We have A LOT of trees in our yard.  Big ones.  We love them in the spring and summer for their shade and leaves, and are not so fond of them in autumn, when we are cleaning up those leaves.  It's practically a neighborhood requirement to own a leafblower.  During that 3 hour long thunderstorm on Memorial Day, an ash tree in the side yard started to pull out of the ground.  By the end of the week, it fell over, mercifully missing the house.  And yes, a tree DOES make a sound when it falls in the forest! 

We had the tree cut up into firewood lengths that we plan to use in our fire pit out back.  This also led to a great opportunity to figure out how old the tree was.  First we estimated the age of the tree--J guessed 100 years, K guessed 80 years.  Then, starting in the middle, we counted the rings.  We found 73.  I took a pen and marked the tree rings when each of us were born, the year the house was built, and calcualted when the tree was born.  I also showed the girls how some rings were larger than others, indicating the tree grew more in those years, perhaps due to good weather and growing conditions. 

I'll be honest--they were not as fascinated with this process as I was, and it didn't hold their interest for a terribly long time, although the entire activity wasn't time consuming either.  But hopefully they learned a little something about the trees around us and could appreciate nature a bit more.  J did mention a large tree section in the nature center where she goes to summer camp, so she did relate this experience to a past one. 

I know it's hard for them to really understand how different the world would have been in the 1930's, when the tree first started growing.  It's a bit hard for me, too!  Yet in a world where everything seems to happen in an instant and we're told that the newest things must be the greatest, it's nice to take a moment to appreciate something lasted way longer than some electronic gadget. 

One of K's favorite Lancaster destinations is That Fish Place/That Pet Place, located on Centerville Pike (www.thatpetplace.com).  If you have a kid under the age of 12, you've probably made at least one excursion to this wonderful place.

Yes, it's a humongous pet store.  They have great supplies for all kinds of pets, and a great helpful staff.  If you are one of those families who can't keep a goldfish alive for more than 2 weeks, fear not--there is so much to see at That Fish Place, you don't even need to worry about having your own pet. 

The main entrance leads you in to the pet supply section of the store.  There is a large reptile area immediately to the right.  They have snakes, lizards, turtles, and frogs.  The last time we were there, they had just received a shipment of new snakes, so we watched one of the employees put the snakes into the cages.  The snakes come in pillowcase-like bags--we thought they were empty until we realized they were moving on the countertop!  Some of the reptiles and other animals are permanent residents of the store, with signs on their cages explaining why they came to the store (they got too large, the owner couldn't care for them properly, etc.)  It's a good lesson for all of us, reminding us caring for these creatures is a big responsibility and shouldn't be taken lightly. 

Next, we usually visit the small mammal room, where you can see rabbits, ferrets, mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, and the resident chinchilla.  I had a guinea pig as a kid, so this room brings back fond memories for me (except for having to clean the cage--not my favorite chore).  Usually the ferrets are kept in a large baby play yard, and you can watch them playing or eating, which always amuses K. 

There is a small enclosure with different birds that are very pretty to watch, but noisy!  We also saw a room with cats from the humane society.  The cats and dogs at That Pet Place are all shelter animals that are available for adoption.  Good to see that they are fighting the puppy mill problem and helping to provide forever homes for shelter animals.  More information and adoption fees can be found on the website. 

Before you get to the entrance of That Fish Place, there is a tidal pool where you can reach in and touch anything, including the coral, rocks and skates (fish that look like small stingrays).  There are also regular shows at the tidal pool, where the staff will give you lots of information about the creatures in the tidal pool.  And finally, the fish room--literally row after row of aquarium tanks filled with every kind of fish you can imagine, fresh water and salt water varieties.  There is a new section that is devoted to outdoor ponds, where they sell plants and fish for your own little garden oasis.

K completely loves this place, and I'm sure many more trips are in our future.  Yes, it's a store, and you may have to put up with your child asking you to buy them a new best friend.  But just going to and seeing all the animals is really fun.  Hey, you can always give the goldfish another try. 

I teach at a summer camp this week, so I haven't had as much time for blog entries.  My job this week coupled with J being away at camp means that K and Daddy get to spend some serious quality time together.  They kicked off their week together by going to Lake Tobias on Monday.  I don't have pictures available yet, but I'll try to post some later.

K is my animal lover (although sometimes she worships from a distance).  She is the member of the family who pays the most attention to our elderly cat.  She can identify more wild birds than her older sister and loves going to Zoo America at Hershey.  The last time we went to Lake Tobias she was still a baby in a stroller, but this time she was able to take in the action. 

Lake Tobias Wildlife Park is located in Halifax, PA (www.laketobias.com) and is a combination zoo, petting zoo, and safari tour.  There are animals in enclosures that you can walk around and see, as well as a petting zoo.  My husband said this was K's favorite part.  She was especially attached to a miniature horse in the petting zoo and returned to see it several times.  She was also highly amused by the goats in the petting area, which kept trying to eat Dad's shorts.  The highlight for Dad is always the safari tour.  Guests ride in a converted school bus--the top part of the bus is cut off, kind of like a convertible with a lot of seats.  The driver takes you through the fields, where you can see longhorn cattle, rhea birds, buffalo, elk, sheep and many other animals.  You can buy feed for the animals before the tour.  The driver stops the bus at certain areas and the animals will come right up to you!  The elk will literally climb the steps of the bus.  Dad knows this, so he always tries to sit in the front seat of the bus.  He reports that K nearly crawled under the seat when the elk showed up (hey, they are really huge, especially to a 5 year old!) but she really enjoyed it.  There is also a reptile house and special reptile show.

Admission to the part is $4 per person for ages 3 and up.  The safari tour is $5 per person (ages 3 and up), and the reptile building is $1 per person (ages 3 and up).  We had a buy one get one free coupon for the safari tour from an entertainment book.  There is a concession stand in the park as well.

We've visited Lake Tobias as a family several times in the past when J was young, and I'm sure this won't be our last trip there.  Getting so close the the animals is such a unique experience, one that's hard to duplicate elsewhere.  Lake Tobias is a family run business, and you definitely get the feeling that there is a lot of pride in the park about that.  It's a great place for families, and we all highly recommend a trip there. 

For our last trip of the summer, J, K, my mother  and I went to the Hershey Gardens, located near the Hotel Hershey.   www.hersheygardens.org.  J was there when she was younger, but this was K's first time visiting. 

The gardens were created by Mr. Hershey in 1937 after being asked to sponsor a national rosarium in Washington D.C.  Mr. Hershey decided to build his own botanical garden so that the public could come and enjoy it.  Since its inception, the garden has grown to a 23 acre garden, including an Italian Rose Garden, a Japanese garden, an arboretum, and the children's garden.

My girls both enjoy the children's garden, especially the butterfly house.  The butterfly house is an enclosed space with plants and tons of butterflies!  Sometimes they will even land on you.  You sometimes have to watch where you are walking so you don't step on any.  You can also see different chrysalises and cocoons and even some recently hatched butterflies.  K enjoyed carrying around the butterfly guide given to visitors which helped us identify the different butterflies.  The butterfly house is only open until September 12 this year, so hurry in to see them!  Their other favorite is the gigantic Hershey Kiss sculptures that squirt water at random times!

The children's garden also features an alphabet garden, with a plant representing each letter of the alphabet, a sundial that uses your own shadow to create the time, a place to learn fractions using a chocolate bar relief in the concrete (why wasn't learning fractions like that in school?), a bird blind with the perfect tree for kids to climb, and other fun things.  My kids both just love being outside, so even when we were finished in the children's garden, they enjoyed smelling the roses in the Italian garden and just looking at all the different flowers and trees.  J even recalled some things she had learned about the different trees from her nature walks at summer camp. 

Right now, there is also a display called "For the Birds" which runs until September 26.  It's a neat display of over 20 different birdhouses, many made with recycled materials.  They range in look from all natural materials to eclectic (a caboose, one covered in seashells, one carved as an bearded man with a hat).  Visitors are given a ballot at the entrance to the gardens and you can vote for your favorite!  We all enjoyed this, and took our time choosing our favorites.  We finished our day by having a picnic lunch at the tables located just outside the garden entrance. 

I think some folks will wonder if their kids will enjoy anything outside of the children's garden, but mine really did.  If you have outdoorsy kids, they will really enjoy this experience.

School starts Monday!  Although I won't be contributing as much to the blog then, but I plan a "wrap-up" entry for the summer.  Consider it something of a "what we did on our summer vacation" essay.  Thanks for reading!