This month we made sure to observe carefully the granite rocks in Yosemite National Park. We didn’t collect any because that isn’t allowed in a national park but we did learn a little more about the granites found there with a trip to the Visitor’s Center. They have a fabulous display of granites, showing the rock cycle and the way this particular granite was formed.
Everywhere you go in the park you are surrounded by granite! Granite of all shapes and sizes lines the trails and creates the majestic valley walls you see all around you. The biggest piece of granite that looms over you in the valley would be El Capitan.It is a rock climber’s heaven and we read in the Visitor’s Center that the granite that makes up El Capitan was cooled slowly which makes it particularly strong and resistant to erosion. We watched the climbers up there on the nearly 3,600 foot granite face…amazing courage to be up there!
The exhibit has many interesting facts about the granites of Yosemite National Park.
There were also samples of the different granites from different areas of the part…each one with a little different combination of elements. Fascinating!
So even though we didn’t actually collect a sample from Yosemite, we have plenty of other granite samples from our travels locally. We are continuing to work our way through the Rocks, Fossils, and Arrowheads book.
We have high hopes of studying two rocks in June as we travel to Oregon. I know that if we didn’t make this project part of the nature study goals for 2013 we would have let it drop. But, I am determined to get as many done this year as possible.
Outdoor Hour Challenge: A fun way to learn about plant parts is to grow a table top garden with a few root vegetables. This week I challenge you to make a table top garden with your children. Keep it simple and start with one veggie and see the way it grows roots and stem and leaves. This is an easy project for any age.
Instructions on Hearts and Trees: Indoor Nature Study Idea: Table Top Garden
These instructions include a free downloadable notebooking page to go along with your table top garden.
Add your table top garden to your nature table as an on-going nature study experience.
Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #3.Use this challenge to help you draw your table top garden as you make your observations. Use the notebooking page in the ebook or the free one noted in the challenge above.
Purple and pink petunias are a garden favorite around here. Well, any purple flower is my favorite but petunias are a great color spot even in my vegetable garden.
I decided years ago that I like to mix up my garden boxes and include pretty flowers as well as veggies.This year we planted marigolds and petunias to add that splash of color for the early spring boxes.
I am looking forward to spending some time observing my petunias over the summer season and completing a petunia nature study…especially to see how the insects navigate the flower tube.
Nature Study Goal – Visit Yosemite in all four seasons.
Our spring trip to Yosemite National Park happened this past weekend…under brilliant blue skies and with warm spring breezes. Our original plans were for my husband and I along with the two younger boys to make the trip. When it came down to it, my nineteen year old and I were the only ones who were able to go. Fire season came early this year so my husband had to work a fire in Southern California. See? I always make plans but then remain flexible.
We were up and out of the house early and hit the road for the four hour drive to Yosemite. The time went by fast and I have to say it is super nice to have children that can drive me places while I enjoy the scenery flash by the window. After an uneventful trip there, we parked at Curry Village and took the shuttle to the trailhead at Happy Isles.
The trail to the bridge below Vernal Falls is mostly paved and sections are rather steep. The biggest obstacle are all the people! This is a popular day hike and on this particular Saturday….lots and lots people from all over the world. My son commented on how many different languages he heard as we hiked…Yosemite is a world-class destination for sure.
The one thing I really like about this hike is that you can hear and see the river as you hike. This makes it appear cooler and it reminds you that there will be a spectacular view just around every corner. I am always amazed at the power of water.
Here is what the lower trail looks like as you go from Happy Isles up to the bridge below Vernal Falls. Granite boulders and slabs surround you and the river runs along one side.
From the bridge up the trail to the falls the trail turns into slippery wet granite steps. You can tell how steep they are by observing how much the hikers are leaning over as they climb.This part is called the Mist Trail because you get the spray from the waterfall drenching you with water. I didn’t capture it this time but you can see whole rainbows in the misty air coming off the waterfall as you look over and back. Amazing!
At last! I am up at the top of Vernal Falls after a last heroic effort of encouragement from my son. He was such a great hiking partner and really cheered me on when I thought I had gone as far as I could up the HUGE granite steps and then inching my way up the last ledge with just a hand railing to keep me from falling off the cliff. See my smile? I was happy to up there and it was so very much worth the effort for this 50+ year old woman to be there. It helps that I have lost 40 pounds in the last three months…not so much weight to haul up the trail.
We had lunch and then hiked further up the trail to the bridge below Nevada Falls which was beautiful this time of year. We took our time going back down the trail and called it a day. Our tent cabin at Curry Village was super clean and comfortable. I think I slept better that night than I have in the last six months. I highly recommend the tent cabins at Curry Village for a camping experience without the fuss of taking your own equipment.
Milkweed with Half Dome in the distance
Our second day was spent biking around Yosemite Valley on the bike trails. This is my favorite way to take in the sights and we made the grand loop from Curry Village to Yosemite Village and then around the Swinging Bridge back to the Lodge and then on back to Curry Village where we had our car parked. There are 12 miles of biking trails around Yosemite Valley and you can rent bikes from Curry Village or Yosemite Lodge.
My son took a panoramic photo of the valley floor with Half Dome in the background and me on my bike. Awesome morning ride and we can hardly wait to go back and do it again this summer.
We are always sad to leave but we made some great memories and I feel great for having accomplished the hike to the top of Vernal Falls.
Grabbing the opportunity to take a day hike up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, my husband and I decided to visit Eagle Falls and Eagle Lake in the Desolation Wilderness. The trailhead is about an hour from our home and we couldn’t resist the time out in the sunshine and fresh air.
Hopefully this is the first of many day hikes for the spring and summer seasons.
It is an easy hike to the falls and the water was gushing over the rocks…love the sound of water when I am hiking since it makes me feel cool just hearing it. We crossed the bridge and continued up the mountain. If you look carefully in the top left of the photo you can see the rock staircase leading up to the trail.
The lake is about a mile past the waterfall. The trail is uneven from here on up to the lake and is characterized by large granite steps and slabs as you work your way up. The literature all says this is an “easy” hike but I would say it has sections that are ‘strenuous”. This is all uphill hike to the lake and then all downhill on the way back. There are sections of this trail that are rather muddy from where the streams cross the path.
The altitude got me on this hike and I found myself a little out of breath from time to time but that gave me an excuse to look around at the scenery and the view of Lake Tahoe in the distance.
We finally made it to Eagle Lake which is a pretty little alpine lake surrounded by mountains and trees. We sat for a long time just enjoying the views and eating a snack before heading back down to the car. I forgot to bring my hat so I was a little red from the sun…and gained about a million freckles.
One last view of the lake before we left…perfect hike on a perfectly spring-like day. The water shimmered like diamonds!
This is Arrowleaf Balsamroot that was in full bloom along the trail and the roads. What a happy flower!
Well, that is a glimpse into our day hike from last week. I hope you get the chance soon to get out into the spring sunshine with your family. Look for an entry this week from our Yosemite National Park visit which included a hike to the top of Vernal Falls and a day biking the valley.
We have studied many of the garden flowers listed in the Handbook of Nature Study over the years. Using the simple ideas in each lesson make it enjoyable and memorable. For this challenge (Focus on Garden Flowers), we picked just two flowers to study more in-depth- Salvia and Petunias (which will be the star of the next OHC this Friday).
Guess what? We have never had salvia in our garden before so a trip to Home Depot was taken and we found several varieties of salvia to choose from. We picked this purple salvia which we are hoping will apply to the salvia in the Handbook of Nature Study. From the label we learned it needs a sunny spot (6 hours of sun) and water every other day. It blooms summer to fall and will grow to a height of 10-36″.
I decided to plant my saliva in a pot so I won’t forget to water it and so I can watch it grow and blossom and hopefully watch the bees in it. It is a perennial so I will eventually add it to the flower garden.
From the lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 161), we looked closely at the flowers, looking for the corolla-tubes, stamens, and anthers as described in the narrative. The bees apparently have to push their heads agains the inner arms of the stamesn to lift them which causes the anthers to leave a streak of pllen along the bee’s fuzzy sides. The bees then have to crawl almost inside the tubes to get the nectar. I’m not sure that my variety of salvia will provide such a show but we will be watching.
I will be on the lookout for some Saliva as described in the Handbook of Nature Study so we can really get a good look. I printed the salvia notebook page from NotebookingPages.com’s Wildflowers, Weeds, and Garden Flowers set.
While we were at Home Depot, I picked up some more seeds to plant in the garden. They had some larkspur seeds and I will plant those and use along with the lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study, hopefully later this summer. There were two other seeds that caught my eye and I will be planting those today along my fence-line- Hollyhocks and Black-Eyed Susans!
Our garden is all planted and I hope to get a garden entry done sometime in the next week to share all the lovely Renee’s Garden seeds that we have tucked into their garden beds…just waiting!
I am an affiliate for NotebookingPages.com and highly recommend this set for your Wildflower, Weeds, and Garden Flowers study.
Use discount code = discount5 to save $5 on your $10+ purchase at NotebookingPages.com
Planning a spring trip to Yosemite is always a lot of fun, anticipating the delights waiting inside the national park boundaries. The waterfalls are always at their best in the spring and the valley begins to turn green and lush. On this trip we are staying overnight at Curry Village in the tent cabins...heated and with electricity. We have been to Yosemite in May before and ended up camping in the snow so we opted for a little more comfortable accommodations for our spring trip.
The price is reasonable and we reserved a cabin that includes a buffet breakfast in the room price. I am always hungry at breakfast and with a snack we can make it through to an early dinner (saves money and time). Note the bear locker outside the cabin door. You MUST keep all your food and fragrant items in a bear locker to prevent bear problems within Yosemite National Park.
So what are we planning on doing on this May visit to Yosemite?
Nevada Falls, Yosemite National Park
I am hoping there is no snow and we can hike up to the top of Vernal falls. That is the plan anyway. We are going to try a much longer hike in July and this would be a warm up hike…we may even go up further to the base of Nevada Falls or to the top…depending on weather.
The Pacific Dogwood may be blooming too and that will be another subject that I could study while we are there. This trip is hopefully going to be filled with spring things that are abundant in Yosemite. Even though we have been there many times, we always find something new to learn about.
But, plans are easily changed if something better comes along.
Of course we will share our adventures when we get back.
You can read more about our adventures and hikes in Yosemite on my Yosemite For Families page on Squidoo.
These were the blossoms on the Western Redbud a few months ago, before the leaves appeared.
This is what it looks like now.
Western (or California) Redbud
Pea family
Usually a shrub 7 to 18 feet high.
Leaves are round and heart shaped, winter deciduous
Bright purple flowers appear in early spring on naked branches, followed by bronze colored leaves that soon turn green.
Seed pods appear in July.
Grows below 4,000 feet.
Drought tolerant and sun-loving.
Native Americans highly prized this shrub and used its autumn wine-red branches for basket-making.
I am hoping to have this redbud as part of my lovely front yard for many, many season to come.
I have long wanted a redbud in my yard and when we did our front yard remodel we left a space for one in the front section. I planted poppies around the base and this spring I got to discover how beautifully they work together in my yard. I need to remember that you are to prune it in the fall, winter, or early spring after the leaf drop.
This month our Outdoor Hour Challenge focus is on garden flowers and crop plants. There will be no lack of subjects to study this month right outside our front and back doors. As the spring weather warms up and we have abundant sunshine, I am eager to get out and start digging in the dirt. It was easy to check off a few of the Garden Grid Study ideas as went worked in the yard this weekend.
So I will give you a tour of some of the interesting garden flowers, crops, grasses, and bushes we have in our yard right now. Enjoy!
Heart shaped leaves…
My latest garden acquisition is this lovely, lovely lilac bush. If only you could smell the delicate fragrance of the flowers! I am hoping this is a winner in my sunny backyard. We planted it where it will have plenty of sunshine and room to grow.
We had this spot already prepared from last summer when it was part of my experimental veggie garden expansion…we weren’t all that successful so I decided that my beloved lilac would find a home here.
More heart-shaped leaves…
Here is my latest experiment….hydrangeas on the shady side of my house. I decided to leave them in pots to see if they survive and if they look like they are liking it here then I will plant them in the ground. The birdfeeder has now been moved to the other part of the garden where the squirrels might not find it for a bit.
Watched the bees in the flowers…
The backyard lavender is blooming now and the bees are busy already. You can never have too much lavender….or at least I think so.
Disneyland Rose
This is definitely the year of the rose in our area. All my roses are blooming and this one is my favorite…the Disneyland Rose. It has a spicy perfume fragrance and the blooms are peachy-pink. I cut this all the way to the ground last fall because it was an odd shape. I wasn’t sure if it would bloom well this spring but I have to say that I may just cut it all the way down every fall if this is the results. Awesome!
Look at those leaves!
This is another new arrival in the back garden. We have a super sunny hot spot up next to my backyard retreat. Nothing has been very successful here except the Jerusalem Sage. I am taking a chance with the Moonshine Yarrow and it has probably doubled in size since we planted it. I am hopeful that it will do well here.
These leaves are fuzzy and soft.
This is our Jerusalem Sage…I looked it up and it grows to be about 48″ wide. It needs very little water and it blooms long into the autumn season. I watered it three times a week last summer (the first summer) but now I am going to be only watering it twice a week and see how it goes. It looks like it is pretty well established. Where I live in Northern California, we get very little rain from June to November. Our first significant rain last fall was November 27th. Now you know why I use lots of drought tolerant plants in my yard.
So here is my surprise squash plant that is growing in the cutting flower garden box. I am not sure where it came from but I am going to let it grow since it seems so happy where it is. I did not have squash growing anywhere near this box last year so we will be surprised when it matures to see what it is exactly.
I had to include an image of my clover since we are focusing on Garden Flowers and Crop Plants this month for the Outdoor Hour Challenge. Clover is included in the Handbook of Nature Study so if you have some in your yard…take advantage of the nature study opportunity.
Our Smoke bush is so very pretty right now with its airy little blossoms that make it look like it has smoke. This has doubled in size since we planted it two years ago and I love the way it looks right now.
See the tiny little flowers? This is what makes it look like “smoke”. Later in the autumn the leaves turn a deep purple…love it!
One last image of our sage that is growing like crazy with our warmer temperatures and sunshine. This will be covered in delicate purple flowers during the summer…loads of bees visit these bushes in our front yard during the summer.
There you go… a visit to my garden, a few new things, and some close observation as part of the Outdoor Hour Challenge. My boys helped me finish preparing the garden boxes and we planted seeds this weekend too so there will be lots more to come as the seasons flow by.
This month’s blog sponsor is Udi’s Gluten Free….a premium gluten-free foods company that caught my attention when I attended the BEECH Retreat way back in January. I was so impressed with their products and their company that I decided to seek them out for a partnership here on my blog as a way to help promote their delicious foods to my readers. If you are gluten-free in your family or thinking about it, I highly recommend that you see if you can purchase their products in your area (look in the frozen foods department).
Why have Udi’s Gluten Free sponsor my nature study blog?
Personally, I think eating healthy foods is a part of the lifestyle that I try to promote here on my blog. I know of many families in my real life that are gluten-free and I have seen the struggles they have gone through to provide alternatives to gluten for their children who have Celiacs or other grain-related allergies. I want you to experience what I did at the BEECH Retreat. I was shocked to taste gluten-free that was so yummy!
As an active family, I wanted to show how you can take Udi’s Gluten Free products with you on the trail and on the road. This month we will be traveling to Yosemite for our big spring trip and Udi’s foods will be going along with us. I look forward to sharing the many varieties of tasty treats and staples that have found a place in our family’s diet.
Udi’s Gluten Free – Giveaway So let’s start the month off right with a fun giveaway for two free products from Udi’s Gluten Free. Use the Rafflecopter gadget to enter for acouponfor free Udi’s products. Two winners will get to try their choice of products using the coupons that I will mail to them. I will pull the winners on Wednesday night. It is as simple as that!
Udi’s provided free product for my review and for the giveaways but no other compensation was received. I love these products and want to share them with you…you will always get my honest opinion.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG "Eagle Falls Hike")
.JPG "view of Lake Tahoe from Eagle Lake Trail")
.JPG "Eagle Lake May 2013")
.JPG "Eagle Lake El Dorado County")
.JPG "Arrowleaf Balsamroot")
