Do you have a place in your neighborhood where the grass doesn’t get mowed very often? Maybe you go out to Fisher Farm park sometimes or to Abersham or walk on the Greenway. Any of these places will have some areas where the grass is a little taller and maybe some other plants like Queen Anne’s Lace, or Goldenrod grows. You can think of this as a meadow. Another place that we can call a meadow is a field that a farmer uses to grow hay to feed the cows or horses, or maybe a place where horses or cattle live. Any of those could be called a meadow. And besides the plants that are easy to see, there are lots of things living there. You might see some birds like a Meadowlark, a Goldfinch or a Field Sparrow. And you would find a lot of insects like Grasshoppers or maybe Dragonflies if water is nearby. If the flowers are blooming you might see Bees and Butterflies. You would also see Lightning Bugs or Fireflies at night and I’m sure you would hear Crickets or Cicadas. If you get down on your hands and knees you would find things living on top of the soil like Spiders and Beetles. If you dig in the dirt you might find Earthworms. And maybe you would see a Snake or a Lizard. There might even be a Frog or a Toad living there. And then you might find a little Mouse or a Mole or a Vole. And maybe you would see a Cottontail Rabbit. If you hang around at night you might see a Fox or even a Coyote.
I’m sure there are even more things than I have listed. I hope if you have a back yard or a vacant lot or maybe you get to visit a park you will look all around and see what kinds of plants and animals you find living there. A meadow can be a very interesting place to explore.
Here’s a link to more information about a meadow.