What a crazy week this has been! One evening, an alligator snapping turtle wandered into our yard, we had a tree struck by lightening, and had 2 black snakes in our garage, one about 7 feet long and one a bit smaller! But it made me think that it's important for us to teach our kids about the wildlife they may encounter in our area. If you visit Stackhouse or any of the nearby hiking or park areas you may well come across some of these critters! Of all of them, the black snakes are my favorite. They earn their keep around here..we don't have many mice anymore! Here is a link to information on Pennsylvania snakes: http://www.fish.state.pa.us/factsnake.htm
A link to snapping turtle facts: http://www.holoweb.com/cannon/snapping.htm
And then there's that pesky lightening! The National Weather Service says "when thunder roars, stay indoors!" Great advice and here's a link to some fun experiments! We tried the lifesaver one and it works! http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/kids.htm
Have fun and be safe!