Make time for final summer fun

For him, like for most of us, summer is a long-awaited season that passes too quickly. The warm, drawn-out, carefree days soon give way to cooler and shorter ones, rushed mornings and hectic afternoons. But autumn’s days aren’t here yet, so savor the last precious tastes of summer with these suggestions of places to go and things to do close to home.

Even cooler, “snow” fall is predicted all weekend at the North American bridge – with the help of machines cranking out thousands of nontoxic, evaporative foam flakes. Pamlico Joe, who combines his love of music with respect for the environment, performs both days with Cleanwater Flow at the Junction Plaza in the center of the zoo.

Watani Grasslands Reserve, the Zoo’s newest exhibit, recreates part of the wild African habitat for some of its most beloved residents: elephants, rhinos and antelope. Visitors can traverse the habitat’s 130-foot walkway to observe these exotic animals in their natural surroundings.

Offshoot “discovery trails” house an elephant game for children and an old bush-helicopter hangar with radio collars that rangers use for tracking elephants. Also new is the arbor mister, a large metal palm tree that emits a refreshing spray and gives human animals a chance to cool off too.

Block off some space on your calendar for Aug. 23, the Saturday before traditional-calendar school starts in most Triangle-area public school districts, to hit one of the big summer festivals in the area that day.

Beginning and seasoned paddlers can spend a relaxing day on the water while enjoying wildlife and the scenery. Both the Haw River Canoe & Kayak Co. and Frog Hollow Outdoors offer canoe and kayak rentals, instruction and a variety of guided trips on the area’s waterways. Reservations are required and are best made several days in advance.

Children can have a grand old time participating in contests and games, and adults can listen to the sounds of bluegrass and gospel music on two stages. The event also features authentic farm foods, homemade ice cream and farm animals.

From the elevated deck, visitors can watch continuous takeoffs and landings and hear communication from the control tower to pilots. Free parking, picnic tables and a small playground are nearby, and two runway replicas allow children’s imaginations to soar while pretending to pilot their own aircraft. Fifteen vintage photographs showcase RDU’s finest moments, from its first commercial flight in 1943 to its welcoming of eight U.S. presidents over the years on Air Force One.

Send the kids searching through nature on a scavenger hunt. Make a list of items in your backyard, a park or the playground. For children who aren’t yet reading independently, sketch the items to seek. A pine cone, pine needles, moss, a blade of grass, a rock and a leaf are just some examples. Scout the area in advance to be sure kids won’t run across any poison ivy, oak or sumac leaves.

Now, you make the rules. Collect items in a bag to be examined at the hunt’s conclusion or have kids use a digital camera to electronically capture each item. If you use cameras, the list can include things like a tree, squirrels and birds. Search in alphabetical order, by size or color, or race to find the objects in a set amount of time. Individually or in teams, the possibilities for scavenging fun are endless.

Place the pine cone in the freezer for about an hour to firm, then hang it outside from a small tree branch so squirrels can’t get to it. Cardinals and finches will soon flock to this hanging feeder, while doves and sparrows will enjoy nibbling the seeds that fall to the ground.