On Friday November 7, three classes took a field trip to Wolf Hollow and to Russell Orchards. The scenery on the road was stunning. Fields and trees ablaze with fall colors surrounded classic New England turn of the century architecture. The first stop was Wolf Hollow, and the excitement of the students was evident as we waited for the tour guide to lead us to the wolves.  Some students peeked through the fence for a first glance.  As we walked to an outdoor covered row of benches, the wolves came out to look at us.  Since we were in one small covered area and the wolves were free to roam, it was not clear who was the one being observed.

The tour guide stood in a small area right next to the wolves. She taught us about the importance of wolves to the environment and as top predators in the ecosystem. She also dispelled the myths that wolves will aggressively hunt you and that they howl at the moon. She explained the purpose of the Wolf Hollow foundation as a sanctuary to protect disappearing wolves and to establish further education and understanding of the gray wolf. During her very long speech, some of the wolves were pawing at her back for treats. Every once in a while she would throw some treats over the fence. Although the temperature was supposed to be in the 40s, it felt more like 30. The weather was extremely raw and damp. Although the students liked learning about the wolves, they were quite cold by the end of the lecture. After about 45 minutes, we boarded the bus and headed down the road to Russell Orchards. This apple farm and winery has a press for making cider and is located right next to the water. Students had an opportunity to enjoy hot apple cider and apple cider donuts. The bright orange pumpkins and bright colored trees created a nice fall backdrop for the farm.