Yesterday we were able to take a hike out in the snow at our favorite spot. It felt like spring and the sun warmed my neck in a welcome way. I realized I can smell the forest again. This is the first time I noted that during winter there are far less fragrances in the air. Yesterday we smelled the piney woods fragrance of the evergreens in the warming sun. It smelled delicious.
We tried to focus on finding signs of mammals on our hike as part of the Winter Series Challenge for mammals.
The squirrels have been busy munching on cones.
Isn’t this just the most wonderful cone you have seen in a long time?
The snow is melting a little on this familiar hike. The beaver dam is still visible with all the leaves gone from the trees and bushes.
Here you can see the snow pulling away from the creek water and exposing the grasses underneath. It feels like spring here for the first time.
I am thinking these are dog tracks but perhaps coyote since we have seen them in this area before.
Now these I am pretty sure are rabbit tracks…or perhaps snowshoe hare tracks.
We spotted this trail of tracks to the left of the snowy log and if you look carefully you can see them disappear in the distance. I have no idea who made them but they were fun to see and to talk about.
Here are some more tracks down by an icy spot on the creek.
We came home and decided to look up and learn about a mammal from our field guide. There are quite a few to choose from that live in this particular area, but we chose the Douglas squirrel (or Chickaree). We often hear squirrels in the trees and now we know that in this particular area, the only tree squirrel is the Douglas squirrel. They have a chattering sound that is distinct, making it easier to identify even if we don’t actually see them in the trees. Our mammal field guide says that they are active all year long, but they still store a winter cache of cones. We also learned that the piles of leftovers where a squirrel eats are called middens. There is an actual name for those piles we see under trees!
“Nature has made him master forester and committed most of her coniferous crops to his paws. Probably over fifty percent of all the cones ripened on the Sierra are cut off and handled by the Douglas alone, and of those of the Big Trees perhaps ninety percent pass through his hands.”
John Muir on Douglas squirrels, The Mountains of California.
Isn’t that interesting? I love when we take a few minutes to learn a little more about something in our nature study that really is meaningful and will help us understand our local environment better.
This was a great challenge for us this time around.
Outdoor Hour Challenge Winter Series Ebook
Early Spring Flowers
“The tulips blossom early, because they have food stored in the bulbs the year before, ready to use early in the spring….These observations may be made upon tulips in school gardens or bouquets.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 554
Inside Preparation Work:
This challenge is to learn a few things about spring flowers and then observe some up close.
Suggested sections in the Handbook of Nature Study:
The Crocus: pages 547-549 (make sure to note that it has corms, not bulbs)
The Daffodils and their Relatives: pages 549-552
The Tulip: pages 552-555
If you can look at real bulbs and observe and sketch them in your nature journal, take time to discuss and compare a bulb to a seed.
Outdoor Hour Time:
Spend your outdoor hour time this week looking for signs of spring bulbs or flowers. If you planted some bulbs in the fall, take a look for any new growth. You may have neighbors that have bulbs sprouting and blooming or there may be some at a near-by park. Many flower nurseries will have blossoming bulbs you can purchase and observe as well.
Follow Up Time:
Use a few of the suggestions from the Handbook of Nature Study (pages 548, 551, and 555) to study your spring flowering bulbs. You can record your observations on the notebook page from the Winter Nature Study ebook, a blank notebook page from the blog sidebar, or in your own nature journal.
Journal Suggestions:
Sketch the shape of your flower and record the number of petals.
Look for the different flower parts: stigma, petal, sepal, anther, stem, leaves. (See page 548, 551, and 554 of the Handbook for diagrams.)
Observe the flower’s colors.
Describe the stem’s shape and compare it to other flowers.
Study and sketch a flower bulb.
Watercolor drawings can be made of any of your early spring flowers.
Yesterday we noticed many little wildflowers starting to bloom as we hiked. Treasures around every corner. Treasures better captured with my camera and not to be picked.
Wildflowers are a feast to our eyes and I appreciate that if we leave them in their natural place that others will be able to enjoy them as well. Most wildflowers do not last very long as picked flowers anyway. Last year I saw a young family picking oodles of poppies along the trail. I don’t think they realized that poppies once picked don’t last very long, especially if you are picking them and dumping them into little buckets for your kids to carry. We occasionally pick a single wildflower to press and preserve in our nature journals. We pick only if there is an abundance and we do not take the whole plant. Rarely do I pick any wildflowers unless they are on our own property or my dad’s property, never at a National Park.
“Some flowers are so abundant that they can be picked in moderation if the roots are not disturbed, if plenty of flowers are left for seed, and if the plant itself is not taken with the flower.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 460
I think this is still good advice today.
We are just beginning to see the fennel blooming along the edges in the sunny patches.
Same with the Fiddlenecks…they are just popping open with their bright orange-yellow in the sunny spots.
I think this was the Miner’s Lettuce blooming…I have to go back and check.
I never did identify this one last year. I am going to take my field guide with me on my next hike and see if I can figure it out this season. It is very small and it blankets the edges of the trail in the shady sections. I seem to remember that we thought it might be Spring Beauty.
Today we were going to hike in another county, but it had to be postponed. My hubby wants to work in the garden anyway and plant a few of the early spring veggies.
One last photo from the other day when the clouds and sky were so very beautiful.
We completed the salt crystal experiment described in the Handbook of Nature Study. I think it took our water about a week to evaporate enough that we had crystals on our paper. Reading other families’ experiences with this activity I was interested in the fact that some of their water evaporated overnight or within a day or two! We must have a very humid environment compared to others.
We completed the experiment to find out which melts faster-ice with or without salt.
We were totally amazed at the differences in the different freezing points of various salt/water solutions.
And the most long lasting activity was growing salt crystals on a string, with really beautiful results.
We are going to copy some of the other families who conducted the salt crystal activity with various kinds of salts. I think this would be a great way to wrap up our study of salts and to have some more fun in the kitchen together.
Today it snowed. Today it rained. Let’s just say we were surprised at how many birds we had in our feeders despite the crazy weather.
I had my Canon Rebel out again and did some practicing and experimenting with various settings.
This is a resident Western Scrub Jay in our Sweet gum tree. I like the little sticker balls in this photo.
This is my absolute favorite photo of the day. A pair of Mourning doves perched in the Sweet gum tree and did some posing just for me.
I love their little pink feet. They also make a wonderful sound when they fly. If you would like to hear what it sounds like, click over to Cornell and scroll down to where it has the listing for wing whistles. This is exactly what it sounds like.
Here is one of our many, many juncos sitting in the rain.
This photo is from yesterday and even though it is a little blurry, I thought you might like to see one of our Northern Mockingbirds with a tasty little treat in his mouth. He stopped on my neighbor’s mailbox and looked over his shoulder at me before flying off.
That’s enough birds for today……thanks for indulging my bird photography habit.
Last year we had a great time keeping track of all our early spring wildflowers. It became a sort of treasure hunt for our family as we hiked every week. Although none of us felt much like getting outdoors for a walk yesterday, except for perhaps our dog, we kicked ourselves out the door and were rewarded with some beautiful wildflowers to look at as we hiked.
The manzanita is blooming now and technically it is a flowering bush…I still think the buds are very pretty and this one with the bright red bud caught my eye.
There is a special spot in the canyon that we can hike to that has a slope where as the seasons progress it has different wildflowers. Right now it is starting to bloom with this Popcorn flower.
The saxifrage is starting to bloom now and it is interesting with its red stems.
How about this Houndstongue? Wow! It is so very pretty. Just like it shows in the photo, some of the blooms are almost blue and some are purple.
Okay, so this one isn’t a photo of a wildflower but he was hopping all over the meadow where we were taking photos. He was a very spirited grasshopper….let’s just say I took about ten photos trying to get him inside the frame. 🙂
We were very glad that we got out and took a hike yesterday. The sun was warm and the flowers cheered us all up. I hope they cheer you up as well.
This has been a very busy month for nature study using the Outdoor Hour Challenges despite the blizzard conditions in much of the United States.
I am encouraged and impressed by all the families that have joined in a winter nature study routine this year. Usually, I am plodding along with a few others during the cold winter months, but this year you have all rallied to inspire each other.
I hope you enjoy reading the entries and viewing the images as much as I have over the last few weeks. Thank you so much for your participation!
Outdoor Hour Challenge #1 Let’s Get Started
Erin shares their nature study at Life in Poland. They are just getting started with the Outdoor Hour Challenges so you might want to send them a big welcome all the way over in Poland!
Outdoor Hour Challenge #2 Using Your Words
Quinn from Inside the White Picket Fence shares their second Outdoor Hour Challenge: Outdoor Hour. It looks so very cold, but also very beautiful!
The Chances are continuing with the Outdoor Hour Challenges in Arizona. They share their second challenge on their blog In Perpetuity Throughout Our Universe.
Outdoor Hour Challenge #3 Now is the Time to Draw
Quinn shares their very snowy world in their OHC #3 Entry at Inside the White Picket Fence. Don’t miss her beautiful photography!
Holli and her children took their outdoor time for this challenge and found some interesting things to learn more about and they share in their entry on their blog Settled In My Home. They also worked in their nature journals!
Outdoor Hour Challenge #4 Time to Focus
Quinn and her family are studying birds as their focus area. They combined several studies all in one to create this wonderful Bird Entry. Thanks for sharing your cardinals with us all.
Holli shares their family’s bird focus in her entry for Outdoor Hour Challenge #4. Warning: This entry includes cute baby chicks!
Outdoor Hour Challenge #5 Making a List
Quinn is on a roll with the Outdoor Hour Challenge and this week they used the Handbook of Nature Study‘s suggestions to study their hens feathers and more. She also had her children start Life Lists of birds they have observed. Great job! Nature Study and Feathers Note: One of her hen photos is on the sidebar of my blog as the Outdoor Hour Challenge Photo of the Week!
Outdoor Hour Challenge #30 Weeds and Seeds
Andi shares their weeds and seeds challenge on The Learning Pomegranate. I am always amazed at seeds and their power stored within. Thanks Andi for the beautiful photographs.
Outdoor Hour Challenge #32 Pine Trees and Winter Series #5 Pine Trees
Andi from the Learning Pomegranate shares their very wintery study of Pine Trees. I was interested in reading about the pine needle tea.
Gabby from The Work of Childhood shares their family’s study of a great big pine tree and its cones (includes a craft as well).
Angie shares their latest Pine Tree Study on her blog The One Thing, this time around with snow in Georgia! Her boys are loving it.
Amy shares their snowy pine tree study on her blog Together for a Reason. They always look like they are enjoying their outdoor time.
Angie (Pebblekeeper) shares their very interesting Oregon version of the pine tree study on their blog Pebblekeeper.
Alex shares their White Pine Study for this challenge. They even drew some pine cones.
Winter Series #2 Winter Tree Study
Makita at Academia Celestia shares their Winter Tree Study of an apple tree!
Alex shares their Canadian Winter Tree Study….their birch tree is the focus for the year in their family.
Winter Series #3 Winter Sky
Amy at Together for a Reason completed the Winter Sky and Stars Challenge with her family….great job getting outdoors in the cold weather.
Alex shares their Winter Sky Study. Love the photo of the kids all bundled up outdoors at night!
Winter Series #4 Winter Weather
Amy at Together for a Reason says that this weather challenge came just in time for the blizzard!
Angie and her family enjoyed the big snow this year as well. They share their Winter Weather Study with us all on her blog The One Thing.
Michelle from Delightful Learning completed an excellent study of salt along with four different salt evaporation activities.
Winter Wednesday -Insect Study
Loni had a close encounter with a earwig and it made for a great nature study subject. Read her blog entry at Hearts in Training.
Winter Series #7 Winter Bird Study
Casey and her family participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count *and* her daughter started a study of robins. Here is her entry at Bumpin’ Along the Road Less Traveled.
Tricia at HodgePodge shares their Great Backyard Bird Count along with some truly wonderful photos of cardinals. Don’t miss this one!
Another family participated in the GBBC…Alex and her kids counted birds in Canada and they share their results with some photos in their entry: Winter Series-Winter Birds.
Loni from Hearts in Training shares their backyard birds including woodpeckers, robins, , cardinals, and mourning doves. Here is their entry for the carnival: Winter Winged Visitors.
Kellie at the Blue House Academy shares their thoughts on bird study and some great resources in her blog entry, A little bird told me… She also has some wonderful bird photography.
Outdoor Hour Miscellaneous
Loni atHearts in Training shares their family’s study of a newborn White-tailed deer. Beautiful nature journal done by Mom.
Angie at The One Thing shares their nature study field trip along with some wonderful photos of things they saw “not so close to home”.
Thanks to everyone for all the entries and photos and participation. Please consider submitting your Outdoor Hour Challenge entries and your Winter Series entries to the next carnival. Deadline for submissions will be March 26th and all entries from March are eligible. Here is the link for submissions: LINK.
You can find all the paintings listed here on Wikimedia Commons: Caspar David Friedrich, Hut in Snow Conrad Alexander Muller-Kurzwelly, Waldlandschaft in Winter Boris Kustodiev, Winter Nikifor Krylov, Russian Winter
My oldest son gave me his old Canon Rebel to use and yesterday I took a deep breath and started using it for the first time. I am a little intimidated by the sheer number of things I can do with this camera compared with my point and shoot.
I must have taken 100 photos and there are only four that are worth sharing. 🙂
I shared last week that we have a Western Scrub Jay building a nest in our front yard. I was able to capture him gathering some twigs for the nest as he flew from the backyard to the front yard about fifty times.
Here is another jay in the feeder. I love the way his tail feathers are all folded up in this photo. He really is the King of this particular feeder. He spends a great deal of his time chasing the little birds out of the way.
Here is a junco who managed to get his share of dinner before the jay swooped in and scared him away. The juncos are not particular about which feeder they eat in or under. I like the way you can see all his different colors of feathers in this photo.
One last photo of one of our resident juncos. He is so cut all puffed up and sitting on the branch of our sweet gum tree.
My goal is to work with the Canon a little each day so that I gain some confidence.
Outdoor Hour Challenge
Winter Series #8 One Small Square-Winter
(See also Outdoor Hour Challenge #9)
Outdoor Hour Time:
Gather:
Yarn
Scissors
Ruler
Four rocks
Optional: small garden trowel and magnifying lens
Measure off one square somewhere out in your yard or near-by park. I prefer to do this somewhere I can dig up a few inches of soil and not get into trouble. Use your ruler to place rocks in a one foot square plot. Use the yarn to mark off the edges of your square.
Now the challenge comes in. See how many different things you can find in your square. Now that it is winter, you may need to dig a little snow up to see if there is anything hidden in the snow or under the snow. If there are leaves, lift them up and see what is underneath. If there are rocks or gravel, scrape them aside and see what is underneath. If there is grass and you have permission, use your trowel to dig up a few inches under the grass, moving it carefully to the side to replace when you are done observing. Use your hand lens if you have one along with you on your challenge. If you would like more information on square foot nature study, you can click over to my Squidoo Lens: Square Foot Nature Study.
Follow-Up Activity:
After your outdoor time, take a few minutes to discuss what you found in your small square. Make note of any items you want to research further.
“Make the lesson an investigation and make the pupils feel that they are investigators…….The ‘leading thought’ embodies some of the points which should be in the teacher’s mind while giving the lesson; it should not be read or declared to the pupils……..The outlines for observations herein given by no means cover all of the observations possible; they are meant to suggest to the teacher observations of her own, rather than to be followed slavishly….If the questions do not inspire the child to investigate, they are useless.” Handbook of Nature Study
Give an opportunity for a nature journal entry. If you used your hand lens during this week’s challenge, encourage your child to draw something they saw that you would not normally see like a small insect, worm, or seed. Your child could also make a list of things that were found in the small square in addition to the drawing. You can use the provided notebook page in the Winter Series ebook, a blank notebook page from the sidebar of my blog, or your nature journal for your observations.
One time we did a really big square in the woods and we kept the yarn up for a complete year. We would go back and make observations in each season. I would highly recommend this activity if you have a place you can mark for a whole year.
I thought you might like a little tour of my early spring garden since the rain stopped last night and the sun is out this morning. Everything is a little damp from the rain still.
The tulips are all up and promising to give a colorful display very soon. This was my purple garden last year but I added a few new tulip colors so it will be a surprise when they bloom.
I honestly can’t remember this flower from last year, but it is bursting with oranges and greens in the far corner of the garden.
There is an explosion of primroses under my other birdbath. These were transplanted from Amanda’s garden box last year and they love this spot in the garden.
Ahhhh….this means it really is almost spring here in our neck of the woods. The grape hyacinths are blooming in all their purple glory. Now if I can just keep my boys from mowing them down along with the grass.
Little tiny flowers…can’t remember the name of this one….are blooming if you keep your eyes focused for the pretty periwinkle color.
My daffodil patch is ever so close to blooming and since it is by my mailbox, I can see it every day as I collect the mail.
Everyone who reads my blog with any regularity knows that I have a “thing” for lavender. This year our plants promise to give us a beautiful show of color and fragrance. The hummingbirds have already spotted these blooms and in the early morning I have seen them out here sipping at the flowers.
I learned something this year quite by chance. I left my broccoli plants in the ground and in a few pots all winter and this is what happened….beautiful yellow flowers. The hummingbirds have been in these blooms as well. I think next year I will leave a whole bunch of broccoli plants in the ground because they make really pretty blooming plants.
I would call this a true *spring green*. The moss growing between the bricks in my little arbor is thick and soft.
We have a new development in the front yard. We noticed today that the Scrub jays are building another nest in our magnolia tree. They fly back and forth with little twigs….hundreds of times over the course of the day so far. They are very busy. If they succeed in building their nest, this will be the third year in a row in this particular tree.
Hope you enjoyed my little tour and if it is cold and you are having winter weather today, I hope it cheered you up.
