Category: Autumn Series

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Our November World and Some Reflections of a Nature Study Mom

Back door View- Autumn leaves
Out my back door.

I headed out with the boys for a walk in our neighborhood to see what interested them from our November World. I tried hard to just listen and observe what they commented on or stopped to look at as we spent some time in the crisp November air….we are expecting snow any time now so the air is cold, about 38 degrees F. The wind howled last night and the rain came in but now snow yet.

Back to our walk….I made a mental list as we walked of all the things they noticed.

  • Golden mushrooms- not very large and partially hidden under some fallen leaves.
  • Dark clouds and little peep holes of blue shining through occasionally (Hey, look at the blue sky Mom!)
  • The variety of colors of leaves on the ground.
  • The differences between the two kinds of oaks we saw….one has big leaves and the other has small pointy leaves
  • The sound of a crickets in the late afternoon.

Pretty good list for just a casual walk don’t you think?

I challenged myself to just take a walk and not bring my camera. I know how much I can be distracted by my own interests when I have the camera in my hand. I wanted on this walk, for this challenge to just spend time with the boys and notice things. I noticed that the air is different as the storm makes its way into our area, a sort of stillness that feels heavy. There is also a smell of dampness from the morning dew that isn’t present in the summer. There are still colors to be seen if you look closely and try to find them in the autumn weeds.

Bird in the Feeder
The birds seem more active when the weather is changing and after our walk I spent some time filling feeders and listening to the boys talk about the red-tailed hawk they saw earlier in the week, still gushing about its greatness and size.

It feels good to be living a life so close to our natural environment and learning about the lives of other creatures that cross our path. It is comforting to learn about the cycles of birth, growth, death, and then rebirth that takes place right in our own backyard. Yet, with all the knowledge of such things gained in years previous, we know there is so much more to glean as we keep inviting the opportunities to come by making time to get outdoors every week….just about every day.

Our November World has pretty much turned into a Winter World since I started writing this post a few days ago. We have had really cold temperatures and wild weather. It now feels like time to start thinking about winter nature study.

Stay warm,

Posted on by — 10 Comments

Autumn 2010 OHC #10 November World-Familiar Spot

Outdoor Hour Challenge November World Observations

Autumn Series #10
November World

“Yet, with all my familiarity with this brook, I did not know it in the winter. Its pathway up into the winter woods was as unexplored as the arctic regions. Somehow, it was not a brook in the winter time. It was merely a dreary waste, as cold and as forbidding as death. The winter was only a season of waiting, and spring was always late.”
The Nature Study Idea, L.H. Bailey, contemporary of Anna Botsford Comstock.

Inside Preparation Work:
Read pages 1-2 of the Handbook of Nature Study as a refresher. Mark and highlights points that you want to keep in mind before you embark on this last of the Autumn Series Challenges. How have these challenges awakened a love of nature study in your heart? What changes have you seen in your children as they have participated in a regular course of nature study? What practical and useful knowledge has your family gleaned from the “comprehension of the individual life of the bird, insect, or plant that is nearest at hand”?

Outdoor Hour Time:
Sometimes it is fun and interesting to revisit a familiar place in a different season. Perhaps you have a certain park you go to in the summer but you have not explored there in the autumn or winter months. There may be a trail or creek you explored as part of a previous Outdoor Hour Challenge and it might be interesting to go there now that the seasons have changed. If you are just starting out with the challenges, choose a place to visit this week that you can go back to in a future season.

Colorful Leaf on the Rock Nov 2010

Spend 15 minutes outdoors in your chosen spot and enjoy the November world. Use all your senses and let your children find something to show you. Remember not to talk too much or lead them but rather try to see what your children see. Sometimes it is nice to just to let something interesting come your way without a particular focus.

“The author can think of nothing she would so gladly do as to spend days and months with the birds, bees, and flowers with no obligation to tell what she should see. There is more than mere information in hours thus spent.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 7

So this challenge is really for the parents. Let the nature study unfold and then enjoy the time with your children. Be refreshed.

Follow-Up Activity:
For this challenge, leave the nature journal or notebook page as an option. If you child is inclined to complete a follow-up entry, make an opportunity for one but if they are content with just having spent time outdoors, there is no obligation to complete an entry. There is a printable notebook page in this entry: November World. You might like to use my free Signs of Autumn notebook page.

As always see if they have any questions about their nature study time. Follow their lead by looking up the answers in the Handbook of Nature Study. Skim down the table of contents to see if there is a lesson covering what you child found interesting. If not, check your local library for a book to use as a resource. Last year we made a list of things to research during the winter. You can find a notebook page on which to list your things in this set of free notebook pages that I put together last month: Autumn Series 2009 Notebook Pages.

 

Note: This nature study challenge can be found in the Autumn 2010 ebook.

If you would like to own this ebook, it is part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library for members. You can find more details on how to get your own membership here: Join Us!

Autumn 2010 Cover ImageUltimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Our Seasonal Weather Observations: Autumn Series #8

Weather Comparisons – OHC

Our typical November weather is very unpredictable. We can have warm sunny days filled with outdoor activities or we can have cold, wet day where you stand at the window and wonder when it will end. Both were experienced this week as part of our official seasonal weather observations.

Using the chart provided in the ebook, we all worked together to keep track of morning and afternoon temperatures and other factors like wind, rain, clouds, etc. Our outdoor thermometer is broken so we had to take a portable one outdoors to make our measurements each time.

Weather chart for Comparing
Comparing our morning and afternoon temperatures was interesting because of the large span of numbers on a few of the days. We had one day with a 24 degree change in temperature within a few hours and from day to day it was widely varied as well. I am the official record keeper for this challenge since they like the observation part but not the actual writing it down in a journal part.

11 7 thru 11 9 10 fall yard and sky (2)
Unofficial time spent outdoors found us raking leaves for the compost bin, noticing how beautifully the leaves fell in a pile around the base of this tree.

November clouds
Observing clouds was fun this week since we had a variety to enjoy.

Grape Vines in Nov 2010
The changing color in most all the deciduous plants in the yard like this grape vine is happening before our very eyes.

Walnut tree leaves Nov 2010
More raking after the rain came through…these are the walnut tree leaves which have a particular odor that is imprinted in your brain once you smell it.

Snow on the Sierra 11 11 10
We also took a drive over the Sierra on Thursday and saw the mountains with a fresh blanket of snow that will more than likely stay there until late next spring.

Snow at Boreal 11 11 10
We stopped to take in the snow at the summit and it was cold! This is about an hour’s drive from our house and very near to where the Donner Party was stranded if you have read about them in your history study. I highly recommend Patty Reed’s Doll if you are interested in reading a children’s version of their survival during the winter of 1846.

Our weather study will be on-going as we keep adding to our weather chart and it will give us some great data to use to compare to our winter observations.

Thanks for coming along with our study.

Posted on by — 7 Comments

Autumn 2010 OHC #9 Pine Cone Study

Today we went on a drive up in the mountains and would you believe there was snow! I spotted some freshly fallen pinecones and it was a perfect introduction to this week’s challenge. The snowy landscape reminded me that we will soon be finished with the Autumn Series and it will be time for a new season to start. The Autumn Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges has greatly added to our family’s knowledge of everyday things around us and I hope they have helped your family too. Next week will be our last autumn challenge and a nice giveaway so make sure to pop over to the blog next Friday to read all about it.

Autumn Series #9
Pine Cones
(You may also like to use this challenge: Pine Cones.)

“Their foliage is evergreen but is shed gradually. The pollen-bearing and the seed-producing flowers are separate on the tree. The seeds are winged and are developed in cones.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 674

First Snow and a Pinecone

Inside Preparation Work:
Read pages 670-675 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 185). This section talks about the pine tree and gives the background for this challenge. Pay attention to questions 5 and 6 in this lesson covering the pine cone.

Compare A Tree with Cones and A Tree Without Cones

Compare needles and leaves, including their arrangement on the branches, shapes, and colors.
Compare the trunks and bark, including the shape of the tree. Does the main trunk go straight up or branch out? How low do the branches start? Is there a crown?

Outdoor Hour Time:
Take fifteen minutes outdoors this week to explore your yard or neighborhood looking for a pine tree and pine cones. Remember how to identify a pine tree and use some of the things you read about in the Handbook to help your child learn a little about the pine tree. You could point out the difference between an evergreen and a deciduous tree, how the pine tree’s leaves are needles, the distinct shape of a pine tree, and the cones. Collect at least one cone to bring indoors for observations in the follow-up activity.

Follow-Up Activity:
Use a hand lens to look closely at your pine cone. Take note of its shape, size, color, and patterns. The Handbook of Nature Study suggests the following sketches in your nature journal:

  • Bundle of needles, showing the sheath and its attachment to the twig.
  • The cone.
  • The cone scale.
  • The seed (under the scales)

You can use the notebook page provided with the Autumn ebook, a blank page in your nature journal, or a blank notebook page.

Additional activity: Soak your cone in water. Check your cone every 15 minutes to see what happens. Now let the cone dry. This sometimes will loosen the seeds inside and you can take a closer look at their shapes and structure. Try this activity again and soak only half your cone in water and see what happens. You can try this additional activity: Pine Cone Science Experiment.

Additional Resources:
Help in identifying pines.

A Pine Cone Tale: This link will be helpful if you don’t have access to a pine tree to observe and the formation of cones.

 
 

Note: This nature study challenge can be found in the Autumn 2010 ebook.

If you would like to own this ebook, it is part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library for members. You can find more details on how to get your own membership here: Join Us!

Autumn 2010 Cover ImageUltimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

Posted on by — 4 Comments

November Sunny Afternoon

Fall Trees

We had a glorious day yesterday in our part of the world. I heard it was in the 70’s! We took advantage of the weather and spent time working on our frontyard remodel project. Our sweet gums are starting to become a riot of color, turning red and orange overnight.

Almost Finished Front Yard
We are getting very close to being finished. I know I keep promising a post sharing what we have done but I want to wait until the project is completed before tackling that post. We put down weed block because we were already getting some grass sprouting with our last rains. The rocks are a work in progress….we keep rearranging them as we finish the planting.

New Pathway
I think this is the last of the hardscape going in which is a path up to my faucet and around to the backyard. I will be planting bulbs around the edges of the blocks as soon as they arrive in the mail.

Leaf on the Steps
The leaves are falling gently and this one landed on the step…..love the yellow contrast with the blue/green tiles.

Bird Feeder Station
The birds were loving the idea that they are getting a new feeding station. The red/orange bush on the left is our new smoke tree and Mr. A is planting rosemary around the base of the pole.

Sparrows in the Garden 2
Here is one bird that I was able to catch in mid-song the other day in the backyard.

Sparrows in the Garden 1
They enjoy the sunshine as much as we do I think.

This morning we woke up to rain….pouring rain. I am sitting inside with my cup of coffee and shopping for seeds. I know that nothing perks me up more than thinking and planning for the next summer’s garden. We are hoping to finish the front yard and turn our attention to a whole new garden project in the backyard. I am going to be concentrating on flowers and colors so my garden will be filled with lots of things to draw and paint.

Where is my favorite online source for flower seeds? Renee’s Garden of course! I dare you to pop over there and not feel better even just looking at her front page. What is on my shopping list? Zinnias, sunflowers, dahlias, hollyhocks, and California poppies. I want color!

Oh, I want to share something else I have been meaning to write about on this blog. I have recently started reading and receiving the Herbal Roots Zine.
hrzbadge1

If you haven’t seen Kristine’s web page or seen any of her monthly zines, I highly recommend them as a great way to incorporate nature study into your month. This month she is featuring sage which happens to be something new we planted in our front yard…two different kinds. I now know a lot more about this very interesting plant. I will write a review of one of the issues soon so stay tuned for that.

That is the news from my world. Hope you are having a great autumn weekend and are doing some weather observations for this week’s challenge.

Posted on by — 5 Comments

Autumn 2010 OHC #8 Seasonal Weather-Autumn Observations


Autumn Series #8
Seasonal Weather: Autumn Observations

Inside Preparation Work:
Read pages 780-783 in the Handbook of Nature Study (beginning pages of the section on Climate and Weather ending at The Atmosphere).

Make a weather chart like the one on page 807 (last page in the weather and climate section) or use the one provided in the autumn ebook. You may wish to purchase an outdoor thermometer and a rain gauge to enhance your study of the weather during the autumn and then into the winter.

11 4 10 fall color (2)
Compare The Weather on Two Different Days

  • Compare a sunny day and a rainy day. Compare temperature, clouds, and wind direction and speed. Don’t forget to use all your senses: smell, touch, hearing, etc.
  • Compare weather on the same day in the morning and then again in the evening.
  • Compare how your landscape looks today to what you remember about the summer or winter.

Outdoor Hour Time:

  1. Spend fifteen minutes outdoors observing your autumn weather. Note the direction of the wind, the direction the clouds are moving, and where the sun is rising and setting. The main aim for this challenge is to make weather observations and comparisons. Enjoy the season’s delights and have fun with your children.
  2. In addition, as part of the comparison activity, use your senses to make observations about the weather on two different days (perhaps choosing a sunny day and a rainy day to compare). Record your results on a Venn Diagram. If you would like an example of a Venn Diagram, HERE is a link.
  3. Start and maintain a Weather Record Chart as many days as you can.

Follow-Up Activity:
After your outdoor time, talk about all of your observations. Pull out any previous weather challenge journals to compare with today’s observations. Complete the notebook page in the ebook, the weather notebook page from previous challenges (HERE), or make an entry in your own blank journal.You could also complete a Signs of Autumn notebook page.
Extra Resource:
National Weather Service –Look up your state for weather warnings.

Autumn 2010 Cover ImageUltimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

 

Note: This nature study challenge can be found in the Autumn 2010 ebook.

If you would like to own this ebook, it is part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library for members. You can find more details on how to get your own membership here: Join Us!

Autumn 2010 Cover ImageUltimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Queen Anne’s Lace Study-Autumn Season Comparisons

11 2 10 Queen Anne's Lace (2)

We finally completed our autumn observations for the Queen Anne’s Lace in our neighborhood. The challenge asked us to go back to our patch of this flower and compare the changes since our summer observations. Most of the Queen Anne’s Lace looks like this right now…dry, brittle, brown, and stiff. We cut a stem or two to take inside to observe closely and compare to our summer observations.

Queen annes lace 11 10 (1)
We had a great time observing closely the flower heads we brought in and were able to observe some interesting things. The challenge suggested using a hand lens to look more closely at the seeds of the Queen Anne’s Lace.

  • Each dried cluster was made up of many dried flower clusters.
  • The large cluster was made up of more than 70 small clusters.
  • Each small cluster had over 20 seeds in it.

We drew a flower cluster and a seed after viewing it with our loupe. The little seeds were sticky and I found them in the carpet and the hem of my skirt after we had finished. We thought about our dandelion seeds (akenes) and how they are blown away in the wind and compared them to the Queen Anne’s Lace seeds that are definitely spread by adhesion or attachment. Our dog regularly helps disperse the seeds of the Queen Anne’s Lace as she romps through the weeds on our walks.

Queen annes lace 11 10 (2)
On today’s walk with the dog, we found a patch of Queen Anne’s Lace that is not quite dried up yet. There is still a little greenness to the stem, leaves, and flower head. We are experiencing some unseasonably warm weather with the afternoons in the 70’s. I actually took a walk without a sweatshirt and we worked up a thirst by the time we reached home again. We will be trying to get out in the warm temperatures again tomorrow….who knows how long they will last.

The season of abundant Queen Anne’s Lace is over but we shall be watching as we enter the winter season to see if the plants make much of a change.

Posted on by — 5 Comments

Salmon Circle of Life

We were able to experience two kinds of salmon and their spawning this autumn.

Kokanee Salmon
The Kokanee salmon are a land-locked species that live in the high mountain lake and then return to the creek of their birth for spawning.

10 2010 Taylor Creek
This shallow creek is the perfect place for laying eggs in the gravel.

10 2010 Kokanee 2
The fish come by the thousands, swimming and leaping around in the water as they make their way back up the creek from the lake.

10 2010 Bear sign
The bears are around and we are warned to keep clear of them as they come for their autumn feast of salmon after the fish have spawned and then die.

Even though these are land-locked salmon, they still go through the same changes that their ocean cousins perform. Their colors change and their jaws and teeth become more prominent.

10 2010 Kokanee salmon 1
They wiggle a little dance to court the females and then fertilize her eggs. It is amazing to watch.

10 2010 Taylor Creek Bridge
There are two bridges that you can watch the fish from and on this day there were quite a few nature lovers out there viewing the fish ritual.

Mallard Duck and Salmon

The ducks, gulls, and eagles all depend on the salmon spawning for their autumn diet. We didn’t see any eagles on this day but the ducks were present.

10 2010 Kokanee and ducks
They eat the freshly laid eggs if they get the chance.

Our second salmon observing opportunity came this past weekend at the American River above Sacramento. There is a fish hatchery below a dam where the salmon will make their way up the fish ladder.

Nimbus Fish ladder
Here is the ladder the salmon will leap up as they  make their way to the hatchery. The officials were waiting until the next day to open the gate that ajoins the river to the ladder.

Chinook salmon 1
We were a little early but we were still able to observe the *huge* Chinook salmon waiting at the gate to climb up. They were actually jumping up out of the water and slamming into the metal gate. One sign says they can leap out of the water nine feet!

The Chinook are much larger than the Kokanee and we decided it was because they have a much longer migration journey. They travel round trip 2,000 miles from their birthplace, down the American River, through the Sacramento Delta and then out into the Pacific Ocean. Two or three years later, they make the return trip and end up at their birthplace again….changing from freshwater fish to saltwater fish and back again.

Nimbus Visitors Center
The hatchery we visited has a lovely visitor’s center to learn more about the cycle of life of the salmon.

Nimbus holding ponds
Trout are filling the holding ponds of the hatchery at the moment. There are steelhead and rainbow trout to view. In a month or so the steelhead will start their journey up the fish ladder and we may take time to visit again.

We had an additional observation of the rainbow trout a few weeks ago at a local pond that they stock for the kids to fish in. They are such beautiful fish and very tasty too. (I’m surprised I didn’t encourage us all to taste test the salmon and the trout…next time.)

So for our Outdoor Hour Challenge we were able to compare two different species of salmon as well as the salmon to the trout.

Our favorite is still the Kokanee salmon in its wild habitat and its unique cycle of life.

Kokanee Salmon -oil pastels
Here is a nature journal entry I made a few years ago featuring this colorful amazing fish.

Kokanee Salmon oil pastel
Here is one from my son’s portfolio…oil pastels.

Posted on by — 5 Comments

Autumn 2010 OHC #7: Fish Study-Trout and Salmon

Outdoor Hour Challenge Trout and Salmon @handbookofnaturestudy

Autumn Series #7
Fish Study: Trout and Salmon

Inside Preparation Work:
Trout: Read pages 156-158 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 40). Much of this information seems outdated but if you Google search “trout fishing NAME OF YOUR STATE” you will probably find enough current information to fill in the gaps. Try to determine what kind of trout you have in your area: Rainbow, Brown, Cutthroat, Brook, Golden, or Lake. Here is some additional information on the Brook Trout (includes a video).

Salmon: There are no specific pages in the Handbook for the salmon but there is plenty of information online to use as part of this challenge. Here is a coloring book for the Pacific Salmon and Steelhead that is excellent (this download link keep disappearing so do a Google search for it if you can’t get it from the link provided). You can print the entire book out and use it to pre-study salmon. Here is the Atlantic Salmon version. Make sure your child understands that the salmon lives part of its life in saltwater and part in fresh water.

Compare a Trout and a Salmon

  • Does it live in fresh water or salt water?
  • Size, color, shape, markings, placement of fins, eyes.
  • Where do they lay eggs, how is the nest made, and how are the eggs protected

Outdoor Hour Time:
This is the perfect time for a field trip to a fish hatchery in your local area. Google search “fish hatchery list YOUR STATE NAME”. This will usually give you at least one good lead to where you can visit to see fish up close. If you cannot find a hatchery to visit, ask someone you know who is a fisherman if they could bring you a fish to observe up close. As a last resort, visit a local pet shop or an aquarium and look at any fresh water fish.


Follow-Up Activity:
Lots of choices for this challenge as part of your follow-up: Coloring book pages from above, the trout notebook page or the salmon notebook page in the Autumn ebook, a blank page in your nature journal, or the Venn Diagram activity suggested above. There is also a Salmon Life Cycle notebook page in the ebook.  Have your child narrate what they learned from this challenge and help them write about it in their nature journal or on their notebook page.

Extra Resources:

Note: This nature study challenge can be found in the Autumn 2010 ebook.

If you would like to own this ebook, it is part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library for members. You can find more details on how to get your own membership here: Join Us!

Autumn 2010 Cover ImageUltimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

Save

Save

Posted on by — 3 Comments

Autumn 2010 OHC #6: Queen Anne’s Lace or Other Autumn Weed

Autumn Series #6
Queen Anne’s Lace Year-Long Study
Autumn Observations

“The object of this lesson should be to show the pupils how this weed survives the winter and how it is able to grow where it is not wanted. The weed is very common along most country roadsides, and in many pastures and meadows. It blossoms very late in the autumn, and is available for lessons often as late as November.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 544

Inside Preparation Work:
Read pages 542-545 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 148). If you started your year-long study of Queen Anne’s Lace in the summer, these pages will be a review, but read with an eye to looking for changes between this season and the last. Pick out a few points from the lesson to use in your outdoor time observations. One thing that can be pointed out before going outdoors is the difference between Queen Anne’s Lace and Poison Hemlock.

9 9 10 Queen Annes Lace (7)
Compare Queen Anne’s Lace and Another Weed in Your Yard
  • Where are the seeds located? How many seeds are there? What color and shape?
  • Look at the flower and/or seeds and decide how the seeds are dispersed. (wind, water, attachment, etc.)

Outdoor Hour Time:
Option 1: The challenge is to go back to your patch of Queen Anne’s Lace and make some autumn observations. There should be some dramatic changes from your last study. This plant is also called a Bird’s Nest or Wild Carrot and you might ask your children why they think this plant has so many names. Use the suggestions above to compare the Queen Anne’s Lace with another weed that you observe. Observe closely with a hand lens the seeds since they will be the most predominant feature of the plant at this time.

Option 2: Since I know there will be some families that do not have Queen Anne’s Lace to observe, you can substitute outdoor time in your own backyard instead. Find a different plant to observe if you can, any weed that is still present in your backyard will be a good subject for study. Use the suggestions above to compare any two weeds you find. Remember the most important aspect of any challenge is to find something of interest to your child…even weeds can be interesting if you take the time to look closely.

In Addition to Options 1 and 2:
Collect a few autumn weeds to bring inside to observe. Look at the leaves, the dried flowers (if any), and any seeds or pods. Make note of the colors and textures.

Collect a variety of seeds from weeds in your yard or neighborhood, perhaps placing each different kind of seed in a separate plastic sandwich bag. Sketch a few of the seeds in your journal and label the drawing with the plant’s name (if you know it), the date, the location you collected the seed from, and how you think the seed is dispersed.

Follow-Up Activity:
If you didn’t have the opportunity to talk about Queen Anne’s Lace or weeds during your outdoor time, take a few minutes to discuss your discoveries. Complete the Queen Anne’s Lace notebook page or the other autumn weed study page in the ebook or make an entry in your own blank journal. If you haven’t done so already, complete a Venn Diagram comparing two plants you observed during your outdoor time. Display your weeds in a vase.

 

Note: This nature study challenge can be found in the Autumn 2010 ebook.

If you would like to own this ebook, it is part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library for members. You can find more details on how to get your own membership here: Join Us!

Autumn 2010 Cover ImageUltimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

Save