Family Outdoor Life Archives

Posted on November 9, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

November Nature Walk Project

November Nature Walk Project

As the winter approaches, the temperatures have dropped significantly here in Central Oregon. This makes it hard to remain enthusiastic about getting outside for my daily walk. I did purchase a pair of winter boots to help keep my feet warm and dry on my outdoor excursions.

All I needed now was some motivation.

Then it came to me! Create a daily challenge to walk to the river.

I am such a creature of habit and I know making myself put those new winter boots on and get out the door every day would soon be something I looked forward to doing. So, I started on the first of November and have so far kept my determination to take the short walk down from my back door to the Little Deschutes River every day.

I chose a spot to take a daily photo, showing the changes and conditions each day. It is just a few paces down from the back fence and it faces towards Paulina Peak centered between two trees and centered over a stump.

November 1^st– just a typical autumn day

November 2^nd – this was a weather transition day and there were quite a few gray clouds and it was getting cold

November 3^rd– woke to a few inches of snow and we took our first snowy walk out to the river.

November 4^th– a lot of the snow had melted but the weeds were still crunchy with ice and the river was getting icy on top.

November 5^th– Back to a snowy landscape…the most snow we have had to date. We were out on our walk and it started to snow with large amazing flakes. Note: I forgot to take my traditional “over the stump” photo so this one will have to do!

November 6^th– The sun came out in the afternoon and I ventured out with our Kona dog. What a joyous walk! If only every day were this brilliant.

November 7^th– Still a little snow on the ground and the air temperatures never left the 30’s. The Kona dog and I took our romp down to the river’s edge, noted how cold the water looked today and then rushed home to warm up.

The value of a daily nature walk, even in the same place every time, is something I hope you can experience in your family. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate affair or take very much time for you to see a difference in your attitude and that of your children. The fresh air does wonders for blowing away the cobwebs of an indoor life.

Here a few nature walk ideas from my archives:

No Technology Walk

Use Your Senses Nature Walk

Members here on the Handbook of Nature Study have access to newsletters with nature walk ideas:

October 2013 – This whole edition is filled with nature walk ideas.

December 2016 – You will find the “3 Questions Hike” idea in this edition.

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Mom Journal – October 2017

Outdoor Mom – October 2017

We have spent quite a bit of time this month outdoors in our yard as we work on the landscaping. We discovered the most awesome garden nursery in our area and made quite a few trips over there to pick out bushes for our front yard.

We are trying to keep it simple while adding color to the view. It is also important to me to pick things that will provide shelter and food for the local birds and other animals. We settled on some chokeberry and twin berry bushes. I think they will be a perfect match for our habitat and yard terrain.

Our family managed to fit in a long weekend camping trip over to Silver Falls State Park. It was perfect weather for hiking and we managed to see all but one of the ten waterfalls in the park. The habitat in that area is so gorgeous and very different from where I live in the high desert. This Outdoor Mom loves being refreshed by the tall trees and the sound of water cascading over rocks! Plus, unlike our town, the air was smoke free!

Our backyard river walks are turning golden as the grasses start to go to seed and die back. My loyal dog companion is always ready for a romp down to the water. The muddy edges come alive with frogs jumping as we pass by. Our temperatures have been below freezing at night several nights so far but the days are pleasant and the sun is amazingly rejuvenating when we get out and walk in it.

September was a month of kayaking with my boys. It appears that the lazy river kayak is a favorite of my boys so we will on a whim drag the boats down to the water and take off on an adventure. The birds are the stars of the show on just about every trip which makes this bird nerd pretty happy. We often spot a hawk sitting on a tree or soaring overhead.

We had to take a quick trip to California to take care of some business so I was excited to fit in a morning wandering around some apple orchards. Apples were purchased for eating and applesauce making. Apple donuts were eaten, marking the true beginning of the autumn season in my mind.

So for now, this Outdoor Mama will be gazing at the mountains, watching for the aspens to change color, and making time for lots of walks. Our yards are cleaned up for the up-coming cold temperatures…snow shovels and rakes and blower at the ready. The firewood is stacked up for the woodstove. We are eager to see what the next month will bring as we are dreaming of our first long autumn here in Central Oregon.

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 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….
I added nature journal pages about….
I am reading…
I am dreaming about…
A photo I would like to share…

Did you print out your October Nature Study Planner?

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Mom’s Nature Goals – 3rd Quarter Update

Nature Study Goals 2017 – 3rd Quarter Update

This quarter has flown by! I had a feeling this would happen since summers here are short and we made a point of getting outside to go hiking, biking, and kayaking as much as possible. We squeezed in a lot of adventures since June.

I feel much like a novice at knowing my new environment with even the most common of plants and birds being so new to me. It’s exciting to see my nature journal fill up with pages recording my adventures and discoveries. This has been the perfect year to focus on giving my nature journal lots of attention because it doesn’t matter where I go, there will be something to observe and then sketch onto a page.

I feel pretty good about my progress at keeping my nature study goals during the 3rd quarter of 2017. I am now in the home stretch and eager to keep the good stuff rolling.

As you turn the calendar on another month and another season, create some goals for your family or remind yourself of the goals you’ve already made for 2017. It’s not too late to fit in a lot of nature study time if you make it a priority….it will be winter soon enough.

Here are the goal details:

Create monthly entries for my Outdoor Mom experiences as I share our nature studies using the Outdoor Hour Challenge, our travel experiences, and any of my family’s nature adventures. This was accomplished. You can read my entries during each month here: July, August, and September.
Focus on my nature journal and create at least one page weekly. I think I missed one week in July if I remember correctly. I would call that success.
Post images of my nature journal pages on Instagram each week. If you follow me on Instagram, you will see a new nature journal page every Wednesday.
Read and review 6 nature journal related books. I read and thoroughly enjoyed the Vitamin N book by Robert Louv. I am now working on The Nature Fix by Florence Williams.

Original goals here: Nature Study Goals 2017.

If you want to see the previous quarter’s entries for 2017: First Quarter Update and Second Quarter Update.

Join me on Instagram for weekly images and nature journal examples.

It’s not too late to get started with your own nature study goals.

Do you want to create some goals for your family? Use the free printable planning page in this entry to get started: Nature Goals 2017.

Posted on September 11, 2017 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Mom – September 2017

Outdoor Mom

September 2017

I just keep adding to my list of animals seen here in Oregon. This week there were sightings of a porcupine and a coyote! The coyote was just trotting along through the back pasture until he came upon a downed tree. He hesitated and then pounced on some little creature, shook his head a bit, gobbled it up, and then continued trotting on down the way. It makes me very happy that my cats are indoor cats!

We’ve seen a variety of birds this month, including a whole flock of mountain quail. They are a bit different than the California quail I’m used to seeing. They don’t have the curved topknot like the California quail but rather have a straight plume sticking up. The mountain quail are much smaller too.

The most memorable outdoor related thing about the past month has been the amount of wildfire smoke in our area. It’s been a constant feature of every day as it obscures the view of the mountains and sometimes even just the across the street. Looking on the bright side, it makes for some crazy colored sunrises and sunsets.

Our grown boys are staying with us right now and we try to fit in some local fun as we all get to know our new area. This past week we hiked up to some waterfalls that create a natural waterslide. The water was pretty cold but the air temperatures were hot. The men all gave the slide a try while I was content to watch, photograph, and stand with my feet in the water along the shore. What a memorable day!

I picked up a new-to-me bike at the thrift shop for $20 and we’ve had it out for a spin a few times on the bike trail at Sunriver. There are miles of trails that wind around the resort and down along the river. Whoever planned the trail was smart! They strategically placed park benches along the trail in perfect spots for viewing the beautiful vistas (when there isn’t wildfire smoke). This new bike will allow us to cover more ground when we explore the beauty of Sunriver.

Garden Update

Just to note my gardening challenges, I was told I live in plant hardiness zone 5A. I’ve been talking to my neighbors about their success in gardening here in the high desert and so many of them have told me to only plant things that are meant for garden zone 4. This means I have to look for plants that have a range down to -40 degrees! I couldn’t understand why at first but just this week I had someone explain it to me in a way that makes sense.

Garden zones take into consideration the low temperatures overall. Here in my area we have the potential for frost throughout the summer and very cold nighttime temperatures will affect the growth of plants. So, this explains why on the surface it appears that I could get away with plants for zone 5A, but just one night of a cold snap will kill them or stunt their growth. It’s far better to pick plants that will grow in zone 4 range instead and not chance it.

I get it now. I will continue my quest to make a practical garden plan over the winter.

You can use this website to get an idea of your climate zone: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone.

If you live in my area, I have found this to be a very helpful guide that we’ve printed out and saved: Xeriscaping in the High Desert.

Want to join in the Outdoor Mom post?

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….
I added nature journal pages about….
I am reading…
I am dreaming about…
A photo I would like to share…

Posted on August 21, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Mom – July Part 3

Outdoor Mom July: Part 3 – Travels

This is Part 3 of my Outdoor Mom entry. You can read Part 1 here: Outdoor Mom Part 1 – My Own Backyard and Part 2 here: Outdoor Mom Part 2-Wildlife Sightings

I keep reminding myself that the perfect summer weather is only here for a few short months in Central Oregon. It could get cold and wet as soon as September or early October so we need to be outdoors as much as we can right now. We made lots of time for kayaking and exploring in July, both close to home and during a trip to New York. Here are a few of the highlights.

Our youngest son was home for a few days at the beginning of the month so that gave us an opportunity to get out on the lake in the kayaks. We were there fairly early and it was fantastic weather for exploring this crystal clear lake up on the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway. We paddled across the lake, through a canal of sorts, and then over to the other part of the lake. We had the dog with us and she is such a good passenger, even if she gets excited when we see ducks and geese. The yellow water lilies were blooming and the damselflies were out in force, landing on our arms and legs if we stopped paddling.

We had some young people come and stay with us for a week and one thing we did was kayak up on Sparks Lake. I love this lake! The view of the mountains, the relaxed paddling around the lake’s edge, and the beautiful wildflowers all contributed to the enjoyment of the day.

One of the most amazing parts of living where we do now is the ability to drag our kayaks straight from the backyard down to the river. We had left the truck down at the pull-out earlier in the day so all we had to do was jump on the water and go. We went further than normal and it ended up being a four hour paddle/float down the Little Deschutes. The girls were really good sports about the unexpected length of the trip. My husband made up for it with a delicious dinner when we got back home.

I had the opportunity to spend some time in New York and Ontario with my kids during July. We were driving right through Niagara Falls so we made the stop and took the Hornblower cruise from the Canada side. All I can say is that it was WAY better than I expected and it was overwhelmingly beautiful. The power of the falls is awe inspiring.

We took one day while the girls were here to make the trip to Crater Lake National Park. We stopped and viewed the lake from two different viewing points, hiked the Castle Crest trail to see the wildflowers, and then hiked to Plaikni Falls. I will be writing up our entire trip in a separate entry.

This is a peak in our area that you can actually drive up to in a car. Let’s just say we’ll be driving up there probably every summer to take in the splendid view atop a volcanic mountain. It is breathtaking!

I hope you enjoyed seeing a glimpse into our July travels and adventures. It was fun to have some young people to share the experiences with us.

This is Part 3 of my Outdoor Mom entry. You can read Part 1 here: Outdoor Mom Part 1 – My Own Backyard and Part 2 – Wildlife Viewings

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Barb — 2 Comments

Crater Lake National Park – July 2017

Crater Lake National Park

Revisited in July 2017

We took the short drive from our new home down to Crater Lake bright and early on a Monday. We were hoping this would be a good time to see the park without the crowds. It worked out! We arrived at the North entrance and headed straight to Watchman Overlook. They were working on the parking lot but we were able to park alongside the road.

The view was spectacular! There were still patches of snow along the road, on the edge of the lake, and in shady spots in among the trees throughout the park. The water was a deep aqua blue as it shimmered in the morning sunshine.

Lichen on rocks at Crater Lake — Such beautiful lichen on the rocks

We then went over to the Sinnott Memorial Overlook right behind the Rim Village Visitor Center. There were a few more people here but still very enjoyable to take the walk out to the overlook and see the lake in all its glory.

After that, we drove down to the Steel Visitor Center so we could watch the movie about Crater Lake and how it was formed. We all really enjoyed this and learned a lot about the natural history of this amazing spot on Earth.

Wildflowers were next on the list of things to see in the park and we headed to the Castle Crest Wildflower Trail which was a short drive from the visitor center. Overwhelmingly beautiful!

There were so many flowers in bloom of all shapes and colors. There is a creek running down the hillside which provided the background soundtrack of babbling and rushing water. There were many, many insects including a hummingbird moth that we observed for some time.

I was super excited to discover a “new to me” wildflower growing in abundance along the trail. The White Bog Orchid was so delicate and beautiful! I’m hoping to add it to my nature journal soon.

Our last stop before heading back home was Plaikni Falls. This is on the east side of the lake and it’s a very easy two mile round trip hike on a fairly flat trail. The falls themselves are a cascading series of falls that you can hike to the base of and then look up to the top. We sat on some rocks and let the cooling mist get us a bit damp. People were taking off their boots and soaking their feet in the icy water. I was glad we had saved this for the rather hot afternoon.

I know we’ll be making more trips here in the future since it is an easy hour’s drive from home.

You can read my previous entry for Crater Lake Here: Crater Lake National Park Tips and Images

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Mom – July Part 2 Wildlife Viewings

Outdoor Mom July: Part 2 – Wildlife Viewings

This is Part 2 of my Outdoor Mom entry. You can read Part 1 here: Outdoor Mom Part 1 – My Own Backyard

I saw my first ever badger in real life! I was driving and it was crossing the road in front of me. At first my mind was trying to figure out what it was; too big to be a possum and not quite like a raccoon. As I approached, I saw the face and realized it was indeed a badger! Here is a link to what he looked like: American badger.

We have seen two adult raccoons in our yard (and trees) plus two adorable and entertaining young raccoons.

One evening they were playing in our front yard and were just as curious about us as we were about them.

My husband has been telling me about the river otters that live right near our house but I didn’t see them until this past week. They are really good swimmers so I didn’t get to see them for very long because they swam upstream from where we were kayaking.

We regularly have deer and fawns in our yard. There was a mama and two little ones that made an appearance at my birdfeeders. I’m sure they’re the ones that keep tipping the seed out.

Or, it may be one of the many squirrels that scurry around from tree to tree. We have several kinds of squirrels here but the most prominent one is the gray squirrel.

We have lots and lots of little frogs in our yard! Every time I go out to water I have to be careful not to squish them when walking in the grass.

The most interesting insect sighting has been the hundreds of California tortoiseshell butterflies that made an appearance all at once in our area. They’ve been seen flying in mass over the roads. We felt bad as we ran into so many of them on our way to a hike. Then, the next few days they were all over our yard. I definitely need to do more research into their lifecycle.

This nature loving mama is having a fantastic summer of wildlife viewing right in my own yard and then my neighborhood.

You may be interested in reading the other parts in this series:

Part 1 – My Own Backyard

Part 3 – Travels

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Mom – July Part 1 My Backyard

Outdoor Mom July: Part 1 – My Own Backyard

There is so much to relate that I am splitting my entry into three parts!

Picture postcard perfect! That pretty much sums up July in Central Oregon…at least that has been my experience. Longtime residents here say that July and August are the short summer season so we have tried to soak in as much outdoor time as we can before it passes.

I can’t help but compare living here to my California home. It doesn’t get as hot in the afternoons and it’s MUCH cooler at night. My new house is perfectly situated to view the sunrise each morning because there is a large pasture sloping down to the river. This makes a perfect vantage point to watch the sunrise each morning up over the distant mountains and peaks.

Each new day I wake up to open the blinds to see the colors and clouds….the Grand Creator’s morning artwork. Many times I try to take a photo, but each time I am disappointed in the results. My iPhone camera just doesn’t capture the magnificence I see with my eye so most days I am content with enjoying it in the moment.

The wildlife show starts early around here. I don’t even need to get out of bed because the view from my bedroom window allows me to see a great sweep of landscape behind our home.

The arrival of the black cattle to the pasture down by the river was on July 8^th. I woke up one morning and there were, not exaggerating, two dozen cows who appeared overnight right behind my back fence. There are some pine trees and tall grass that they seem to enjoy both in the early morning and then later in the day. Seriously, they have 108 acres back there and many times they are right at my back door, looking at us with big, wide cow eyes. Their curiosity was at first with our big black Labrador dog and then the Woody wind twirly. They stand and watch the wheels go round. So very funny!

I have come to love the sound of a distant cow moo and the sight of adorable young calves that follow their mothers around the pasture. I will not think about the time they’ll be absent from my back pasture and what that will mean for them. For now, they are a welcome addition to my animal viewing.

Summer so far has brought a different set of birds to the feeders and surroundings. Many of the birds that were here in May and June have moved on and they have been replaced by some new birds. I’m still working on learning all their names but there is such joy in the discovery.

My new friends here have realized I’m a bird nerd, sort of an oddity. What they see as common, I many times get super excited about seeing. I’m spending a lot of time filling feeders and birdbaths. The more plentiful the food and water, the more birds come to visit. I have a hanging pot of flowers outside my bedroom window and the hummingbirds come a visiting each morning.

Sometimes one and many times two hummingbirds are busy sipping nectar from the colorful flowers in the pot. We had a switch in hummingbird species early in July, from rufous hummingbirds to calliope hummingbirds. The gorgeous rufous colored birds are all gone, migrating further north I’m suspecting. This is something I want to research further because it fascinates me that they can fly so far over a wide migration route.

I’m keeping lots of notes and taking lots of photos to help me start to learn the patterns of flora and fauna here in Central Oregon. I purchased a new field guide that is more specific to this area to help me know what things to expect and to look for as I’m outdoors exploring. Summer is a time for being outside and I’m really taking that to heart.

I’m going to split this really long entry into three parts so you’re not overwhelmed with reading it all in one sitting.

Look for Part 2 – Wildlife Viewings

Look for Part 3 – Travels

How Do You Join?

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….
I added nature journal pages about….
I am reading…
I am dreaming about…
A photo I would like to share…

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Mom’s Nature Goal Update – 2nd Quarter 2017

Nature Study Goals 2017 – 2^nd Quarter Update

Here is a recap of my goals and the progress I’ve made in accomplishing them during the second quarter. You can read my thoughts on reflection at the bottom of the post.

Create monthly entries for my Outdoor Mom experiences as I share our nature studies using the Outdoor Hour Challenge, our travel experiences, and any of my family’s nature adventures. This was accomplished. You can read my entries here: April, May, and June.
Focus on my nature journal and create at least one page weekly. I only missed one week this quarter!
Post images of my nature journal pages on Instagram each week. If you follow me on Instagram, you get to see a new nature journal page every Wednesday.
Read and review 6 nature journal related books. I started reading The Nature of Bend by Leeann Kriegh. What a great visual field guide and informational book about my new area of Oregon! It lives right on my kitchen table because I am constantly browsing and reading it both morning and night.

Books on hold at my library!

The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs by Tristan Gooley
The Nature Fix by Florence Williams

Nature Goal Reflections

I am sincere in saying that this is the most successful year of goal keeping that I’ve ever experienced. Making the time and then getting out into nature has been the key to creating both the monthly blog entries and the weekly nature journal pages. I seem to have an endless list of topics to write about when I sit down at my desk. I’m having a fantastic time working on keeping my nature goals for 2017!

Do you want to create some goals for your family? Use the free printable planning page in this entry to get started: Nature Goals 2017.

Posted on July 5, 2017 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Mom – June 2017

Outdoor Mom – June 2017

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.

OHC Wildflower Set 2 @handbookofnaturestudy — 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