I have the pleasure of reading Amy Allender’s articles before all of you do. Please, take the time to read this week’s column, where she talks about the Northern Lights. Her column gave me an idea for my column this week. Back when I was a kid, we would be sitting in the seat of a grain truck waiting for a beckoned call from the combine to unload. We didn’t have cell phones back then, so we were in tune to what was going on around us. I only start at this point because it was sitting in a grain truck that I saw my first “all out” display of Northern Lights. I sat on the front of the truck in total amazement. Mother Nature had opened the door to her classroom, and the next day I got out an encyclopedia to learn more about what these

Northern Lights were, how they were created, and most important; “will they happen again?”

That memory gave me the idea for my article. You see, North Dakota, with its’ four seasons, is truly a great classroom. Let’s start with the spring. Right now, you can drive to one of three National Wildlife refuges, Des Lacs, Upper Souris, and J. Clark Sayler, and watch at the many waterfowl start their nesting season. Perched on stands in the middle of a pond of water will be the Canadian geese who have claimed the nesting stand to begin the process of laying eggs and hatching out what will hopefully be a clutch of about goslings. During the summer months you can return and see the mother goose followed by her young. In the fall the goslings will be full -fledged adult geese, ready to take flight and head south for the winter.

Sharing the pond area will be muskrats, who build houses of mud and twigs. Their larger cousins, the North American beaver, also build houses with entrances under the water line. With a pair of good binoculars, you can often catch a female muskrat or beaver leading a couple of youngsters across the water. Again, by winter they will be adults and ready to take on a North Dakota winter. There is so much to learn from a quick walk on one of the nature trails at these wildlife refuges, and with a cell phone you don’t need to delay the learning process at all. I have a birding app on my cell phone. On occasion I will see a bird I don’t recognize and within minutes can identify and learn about the bird on my cell phone.

Up on the prairie there is another classroom. I used to walk and look for wildflowers. This time of year, there are wild prairie roses, crocuses, wild sunflowers and even some berry plants that bloom before producing berries. Once in a while you will catch a glimpse of a white tail deer, and if you are really lucky, a doe with a fawn, or even a couple of fawns.

Down at Fort Stevenson, there is a quite a herd of deer that live right in the park. Jump on one of the nature trails that run through the park and more than likely you will run into one of them. Last year one of the does had three fawns. Quite a family. Haven’t seen a ringneck pheasant up close. Fort Stevenson is home to many. Also, with such a mild winter, the pheasant population has grown considerably. These are perhaps one of the most beautiful birds that are native to the North Dakota prairies.

I was talking about my classroom experience with the Northern Lights. Well one evening as I gazed out across the newly planted field (we needed to have a truck in the field for planting, too) I saw a female fox going into a hole in the ground. Back to the encyclopedia to learn that the red fox that are common to North Dakota, dig dens to raise their kits. No, not kids, kits. That summer I would make many trips watch as the 5 fox kits grew into adults. They were fun to watch. Soon they would wander away from the den, and the mother fox would be fast to grab and carry or herd them back to the den. It was kind of a sad day when I returned to the den area, and the fox family was not around.

What is so amazing about our North Dakota outdoor classrooms, is that every year they change. Different animals and maybe a few more flowers change the classroom. Soon I would bring a camera with me to capture photos of the wildlife, or the flowers.

I just gave you a couple of the lessons that can be learned, and the locations of these outdoor classrooms. Truth is, North Dakota is full of classrooms. Your back yard could be a great classroom. Put out a bird feeder or build a bird house and you have a great classroom.

If you need more information, drop me an email at sentrysales@srt.com. Be a graduate of North Dakota outdoors. Lessons taught by some of the very best teachers.

Best Kept Secrets
Going to put in my plug for the Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery. Tours can be scheduled online. Check out their web site at https://www.fws.gov/fish-hatchery/garrison-dam/visit-us/tours.
Today’s Chuckle
The only way most people see the light is by opening the refrigerator door.