As temperatures cool and leaves turn to red and gold, we’ll wander through Emandal’s oak and riparian woodlands, walking no more than a mile or two each day. We’ll learn about monarch butterflies, sphinx moths, and native bees, who will be flitting, hovering, and nectaring among the flowers. We’ll examine and discuss the fruits, nuts, seeds, and exotic galls that will be adorning oaks, buckeyes, bays, manzanitas, mountain mahogany and other native trees and shrubs. Squirrels will be flying through treetops or dashing into burrows and woodrats will be resting quietly in their world-class castles until dark. 

We’ll watch dragonflies and damselflies actively patrolling Rainbow Lake for insects and mates, while lizards, spiders, and antlions quietly wait for their prey to come to them. Bear scat will be everywhere, filled with manzanita berries and apples, and acorn woodpeckers will be pounding acorns into trees, getting a head start on their winter food supply. We might see beaver, mink, otter, mergansers, or American dippers plying the Eel’s lovely pools as migratory birds fuel up for migration among the willows and alders. At night, crickets will perform symphonies under a an exceptionally dark sky shining with a gazillion stars.

If the temperatures are mild, we’ll head out after breakfast with our lunches and snacks and return around two pm. We’ll then have free time to swim in the Eel’s luscious pools, and/or nap, hike, read, socialize, or gather at our shaded table to look up answers to the day’s mysteries. If the days are hot, we will time our walks to beat the heat with a bird walk before breakfast, a “look-at-everything” walk for a couple of hours after breakfast, a long mid-day break, and another walk after dinner. Every afternoon you will be free to nap, read, socialize, hike, swim in the Eel’s renowned pools, or gather at our shaded outdoor table to look up answers to the day’s mysteries.

Several “ArtStay” classes will occur simultaneously with our “OakStay,” and members of all workshops will come together every evening before dinner to share the days’ discoveries and creations. 

Additional Supplies for Workshop

• Day pack

• water bottle

• hat

• sunscreen

• a light-colored piece of light-weight fabric to sit on, at least 4'x6' (part of a full bedsheet works--inexpensive from thrift store); 

• close-focus binoculars and Kate's book, Secrets of the Oak Woodlands (both can be purchased from Kate ahead of time from her website or at Emandal); 

• a pad of blank sheets for journaling and/or drawing; 

• writing implement(s) of your choice; 

• favorite field guides, if any; 

• comfortable closed-toe shoes with some tread for walking off-trail--ideally shoes that burs won't stick to. 

• Desirable but optional: 

  • Birding binoculars (8x42, 10x50 or whatever you have with a wide field of vision; Nikon Monarch 5 is a good, reasonably priced choice). I like to wear close-focus binoculars on a short strap and birding binoculars on a longer strap.