Our new house backs up to a river and that means we have a lot of birds that live along the river visiting our backyard and feeders. The red-winged blackbird is a daily visitor so we’ve had plenty of time to observe it up close. We hear it in the early mornings as the day is awakening. This challenge is coming at just the right time for us to make a more formal study of this active black bird.
Use the ideas in the Outdoor Hour Challenge in Homeschool Nature Study membership. The suggestions will help you get started using the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock to learn more and help your children get to know this fairly common bird.
What should you do if you don’t have any blackbirds to study this week? Pick another bird!
What a month! We’re still getting acquainted with our new habitat and the weather here in Central Oregon. June started out feeling like early spring to me…cold at night, a few gray days, sprinkles, and the beginning of the wildflower season.
As I was looking at our photos from the first week in June, it seems so long ago! The brittlebush was the predominant flower we saw along the roadsides. There were a few other flowers like the pussypaws and a bit of yarrow.
Now the roads are lined with lupine, daisies, yarrow, and penstemon. We found an awesome patch of river lupine on a walk this last week. There were whole fields full of purple spikes so tall they looked artificial. I could’ve taken a hundred photos! (Make sure to look at our Lupine Nature Study Challenge.)
I can’t describe the feeling of waking up every morning now to a new day. I am eager to throw open the blinds to see what is out on the horizon. Is it a misty morning over the river? Are there deer or elk in the yard? Is it a golden sunrise? Each day has its own gift.
We walk every day in our new neighborhood. My favorite is the sunset walks down behind the house at the river. Over the past month, the grasses have grown from ankle high to pretty much waist high! We can barely see our Labrador as she walks through the grass. The sound of birdsong is a constant feature and I’m trying not to tune it out into the background.
We have a weekly routine of going to Sunriver for a walk and a “date”. It could be a cup of coffee or a lunch on the patio of one of the restaurants or a visit to the nature center. It is all such fun. There are so many walking and biking trails throughout the area that we’ll be hard pressed to walk each section before the summer is over but we’re going to cover as much as we can. This coming weekend I am going to Sunriver for the Central Oregon Wildflower Show! I may try to do an Instagram Live session if possible.
We have been hiking up at Newberry Volcanic National Monument. We drove up to Paulina Falls and then hiked up to Paulina Lake. It was a really warm day but the sound of falling water and the shady forest trail made it so enjoyable. We did some investigating while we were up there and now have a short list of places to hike and a kayak trip planned.
We spend a lot of time in our yard as we see it transforming rather quickly from winter to summer. We are nurturing the rock garden and adding a few new things as we discover what will actually grow in our garden zone. I pretty much find plants that say they are hardy to -20 degrees and figure that should be good enough.
Now that July is upon us, I am anticipating a big trip back east. I was just sent some links to hikes we will be doing in the Hudson Valley of New York and we have a trip to Niagara Falls planned too! As much as I want to go, I am sort of feeling like I would like to stay home to experience a complete July summer in Oregon. I guess that shows I’m beginning to feel more at home here. My husband will be in Oregon and I will have him document the weeks that I’m gone so I can at least see what I’m missing.
I hope you’re having a great summer so far and I look forward to hearing how your outdoor activities have enriched your life.
Ultimate and Journey Level members can click this graphic to go directly to the library to download a copy of this new ebook. Make sure you are logged in and if you are having trouble with your password, please leave me a comment or send me a direct email to receive my assistance. Email: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com
How Do You Join?
Answer all or just one of the prompts in a blog entry on your own blog or right here on my blog in a comment. If you answer on your blog, make sure to leave me a link in a comment so that I can pop over and read your responses.
During our outdoor time this week we went….
The most inspiring thing we experienced was…
Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about)…
In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting….
Please read the following explanation outlining how to get this month’s newsletter.
The newsletter link is not in this email but will come separately. Members should have received their link already.
If you don’t receive the separate email with the download link, you probably aren’t subscribed to the blog yet. This will take less than a minute to do if you follow the steps below.
If you are a subscriber and you haven’t received your newsletter email yet, check your SPAM inbox. Some subscribers have found the email buried in SPAM inbox.
If you need to subscribe:
You will need to go to the Handbook of Nature Study, look to the top right corner for the box to type in your preferred email address, and then confirm the email that comes to your email inbox.
Once you subscribe, you will receive a thank you email from me with the download link for the current month’s newsletter.
This month’s newsletter link will be available only during the month of July so be sure to download it before 7/31/17.
Contents of this edition of the newsletter include:
My article: Learning Birds by Song- We are going to be learning about birds this month! One of my favorite activities is to listen to birds sing so this month in the newsletter I am encouraging you all to give it a try!
There are several printables in the newsletter this month: planning page with lots of simple nature study suggestions, nature journal toppers, nature study bookmark, and a bird life list.
Resources for your Nature Library: I have started to build a nature library store on Amazon that will feature by category my favorite nature study books and resources. Take a look and see if there is anything you would like to put on your wish list for your family’s nature study library: Handbook of Nature Study Nature Library Suggestions on Amazon.com. Note this is my affiliate store to items I personally recommend and have read or seen in person.
Please note that Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level members have access to members only printables each month in addition to the newsletter printables. You will need to log into your account and then go to the “Other Releases” section.
New printables are now posted in the Member’s library!
1. Bird Tail Comparison: Use this notebook page to learn more about the shape of bird’s tails by making some comparisons.
2. Learning About the Shape of a Bird’s Tail: Do some research on bird’s tails and then do sketches of each kind of tail.
If you are looking for a fantastic set of bird notebooking pages that includes all of the birds in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford-Comstock, this is THE product to have on hand. I have used these pages with my children and in my own nature journal over the years. Please note that I am an affiliate for NotebookingPages.com and will receive a small commission if you purchase any of their products. I highly recommend this set for your bird nature study.
Moving to a new habitat has renewed my desire to learn more about birds. I now live right on a river that has a grassy meadow that leads up to my house. I also live on the edge of a pine forest and at a high altitude. In addition, I live in a place where I will see migratory birds that will only visit for brief periods of time or for a whole season.
It’s a whole new birding world here in Central Oregon.
I have been keeping track of the many birds that visit my yard or fly overhead during the past month and a half. It can be such a distraction to spot a new bird and feel the impulse to drop everything to grab my binoculars and field guide. But, this is part of the reason we moved here; to have our love of nature stimulated again with new and exciting nature experiences.
The people who lived in our house before us were birders as well so they had their binoculars and field guide at the window when we came to view the house. They also had a seed feeder and a hummingbird feeder set up in the backyard which made my heart happy. We have since added three more seed feeders (two sunflower and one nyjer seed), a suet feeder, an additional hummingbird feeder and two bird baths to the yard.
This list is in no way a list of EVERY bird we have had visit our yard. A few of the birds I am struggling with identifying and if I happen to capture a good image, I will share the photos in the hope that someone will know what they are and tell me.
May and June 2017 – First Bird List from Oregon!
Black-headed grosbeak
Mourning doves
Canada goose
Brewer’s blackbird
Red-wing blackbird
Tree swallow
Cliff swallow
Mountain chickadee
American robin
Mallard duck
Osprey
House finches
Northern flicker
Steller’s jay
Common raven
Turkey vulture
Great blue heron
Red-breasted sapsucker
Rufous hummingbird
Bull bat (common nighthawk) – heard early morning
You may be interested in reading this entry about keeping a bird “life list”. There are several suggestions for your family to get started with this satisfying project: Keeping a Bird Life List. It has a free printable list!
If you are looking for a fantastic set of bird notebooking pages that includes all of the birds in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford-Comstock, this is THE product to have on hand.
I have used these pages with my children and in my own nature journal over the years. Please note that I am an affiliate for NotebookingPages.com and will receive a small commission if you purchase any of their products. I highly recommend this set for your bird nature study. In fact, they go perfectly with my new Learning About Birds ebook challenges!
I’m trying to keep up my nature journal page a week goal and some weeks it is not easy. This time of year I am spending lots of time outdoors both having adventures and working in the yard. I struggle to make myself sit down and actually pull out the nature journal. But once I have it out, I am eager to make a page. Discipline!
This was actually done on the last day of May but it didn’t make the May blog entry. I created this as a follow up for the Poppies and Buttercups Outdoor Hour Challenge. We have plenty of buttercups in our backyard to observe so this was part of my learning more about the things we have right outside our back door. I am a huge fan of learning as much as you can about your local area’s plants and animals. Since moving, I have a lot to learn!
As part of my on-going self-education, I am learning about plants according to their plant family. I created a page for the pea family this month and listed the outstanding features of plants in this family as well as a list of plants I have seen in the past and want to look for in the future.
Wildflowers seem to be a focus for me right now as I explore my new habitat. Three flowers made it into the journal this week: Silverleaf phacelia, Meadow forget-me-not, and Rosy pussytoes. They are all so pretty in real life.
I keep a spiral notebook with pretty much daily notes that record anything I observe of interest. This month I decided to put the highlights from those notes on a recap page in my actual nature journal, first crating colored boxes for some visual appeal.
Don’t forget that I am sharing a nature journal page each week on my Instagram account if you want to see the pages as they unfold. Follow me here:Instagram – outdoorhourchallenge.And, if you want to create a page and share it on your Instagram for me to see, use the hashtag #OHCnaturejournal
Please note that I am an affiliate for NotebookingPages.com. I have used these pages with my own family over many years. They are truly a simple way to get those nature journal pages done!
Henbit (Laminum amplexicaule) is a fairly common wildflower in North America. See the range map here: USDA Henbit.
You may wish to read this page: Henbit on Edible Wild Food. Please note that I do not encourage the eating of any plants covered in this ebook.
Use internet sources to research henbit. Ebook users look at page 7 for a list of suggestions.
Outdoor Hour Time:
Look for henbit alongside roads, in lawns, pastures, or gardens. Bloom time is early spring to late fall.
Observe henbit if possible but any of the related plants would be a wonderful alternative study, especially purple dead nettle. You can tell the difference between the plants by looking at the leaves. Henbit’s are heart shaped and dead nettle leaves are more triangular.
Make careful observations using the suggestions in this ebook if you have access to it.
Another name for henbit is giraffe head. Which name do you like better?
Follow-Up Activity:
Create a notebook page for henbit using the page provided in the ebook or in your nature journal. There is also a coloring page for henbit in the ebook.
Start a mint family notebook page. Keep a running list of flowers you observe and/or study in this plant family.
Advanced study: This website has a comparison of three similar plants that you may wish to consult: Identify That Plant. Create a nature journal page that includes descriptions of each of the featured plants: Creeping Charlie, purple dead nettle, and henbit.
How do you get the new Wildflower Nature Study ebook?
Members of theUltimate Naturalistand Journey levels have access to the new ebook in their library. You need to click the “Members Area” button at the top of the website, sign into your account, and the ebook is there to download and save for your family to use when desired. If you don’t have a membership yet, I am offering a $5 off discount code that will be good towards your Ultimate Naturalist membership.
Ultimate and Journey Level members can click this graphic to go directly to the library to download a copy of this new ebook. Make sure you are logged in and if you are having trouble with your password, please leave me a comment or send me a direct email to receive my assistance. Email: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com
Outdoor Hour Challenge Wildflower Nature Study Set #2
This 43 page digital ebook has 5 challenges and supplemental activities that will help you learn about some common wildflowers.
There are custom notebooking pages for each of the five wildflowers featured. In addition, there is a general notebook page for recording information for each of the plant families introduced in this ebook. There is also a page for use with any summer flower study.
I have included two wildflower related activities from the archives: Wildflower Photo Hunt and the Wildflower Big Grid Study.
Four coloring pages
There is enough material in this ebook to provide 5 weeks of wildflower study or more depending on how long you take to complete each challenge.
One of the resources in this ebook is a chart that coordinates each study with the Botany in a Day book.
Here are the specific flowers included in this ebook:
Henbit ( Mint Family)
Cow Parsnip (Parsley Family)
Columbine (Buttercup Family)
Chicory (Aster Family)
Cocklebur (Aster Family)
Note: If you don’t have the specific wildflowers listed above in your area, there are suggestions for studying an alternative flower or you can focus on the plant family instead. This ebook will work no matter where you live if you want to just focus on the plant families and use a local field guide to look for flowers you can observe during a nature walk in your own habitat.
How do you get the new Wildflower Nature Study ebook?
Members of the Ultimate Naturalistand Journey levels have access to the new ebook in their library. You need to click the “Members Area” button at the top of the website, sign into your account, and the ebook is there to download and save for your family to use when desired.
If you don’t have a membership yet, I am offering a $5 off discount code that will be good towards your Ultimate Naturalist membership.
Discount Code: Wildflower5
How To Get Started With This New Ebook!
Make sure you have a membership to the Handbook of Nature Study website! Click the Purchase Now button above or the Join Us button on the website. If you don’t already have a membership, use the discount code above for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Membership. If you are a member, sign in to your library and download the book.
You may wish to subscribe to the Handbook of Nature Study blog so you can receive the prompts in your email box each Friday. Also, subscribers receive my free monthly nature study newsletter on the first of every month. It is full of nature study encouragement, activities, and printables.
Sometimes the best nature study subjects are those that are found right under our noses. Clover can be just one of those things! It grows amongst our grass and alongside our hiking trails, most of the time unnoticed by us in our busy lives.
Follow the inspiration of the bee and spy some clover this week to look at up close and personal. It is usually a plant found in abundance so go ahead and pick a few flowers to take inside for careful observation.
Use the suggestions in the Outdoor Hour Challenge for clover to get to know this plant better. As a more advanced study, learn more about the pea family of plants
You are welcome to take a look at our clover study done in the past: Clover in Our Grass.
Coming next week is the brand new Outdoor Hour Challenge Wildflower Set #2 ebook! Read more about it here: New Ebook Coming Soon.
Note these are affiliate links to products I love!
This is an amazing place to visit if you’re ever in the Bend, Oregon area. We had a free day when our daughter was visiting from New York and we were searching for a place to do some day hiking. Smith Rock State Park isn’t far from our new house so we packed up some lunches and water and set off fairly early on a Saturday morning. The weather was sunny and warm so lots of other people had the same idea of getting outside to enjoy the day.
The parking lot was nearly full but we did manage to score a slot in the grassy area. There is a day use fee of $5 that you can pay at the self-serve station in the parking area.
We visited the information center before choosing our hike. We were hoping to find a trail that took us along the river and where we could get a good look at the canyon. The ranger showed us just the right trail! You can check out the brochure before visiting: Climbing and Trail Guide.
Not only did we hike down to the river and then alongside it, we were able to see a lot of people rock climbing just off the path. According to the website and brochure, there are over 1,000 climbing routes at Smith Rock. We observed people of all ages climbing up the steep rocks using ropes. I’m not at all interested in rock climbing but it was a treat to stop a few times and watch the truly amazing things people can accomplish as they spider their way up the rocks.
Flax
I love wildflowers and now that we are in our new habitat, I can start learning about the flowers that are found here. The flower above is Lewis flax. Isn’t it an amazing color? Since spying this at Smith Rock, I realized there is a patch just around the corner from my house so I’ve been better able to study it up close since this initial discovery.
It was actually quite warm in the sun as we hiked but the sound of water in the river made it much more bearable. Our dog took several opportunities to jump in and swim to cool off.
We had a picnic sitting on a rock when we found a viewpoint about a mile and a half down the trail. We watched a duck pair and their babies as they paddled in a small eddy along the river. Earlier we were able to get a good look at an eagle, its nest and its baby. There was a ranger with a spotting scope that shared this incredible sight with us. He was there all day…we know because we saw him on the way in and then on our way back. What a great opportunity for so many hikers to see the eagles thanks to this patient ranger.
We all declared this a fantastic hike and we look forward to doing it again soon! My daughter even said it’s in her top favorite places to hike now, which made me so glad that we made the effort to get out and do this hike together.
I love living in Oregon!
You can read more about our Oregon State Park adventures in this entry:
Outdoor Hour Challenge Wildflower Nature Study Set #2
Don’t miss the special promotion code at the bottom of this email!
It’s time for a new set of wildflower challenges! I have been busy working on a brand new set of five wildflower challenges to post over the next few months. I will have the ebook ready by 6/20/17.
Please note the notebooking pages will only be available to ebook users and the ebook will be available for those that have an Ultimate or Journey level membership.
Wildflowers Included in Set #2
Henbit
Cow Parsnip
Columbine
Chicory
Cocklebur
This new ebook will be loaded into the Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level memberships soon!
If you aren’t a member yet, you still have time to join and have immediate access as soon as it publishes.
As a special promo, you can use the discount code WILDFLOWER5 for $5 off the Ultimate Naturalist Membership.
