This week’s Outdoor Hour Challenge was to look for and observe some Teasel. We were not expecting to see any teasel this week and we didn’t…not too disappointed and we didn’t let it stop us from taking some hikes to see some other weeds with prickles and interesting flowers.
We observed something with prickles….Yellow Star Thistle. This is a menace in our neighborhood and I immediately pull it out by the roots if I see it in my yard. We have friends that have a honey business and they insist that star thistle honey is the best. It is very light tasting and is one of my favorites.
We also observed some Curly Dock. It is so colorful in the landscape right now. (More information on Cal Flora.)
Sometimes you just need to go with whatever subjects present themselves.
We are experiencing the King wildfire in our area which is a little scary. Each day we looked at the smoke and clouds and wondered how far it would come our way. Some of our friends were evacuated but so far we are safe here at home. The drought conditions in California are so severe and those dry conditions coupled with heat and windy afternoons make for perfect “fire weather”. This is from the bottom of my road.
This is from yesterday in town looking towards the fire. They call those clouds above the smoke “pyrocumulous“.
Yikes.
We are all praying for the fire to be contained and for all those evacuees to be allowed home to their homes. My husband is working on this fire but is in management with a job behind the scenes at base camp. He is tired but doing okay…this is what they do and they are accustomed to being under stress in emergency situations.
Hope you had a chance to get outside and look for some teasel or other weeds this week!
This Outdoor Hour Challenge is included in the new Autumn Nature Study Continues ebook. It is only one of fifteen nature study topics included along with notebook pages and coloring pages. If you have an Ultimate or Journey level membership, you will find this ebook in your library!
We didn’t have a chance b/c it’s county fair week, and our observations have been 4-legged in nature, but I am so glad you posted this. We have an abundance of teasel here, and I love to collect it for fall displays, but I never knew what it was called. I can’t wait to do this study w/ my kids!
We don’t have teasel in our area so we had to make do. I am so glad you took the opportunity to study what you had access to this week. Enjoy your teasel study!
Wow, that is pretty scary. I hope you all remain safe.
Very smoky here today but still doing okay.
Barb, my son Evan (8) wants you to mail him so teasel so he can grow it! 😉 Anyway, he really enjoyed the pictures of the weeds. They are all truly beautiful! I can’t say that we’ve ever seen any of those before. We live in TX, so I’m sure it’s just something that isn’t native to here.
God bless you all in this time of tribulation. I do pray that you get relief in the form of much needed rain! And I pray you stay safe!
We don’t have teasel where I live either. We keep an eye out for it when we are traveling. Thanks for keeping our wildfire in your prayers.
I’ve never seen teasel in Minnesota….or anywhere I’ve traveled in my life. Perhaps some day. Those fire clouds look a bit too close for comfort. Hope the wildfire subsides soon!