Nature Study Goals 2016- Updated for the first quarter!
Complete 2 out of 4 Outdoor Hour Challenges each month posted on Fridays. I think this is ambitious goal. I will be including our experiences in my monthly nature study recap posts. Our January entries: Starling Bird Studyand our Pines and Cones study was included in my Outdoor Mom’s Journal for January. Our February entry: Weeds and Seeds. March entry: Fungi Photos
Research and learn about four birds. Learn the call, field marks, and create a nature journal. I completed a nature notebook page for the white-breasted nuthatch. One down, three to go!
Focus on learning my local wildflowers. Create some sort of record of each flower. I have not decided what form this record will look like but once I get started I am hoping it will come together. I started a list in the front of my nature journal with date, location, and flower name.
Take Yosemite photos from the Yosemite photography book- Since this was a fail last year, I am going to aim to take three photos during each trip in 2016. I took photos during our January trip!
Visit a new national park. (You can see a list of my national parks entries below.) We are thinking Bryce Canyon, Olympic, or Rocky Mountain depending on which way we head out from California. We visited Cabrillo National Monument in February! Look for an entry next month.
Visit two new state parks. We camped at San Clemente Beach State Park in February.
Identify three rocks from my original challenge. This has been more difficult to accomplish than originally anticipated but with a more concentrated effort I think we can really make this happen. Nothing accomplished for this goal yet.
Read 10 nature related books! I have read all three books for January, February, and March.
You can find this page at this link: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/NetCommunity/bbimages/PDFs/ColoringBook.pdf
Looks like I accomplished quite a bit this quarter and I am determined to keep it up during the second quarter. It looks like I need to do a better job of working to completion my Outdoor Hour Challenges. Many times I do the outside work but then either don’t follow up with a nature journal or a blog entry. Time just slips away and I need to be better about following through so you can see how I enjoyed each challenge.
During our autumn visit to New Jersey, we had the chance to spend the afternoon at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Did you know there are over 560 national wildlife refuges? I was surprised to find one in this area of the world and so close to New York City. (26 miles to Manhattan but it’s going to take you a little over an hour to get there depending on traffic).
The literature says there are 244 species of birds that live or pass through this refuge during a typical year. We saw a handful of birds during our visit but we weren’t there very long and we were dodging raindrops when we were hiking on the trails.
We began our time at the refuge by going to the visitor center where we were greeted by enthusiastic and knowledgeable docents volunteers. They showed us the wonderful displays and answered our questions before sending us out to explore. I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the day.
Once again we were on the Passaic River just like at Paterson Great Falls. It wasn’t very swampy when we visited but I could imagine the place once the rains and winter weather rolled in. The signs at the park said this is a place with mosquitoes and ticks so be prepared during the wetter seasons to wear pants and bring repellent.
I loved seeing my very first shagbark hickory treesalong the trail. We were practically the only visitors on this day and it was amazing to stand out in the forest to watch and listen for any signs of birds and animals.
The forest canopy was a blaze with color during our visit. We spotted bat boxes and birdhouses too along the trail.
Just another lovely image from our hike. Can you believe this is about an hour from New York City?
Around the nature center there was a nice area to picnic with tables and a view of some interesting bird houses. I would plan a visit with my children during the spring or summer and then hit the nature center, have a picnic, and then go exploring on the trail or by taking the auto tour.
This captured my attention too! They had a habitat for birds and butterflies around the nature center. In the summer I can only imagine how busy this area of the park is to our insect friends.
This is a wonderful place to visit for a walk on a trail or a boardwalk, to learn more about the interesting habitat, and to enjoy the opportunity to view such a variety of birds and animals in New Jersey.
Additional tips:
There is a visitor/nature center and gift shop but no place to eat so pack your lunch!
I apologize in advance for the number of times I use the word “amazing” in this blog entry.
February was an excellent month for this Outdoor Mom! I had the pleasure of my daughter’s company for ten whole days and we crammed in as much California outdoor time as we could to refresh her from the New York winter. We started off locally with a hike to the river with our crazy dog who loved taking a swim even if the water was cold!
Then it was off to southern parts of California for a camping trip at San Clemente beach (between Los Angeles and San Diego). The campground is up on the bluff and you can take an easy trail down the hillside, over the railroad tracks and out onto the beach. The ice plant was in full blossom and so very pretty. The air was warm in the high 60’s and low 70’s the whole time we were there. What a joy!
There is a trail from the campground down to the San Clemente Beach Trail. This is about 2 miles in length and passes right by the pier. We walked out onto the pier and the image above shows the turquoise blue water and the pretty little beach town. We spent one morning just enjoying the beach trail, flowers and all!
The trail parallels the train tracks and it was fun to see the Amtrak Surflinercome by and the Metrolink too. The view looks right out onto the Pacific Ocean which we thoroughly enjoyed.
Another day we drove into San Diego and went straight to Balboa Park. I have been to the San Diego Zoo in the past but our family has never done any exploring in the adjoining park. Of course, we decided to visit the Botanical Building first. Well, we did actually go to the visitor center first to get a good map because this park is massive and we had no idea how to navigate the roads, paths, and shuttle system. We quickly figured it out and had fun walking and learning about this historical park.
If you are ever in San Diego, I highly recommend this park with its free shuttle and free exhibits. Check this link out: Balboa Park – San Diego.
Here are a couple of the gorgeous flowers found in the Botanical Building. It was awesome!
We also visited Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego and I will be sharing a complete entry on this park in a future entry. For now, here are a few of the highlights from our tidepooling adventure. Can you believe the size of the shell? It was the biggest intact shell I have ever found. Of course, we took photos and left it there for someone else to “discover” as well.
Look at those smiling faces! We both thought the tidepools were the highlight of our whole week…that and the sunshine.
Switching gears, we also made a drive out to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Parkduring our trip down south. My husband and I had been there before but my daughter was experiencing the desert landscape for the first time. It was hot! We had most of the trails we took to ourselves and it was fun to see the two of them rock scrambling!
I was content to be the camera person.
Here is a sampling of the wildflowers we saw on our hikes. I will of course be sharing an entry about Joshua Tree in the near future for you to get all of the details of this amazing place!
Back at home, spring came to visit. I want to share this image of my redbud in bloom…truly a miracle of color in my yard this year. Drought or no drought, this plant has survived and is flourishing.
One last image from a guest….my husband. He takes a hike just about every day and he is always sending me images of things he finds as he walks. He wanted me to share this mushroom with what he says is a “happy California cow” on the top. Do you see it?
I hope you enjoyed seeing my outdoor life over the past few weeks. I know here in California we are spoiled by incredible February weather this year. As I write this entry, I am thinking about the past four days and the over 9 inches of rain we received…totally flooded my basement room! It isn’t always so perfect here but I hope it inspires you to look for spring in your neighborhood. Don’t miss the new printables for members below!
Outdoor Mom’s Journal
Whether your family spends a few minutes a week outside or hours at a time, share what is going on in your world.
How Do You Join?
Answer all or just one of the prompts in a blog entry on your own blog or right here on my blog in a comment. If you answer on your blog, make sure to leave me a link in a comment so that I can pop over and read your responses.
During our outdoor time this week we went….
The most inspiring thing we experienced was…
Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about)…
In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting….
I added nature journal pages about….
I am reading…
I am dreaming about…
A photo I would like to share…
Please note that Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level members have access to members only printables each month in addition to the newsletter printables. You will need to log into your account and then go to the “Other Releases” section.
Need help getting started with your nature study using the Handbook of Nature Study? Check out the fresh “Getting Started” page here on the website!
Our family trip to New Jersey last autumn included a short visit to Morristown National Historical Park. Ever since I visited Mt. Vernon, I have had an interest in learning more about George Washington and Morristown gave me a little bit more information about an interesting person from history. We have all heard the story of Valley Forge but Morristown is where Washington spent the winter of 1779-1780 which ended up being the coldest winter on record (Valley Forge was 77-78).
Not only is Morristown a place of history, it is also a place of natural beauty that has been preserved for our outdoor enjoyment. You can hike on the 26 miles of trails or bike the roads of the park….we enjoyed our short visit and would recommend adding it to your New Jersey itinerary if you have some time.
There are actually three distinct parts to this national historical site. The first stop could be George Washington’s headquarters which are actually in the town of Morristown. We didn’t stop there but headed up on the hill overlooking the town to see Fort Nonsense. There wasn’t much to see there except the signs and a gorgeous view.
It gave us a more complete picture of the purpose of making this the stopping stop for the Continental Army that winter. For our California family, this was just a taste of Revolutionary War history…something we don’t get to experience very often.
The first challenge in visiting the actual winter encampment is to find the place! We were glad we had our navigation going because it is off the beaten path a bit. Gorgeous area of New Jersey! It was a gray Tuesday and when we pulled into the parking lot of the visitor center there were only a few cars. It may have had something to do with the visitor center being closed…what a disappointment! We should have looked it up ahead of time which was a hard lesson. There was a park brochure with a map available in a box outside the door so we weren’t completely in the dark about how to find some interesting things to do.
We followed the paved road in the car up to this area which is called Pennsylvania Line Encampment. There was a nice trail over to where they have recreated some of the log cabins. Can you imagine 2,000 soldiers living here? We didn’t make it over to Jockey Hollow in the park but that is where 10,000 more soldiers stayed during the bitter winter of 79-80! Now the place is a beautifully wooded area with nice trails and paved roads.
Here is a peek at one of the log huts which don’t seem very substantial but we decided that in the winter conditions they would have at least given some shelter from the elements. Tough times! Even though we didn’t have the benefit of an introduction at the visitor center, I think using the brochure and the ample signs gave us a great idea of what this place was all about.
This was a quick visit and we wished we had more time and it had been spring or summer. The trails were very inviting and I know I would have enjoyed getting to know this place better.
More Tips:
Plan to stop at both visitor centers, one in the actual town and one out near Jockey Hollow.
There is no entrance fee for Fort Nonsense or the Jockey Hollow Areas we visited. There is currently a $7 fee for Washington’s Headquarters Museum and Ford Museum.
There is a Junior Ranger program.
You can read more of my national park entries by following these links:
It’s time for another Outdoor Mom’s Journal from me and my world. The past few weeks have been a series of rain storms with a morning of snow thrown in for some variety. El Nino has delivered on its promise of wet weather for California which I am grateful for indeed. The creeks are filling up and the lakes too! Our world is turning green with the grasses of early spring and the sunshine is warm with promise of the spring to come.
As usual, getting outdoors is high on our list of things to do and we took advantage of some opportunities to do just that this past month.
Here are links to my entries for the January Outdoor Hour Challenges:
My husband needed a mental health day a few weeks ago and to be completely honest, I did too. We are blessed to live within a shortish distance from Yosemite National Park and decided this was our destination for this particular day off. Up and out of the door early, we made it to Yosemite by mid-morning and took advantage of being one of the few people in the valley that day. It was sunny but cold which made for pleasant hiking. We took an icy hike from the shuttle bus stop up to Mirror Lake. The trail was slick so we opted to hike on the actual snow that lined the trail instead. What a workout! The reward was a picture perfect visit to a magical place. If you ever get to Yosemite, make sure to take this short hike and look up on your right as you go and you will be rewarded with a look up at Half Dome…a very unique perspective.
If you can visit Yosemite National Park in the “off season”, you are rewarded with a quiet landscape where you can imagine you have the place all to yourself. I have learned that the power of being outside is a strong antidote to the melancholy that can sweep in with the winter’s cold. My smile tells the whole story.
I can’t resist sharing one last image from our day at Yosemite. This is the view from the Swinging Bridge over the Merced River as you look over the valley and up at Yosemite Falls. It was a day where you could hear the water in the falls from here. Although I have seen this view a hundred times before, I never get tired of it’s beauty. If you look carefully in the image, you will see the ice cone at the bottom of the waterfall. It is fascinating!
Here is another favorite image from the month…my daffodils coming to life. I can hardly wait to see their beautiful yellow blooms in the sunshine.
I have been taking a closer look at lichen this month in anticipation of a lichen focus next month in the newsletter. This twig has such a variety of life on it that could easily be missed if I didn’t slow down and really look at it…aided by the lens of my camera.
Outdoor Mom’s Journal
Whether your family spends a few minutes a week outside or hours at a time, share what is going on in your world.
How Do You Join?
Answer all or just one of the prompts in a blog entry on your own blog or right here on my blog in a comment. If you answer on your blog, make sure to leave me a link in a comment so that I can pop over and read your responses.
During our outdoor time this week we went….
The most inspiring thing we experienced was…
Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about)…
In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting….
I added nature journal pages about….
I am reading…
I am dreaming about…
A photo I would like to share…
I will be posting my Outdoor Mom’s Journal entry once a month.
Back in October our family was able to visit the state of New Jersey and what a surprise New Jersey was to us! It was so much more rural than expected and we fit in a visit to a very interesting place, Paterson Great Falls National Historic Site. It may not have been as majestic as other national parks or sites but it was by far one of the most interesting ways to look back in time to see how the natural feature of the town’s waterfall influenced history and industry in New Jersey. Paterson was the first planned industrial city in the U.S., established back in 1792.
It was a raining afternoon with showers but we were still able to get out and explore the small park. We started on one side of the Pasaic River where you can look over and see the falls. There were a few people there braving the rain but we pretty much had the place to ourselves.
We crossed over the street and found the very small visitor center that the national park service had set up. The only thing of note is that they have guided tours available or you can opt for a self guided tour of the area as you learn about the industrial history of the area.
Our son was interested in visiting the Paterson Museum which is just one block from the national park visitor center. This was a great decision! This place has so many interesting things and we took time to look at just about everything, including a sampling of the locomotives that had been built here in the past. This engine is actually one that helped to build the Panama Canal back in the day.
Of course, my son the pilot was interested in learning all about the history of Wright Aeronautics in Paterson. Amazing things to look at and learn about! The museum also catalogs the history of other Paterson manufacturers like Colt Revolvers as well the local silk industry.
Back outside we walked back down the street and then over the river to the closest viewing spot for actual waterfall which is in Mary Ellen Kramer Park. I can imagine this place after a hard rain or in the springtime being a magical place with lots of water. During our visit, the falls were not that impressive but still a nice surprise during our brief trip through New Jersey.
You can tell from the photo that the waterfall is really right in the middle of the town. I got the idea that this park is going to be vamping up its offerings so take a look at their website before you visit for any new features of the park that may strike your fancy. I was wishing I had more time to walk the town and take some “artsy” kinds of photos of the old brick buildings. I can always find something of interest wherever I go.
I am learning a great deal about the difference between a national park and a historic site. Historic sites can be interesting and beautiful but they don’t have the WOW factor of awesome vistas or natural phenomenon. For our family, we enjoy both experiences. I love to learn about most anything so visiting Paterson Great Falls made a memorable afternoon with my husband and son.
Tips
There are no entrance fees for the historic site or museum.
I’m either really late with this month’s entry or really early for next month’s entry…oh well. This month has flown by in a good way filled with lots of rainy days but a few opportunities for some outdoor time as well. Read below about our brush with a tornado!!!
We took a rather spur of the moment trip to Nevada to refresh our minds and it was picture postcard perfect as we drove up and over the Sierra Nevada. The roads were clear but the mountains were beautifully covered in a layer of snow. We were cold the whole weekend long with temperatures dipping down to 9 degrees…really cold for this California girl. We bundled up and took some walks, shopped in this incredibly large outdoor store (Scheel’s), and ate lots of delicious food. It was a perfect combination of indoor and outdoor fun.
This is my January photo from my office window and it pretty much sums up our month…rainy! I have been keeping track of our rainfall totals and so far we have racked up 26 inches of rain since the first of October! We have also had a dusting of snow, two hail storms, and believe it or not…a tornado!
Yes, back on December 24, 2015 we had an alert on our phone to take cover because there was a tornado in our area. What??!! This was a first and we decided to take shelter in our basement but the tornado ended up going in a different direction and only came within about 5 miles of our house. I have to say that it was exciting and sort of scary at the same time. In our world, we don’t usually worry about a tornado!
There were some sunny afternoons this month that allowed a few long walks with the husband and our faithful Labrador. This was a muddy hike to the river but we very much enjoyed the warm sunshine and seeing some green for the first time in a very long time. This past few years have not allowed our usual grass crops to green up very much and I am so looking forward to see our beloved California foothills covered in green grass and colorful wildflowers. I’m ready now!
I’m adding a little something different this month as part of my Outdoor Mom’s Journal, a book review. The first book I have read as part of my Nature Book Project is Discover Nature Close to Home by Elizabeth P. Lawlor. This is a fantastic book with a long list of topics that you may find very near your home: maples, pines, seeds, squirrels, starlings, goldenrod, galls, lichens, vines, chipmunks, spiders, centipedes, fungi, ants, and earthworms. This is such a practical guide to nature study that focuses on things close to home. I love the variety of topics, the straightforward information, and specific activity ideas.
Whether your family spends a few minutes a week outside or hours at a time, share what is going on in your world. I hope you have enjoyed your October nature adventures.
How Do You Join?
Answer all or just one of the prompts in a blog entry on your own blog or right here on my blog in a comment. If you answer on your blog, make sure to leave me a link in a comment so that I can pop over and read your responses.
During our outdoor time this week we went….
The most inspiring thing we experienced was…
Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about)…
In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting….
I added nature journal pages about….
I am reading…
I am dreaming about…
A photo I would like to share…
Throwback to Yosemite National Park January 2014…..the winter trip when it was cold but not much snow. I have seen photos of Yosemite in the last week and they have a ton more snow this year.
I will be posting my Outdoor Mom’s Journal entry once a month. Look for it during the first week of the month each month.
It’s that time of year when I am publishing my annual nature study goals for all to see. This provides me with the incentive to progressively work on my goals and to keep myself accountable at the same time. There are no surprises on this year’s list because the simple goals are actually the ones that end up being the most meaningful and reachable. For those that have been readers here for the past few years, you will see a few repeats of goals that have gone unfulfilled and this year I am determined to be better at planning a way to reach my goals.
A friend of our family says to “plan your work and then work your plan”. There is wisdom in that thinking.
Nature Study Goals 2016
Complete 2 out of 4 Outdoor Hour Challenges each month posted on Fridays. I think this is ambitious goal. I will be including our experiences in my monthly nature study recap posts.
Research and learn about four birds. Learn the call, field marks, and create a nature journal.
Focus on learning my local wildflowers. Create some sort of record of each flower. I have not decided what form this record will look like but once I get started I am hoping it will come together.
Take Yosemite photos from the Yosemite photography book- Since this was a fail last year, I am going to aim to take three photos during each trip in 2016.
Visit a new national park. (You can see a list of my national parks entries below.) We are thinking Bryce Canyon, Olympic, or Rocky Mountain depending on which way we head out from California.
Visit two new state parks.
Identify three rocks from my original challenge. This has been more difficult to accomplish than originally anticipated but with a more concentrated effort I think we can really make this happen.
Read 10 nature related books!
I always love to read your goals so leave me a comment with your goals or a link to your blog if you post an entry there. Thank you for always being so supportive of my goals as the year rolls by.
I am sharing our family’s nature photos for the month of December after enjoying the November entry so much. With my grown children so far away and all of our busy lives, this is a simple way we can connect and share our love for the outdoors in a simple way despite the distance. I hope you enjoy the McCoy family December nature photos!
This is my husband’s entry for the month. He really enjoyed the refreshing trip to the ocean and taking a really long walk on the sand.
My daughter Amanda shared this photo on Instagram earlier this month with the hashtag, “I am my mother’s daughter.” Yes indeed. She has a new feeder outside her window and she is enjoying the birds that are visiting. In fact, she says the feeder can be emptied in one day they love it so much! Guess I better send her a gift card for some birdseed.
This is one of my favorite images from the month. I took this through the window of the squirrel eating under my birdfeeder. He was posing so nicely and looking right at my camera. Don’t you just love his little paws?
One last image from my son in New York. They have had unusually warm weather this month…quite the opposite of last year. I love the misty morning view from his street.
Hope you enjoyed a wonderful December and created some of your own family memories too!
As the end of the year draws nearer, I am thinking about and wrapping up my nature study goals for 2015.
2015 was a year of change and of upheaval in our family…I am not all that great at handling changes so having some nature study goals and a plan to keep myself from ignoring the restorative power of being outside was a huge blessing. I need to balance my life with not only thinking about nature but actually getting out into it on a regular basis. It grounds me. It comforts me. It keeps my mind more positive….the quiet time for prayer and meditation under the sky is one of the best ways I know to keep putting one foot in front of the other when you face challenges in life.
Goals Update
1. Yosemite Photo Project: As I determined in the third quarter, this photo project was just not going to happen in 2015. I’m not sure why I had such a hard time with getting going but I’m pretty sure it had to do with lack of planning. I have a spring trip to Yosemite on the books and reservations made so perhaps I will get my act together before then to actually accomplish this goal in 2016.
5. Take one new hike: We did a lot of hiking this year but none from the local hiking guidebook that I purchased last year. I realized this also didn’t happen because I had no clear plan…the spot in my planner is blank still. Lesson learned.
6. Read ten nature-related books this year:I accomplished this goal with flying colors! I enjoyed having the books chosen ahead of time and I have already started to compile my list for 2016 which I will be sharing soon!
7. Rock project: None added in 2016. I either don’t like rocks as much as I thought or I can’t convince myself that I want to pursue this goal. But, one of my books for 2016 is on rockhounding and it has specific places that we can visit to collect rocks for our collection. I am excited about this goal again!
8. Create one nature journal entry each month: Yes! Using the Once a Month Nature Journal ideas, I have been able to create at least one page a month.
You might like to read the Planning Nature Study for the Year post from last month for some ideas to get you started.
Here are some of my favorite entries from the year if you haven’t seen them already.
Summer Days Filled With Goodness: I loved this hike that my husband and I took back in July. Keeping a blog helps keep those memories alive and I love sharing them with all of you readers.
Zion National Park:This was a fantastic road trip to Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks! Wish I could do it again right now!
So that ends another year of nature study…now to create goals for 2016! Reflecting on my circumstances in life may alter the goals on the list but I will make the goals and see what happens. I invite you to join me in 2016 with your own list that helps your family get outdoors together and learn more about the plants and animals that share your world.
There is always something new to learn!
Use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off any membership here on the Handbook of Nature Study.
