Family Outdoor Life Archives

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Barb — Leave a comment

Nature Observer -February 2019

The month of February has brought with it a lot of SNOW! We haven’t thawed out completely since the beginning of the snow storms. There have been a few days of sunshine but the temperatures have been very cold; cold enough to keep the snow and ice piled up outside our door.

We’ve been trying to keep up with the birds that visit our feeders as part of Project Feederwatch and also during the Great Backyard Bird Count. From what I can observe, not only have there been fewer bird species but even the numbers of those birds has decreased. Some days I only see a handful of birds….far less than this same time period last year. Because we haven’t lived here very long, it’s hard to know if this is an unusual year or not. We’ll keep a detailed record of our observations and see how the year progresses.

I’ve kept up with my daily nature journal notes with our temperatures, snow amounts, and other interesting details from our observations. These simple notes help record just a little more thorough picture of the season.

Images from my Journal

I completed my January birds page. Now that I look at it, it needs a little more detail to make it a really good record of the month. Perhaps I’ll add the numbers of birds I observed (by looking at my Project Feederwatch data) and maybe compare this year’s January birds with last year’s list.

Here’s the page that I made to keep track of the January snow. I may just add February’s statistics to it as well since there’s room.

I used a Handbook of Nature Study newsletter printable grid to record some fun nature details in my journal. This is a super simple way to get started if you’re stumbling over a big ol’ blank page. See this entry for more information on using nature study grids: Using Printables from the Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter.

Here’s a look at my February birds page in progress. I’m keeping a running list of birds observed, left room for my Great Backyard Bird count details and thoughts, and I’m using a printable grid from the Handbook of Nature Study newsletter to encourage me to be on the lookout for birds of all colors. I will finish this one up by the end of the month.

We heard a pair of Great Horned Owls early one morning and I wanted to create a page that had all of the interesting facts about this bird in my nature journal. I find the process of looking up the information for a page helps me learn and remember things better. I’m not aiming for a fancy page but one that has meaning to me. I’m challenging myself to draw in my nature journal, not on every page but a few times a month.

One More Image

We’ve had a mountain lion roaming our neighborhood for a few weeks. Our next door neighbor snapped this image of the big cat right up in a tree in his backyard. It makes me a little nervous to have such a wild creature so near to our home, but we’re just taking precautions and being alert to any signs that he is back.

There are many, many nature journal ideas included in the archives of the Handbook of Nature Study newsletters. If you have any level of membership, make sure to download the newsletter index to make finding a topic easy.

76 issues of the Handbook of Nature Study newsletter are available in the Discovery level of membership for only $20! You also get the Getting Started with the Outdoor Hour Challenge ebook in this level which makes it a super awesome value for your $20.

Download an index of topics here: Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter Topics and Printables.

Posted on January 23, 2019 by Barb — Leave a comment

Winter Bark Patterns Hike

Even though it’s been cold, wet, snowy, and icy, we ventured out to the local state park to walk along the river. We didn’t get very far because with my new hips, I didn’t want to take a chance of slipping on the ice. But, it felt good to be out in the fresh air looking at trees once again. I miss my long river walks!

Winter is the perfect time to focus on tree bark and see the beauty of each tree’s particular bark. It reminded me of a number of years ago when we studied trees in our family and my son and I decided that not all tree bark is brown. In fact, my son noted that most tree bark is more gray than brown. In the case of our ponderosa pines, the bark is more reddish than brown.

As we were observing the bark of this ponderosa pine, we also noted the colorful and interesting lichen growing there. The bright green lichen is my favorite!

Just a reminder: Be open to nature topics in addition to the week’s subject when you’re taking your outdoor time. We started off looking at tree bark but didn’t pass by the opportunity to enjoy the lichen.

So did your family do a bark pattern study? It’s a simple nature study activity that you can do even in the winter time.

If you’re completing the Outdoor Hour Challenge for Winter Trees, you can add a bark pattern study along with that one. See the Winter Tree challenge here: Looking at Trees in Winter.

If you’re a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, the notebook page shown above is available to use in your nature journal.

The benefits of having a membership here on the Handbook of Nature Study make it a great value for your homeschooling, nature-loving family. There are 21 ebooks available for downloading, over 120 printable notebook pages and activities, and 76 newsletters. New printables are added every month and there are 4 new ebooks set to publish in the next year.

If you would like to have nature study ideas and printables available for immediate downloading, please consider an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Use the discount code NATURE5 for $5 off an Ultimate membership.

Posted on January 8, 2019 by Barb — Leave a comment

Nature Study Goals 2019

As the new year begins and I start to think about what direction I want my nature study to take me, it’s clear to me that I still have so much to learn about my new home here in Central Oregon. So, why not continue to soak in the things in my local habitat once again?

I want to keep in mind that learning about the ordinary and everyday things in my habitat allows me to notice the extraordinary or unusual things that appear.

Plus, a new goal for me this year is to show that no matter where you live or what your age is, you can always find something of interest to learn about close to home. Nature study doesn’t need to be a big commitment of time or involve a lot of travel. The best and most meaningful nature study topics are those that your family comes into contact with during your everyday activities.

We can use fresh eyes and an open heart to make this the best year of nature study ever!

Nature Study Goals 2019

1. Use the Outdoor Hour Challenge topics to stimulate my interest in my local habitat and help to build my skills as a naturalist.

Use the information in the Outdoor Hour Challenge and the lesson suggestions in the Handbook of Nature Study as they apply in my area or find something closely related to learn about and record in my nature journal.

2. Keep a detailed record of my nature observations.

Daily journal and a 5-year journal – Start a new daily journal and use The Naturalist’s Notebook during 2019.
Field notebook – Carry a small notebook with me at all times to make notes of important things.
Personal nature journal – I will continue using my spiral bound sketchbook for my detailed nature journal.

I just keep envisioning myself outside hiking and exploring again with no pain. Overall, that is my biggest goal for 2019!

3. Hiking and Kayaking

Use local maps and books to find places to get outside and hike on a regular basis. I’m thinking of marking a twenty mile radius from my house on the map to see if I can really get to know my local area.
Kayak during the warmer seasons, completing two new local kayak trips already requested by my husband.

4. Read nature related books this year.

Narrow down my list to four official books but also use books to learn about things that I become interested in during my travels. I haven’t picked a list of books like I’ve done in the past; rather I’m on the lookout for particular topics.

You can read my Nature Book Project 2019 entry for more details.

This year isn’t as ambitious as many years in the past. I have a lot of writing I want to accomplish, so I’m trying to temper my goals with the limitation that there are only so many hours in the day. Plus, I’m still on the path to recovery from my hip surgery and that will be the focus during the first quarter of the year as I regain my strength and flexibility.

If you would like to join me by making your own nature study goals, I’ve included a free printable goal planning page below. Use it to make a few goals for you and your family. Keep it simple and then create a plan for accomplishing your goals. Make steps now to help create a fantastic year of getting outside and learning more about your local habitat!

Nature Study Goals 2019 Planning Page

You can join as an Ultimate Naturalist Library member and immediately have access to hundreds of nature study ideas and printables. The library is growing every month and there are plans for publishing 4 new ebooks in 2019! If you join now, you’ll have access to those ebooks as soon as they publish!

Click the graphic above to see the complete benefits of a membership. Join and make 2019 the best year of nature study ever for your family!

Use the discount code NATURE5 for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership!

Posted on December 26, 2018 by Barb — Leave a comment

Final Nature Goal Update for 2018

4^th Quarter Updates – Including Our Amazing North American Beaver

The winter season is upon us as well as the end of another calendar year. I won’t lie. I am so ready for the change. Since the middle of October, I have been sitting and gazing out the window for the most part. After a bilateral hip replacement, for weeks I couldn’t even get in my car because my legs hardly bent.

Thankfully, the view out my window is never boring and it’s constantly changing, providing endless delight with its animals, birds, clouds, and landscape view of the mountains. But, I watch my husband as he hikes to the river each day with our dog and I’m so ready to be out there with them! I’m learning patience.

Now, as I’m writing this update, I’m a little more mobile and starting to use a cane. The trouble is the weather has descended upon us and many days the snow and icy pavement make it a challenge to walk even with help.

Being confined indoors and doing a lot of sitting was conducive to making plans and thinking of future nature study projects. I made lists of new printable notebook pages for 2019 and planned out six new ebooks full of exciting nature study topics. I’m also reading lots of nature related books and field guides. My own nature journal has received a lot of attention as I keep notes of animals we capture on our critter cam and I catch up on things I’ve wanted to learn about from previous adventures. In the end, I’m making good use of my down time as I recover from this major surgery.

Dreaming of the new trails I will explore with new hips and no pain.

Now for the results of my 4^th quarter goals-

Finish up the year in my Nature Observer Guided Journal.

Successfully stuck with this journal all year! I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed this project. This pre-planned journal provided just the motivation I needed to keep a regular, almost daily, record of our nature experiences. It has inspired me to continue this routine and even improve on it with some ideas I thought of as I worked through the suggested activities.

This is the nature journal I used for the 2018 year and LOVED it! Please know this is an Amazon affiliate link to a book I purchased and used and love and highly recommend.

Participate in Project Feederwatch.

Accomplished this! Counting birds is just a given in our weekly routine. 10 species so far, 50 total birds counted.

Walk as much as possible, allowing for healing from my hip surgery.

Accomplished! I’m back at my daily walking, even if it’s just down the driveway to look at the trees and birds. I’ve made it out the back gate a couple times, but the frozen snow and ground are a little bit difficult for me still. It will be a joy to walk freely and I’m starting to see the end of this challenging recovery.

Read at least two nature related books from my personal library.

Accomplished! I’ve been reading so much! I pulled lots more books off my own book shelves and ordered up loads of books from my local public library. I rarely get the chance to just sit and read so what a pleasure it has been to stick my nose in a book.

The most exciting nature find of the year happened during this last quarter of 2018. We finally captured a video of the beaver we’ve been chasing since last year. We used my critter cam and put it down by the river where we noticed they were gnawing on a tree. Then, after it was down on the ground, we were able to position the camera between the river and the tree. At last! We not only saw one beaver but two working together to take the limbs off the tree and then drag them down into the water. What an awesome experience!

It’s been a wonderful year of nature study for me personally. As always, I’m looking forward to setting and working on new goals in 2019.

Would you like to join me? I’ve created a planning sheet for you to use as you create your nature study goals. Please feel free to print and share as much as you like. If you post your goals somewhere on the internet, send me the link and I will pop over and read your thoughts!

Nature Study Goals 2019 Planning Page

Thanks for your support of all I do here on the Handbook of Nature Study!

Posted on November 26, 2018 by Barb — Leave a comment

Nature Observer – Nature November

It’s been another month of spending time inside recovering from my hip replacement surgery. There’s been a lot of time gazing out the window at the view and my birdfeeders. In addition, I’ve done quite a bit of reading about my favorite nature topics. There’s just so much to learn!

We spotted the first of our elk herd a week or so ago but haven’t seen them since. It’s always just at daybreak when they move behind our fence so we have to be up and watching or we miss them.

Plus we have been watching and waiting for our beaver to make his appearance. It all started with my husband noticing a tree down by the river that had been gnawed almost the whole way through. We set up our critter cam to see if we could capture the beaver at work but we missed it! We didn’t have the camera in place on the night they finished off the tree.

In the meantime, we’ve been trying to get a video of the beaver taking the limbs off the tree but so far we’re unsuccessful. We won’t be giving up!

Here are my pages from the last month for your inspiration.

This wildflower is a common sight on our walks to the river and in our yard too. We have a bit in our rock garden and some even growing in our lawn.

We tried to transplant a few of the silverweed plants to our new landscaping berm and next year we’ll see if they moved successfully.

I converted an unused page in my Nature Observer journal to record our critter cam results.

Note the link above is my amazon.com affiliate link.

One of the most common birds in our birdfeeders is the chickadee. I realized we live in an area that has both the black-capped chickadee and the mountain chickadee. As I worked on my bird sketching skills, I created a page with a few facts and field notes for the two species.

I find that sketching subjects and writing a few pertinent facts down in my journal helps me to remember it better.

We started the new season of Project Feederwatch! I love this activity and look forward to each week’s counting days. If you aren’t familiar with the project, you count birds that come to your feeders for two days in a row basically once a week. You can watch the feeder for just a few minutes or as long as you have available. This super easy citizen science project helped me gain confidence in recognizing all the birds that come to our feeders by taking it one bird at a time. I highly recommend this for bird loving families with a birdfeeder in your yard!

In addition to my regular nature journal, I work daily in my Nature Observer journal. This is the perfect way to note all the simple every day thoughts and observations which over time give a fuller picture of your local habitat.

Don’t forget that I’m 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.

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Barb — Leave a comment

Beginning a Year Long Willow Study

Willows in our autumn landscape are a colorful accent, lining the river’s edge and adding a rich reddish orange as you look off into the distance. There are still a few leaves left on the willows and the limbs and branches are a yellow color.

As part of our autumn study, we picked a willow to use as our subject for a year-long willow study. We tied a piece of twine on a branch to help us remember which willow we are observing.

We have done this activity before with a birch tree. Having a piece of twine on a branch really helped us focus on watching for changes from season to season. I invite you to read this entry for the specific instructions for this kind of tree study: Twigs.

If you would like to start a yearlong study of willows, you’re welcome to click over to read the challenge from last week. It’s not too late to get outside looking for willows, learning about willows, and beginning a valuable nature study of willows.

Please note there is an Autumn Willow notebooking page in the Ultimate and Journey level membership libraries. You can print it and use it for your nature journal.

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Barb — Leave a comment

Finding the Value in a Dead Tree

My view from the edge of the forest looks out onto both live and dead trees. This natural cycle of life and death is fascinating and a terrific nature study for families who want to see how there is value to a dead tree long after the last leaf has fallen from its branches.

At first glance, a dead tree is just that, a lifeless object that may or may not be attractive from a human standpoint. Our family heats our home with firewood so from a completely practical and human standpoint, the dead tree is valuable as a source of life-giving heat. But, upon closer reflection and my own personal observation, I’ve started to see how a seemingly lifeless tree is far from being lifeless. These trees are actually highly beneficial to enriching a forest habitat, supporting new life and sheltering a variety of other species of creatures and plants.

Taking a closer look, I see now that a dead tree is an important piece of the complex life cycle of my local habitat.

We’ve observed the nuthatches making their nests in the cavities of a dead tree’s trunk. They create a small opening to squeeze into and make a nest deep inside the protective walls of the tree’s bark and trunk. Doing some research, we discovered that about 85 species of birds in North America nest in dying or dead trees.

Behind our house, there’s a tree stump from a long gone tree. It’s toppled over at this point but if you look closely during the summer months, you can see where the ground squirrels go into their tunnel from under the protective shelter of this dead tree stump. We’ve seen them use the stump as an observation spot after they climb up on top of it and then stand on their hind legs as they survey the land.

We have a particular standing dead tree behind our house that nearly always has a bird perched up high in its gnarly branches. I’m sure from up there they have a clear view for hunting their dinner. Or, they can just sit up there and sun themselves.

There’s a downed tree behind our house that we like to sit on and observe the sky and mountains. As we sit, we note there are many insects, including ants that are using the trunk for their home. There are birds that shelter in its branches, and small rodents that are hiding under the trunk. We’ve seen a coyote digging under the trunk and then pouncing on something before moving along. I assume he found a small rodent meal.

Look at the tree trunk and you may see lichen, mushrooms, spider webs, ferns, and new trees growing.

Last autumn we left one of our burn piles with many dead limbs and dead tree branches as a place for critters to shelter over the winter. As anticipated, we spotted birds, squirrels, and elk attracted to the pile.

Our observations have led us to rethink our view of leaving dead trees, snags, and downed limbs as a natural resource for the varied wildlife we coexist with.

Of course, these are away from our house at a safe distance because we do want a defensible space if a fire comes through. They’re at least 100 feet from our house and we have a green space between the dead trees and our backyard. We’ve cleaned up the lower limbs from the trees nearer to the house to give us a clearer view of the landscape. I like to think there’s a safe buffer but we still take into account the importance of saving some of the dying trees for the sake of creating a healthy habitat.

This are affiliate links to products I own and love!

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Barb — 4 Comments

Nature Goals Update – 3rd Quarter 2018

Nature Goals 2018

As the third quarter of 2018 comes to a close, it’s time to evaluate my nature goals. I can rejoice in my achievements and set a plan in motion for the goals yet to be achieved. You can read my original goals here: Nature Goals 2018.

3rd Quarter 2018

Continue to use the Nature Observer journal to keep a record of my nature study experiences. Focus more on sketching. Accomplished
Keep a record of the wildflowers that grow in my local habitat. Note the day they start to bloom and where we see them for future reference. Accomplished
Visit the High Desert Museum each month, each time focusing on a different exhibit. Partially Accomplished
Visit the nature center at Sunriver. Ask about volunteering. In addition, make note of their garden and the native plants they have growing there as a reference in planning our backyard garden. Postponed until next year
Take 3 new hikes. Partially Accomplished
Get the kayaks out in a new place locally. Accomplished

My constant and daily routine of writing in my Nature Observer Guided Journal continues to help me see the beauty of the world around me, no matter the weather or circumstances. The value of this kind of daily journal is becoming clearer and clearer to me as I make my way through 2018. Even if I only jot down a sentence or two along with the weather, I can see patterns and season markers that give me insight into my local habitat.

I did continue to keep track of our wildflowers, recording a list in my Nature Observer Guided Journal. This is why I love this journal so much! I can adapt the pages to fit my current interests and very easily be reminded to add to the list.

These lists will be ongoing in my journal as a way of keeping track of bloom time and new flowers observed.

We visited the High Desert Museum in July with our daughter to see the History of Rock Climbing exhibit. Fabulous! It covered not only the history, but there was some actual climbing equipment to check out and my favorite part of it all was a portion of a John Muir journal describing his climb to the brink of Yosemite Falls.

In August we visited the museum with my sister and her husband. We attended the Raptors of the Sky exhibition together because both of us absolutely love these large birds. The event is held outdoors and it allows the raptors to fly really close to you in the audience. A few times I thought they were going to actually brush my hair with their wings because they came so close! My favorite bird in the exhibition was the barn owl with his wings flying noiselessly through the air. I highly recommend working this into your schedule if you ever visit Central Oregon.

Our goal to hike this summer was hindered by the serious escalation of the arthritis in my hips. In a matter of months, I have gone from being able to hike 5-6 miles at a time with a moderate amount of pain to not being able to walk much more than a mile with a lot of pain and quite a bit of help from my husband. I’m going to be having a bilateral hip replacement in October to relieve the pain and hopefully change my life for the better. But in the meantime, I’m not able to do very much in the way of hiking. Most of what I do now could be considered a moderate stroll.

Taking that into account, my son planned a short, fairly flat hike to Benham Falls one afternoon. I thoroughly enjoyed the outing as we walked along the Deschutes River and ended up at the falls. We sat and took in the sights and sounds for a while before turning around and heading back.

We were also able to visit Crater Lake National Park as a day trip with our other son. He drove us there and we found a place to have a picnic lunch right on the rim of the lake. We walked along the rim for a little easy hike. In addition, we took the Castle Crest trail to look for wildflowers but because it’s really late in the season, we found just a few to enjoy. My slower pace really helps me see what is along the trail’s edge…trying to look at the positive.

We’ve had the kayaks out on the Little and Big Deschutes multiple times this summer, but we also made an effort to find a new place to paddle. My husband and I had an afternoon up at Little Lava Lake where we saw the headwaters of the Deschutes River, a new aquatic plant called water smartweed, and many of the local peaks: Mt. Bachelor, South Sister, and Broken Top.

Now for my 4^th Quarter Goals-taking into account my surgery in the middle of October

Finish up the year in my Nature Observer Guided Journal.
Participate in Project Feederwatch.
Walk as much as possible, allowing for healing from my hip surgery.
Read at least two nature related books from my personal library.

Here is a short list of books I am contemplating reading during my recovery (either on hold at the library or on my personal bookshelf):

Nature Principle by Richard Louv
Curiositree – Natural World by AJ Wood
How to Raise a Wild Child by Scott Sampson
National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry
America’s Mountains – Guide to Plants and Animals by Marianne D. Wallace

Please note this entry includes Amazon affiliate links to books I own and/or love!

If you would like to see the previous quarters for 2018: 1^st Quarter Update and 2^nd Quarter Update.

Be inspired! Be Encouraged! Get Outdoors!

Posted on September 12, 2018 by Barb — Leave a comment

Goldenrod Nature Study – Summer Wildflower

Goldenrod was the topic from last week’s Outdoor Hour Challenge. Who knew that such a common yellow flower could not only be prettier up close, but also fascinating as a wildflower? Using Lesson 132 in the Handbook of Nature Study, I gleaned a few new interesting facts that helped me appreciate our local goldenrod so much more.

In the Handbook of Nature Study, Anna Botsford Comstock says not to worry about identifying a particular goldenrod if you do observe some in your neighborhood because there are just so many different varieties. I attempted to nail down our goldenrod and decided it’s probably Western goldenrod or Euthamia occidentalis.

The problem here in my local area is that the rabbitbrush is blooming at the same time and it’s also a very yellow low growing plant that you could easily mistake for goldenrod. (See this entry from a few years ago where I made the same mistake: Goldenrod Afternoon.)

But now I know to look for the different leaves and flower shapes, but I do have to look carefully when I’m driving by a field to decide which flower it is that’s blooming.

I’m lucky enough right now to have a goldenrod plant growing in my front rock garden. I almost weeded it out earlier in the summer but now I’m glad I left it to grow! I enjoy seeing it from the window and I hope that it spreads a little to add some yellow flashes of color to my landscape.

The Handbook of Nature Study encourages us in our nature study to look for insects that can be found on the goldenrod. So far, I’ve only seen a few stray bees.

If you missed the Outdoor Hour Challenge last week and would like to give it a try, here’s the link: Goldenrod Nature Study – Autumn Walk and Observations.

Look for the free notebooking page for this nature study linked in that entry!

I used these field guides in addition to the Handbook of Nature Study to learn more about my goldenrod.

I’ve written two wildflower nature study ebooks that you may be interested in using with your family. They are both in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships here on the Handbook of Nature Study.

Join us each Friday for a different nature study idea!

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Mom – September Journal

Outdoor Mom

September 2018

Like much of the West Coast, we’ve been plagued with wildfire smoke off and on for the last month. It rolls in thickly, making it impossible to truly enjoy being outdoors for very long. But, the minute it clears out, we are trying to squeeze in the last of the late summer activities.

Creating memories of a summer spent outside with family and friends is high on our priority.

Sometimes we plan an outing and sometimes we get invited on a spur of the moment trip. This was the case with a day trip to Crater Lake National Park. Our son unexpectedly had the day off and he phoned us up and asked if we wanted to accompany him to see Crater Lake on a day that the skies were blue and clear. It took us about ½ a second to respond, “Yes!”

We try to eat outside on our patio as much as possible. The last Outdoor Hour Challenge in August was to have a late summer picnic. We’ve had several in the past few weeks but I haven’t taken a photo. The image above is our typical summer meal with a little grilled chicken, salad, and some beans. I’ve actually perfected my baked beans recipe this summer as the perfect accompaniment to any grilled dish.

We have a place we discovered this summer that’s very close to our house that offers a variety of nature experiences. It’s along the Fall River where we can hike, picnic, and just sit and enjoy an afternoon in the sunshine among the wildflowers. There’s also a nearby fish hatchery with amazing rainbow trout of all sizes to observe. These will be summer memories that will warm my heart during the long winter.

We are nearly finished building our bbq shed with the help of our sons. It’s the perfect spot to enjoy a summer evening playing cornhole or just watching the dark descend on the mountains in the distance.

Our main focus this summer was to landscape our backyard, or at least get the hardscape down and build a few berms. My husband has worked his little heart out creating a beautiful space for us to enjoy that far exceeded our summer goals. He surprised me at how much he has accomplished and even got an aspen planted in the far corner of the property. I’m going to love watching it change colors with the season.

There is so much more to share but I will end there in the hope that you will be inspired to get outside with your family during the next month. I invite you to follow me on Instagram to see more of our outdoor experiences here in Central Oregon.

Follow me here: Instagram – outdoorhourchallenge. If you would like me to take a look at one of your images on Instagram, use the hashtag #outdoorhourchallenge.

Want to join in the Outdoor Mom post?

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 month 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…
I added nature journal pages about…
I am reading…
I am dreaming about…
One last image…

Category: Family Outdoor Life

Nature Observer -February 2019

Winter Bark Patterns Hike

If you would like to have nature study ideas and printables available for immediate downloading, please consider an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Nature Study Goals 2019

Nature Study Goals 2019

Final Nature Goal Update for 2018

4^th Quarter Updates – Including Our Amazing North American Beaver

Nature Observer – Nature November

Beginning a Year Long Willow Study

Finding the Value in a Dead Tree

Nature Goals Update – 3rd Quarter 2018

Goldenrod Nature Study – Summer Wildflower

Outdoor Mom – September Journal

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!

If you would like to have nature study ideas and printables available for immediate downloading, please consider an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Nature Study Goals 2019

4th Quarter Updates – Including Our Amazing North American Beaver

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!

4^th Quarter Updates – Including Our Amazing North American Beaver