as he goes at a very slow pace,” said Peter Rabbit to his cousin, Jumper the Hare.
Just then Prickly Porky was reaching for lily pads from an old log which lay half in the water and appearing very well satisfied with life. You know there is nothing like a good meal of things you like to make everything seem just as it should.
Mother Nature seated herself on one end of Paddy’s dam and called the session to order. Just as she did so a brown head popped out of the water close by and a pair of anxious eyes looked up at Mother Nature.
“It is quite all right, Paddy,” she said softly. “These little four-legged folks are trying to gain some knowledge of themselves and others, and we are going to have this morning’s session right here because it is all about you.”
Paddy the Beaver no longer looked anxious. There was a sparkle in his eyes. “Then I’d like to stay,” he said eagerly. “If there is a chance to learn anything new I don’t want to miss it.”
Beaver illustration by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
Paddy the Beaver climbed out on his dam. It was the first time Happy Jack Squirrel ever had seen him out of water, and Happy Jack gave a little gasp of surprise. “I had no idea he is so big!” he exclaimed.
“He is the biggest of all the Rodents in this country, and one of the biggest in all the Great World. He is quite clever as he is a lumberman, builder, and engineer,” said Mother Nature.
“As a lumberman he cuts trees, as a builder he constructs houses and dams, and as an engineer he digs canals,” Mother Nature continued as Peter, Chatterer, and Jumper sat with their mouths opened in astonishment at all Paddy does.
“Paddy begins by cutting down the trees so that he may live, for the bark of those trees is his food. Like Prickly Porky he lives chiefly on bark. However, he wastes nothing. He makes use of every bit of that tree. He also does something for the Green Forest in return for the trees he takes by building a dam that creates a pond for you all to visit.”
“Now I want you all to take a good look at Paddy,” said Mother Nature.
As Paddy sat there on his dam, he looked rather like a giant member of the Rat family, though his head was more like that of a Squirrel than a Rat. His body was very thick and heavy, and in color he was dark brown, lighter underneath than above. Squatting there on the dam his back was rounded.
Peter Rabbit appeared to be interested in just one thing, Paddy’s tail. He couldn’t keep his eyes off it.
Mother Nature noticed this. “Well, Peter,” she said, “what is on your mind now?”
“That tail,” replied Peter. “That’s the oddest tail I’ve ever seen. I should think it would be heavy and dreadfully in the way.”
Mother Nature laughed. “If you ask him Paddy will tell you that his tail is the handiest tail in the Green Forest,” she said. “There isn’t another like it in all the Great World, and if you’ll be patient you will see just how handy it is.”
It was broad and thick and flat, oval in shape, and covered with scales instead of hair. Just then Jumper the Hare made a discovery. “Why!” he exclaimed, “Paddy has feet like Honker the Goose!”
“Only my hind feet,” said Paddy. “They have webs between the toes just as Honker’s have. That is for swimming. There are no webs between my fingers.” He held up a hand for all to see. Sure enough, the fingers were free.
“Now that everybody has had a good look at you, Paddy,” said Mother Nature, “suppose you swim over to where you have been cutting trees. We will join you there, and then you can show us just how you work.”
Paddy slipped into the water, where for a second or two he floated with just his head above the surface. Then he quickly raised his broad, heavy tail and brought it down on the water with a slap that sounded like a loud crack. It was so loud and unexpected that every one save Mother Nature and Prickly Porky jumped with fright. Peter Rabbit happened to be right on the edge of the dam and, because he jumped before he had time to think, he jumped right into the water with a splash. Now Peter doesn’t like the water, as you know, and he scrambled out just as fast as ever he could.
“What did he do that for?” Peter asked while shaking out his soaked fur.
“To show you one use he has for that handy tail,” replied Mother Nature. “That is the way he gives warning to his friends whenever he discovers danger. Did you notice how he used his tail to aid him in swimming? He turns it almost on edge and uses it as a rudder. Those big, webbed hind feet are the paddles which drive him through the water. He can stay under water a long time, for as much as five minutes. See, he has just come up now.”
Sure enough, Paddy’s head had just appeared clear across the pond almost to the opposite shore, and he was now swimming on the surface. Mother Nature at once led the way around the pond to a small grove of poplar trees which stood a little way back from the water. Paddy was already there. “Now,” said Mother Nature “show us what kind of a lumberman you are.”
Paddy picked out a small tree, sat up much as Happy Jack Squirrel does, while using his big flat tail on the ground to brace him, seized the trunk of the tree in both hands, and went to work with his great orange-colored cutting teeth. He bit out a big chip. Then another and another. Gradually he worked around the tree. After a while the tree began to sway and crack. Paddy bit out two or three more chips, then suddenly slapped the ground with his tail as a warning and scampered back to a safe distance. He was taking no chances of being caught under that falling tree.
The tree fell and at once Paddy returned to work. The smaller branches he cut off with a single bite at the base of each. The larger ones required a number of bites. Then he set to work to cut the trunk up in short logs. At this point Mother Nature spoke up.
“Now show us,” she said, “what you can do with the logs.”
Paddy at once got behind a log, and by pushing, rolled it ahead of him until at last it fell with a splash in the water of a canal which led from near that grove of trees to the pond. Paddy followed into the water and began to push it ahead of him towards the pond.
“That will do,” Mother Nature called out. “Come and show us how you take the branches.”
Paddy climbed out and returned to the fallen tree. There he picked up one of the long branches in his mouth, grasping it near the base, twisted it over his shoulder and started to drag it to the canal. When he reached the latter he entered the water and began swimming, still dragging the branch in the same way. Once more Mother Nature stopped him. “You’ve shown us how you cut trees and move them, so now I would ask you to answer a few questions if you would please,” she said.
“Certainly,” Paddy said as he climbed out and squatted on the bank.
“How did this canal happen to be here in such a handy location?” asked Mother Nature.
“Why, I dug it out,” replied Paddy. “You see, I’m rather slow on land and I don’t like to be far from water. Those trees are pretty well back from the pond, so I dug this canal, which brings the water almost to them. It makes it safer for me in case Old Man Coyote or Buster Bear or Yowler the Bobcat happens to be looking for a Beaver dinner. Also it makes it very much easier to get my logs and branches to the pond.”
Mother Nature nodded. “Just so,” she said. “I want the rest of you to notice how well this canal has been dug. At the other end it is carried along the bottom of the pond where the water is shallow so as to give greater depth. Now you will understand why I called Paddy an engineer. What do you do with your logs and branches, Paddy?”
“I put them in my food-pile, out there where the water is deep near my house,” replied Paddy. “The bark I eat and the bare sticks I use to keep my house and dam in repair. In the late fall I cut enough trees to keep me in food all winter. When my pond is covered with ice I have nothing to worry about; my food supply is below the ice. When I am hungry I swim out under the ice, get a stick, take it back into my house and eat the bark. Then I take the bare stick outside to use when needed on my dam or house.”
“How did you come to make this fine pond?” asked Mother Nature.
“Oh, I just happened to come exploring up the Laughing Brook and found there was plenty of food here and a good place for a pond,” replied Paddy. “I thought I would like to live here. Down where my dam is, the Laughing Brook was shallow–just the place for a dam.”
“Could you tell us why you wanted a pond and how you built that dam,” Mother Nature requested.
“Why, I had to have a pond, if I was to stay here,” replied Paddy. “The Laughing Brook wasn’t deep or big enough for me to live here safely. If it had been, I would have made my home in the bank and not bothered with a house or dam. It wasn’t though so I had to make a pond. It required a lot of hard work and it is worth all the time and energy.”
Beaver built hut/home and food storage of sticks in the water.
“First, I cut a lot of brush and young trees and placed them in the Laughing Brook in that shallow place, with the base of each pointing up-stream. I kept them in place by piling mud and stones on them. Then I kept piling on more sticks and brush and mud. The water brought down leaves and floating stuff, and this caught in the dam and helped fill it in. I dug a lot of mud in front of it and used this to fill in the spaces between the sticks. This made the water deeper in front of the dam and at the same time kept it from getting through. As the water backed up, of course it made a pond. I kept making my dam longer and higher, and the longer and higher it became the bigger the pond grew. When it was big enough and deep enough to suit me, I stopped work on the dam and built my house out there.”
Everybody turned to look at Paddy’s house, the roof of which stood high out of water a little way from the dam. “Tell us how you built that,” said Mother Nature quietly.
“Oh, I just made a big platform of sticks and mud out there where it was deep enough for me to be sure that the water could not freeze clear to the bottom, even in the coldest weather,” replied Paddy, in a matter-of-fact tone. “I built it up until it was above water. Then I built the walls and roof of sticks and mud, just as you see them there. Inside I have a fine big room with a comfortable bed of shredded wood. I have two openings in the floor with a long passage leading from each down through the foundations and opening at the bottom of the pond. Of course, these are filled with water. Some houses have only one passage, however I like two. These are the only entrances to my house.”
“Every fall I repair my walls and roof, adding sticks and mud and turf, so that now they are very thick. Late in the fall I sometimes plaster the outside with mud. This freezes hard, and no predator who may reach my house on the ice can tear it open.”
Peter Rabbit drew a long breath. “What a lot of work,” he said. “Do you work all the time?”
“No Peter,” Paddy said with a chuckle. Mother Nature nodded and asked “Are there any more questions?”
“Do you eat anything else besides bark?” asked Happy Jack Squirrel.
“Yes actually,” replied Paddy. “In the summer I eat berries, mushrooms, grass and the leaves and stems of a number of plants. In winter I vary my fare with lily roots and the roots of alder and willow. Bark is my principal food though.”
Mother Nature waited a few minutes and seeing there were no more questions she added a few words. “Now I hope you understand why I told you that Paddy is a lumberman, builder, and engineer,” she said. “For the next session we will take up the Rat family.”
More photos + videos of beaver adventures at P.L.A.Y.Pinterest
This Curious Capkin has gatheredP.L.A.Y. Prompts for you to ponder and explore!
Enjoy!
Using these prompts inspired from today’s chapter draw, write, color, paint, or creatively capture your ideas and story adventures in your P.L.A.Y.nature journal!
In addition to Prickly Porky and Paddy the Beaver who else likes to eat bark?
Does Paddy the Beaver do all this work by himself? Does he have a family or other related helpers?
How long can beaver dams get? How long do they last? Months? Years?
Visit this LINKto the Mass Audubon Society for more information and photos of beavers.
If you find the work and vision of P.L.A.Y. supports you and your family on the life learning path, please pass it forward to friends and neighbors as a Simple Gift that keeps on giving.
Note: I purchased a new inexpensive macro lens that simply clips onto my inexpensive generic android phone per the recommendation in Kenneth Libbrecht’s book (below) for getting shots of snowflakes and other close-up wonders. Yay – it works!
Expensive equipment really isn’t required to P.L.A.Y.outdoors and collect cool photos to then share your adventures and nature’s wonders with the world!
Just pack a little patience, a ton of curiosity, and oodles of P.L.A.Y.-fulness and off you go!
