Froggy Goes to Outdoor School

Hey, hey, hey! It’s one of your favorite amphibians here to teach you about other lovable squishy weird things! I know- who’s excited now? I’m here at Y Camp Orkila learning about the marine environment at Outdoor School. There are so many cool and crazy things here I don’t even know where to start!

Let’s take this aquarium, for example. That weird looking 5 pointed star is a leather star (just so you know, Fajita). They eat while their stomach is outside their body. Yes, you read that right! What??! See that anemone with all the soft little hairs you just want to pet? DON’T do it- they have stinging cells in their tentacles that paralyze their food before they eat it!

I haven’t even gotten to that crazy looking purple stretchy creature with orange spikes…

That’s a sea cucumber. Yes, some people do eat them. Not this frog! Especially not after I heard how they defend themselves from predators. They expel all their insides so they look super-duper gross. Definitely wouldn’t want to eat them. Here’s a video for those of you that thought “COOL! I want to see that!”

I couldn’t capture photos of the next amazing creatures we got to see through the microscope. They’re so tiny you can’t see them with your regular eyeballs. Zooplankton are itsy-bitsy little guys, but some of them are VERY speedy swimmers. Oh, my goodness! I can’t move that fast on my best day. Luckily, some of the interesting things to discover stay in one place and you can always find them.

I decided to take a look at the guidebooks to find out what kind of plants live around here before heading to the dock. That’s how I knew there were at least 2 plants down there. The long, bright green stringy things at the top are actually eel grass (there you go, Fajita). It’s stuck on the top of a long seaweed called bull kelp. Nope, Fajita- not like the male cow.

I was so mesmerized by the seaweed and grasses moving in the water I forgot to pay attention to holding on….

Well, that was a wonderful and refreshing dip! No regrets. Cool clear water and a fast-flowing current that brought me straight back to shore. Also feeling grateful that I can swim. There was a huge lions-mane jelly that floated under the dock. Thinking of you, RoaRRRy- hope you’re doing well out there in MN!

Hee, hee! This final picture is from a fun game called “Life in the Forest.” It’s like a big game of hide-and-seek meets tag. We’re up in a tree because we’re herbivores. There’s no way the omnivores are going to find us. Even if they do, those kids aren’t tall enough to reach us on this branch. Jokes on them- all-time winners here!

So long for now. There’s a campfire happening this evening & if I don’t get there soon, Taco will have eaten all the S’mores. (Don’t panic- he’s not eating our friend S’mores, he’s eating the snack s’mores. Oh, it’s getting very confusing around here…)

- Froggy