Author: Barb

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Tweet and See – Delighted With Our May Bird List

5 26 11 Hummingbird in Feeder
We can stand inches from the feeders and the hummingbirds still come to eat.

May 2011- This list is testimony that keeping a list makes you more aware of the birds as you go about your everyday business. I started off the month thinking that our feeders were empty and that most of our resident birds were gone. But….when I slowed down, wrote down each bird that I saw each day, the list is full and rich and even includes a new bird to our life list. I love the mental exercise of keeping track of the birds we see and it makes me more aware of each winged creature that we saw during the month.

We are leaning towards studying our backyard hummingbirds for our June bird since they are such a willing subject. You can join us with a hummingbird study by clicking over to the Outdoor Hour Challenge for Hummingbirds and Flight.

Hummer in tree (3)

Tweet and See button

From Our Backyard

  1. Western scrub jay
  2. White-crowned sparrows
  3. Anna’s hummingbird-Resident hummers are all over the place right now!
  4. Common raven
  5. Black-headed Grosbeak* Our new bird that we first observed on the trail and then at our very own feeders!
  6. Red-tail hawk
  7. Turkey vultures
  8. Mourning doves
  9. Great horned owl *Mr. A was up early one morning outside and he called me out to listen to two owls
  10. House finches – Sweet singers in our yard
  11. White-breasted nuthatch
  12. California quail-A pair in our backyard…not usually seen so close to home. Lots as we drive around town.
  13. American crow
  14. Canada goose
  15. Acorn woodpecker- swings from the suet feeder like an acrobat
  16. Lesser goldfinches – so brilliant and yellow right now…..in the feeders and the birdbath
  17. House sparrows
  18. Oak titmouse
  19. California towhee
  20. Starlings
  21. American robin – another bird bath participant

Hummer in tree (2)
Out and About

  1. Brewer’s blackbird
  2. Tree swallows
  3. Wild turkeys – whole flocks
  4. Spotted towhee
  5. Red-wing blackbird
  6. Mallard ducks
  7. White Goose….not sure what the name is yet.
  8. Rock pigeons
  9. Emu – sort of a crazy bird to add but we did see several, obviously not native….neighbor has a few

You can share your link with Tweet and See…click the button above to learn more about the monthly meme.

Hummer in the Feeder Flying

Hummer in the Feeder Still

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Come On Out And Enjoy…..My Garden Calls Me

5 28 11 Garden Gate

We spend lots of time outdoors throughout the seasons but last night I realized why I like the summer season so much more than any other. My favorite time of day is after dinner is prepared, eaten, cleaned up, and the other chores are done for the day. When I step outside in the evening the garden is not calling me to work….no weeding, no planting , no watering, no pruning, or harvesting.

5 28 11 Garden Tools

At that time of day the garden is saying, “Come on out and sit. Enjoy the growing things. Smell the fragrances that drift on the cool night air. Drink deep and refresh yourself after a long busy day. Say a prayer of thanks and just look at the sky.”

I answer the call.

5 28 11 Garden Growing
We had a bit of rain earlier in the day and it watered the garden for me.

Last night as I sat on the lawn chair I saw a few goldfinches visit the feeder, I noticed the lilac is getting bigger, I smelled my fragrant roses, I kicked off my shoes and wiggled my toes in the grass, and I heard the rustling of the tree leaves behind me. I was alone for the first time all day and it was really nice to sit and think.

5 28 11 Garden Buckets
Jami isn’t the only one experiencing colder, wetter weather.

Plans were made as the sun set in the west to trim a few bushes, fill the feeders, weed the path, and write this blog entry but not tonight….maybe in the morning.

5 28 11 Garden greenness

Summer evening in the garden….looking forward to more of those in the weeks to come.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom



Jami’s Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

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Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival – May Newsletter Edition

Outdoor Hour button

Our very first Newsletter Edition of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival is full of great nature study and encouragement from families around the country. I love the community feel of the Outdoor Hour Challenge and how this new format is going to help us spend more time actually outside observing our own backyards and neighborhoods looking for things that catch our interest.

I know that I gave four areas or topics for you as suggestions for nature study and you will find those listed below but I wanted to mention that if you end up focusing on something other than the suggested topics, please feel free to submit those entries as well. One thing I would like to ask of you in return is to include in your entries a link back to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletter or the Handbook of Nature Study blog. I want as many people as possible to learn about our activities and jump in and participate. If you want to use the Outdoor Hour Challenge logo in your entries that is encouraged too but not required.

Don’t forget that tomorrow I will be posting the new Outdoor Hour Challenge June Newsletter! You are going to love all the new features and special activities contained in the second issue of the newsletter. Make sure to subscribe to my blog so you will never miss an entry.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival
May Newsletter Edition

blowing dandelions
Wildflower Study

  • Heather at Blog She Wrote has some wildflowers to share with carnival readers in her entry, Vernal Pools and Bogs.
  • You are going to love this dandelion study! Ann at Harvest Moon by Hand gives us loads of great ideas in her entry to the carnival.
  • Kelsey from Mud Puddles shares their Spring Hike with loads of big beautiful images of wildflowers.
  • Susan from Learning All The Time has submitted their backyard nature study featuring wildflowers! Don’t miss their very well done nature notebook pages from the May Newsletter.
  • Phyllis and her family took a trip to the strawberry patch and they found some pineapple weed! Check out their entry, Unschool Monday: The Strawberry Patch and Nature Study.

hydrangea_1_sm
Garden Flower Study

birdhouse
Bird Study

  • Kristin from Broom and Crown has some great images from their May bird study,  Desert Birds at the Botanical Garden.
  • Kelsey from Mud Puddles and her children learned about the Luzuli bunting, a new bird that visits their feeder.
  • Susan from Learning All The Time shares their new birdhouses in her entry Nature Study-Our Backyard.
  • Jamie from See Jamie Blog has a robin’s nest to observe! Don’t miss her up-close photos of her resident bird.
  • Tricia from HodgePodge Homeschool has a guest poster…her son! He shares their Beautiful Birds.
  • Angie (Pebblekeeper) from Petra School shares their May Bird in the entry Warbler Tree.
  • Angie from Petra School also captured their neighborhood Osprey and Eagle fighting it out for a trout! You can read their May Bird List entry as well….very impressive.

Mammal Study

  • Kelsey from Mud Puddles submitted their study of backyard mammals….check out their nature journals using the notebook page from the May Newsletter.

children in a stream
More General Nature Study

Oak

  • Nicole from One Hook Wonder submitted their Spring Tree Study (tulip tree) and an Ant Study
  • Kattie from 2 Ladybugs and a Lizard writes about their Spring Tree Study for their crab apple tree. Her daughter made some wonderful notebook pages.

children outdoors

  • Phyllis and her family had an Unexpected Nature Study at the beach….snake!
  • Angie (Pebblekeeper) from Petra School submits their Tadpole Nature Journal entry for carnival readers. They used the Fill-In-The-Circles idea from the May Newsletter for their journals.
  • Brandy from Half a Hundred Acre Wood gives beginners some wonderful ideas and resources for nature study. Don’t miss seeing her butterfly example!

 

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Dandelions Can Grow Two Feet Tall!

Really Tall Dandelion 2

I think we have all read in the Handbook of Nature Study that the dandelion can grow to be two feet or more in height. I had never seen a dandelion that tall but I took her word for it (page 532 in the HNS in the dandelion section).

Today, I saw a dandelion that was more than two feet tall! The photo above show the plant we found alongside our walking trail. I am holding the stem up with the blossom on top…..Kona wanted to be in the photo too. Yes, it was cold enough for a flannel shirt and it did sprinkle on us as we walked. I had on my new Keens though….Keen Newport Sandal (gargoyle and sap green).

Dandelions

Here are the blossoms up close.

Dandelion leaves

I took a photo of the leaves at the base so you can see that it is indeed a dandelion.

Purple Vetch

The purple vetch is really taking over the sides of the trail…my favorite color so beautiful and happy.

Purple Vetch and Little Yellow Flowers

It makes me happy anyway. The bees were loving it too.

So there you have it….two foot high dandelions!

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May Mammal Nature Study: Bats…Revisited (+Who gets the Watercolors?)

5 18 11 Sunset Sky
Sunset – time for mosquitoes and almost time for bats.

We have been on the lookout for a mammal subject for our May nature study. I included it in the May Newsletter suggested study because I was really hoping to see our fox friend in our yard this month.  I have been wanting to do some research on him, but he has only left some scat behind and we haven’t actually seen him.

What would we study for our May mammal?

Well, remember a few weeks ago we had a bat visitor inside the house? My husband suggested that we learn about bats. Sigh. I don’t really like bats and we already had done a quick study with OHC #49. I wasn’t convinced until night before last. We were sitting outside eating dinner for the very first time this year…our normal spring/summer routine….and the mosquitoes were driving us crazy! There is an abundance of these pesky little critters right now and I commented that we needed to do something about them. My husband mentioned that we should encourage the bats because they eat lots of mosquitoes and they would help keep the population down.

Aha! A positive reason to study the bats!

We spent some time at dusk sitting outside to wait for the bats and they didn’t disappoint us. They came in and swooped at head level, zooming around the yard with amazing agility. We did some reading in the HNS and online the next day and here are some of the points we gleaned about our flying mammal friends.

  • Members of the family Chiroptera, meaning winged hand.
  • Only real flying mammal.
  • Most North American bats are insectivores, eating about 1,200 insects an hour or approximately 6,000 insects a night.
  • You can attract bats in several ways- build a bat house and/or leave a light on so the insects cluster, making a dinner spot for the bats.
  • We found this website informative for our local area: Northern California Bats
Bat nature journal (1)
May Newsletter journal idea – Fill In The Circle (bat drawn by Mr. A)

I have had a few readers ask me what kind of nature journal I use to watercolor in and I will give you a link to an entry where I discuss my choice: Autumn Series #1. Well there you go…our May mammal study finished and just in time to start thinking about all our June nature study subjects. Our family is really loving the new format of the Outdoor Hour Challenge and the freedom it has given us to pursue a variety of subjects as they have come up in our daily life.

Don’t forget to send in your nature study entries by 5/30/11 for the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. You can submit your entries HERE.

Gerbera daisy journal with field watercolor set
The winner of the giveaway from last week’s watercolor sketch entry is Corrine from Boston! 
(I used a random number generator to pick the winner.) Corrine chose the Koi Water Colors Pocket Field Sketch Box! Congrats!

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Azaleas and Good Qualities Grown in the Garden

We have been hoping to establish azaleas in our garden for years now. This year they are finally giving us the color we have anticipated. Azaleas do not grow naturally in our area so I had to experiment to find just the right spots for them to thrive. Each year I have patiently waited to see if the bushes would bloom. Last year the pink azalea bloomed a few pretty blossoms but the others I actually thought were dead, looking like sticks.

5 19 11 Azeleas pink 2

Here is our pink bush…wow! The bush is loaded with blooms and it makes me so happy when I walk down my back steps. It is flourishing in the shade of the deck, finally.

5 19 11Azeleas Pink

The red bush is blooming right now as well although it has very few leaves. The bush has long branches and flowers at the ends. It is not as pretty as the pink bush but I am thrilled that it is showing signs of life.

5 19 11 Azeleas White

The white bush has the biggest flower blossom of the three colors and is so delicate and pretty. I love the way the light illuminates the petals.

Wonderful to finally see the colors. The rewards of patience and faith…..good qualities we can grow in our gardens.

Strawberries and Roses - First of the Season

Talk about rewards! Here are the first roses and strawberries of the season. Guess what kind of smoothie I had this afternoon? Yum!

I am patiently watching (okay not so patiently) as the seeds all sprout in the garden. Every morning there is something new to look at and I actually did a happy dance yesterday when I saw that every Kentucky Wonder has sprouted and has two leaves! My daughter and I planted her container garden (she is living with us temporarily so her garden will need to move back home with her in a few weeks). She planted a patio tomato, a Serrano pepper, and some basil seeds. She calls it her bruschetta and salsa garden. I am so glad that I have passed on the love of gardening to my children…that in itself makes the task more meaningful.



Jami’s Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

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Queen Anne’s Lace: A Mid-Spring Update

We have had our eyes out for it. We have been anticipating it. It arrived almost overnight!

5 18 11 Queen Annes Lace 2

The Queen Anne’s Lace! Right alongside our walking trail where it was so beautiful last summer we found it sprouting up in large numbers. Look at the bright spring-green color!

Now I feel like we have completed our Queen Anne’s Lace cycle for the four seasons. All that is left now is to enjoy watching it grow and grow and grow.

Thanks Anna Botsford Comstock for inspiring us to watch this plant for a complete year. If you want to get started with your own Year-Long Queen Anne’s Lace Study, here are the links for spring and summer.

Queen Anne’s Lace Spring 
Queen Anne’s Lace Summer

This might be a good time to look for it growing in your neighborhood too.

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Bird Study May 2011: Black-headed Grosbeak

Black Headed Grosbeak 1

We have a new feeder bird! I changed up our seed in the feeder and I started to catch a glimpse of a new colorful bird coming to visit. I could hear a new song in the backyard trees as well and I knew it sounded a bit familiar. It finally occurred to me that this was the same song that I heard earlier in the month on our hike to the natural bridge. It was the Black-headed grosbeak!

Black Headed Grosbeak 2
Sure enough….there are three that come to our feeders now.

They are such beautiful birds and I know now why they are called songbirds.

My field guide says this, “Song, rising and falling passages, resembles a robin’s song but more fluent and mellow.” This is the perfect description of their song. You can hear it in the video in THIS ENTRY or at this link on AllAboutBirds.

Black Headed Grosbeak 3
NotebookingPages.com has a great free resource for those of us who live on the West Coast…free bird notebook pages for the following birds: Red-tail hawk, Western scrub jay, Spotted towhee, House finch, Black-headed grosbeak, and Black-capped chickadee!
Here is your link: Free Bird Notebooking Pages
 
I took advantage of the free page for the Black-headed grosbeak and used it for my nature journal.

Black-headed Grosbeak Nature Journal
What a thrill to add a new bird to our backyard bird list….we started off the month of May thinking that our Tweet and See list was going to be sparse. Boy were we wrong! We not only have a large number of birds but a new one to report as well.

Another great week of nature study….another topic from the May Newsletter completed. We have our mammal still left to find but we may just revisit a wildflower instead if we can’t come up with a good mammal to study using the Handbook of Nature Study. Remember to submit your entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival to share your links just like you would for Mr. Linky.

You can really do any topic for your entry….I am hoping that you pick at least one thing from your own backyard and that you give the nature journal idea a try.

 
Don’t forget to use my discount code:
Use discount code = discount5 to save $5 on your $10+ purchase at NotebookingPages.com
Use discount code = discount10 to save $10 on your $20+ purchase at NotebookingPages.com

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Still Planting Seeds and Making Discoveries: Sunflowers, Foxglove, and Three Sisters

5 10 11 Sunflower Seeds
Three kinds of sunflowers – mixed the seeds and planted in our garden.

Seed planting continues in our garden as the weather has allowed us to be outdoors. We have had rain, wind, and one morning we had about half inch of snow! It has been the craziest weather year ever. The snow managed to come *after* I planted my tomato seedlings. They look like they are going to be just fine but I hope the weather warms up again soon.

I decided to plant a patch of sunflowers, mixing three different kinds of seed in a pile and then randomly putting them into the garden (see the photo above for the varieties we picked). We shall see how it turns out. The Lemon Queen sunflowers that I planted a few weeks ago are now sprouted and about 2 inches high. I ended up planting some Four O’Clocks in the same bed which will be interesting to see how they grow in the same space.

5 12 11 Sunflower Sprouts

Our volunteer sunflowers sprouting up under the birdfeeder are really getting tall already. I love having sunflowers plant themselves and the birds enjoy the seeds in the autumn.

5 11 11 Three Sisters Garden
The Three Sisters garden did not get planted again this week. We have composted the row again and added a little mulch as well. It is really looking great after Mr. B dug out all the turf and roots left over from the last composting. The corn will be planted first in mounds and then when the corn is 6 inches tall we will plant the beans and pumpkins.

I did get one more tomato seedling in the ground and some lemon thyme to replace the one that disappeared from last year’s garden.

In other areas, amazing discoveries were made over in the butterfly garden. I noticed a rather large plant growing over the last few weeks. I couldn’t remember what I had planted in that particular spot….I’ve tried a few things there and nothing seems to like it very well. I left the plant alone when I was weeding, figuring I could wait a bit to see just what it was when it grew larger.

Sure enough, it is a foxglove!

Foxglove 2

This was quite a surprise since I don’t even remember EVER planting a foxglove in this spot. I will enjoy it no matter how it ended up in my garden. It looks pretty happy growing up among the daylilies and the lavender.

Foxglove 1

I can hardly wait for it to bloom!

This week we are hoping to get out and plant the remaining seeds – more basil, more zinnias, a few more rows of Kentucky Wonders, and a new dahlia that says it grows in containers (I put a link at the bottom of this post for the seeds we are planting). We are really keeping our garden a manageable size this year and I am anticipating a lot of time just sitting and enjoying the garden rather than working in it all the time.



Jami’s Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

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Keeping Up Our Outdoor Time: May Nature Study

Dragonfly in Our Backyard
Dragonfly Beauty from Our Backyard

The new idea for using the Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletter instead of a weekly nature challenge has liberated our family to follow our interests. I hope that your family is enjoying the subjects that come your way and that you take advantage of following up interest with the Handbook of Nature Study.

Lemon Queen Sunflowers sprouting
Lemon Queen Sunflowers sprouting in the lavender box.We are growing these as part of the Great Sunflower Project.

There have been several comments and emails asking if you can submit any nature study topics to the upcoming blog carnival. I would love to see whatever you do for your Outdoor Hour Challenge using the Handbook of Nature Study, or journal entries using the suggested ideas from the newsletter, and/or notebook pages from your own backyard studies.

Please feel free to submit your entries as you go along, just as you would have done with Mr. Linky. Here is the submission page for your entries to the carnival:
Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival 

I hope to get our next study posted over the weekend….probably our garden flower entry.