We returned to our milkweed observation spot at Yosemite Valley….and it was full of maturing milkweed! I have included lots of photos below so enjoy our summertime observations, complete with Monarch butterflies!
Depending on where the milkweed was, it would have blossoms or pods and blossoms. Above you can see the growing seed pods with a few old flower blossoms.
Here is some Showy Milkweed in blossom. I can even see some buds still waiting to bloom near the top.
We saw many Monarchs over the few days we were there but this one was willing to pose for us right on the milkweed. What fun to watch these beautiful insects doing there thing!
This plant had the leaf broken off and you can see the milky sap dripping down the plant. You can also see if you look closely a Cobalt Milkweed Beetle, a shiny blue metallic insect that is common on the milkweed.
We found this sign out in the meadow where our milkweed is growing which shows the complete life cycle of the Monarch butterfly. What a great sign…hope more people stop and read it and learn how fascinating the life of a Monarch is and what part the milkweed plays even there at Yosemite Valley.
We will be updating our study in the autumn and of course I will share.
Yosemite National Park in the summertime is an outdoor adventureland. There is so much to do! This trip was very different from our usual summer trips because it ended up only being my husband and I that were able to go. It is a far different experience to have just the two of us as opposed to having all six of us hiking around the Sierra. Both of us love this place so spending time together here is a pleasure and a delight.
There was a large wildfire further south from Yosemite but the smoke laid thick all three days of our trip. It was worse in the mornings but afternoon breezes swept some of it away. Yosemite Falls was dry! The park rangers were calling it “Yosemite Wall” instead. I am so glad that we had visited last May and enjoyed the cooling mists of the waterfalls then and for this trip it changed the focus from the valley to the surrounding areas of Tioga Road and Glacier Point.
We came into the park from the Tioga Pass side (east) and stopped just inside the gates to hike up to Gaylor Lake. This new to us hike (part of my nature study goals for 2013) was at a high elevation which always adds an element of breathlessness as you climb the trail. This is the view back down the trail…we listened to thunder and watched the clouds closely to make sure we would not be caught in a thunderstorm.
The landscape was green and there were quite a few wildflowers to enjoy from my resting spot along the trail. There were few other hikers on the trail which makes it seem as if you own the place as you hike along. We did see a man hiking back from the lake with a sack full of fish he had caught.
The trail crests and you look down over a beautiful basin where Gaylor Lakes have formed. I was still a little nervous about the thunderstorm but it seemed to be moving off in another direction.
Here at the top of the trail the trees are growing slanted and I can imagine how the wind must howl over the top of the mountain in the winter.
This is the Middle Gaylor Lake and on this day we didn’t go any farther. We sat for a long time enjoying the view before heading back to the car and on down Tioga Road.
We stopped along the way and took a quick hike over to Lukens Lake to see if there were any wildflowers but the conditions are much like you would find in mid-September and there were no wildflowers at all. It was still a nice hike and we did see lots of Bluet dragonflies along the edge of the lake.
The next day we decided to hike up at Glacier Point, taking the Panorama Trail as far as Illilouette Falls and then back. What were we thinking? We have done this hike before and it is a killer! The sign at the trailhead says two miles one way but both of us registered 3.5 miles on our Fitbits. That wouldn’t be bad but it is a steep, steep hike back up that 3.5 miles and in the hot sun exposed for most of the way. Guess what? It was worth the effort!
Along the trail we saw this wasp nest in a decaying tree. The insects were flying in and out but I got just close enough to take a good photo.
Here is a view of the whole tree and nest. The nest is quite beautiful and amazing to see…we were wondering how long it took to build this work of art.
Here is my victory shot after making it to the top of Illilouette Falls. The bridge behind me is just back from where the falls spill over the edge and down a 340 foot drop. We stayed on the upside of the falls for a long time just enjoying the beauty with our eyes and ears.
I sat on the top of a rock where the water was running down and swirling into the pool below. I was a little sad that my kids weren’t there this time to jump in or dangle bare feet in the cold water. My boys have even slid down the rocks here like a big slide into a deep pool where there are fish swimming in the crystal clear water. Great memories.
That evening we walked through the meadows in Yosemite Valley which is my favorite time of day to view the granite walls. The golden sunlight makes them come alive and the cooling air is filled with the sounds of the twilight creatures like crickets. Later that night we sat and watched the bats dart overhead. There is just so much to take in…
Here is another sunset visitor to Cook’s Meadow.
Early in the morning the smoke was filtering the sunlight and obscuring an otherwise glorious view of Half Dome from Tunnel View Turn Out.
Our last day we rented bikes from Curry Village and took off to explore the bike trails. The path is nearly flat or at least a gentle up and down so going is easy. This is such a wonderful way to explore Yosemite Valley away from the crowds and hustle of the popular areas. We had a nice pedal around the whole loop which includes several bridges over the Merced River where you can stop to take a break.
I of course stop to take a few photos of wildflowers. The goldenrod was so brilliantly yellow pretty.
This was something new to me…yet to be identified so if you have any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated.
So there ends another glorious trip to Yosemite, the second in my goal to visit every season. We have a camping trip planned for late September and I am already looking forward to that time in a season of changes.
These topics I will be adding to my nature journal and hopefully sharing here on the blog as part of my nature study goals:
1. Mountain chickadee
2. Rhyolite
3. Obsidian
4. Chinquapin (shrub)
5. Unidentified shrub with berries the squirrels were eating
I love all things lavender! It is the predominant plant and the predominant color in my front yard. Just about everyone who visits my house comments on the lovely fragrance of lavender as they walk up the front walk.
Lavender #1 (which we always call English lavender): Fragrant light lavender with silvery-green stem that is stiff and woody. This is the lavender I harvest and make potpourri for sachets from because it smells just like perfume.The large plants have grown over part of the walkway so when you brush by them you are treated to a perfumy delight.
I have missed the prime time for harvesting this summer because of travel but I will still go out early in the morning in the next few days and cut the blossoms to dry for a big batch of fragrant potpourri to have on hand.
Lavender along the walkway (sage in the background)
Lavender #2 (which we always call Spanish lavender): Spicy lavender scent with feathery soft leaves and petals that look like wings on the top. The leaves when rubbed are just as fragrant as the actual flower. We learned to prune this lavender last fall and it came back with a growth spurt I couldn’t believe was possible. I am pruning it way back again this year.
Lavender with “wings” on top and fern-like leaves
Are you interested in learning more about lavender? My daughter and I created a Hearts and Trees Kit that features lavender nature study and a lavender sachet sewing project. The lavender nature study is in the form of an Outdoor Hour Challenge and I wrote a narrative that mimics the style of Anna Botsford Comstock in the Handbook of Nature Study. You will really enjoy this study and your children will learn a lot about lavender.
I am pleased to announce that for the next ten days you can purchase a Hearts and Trees Kit featuring lavender nature study and a lavender sachet craft and receive FREE SHIPPING.
You must use the buttons below to receive the special discount.
For the lavender focused part of this kit, your child will create a dried lavender sachet. The fabric, thread, needle yarn and dried lavender and instructions are included. ***PLEASE NOTE: If you or your child is allergic to lavender just let us know and we will not send the dried lavender!***
There is also an eight page nature journal focusing on lavender. Your child will assemble the nature journal using the cover, pages and a length of twine. A sample lavender flower is provided for you to study. The cardboard, rubber bands and link to instructions are provided so that you can make a flower press. Waxed paper and instructions are also included to make a waxed paper pouch to mount the pressed lavender into the nature journal.
There is more to the kit! Each one includes:
2 sewing projects
2 handicraft projects
1 painting project
1 drawing project
1 nature study collection of projects focusing on lavender
1 artist study collection of notebooking pages with art print
These kits were gathered with children ages 6-12 in mind. Parents may need to help their students, especially younger children, with some aspects of this kit. (Please note you will need to supply some common art supplies to complete these projects such as scissors, paintbrush and markers. A list of common supplies you will need is included with the kit.) Hearts and Trees Lavender and Bubbles Kit
Hearts and Trees Bubbles and Lavender Kit–FREE SHIPPING
If you have any questions, email me or my daughter (heartsandtrees@yahoo.com).
Our first attempt at a tadpole/frog study was unsuccessful. We visited my dad’s pond and could not scoop up any tadpoles but we did get some great insect larvae to observe in the pond water sample. We brought them home in a bucket and used our pond field guide to try to identify them.
Edit to add: I was told this is not a Mayfly but a Damselfly so I will be off to do some more research….now you will understand why I say I should take Eva’s free entomology course down below. 🙂
Meet the Mayfly….which we learned are called naiads during their aquatic stage. (This is an image of a dead one I found lodged in my net.) They live in ponds, lakes, or streams for up to several years. They molt 20-30 times during that period of time. The most interesting thing about Mayflies is their short lifespan for adults- only a few hours to a few days, depending on the species. We actually observed an adult Mayfly that landed on my dad’s shirt while we were observing the pond. What a great insect to learn about!
Even if we didn’t find any frogs on this outing, we sure enjoyed our time just being outdoors at the pond.
As a sidenote: I think we need to take Eva’s Introduction to Entomology course that she is offering on her blog Academia Celestia. It is a free six week online course in a subject she is highly knowledgeable in and is passionate about. If your family is looking for a way to learn more about insects…click over and see it this would work for you.
We took a second trip to the local walking trail where I had observed some frog’s eggs earlier this month. Success! There were hundreds of tadpoles but I didn’t get a single decent image…the one below is the best I was able to get with all the reflections but if you look closely you will see some dark tadpoles swimming in the water.
We will continue to observe these critters in the weeks to come…easy to do since they are on the side of our usual route on the walking trail.
I highly recommend this Golden Guide to Pond Life. We have always been able to identify any creatures or plants we found at Grandpa’s pond using this simple field guide. Great beginning guide for young ones!
There are affiliate links in this entry.
Rattlesnake Video on YouTube….
My husband and I took a hike to the river on a glorious day last weekend. The grass was green, the wildflowers were amazing, and the sun was warm….perfect day for a spring walk through the Northern California foothills.
I was sort of worried about the possibility of encountering snakes but we were keeping a close eye out. I had stopped a few feet off the trail to look at some metallic insects on a wildflower stem. I was trying to get a really close look and then I stepped backwards to the trail. My husband immediately started yelling that he saw a snake….startling me and making me scream. The snake was right by my feet….a really big rattlesnake!
He pulled me out of the way and the snake moved across the trail over to the other side. I (of course) pulled out my camera and started taking a video. That is what you see in the video above….me still all shaky and out of breath capturing this huge old rattler as it slithers into the tall grasses but not without showing us his extremely long rattle.
We ended up seeing three snakes that day, one rattlesnake and two gopher snakes. Just in time for reptile month! So have you seen any reptiles in your area yet?
Winter gardening for wildlife allows our family to help sustain our local animal community during the long cold winter months when they are looking for their basic needs of food, water, and shelter. In my last Winter Garden For Wildlife post, I shared how we have structured our garden to help encourage wildlife to visit all year long. One of the vital components of a winter garden for wildlife is to create sheltering spots.This often means leaving a little “messiness” in your winter garden. With just a little effort and planning, you can be rewarded with daily visits from the birds and other animals who enjoy your winter garden.
Here are some ideas for you to use in your own winter garden oasis for sheltering spots —–
bushes, rocks, trees, arbor, leaf piles.
Spreading fallen leaves over your flower beds makes a place for birds to forage and other creatures to over-winter.I have observed the towhees and the juncos picking through the leaves looking for something to eat. We even add in a few of the smaller fallen branches to the pile which give additional spots for birds to perch and land under the feeder. If you have access to a few logs, making a log pile would be another option for a variety of creatures to use as shelter.
Our rock patches are the perfect place for overwintering creatures to hide in and under.I know there are insects of some kind living in these rocks….I have seen beetles. I also have observed that the Western scrub jays and robins poke around in these rocks which leads me to believe there are some tasty morsels in the rocks for them to enjoy.
Larger rocks allow for creatures to shelter from the winter temperatures and conditions. They seem to find all the nooks and crannies to squeeze into and to use as protection. I have even seen a few lizards out here on the big rocks…not my favorite creatures but still very awesome to see.
Although we do prune back the trumpet vines and climbing rose twice a year, we leave it to grow over the winter to allow the birds to perch and shelter. Our main backyard bird feeder is just to the left of the edge of this photo and the birds will use these vines as landing spots on their way to and from the feeder. I have also seen the birds huddled inside the vines when the wind is howling away…they seem all snug tucked up inside. The littler birds escape the larger birds by getting up inside the vines…many layers of shelter going on in this spot of the yard.
Leaving dry plant stems in the garden leaves a place for insects and spiders to shelter. I read somewhere that there are insects that will crawl into the hollow stems for shelter through the winter. I have not seen this yet but my eyes are on the alert!
The shrubs and bushes in our yard provide the best protection from the rain and snow. I often will see birds tucked up inside the limbs of the bushes in our yard even in the hardest downpours. There are several spots in the lavender bushes that look like the image above where the birds have created a little hiding spot.
Planning ahead when you are finishing your autumn garden clean-up gives your winter garden a chance to provide the shelter your neighborhood creatures need to survive the cold and wet conditions of the season. Shelter from the wind, rain, snow, ice, and predators is a vital part of any winter garden plan.
Do you have any additional ideas for winter garden shelter for wildlife?
This past month saw a return of the Outdoor Hour Challenge to a more topical approach as opposed to a seasonal approach. For our family, it breathed new life into our time outdoors and although we had a focus we were much more open to letting things just happen.
As we gardened, sat outside for our dinners, and traveled to various local locations, the insect topics came to us and we worked on paying close attention to the opportunities. This truly is the kind of nature study that interweaves itself into your everyday life, the kind you can do just about every day.
We were trimming lavender when we noticed this foamy white globs on many of the plants. We knew right away that it was some sort of insect that was creating these globs but we were not sure which insect. When we were back inside, I Googled “white foam on lavender” and right away we could easily see this was a common search. There were many resources that all pointed to the Spittlebug.
After doing some reading online, we found that it is many times found on rosemary plants too so we went out to look. Yes! There it was on our rosemary plants.
They are related to aphids.
They feed by extracting plant sap.
Nymphs cover themselves with a frothy mass that provides protection from predators.
There can be more than one nymph in a glob.
Oh, and the “spittle” is not spittle at all and actually comes from the other end of the insect. 🙂
Although they can do minimal damage to plants (according to most sources we read online), we decided to take the advice of most and just wash the globs off with the hose. Easy enough.
We have had a huge increase in the number of flying insects in the front garden. The sage, the butterfly bushes, and the lavender are all still in bloom and each day there are hundreds of flying creatures that come to enjoy the flowery goodness. The fiery skipper above is the most common butterfly we have in our garden at this time of year. Isn’t it amazing to see all the parts up close? Can you see the probiscus?
The bees are thick and it makes me realize how easy it is to provide a healthy bee habitat. Plant bee friendly plants and provide even the smallest amount of water and they find you. We had a visitor the other day ask if we were afraid of bee stings and I honestly answered that even though we are in close contact with the bees, they avoid us more than we avoid them.
The flying insect we do have trouble with is the yellow jacket. We had to put up a trap for them because they were stinging my son…..who somehow seems to attract them. Every evening when we sit outside to eat our dinner, one or two of the pesky little insects come to buzz around us and our plates of food. They are very persistent this year for some reason. I think this is the fourth time we have had to rebait our yellow jacket trap. This style has been very successful for us and it is very economical to use since you just buy little packets to bait the trap after it gets full. (You can buy them on Amazon: Rescue WHYTR-BB8 Wasp Hornet Yellow Jacket Trap Reusable.)
I have been thinking a lot about the relationship between native plants, non-native plants, and insects since reading a book on this topic. Bringing Nature Home is another one of the books I received from Timber Press to review and share with you in a post. This book goes more deeply into how introducing non-native plants into our habitats creates an environment that can make life harder for native insects and plants.
It is far more in-depth than I could grasp on the first time through reading it but it has given me lots to think about. It is a book that makes me wish I was staring over with choosing plants for our whole yard but since I can’t do that, I can look forward and make better choices in the future.
If you are interested in reading and learning about how plants and insects (and other creatures), both native and non-native, thrive or die because of choices we humans make….this is the book for you. I am going to read it through again once I have some time to think and meditate on my responsibility as a garden owner.
We are still experiencing temperatures far above normal and the abundance of sunshine has drawn us out into the garden just about every day this week. We did lots of pruning and composting but we are still delaying our actual autumn garden clean-up until we see a change in the weather. The birds and insects and I suspect a skunk and raccoon are still frequenting our garden and enjoying the food source.
Jami’s Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!
I love this little board book so much that it gets its own entry on my blog. 🙂
The Icky Bug Alphabet bookis a great way to introduce your little ones to insects without overwhelming them. This book has clear illustrations with simple text that will appeal to even young school age children.
Insects can be a little creepy and scary to some young ones so perhaps having a book that presents them in a non-threatening way they will avoid the apprehension that many of us have about creeping and flying insects.
In fact, I love this book so much that I am going to give one away! Please see the Rafflecopter gadget in this entry for more details. Act fast because the giveaway will end on October 1, 2012 at Midnight!
Please note that the giveaway is only open to US residents and I cannot ship outside the US. See the Rafflecopter gadget for the complete terms and conditions.
Outdoor Hour Challenge:
How about a Small Square Study this week? Use the directions from Challenge #9 to complete your own careful study of a square foot in your backyard or neighborhood. Look for signs of insects as you observe your square with a hand lens. Use the printable notebook page below to record your nature study or make a record in your nature journal using words and sketches.
Printable Activity Notebook Page:
This week the challenge extra is a free printable notebook page to go along with your square foot study.
Small Square Study – Living vs. Non-Living: As you complete your small square study, categorize the objects you find between living (or once living) and non-living. There is a place to list your items and sketch them too.
Getting Started Suggestion:
This week the challenge comes from the Getting Started ebook (Challenge #9). If you own the ebook, there are custom notebook pages to print to go along with this study.
“The teacher of nature study, like the teacher of any subject, will deny himself much if he does not go to the literature of the subject for help in his work. But there is an especial danger in such help on this subject. So soon as one takes to the book instead of to nature for questions that nature could easily answer, he loses the spirit of the work. One must be careful, therefore, to ask many questions of things themselves under the open sky, and to read with patience in nature’s book.” The Study of Nature by Samuel C. Schmucker 1908
Using the Handbook of Nature Study monthly grid study activities helps us to “read with patience in nature’s book”.
Almost every single task gets us outside with a little bit of focus but yet it is open ended. All ages can participate.
We never feel inclined to complete the whole grid at once but we read the tasks ahead of time just in case while we are going about our regular daily business we see something that relates to the grid study.
I also love that it makes a quick and easy start to a nature journal page where we can record some of our observations.
I printed our Insect Study Grids out in black and white, adding watercolor to jazz it up a bit.
So have you been able to use the grid to help your study of insects this month? I encourage you to give it a try and enjoy this relaxed form of nature study.
I finally remembered where I had seen lots of ants….on our backyard trumpet vines. This morning I had a chance to go out with Mr. A and take a closer look armed with our cameras and a desire to learn more.
After watching the ants for a few minutes, I realized they were not the only insect enjoying this colorful vine. The honeybees were buzzing right at ear level and even though I knew they were not interested much in me, I felt the need to keep getting out of their way. They were very active and in the photo above you can see there would be multiple bees in one flower. This one had four!
After coming back inside, we did some research online to reveal why the ants are on the trumpet vine. There seems to be two lines of thinking:
1. The ants are farming aphids that also live on the trumpet vine.
2. The ants are actually partaking of the nectar found in the trumpet vine blossom.
This led to more outdoor time trying to discover which it was in our case.They definitely were interested in the flowers so I think our ants were after the nectar of the flowers.
According to the USDA, the trumpet vine is a habitat to the hummingbird, the butterfly, and the ant. I thought it was interesting that the USDA also considers the trumpet vine to be an “invasive weed”. We have had trouble with it sending out its sucker roots and coming up in the lawn but we just keep mowing them down.
Of course, Kona needed a little attention when we were out looking for ants. Smile Kona!
We ended up walking around the garden and ticking off a few of our insect grid tasks…and finding two surprising insects which I will save for my grid study entry next week. I love the way we start off looking for something as simple as an ant, find ourselves asking a question that we answer with more research, investigate some more about a plant we have in our backyard, and end up really enjoy our time together. Although we had a focus in mind when we went outside, the nature study part was very relaxed and natural.
Right in our own backyard.
I am going to record the insects we saw on my insect list from the monthly newsletter, make a nature journal entry for the trumpet vine since we did all the research, and mark off several of the squares on our insect grid.
Hope you are enjoying your monthly focus on insects this month and don’t forget to send in your blog entries for the carnival.
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is a great way to introduce your little ones to insects without overwhelming them. This book has clear illustrations with simple text that will appeal to even young school age children.
