Last year I announced that I would be retiring soon, and over the past year there was a slowing down of posting and creating new materials here on the Handbook of Nature Study. During this next season, my Friday posts will be some of my most beloved ideas to assist families in their continued nature study. These entries will hopefully inspire you to create your own nature study plan with fundamental ideas that have worked both for my own family and for many other families who have participated in the Outdoor Hour Challenge over the years.
Transitions are always hard. I appreciate your understanding. Our family continues to deal with elder care and health issues. These responsibilities prevent me from devoting as much time as I would like to helping families with their nature studies. But I’ve hung on for so long because I truly love what I’ve shared and created via the Outdoor Hour Challenge. These decisions have not come without great thought and consideration.
What Should You Do?
I will be continuing to post my weekly Friday nature posts until 12/31/21. Please make sure you’re subscribed to the blog posts so you will receive my weekly posts in your email box. If these posts are something that helps you in your nature study, keep the emails in a folder for future reference. Each post will have links for you to further explore using materials in the Ultimate Naturalist Library.
Very Important
Members to the Ultimate Naturalist Library will have access to all the ebooks, newsletters, and printables until 12/31/2021. At that point, I will be closing down the Handbook of Nature Study website.
In anticipation of the shutting down of the website, I highly encourage members to download and save any materials you wish to use in the future. I know this is a big job, but I hope by giving you plenty of notice you’ll make time to build your own library with the materials I have created.
Please note you can still purchase a membership as long as the website is up. I’ll be posting a discount code later this month if you’d like to wait for that before purchasing.
P.S. Just as a side note, I did attempt to create a website to stay live on the internet for members, but I had a bad experience with a designer who took my money and then disappeared. I have no budget to try again.
Basil is an herb that is easy to grow indoors and outdoors. I highly recommend purchasing a small basil plant to use for observations as part of this week’s Outdoor Hour Challenge. It will be a delight to your senses!
Here are some observation ideas from the challenge.
Observe your basil plant using all your senses.
Look at the leaves and observe the shape and veins. What is the texture of the leaf? Taste a few of the fresh leaves if possible. Would you describe the taste as sweet or spicy? Rub a few of the leaves in the palm of your hand. How would you describe the aroma?
Feel the shape, color, and thickness of the stem. Does it feel square? Note the arrangement of the leaves on the stem. What is the height of the basil stems?
Observe the flowers if they are present. What is their color and shape? Do they have a fragrance? Did you see any insects on the plant or flowers?
Remember that the rest of the challenge is available to Ultimate and Journey level members here on the Handbook of Nature Study. You’ll need to sign into your Ultimate or Journey level membership to see the herb ebook download.
Included in the new Herb Ebook are eight brand new Outdoor Hour Challenges for you to complete as part of your nature study lessons with your children. These challenges are not based on information in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. You’ll be using internet links and field guides to glean information about each topic.
This 49-page digital ebook has 8 challenges and supplemental activities that will help you learn about some popular and common herbs you can easily grow in your garden.
There are multiple custom notebooking pages for each of the topics. You can choose from simple notebook pages or more advanced notebooking pages.
At the beginning of every year, I sit down and create a list of nature study related goals for myself. I realized years ago that without having specific goals to keep me motivated, a whole year could slip by and projects and outdoor activities that are important to me have not been accomplished. If you’d like to read this year’s goal entry, you can click here: Nature Study Goals 2021.
Backyard Habitat development:
I was reading back over the first quarter’s entry and I smiled because I said that the second quarter was going to be the time for “heavy lifting” as far as developing a backyard habitat. Nothing could be truer than that statement!
Here are a few of the reflections on what has happened in the garden this quarter:
We nurtured seeds in pots, bringing them in and out of the garage at night to avoid freezing them as they sprouted. Our first round of seeds was eaten by mice! I had to replant everything! (Perhaps there is a small greenhouse in the future to make life easier?)
Weeded and weeded and weeded again as everything began to grow. We had to weed the beds from last year, pluck the weeds from our gravel walkways, sift out the weeds from the native plants. The majority of this fell onto my shoulders since my husband injured his leg and he had to keep from kneeling on it for over six weeks! Weed management is still an ongoing process and it’s the way we carefully keep the native plants we desire to have growing in the yard.
Eventually we planted the seedlings in the ground. Once the nights were warm enough and the big threat of a freeze was past, we were able to get all the seeds and seedlings into their garden beds. We did end up adding a few more automatic drip lines to the new plants to make sure they were properly watered.
We were surprised with the number of plants that have reseeded themselves. Practically my whole sunflower bed is filled with volunteer plants from last year’s crop. I’m making a note that we may not need to replant as many seeds next year to have the same beautiful results.
It hasn’t taken long for the pollinators, birds, toads, and small mammals to make themselves at home in the garden. We added quite a few more water dishes and saucers around the yard and they are busy spots for everyone on the hot afternoons. So many baths and sips of water!
I’ve noticed that the effort to keep as many native plants in our yard as possible has paid off as far as attracting insects. It has taken careful weeding and observations as plants have matured to decide if they stay or not. I’m still learning but the feeling of success is a wonderful reward for all the time spent with my nose in a field guide and on the internet to determine which plants will add value to my wildlife habitat.
Local Hikes:
We took a day trip to Silver Falls State Park (Oregon) to hike and enjoy the spring waterfalls and flowers.
We didn’t have much of a chance to explore any new hiking trails. As I mentioned before, we had to let my husband’s leg heal before we could really get out and hike again. It’s still my goal to make more local hikes so stay tuned for our 3rd quarter adventures to make up for what we lacked in the last quarter.
Make notes in field guides
I’m still making notes in my field guides as a way of documenting my observations. Currently, I’m being vigilant about keeping up with the wildflowers, birds, and butterflies that we identify.
I have to say it is thrilling to note a new species and then marking it in the field guide. We had several “new to us” species of birds to note this quarter.
Go camping:
We managed to fit in two camping trips this quarter.
In April, we went camping on the Crooked River, near Prineville, Oregon. It was a SUPER windy weekend but not too cold. We were able to hike up and down the river in both directions. The shrubs and wildflowers were just beginning to come to life, and a few were in bloom. My husband did a bit of fishing and I spent time working on my nature journal.
In June, we traveled over to the southern Oregon coast to camp with a couple of our children. What a great time! The tidepools were amazing because there was a negative tide (which means the low tide exposes things normally under water). We had a couple of beach afternoons in the sun, did a little kite flying, and hiked along the Oregon Coast Trail. It was a perfect week! Even the foggy days were a welcome change from the 100+ degree heat at home.
What do you think? Does it count that I camp out in my own backyard several nights a week?
Learn about succulents
I’ve been trying to identify the succulents that live in my yard. I waited until this one was blooming to identify it with my field guide and the internet. It appears to be a kind of stonecrop. Whatever kind it is, I think its bright yellow flowers are gorgeous and I’m glad it’s growing in a spot I can let it spread.
Learning about succulents is a long term project that I’m really enjoying. I have several other succulents ready to bloom so I hope to share them in my 3rd quarter update.
So what about you? Have you created nature study goals for your family?
Could you use some help in keeping nature study a regular part of your week?
You can join as an Ultimate Naturalist Library member and immediately have access to hundreds of nature study ideas and printables.
Click the graphic above to see the complete benefits of a membership. Join and make 2021 the best year of nature study ever for your family!
Use the discount code NATURE5 for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership!
Many families enjoy taking a closer look at a topic over a period of a year, making observations once each season. This simple nature study idea creates an intimacy with the subject that makes lasting impressions.
My sons completed quite a few year long studies of trees. They would pick a tree and then return each season to note the changes. My favorite year long seasonal study was the one we completed using the Queen Anne’s Lace plants in our yard and neighborhood. The beauty of this type of nature study is that your children can pick what they want to observe and then make plans to learn about the subject in each successive season.
I have listed an linked below many of the summer seasonal studies to get you started. You can start now if wish or you can continue a study you have already begun in a previous season. Many of the challenges have free printable notebook pages for you to use in your nature journal!
Make sure to mark your summer calendar with one or two of the year long study summer season ideas below!
Start by clicking the link to the archived entry below.
May 2021 Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge
Our sping bird nature study continues throughout the month of May. We just saw some magpies last weekend during a camping trip and it was super exciting to note their unique shape and sound. Use the challenges each week to prepare for possible sightings in the future!
Please note that all of the birds in this series are ones not found in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. Instead, the challenges will be providing field notes for each birds, as well as online links and videos. If you have access to the ebook, you will also have notebooking pages and coloring pages to print and use as desired.
5/7/2021 –Egret Nature Study
5/14/2021 – American Dipper Nature Study
5/21/2021 – Horned Lark Nature Study
5/28/2021 – Magpie Nature Study
New Printables in the Members Library
Wildflower Poetry Notebook Page: Use this notebook page to follow up a wildflower walk in your neighborhood. The suggestions will help your child write a simple poem after making wildflower observations.
Spring Nature Hunt Notebook Page: Print this activity out and take it along on a spring nature walk. Use the prompts in the grid to challenge your family to see some signs of spring. Follow up with a sketch!
Click the graphic above to view the complete list of printables available as part of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
Members also have access to the Nature Planner pages in their library. Print out this month’s page and use it to stimulate your weekly nature study time.
If you would like to have access to the member’s printables and the newsletter archive, I invite you to join with an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership. Your membership will be valid for one year from the date of purchase. Click the graphic above to see the many benefits of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
In the original 2021 nature goals entry, I talked a lot about the process of making goals and then refining goals as you saw the need. Here were the steps:
Be flexible.
Review your goals periodically.
Break larger goals into smaller steps.
Make a reasonable list.
Create achievable goals.
If you’d like to read the complete entry with all of the suggestions, you can click here: Nature Study Goals 2021.
One way that I review my goals and how I’m doing, is to reflect back at the end of each quarter to see how things are going. You can read the goals for the year in the entry linked above. I will give you a little update for each goal below.
We have cleaned up the boxes and made sure the drip watering system is ready to go for seed sowing. Probably going to wait until May 1st to get seeds started.
Backyard Habitat development: We just started working in the garden in the past few weeks. But, I have on paper a lot of ideas we want to implement this year. For the first quarter we made plans, ordered seeds, and spent time observing what was already working as far as supporting the local wildlife. This quarter will be the heavy lifting aspects of creating more wildlife friendly habitat. If this is something you are interested in doing for your family, you can read my entry: Creating a Wildlife Habitat in Your Own Backyard.
Look for an entry in May that reveals our day trip to the Painted Hills.
Local Hikes: We found new places to hike even in the winter as part of this local hikes goal. There are several places along the Deschutes River that are accessible to hiking in the winter. We chose sunny days to explore Sawyer Park and Steelhead Falls. We drove out to the Painted Hills for a day hike with some of the kids. I’m saying this quarter went better than expected and I’m eager to do some spring hiking here in Central Oregon.
Make notes in field guides: I’m keeping up the habit of making notes in my field guides as we identify new species of birds, animals, and plants.
Our unexpected visitors! We had a group of crossbills come through on a Feederwatch count day.
Project Feederwatch and Great Backyard Bird Count: The Feederwatch project is coming to a close here at the end of April. We’ve only missed a couple of weeks of counting and it has helped us be aware of the comings and goings of the birds at our feeders. The GBBC was another enjoyable experience as we took part in the worldwide bird count. I’ll be posting about the particulars soon!
Go camping: We didn’t make it out camping in the first quarter. But, we have several trips planned for the spring season and one for the summer.
Learn about succulents: I spent some time reading books about succulents over the quarter. Our library has quite a few to choose from since succulents are a big part of the landscaping here in Central Oregon. I went out yesterday and looked at the ones we have in our yard and they are all looking mighty healthy. I noticed new growth and spreading for many of them. I will continue to work on my knowledge as we get into our real growing season.
I did a pretty good job of keeping all my goals in mind this quarter. Now, I just need to keep it going.
Have you created nature study goals for your family?
Could you use some help in keeping nature study a regular part of your week?
You can join as an Ultimate Naturalist Library member and immediately have access to hundreds of nature study ideas and printables.
Click the graphic above to see the complete benefits of a membership. Join and make 2021 the best year of nature study ever for your family!
Use the discount code NATURE5 for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership!
Here in Central Oregon, we’ve entered the season of pink sunrises and cold frosty mornings. There may be a new dusting of snow on the ground which will soon be marked with critter prints as they come out from cover to search around for their next meal. Living so near to a river, we see its story each day as we look out the window and venture out to walk along the riverbank.
We’ve had plenty of foggy, misty mornings this month and sometimes it takes until noon for the fog to disappear, but we almost always have a bit of sunshine at some point each day. My husband and I try to take advantage of the sun’s warming rays to get outside for a quick walk. I was able to get an image of a coyote trying to sneak along the river one foggy morning last week. He was on the hunt and would occasionally stop and stand as still as a statue before he rushed along some more and then eventually out of sight. We often see the coyote prints in the snow and mud, so we know they’re out there roaming around but we rarely see them in the daytime.
This January we’ve experienced a great thaw. A warm rain caused the snow and ice to almost disappear from the landscape; the melting snow making great pools of water where the ground is frozen underneath. We actually can see green grass and the violets are blooming in a few spots around our yard.
I think the most interesting aspect of the great thaw has been the revealing of the habits of the mice that live around our property. At first, we could see their trails underneath the snow, like tunnels that lead from their warm little homes under the earth that then lead out to where they can scurry under the birdfeeders to gather fallen seeds.
Now that the snow is all gone, you can see the paths among the vegetation. I wrote about this survival method a few years ago when I discovered that critters live and thrive in the “subnivean zone” during the cold winter months. They do not hibernate like other animals which fascinated me. They create a world underneath the snow where the snow acts as an insulator from freezing winds and temperatures.
The most exciting story this month is that of the elk returning to our neighborhood. They are early morning visitors, so most mornings I open my blinds the minute I’m up and around. We put up our critter cam again to get some video of them as they walk majestically by in the early hours of the day.
We’ve had a much milder January than is normal, so we’re bracing for the possibility of a wintery February. Time is moving along quickly and as always, we have plenty to occupy our thoughts as we venture out each day to notice the drama and excitement that happens right outside our door.
I invite you to join us this month for the Outdoor Hour Challenge as we work our way through the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook.
Please use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist membership.
This week I invite you to do a little stargazing with your family. Bundle up and be prepared to find the constellation Orion in your night sky. Use the information found in the Handbook of Nature Study and the links in this challenge to educate yourselves about this winter constellation.
I use the Sky Guide app on my iPadto locate constellations and other night sky objects easily. I know there are several apps out there to use, but I’ve really enjoyed having Sky Guide. If you have experience with other star apps, leave me a comment!
If you have access to the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook, there are two notebook pages to choose from for your nature journal.
If you have access to the Member’s Library and can download the Winter Wednesday ebook, there’s a Winter Night Sky notebook page in that ebook that can be used as a follow up if you wish.
To purchase an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership, click on over to the Join Us page at any time.
You can use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off your Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
This week, using the links in the challenge, you’ll be introduced to feldspar. This isn’t a common nature study topic, but feldspar is a rather common rock-forming mineral that we can learn a little about using the Handbook of Nature Study.
You may decide this is a study that perhaps your older or more advanced students may wish to complete. If you have younger students or don’t have a specimen of feldspar to observe, see the alternate activity linked below for a more general rock nature study.
Here’s a quick overview of feldspar:
Feldspar, which means field stone, names a group of minerals that are much alike.
Feldspar is always a part of granite and other igneous rocks.
The most common colors are white or gray, pale pink or pale yellow, but feldspar may also be olive green or brown.
All feldspars are made of aluminum, silicon and oxygen.
I would love for you to be encouraged in your rock study by this entry I wrote a few months ago: Teaching the “Hard” Nature Study Subjects – Rock Study. In my experience, I find this to be one of the more challenging nature subjects. But, the ability to take it slow and learn alongside your children can make this less intimidating.
If you have access to the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook, there is a notebook page for you to print and use for your nature journal.
Alternate Study: Here’s an alternate to the feldspar study linked in the Outdoor Hour Challenge this week. If you click over to the Rock Study Grid activity, you can print a notebook page activity to use with other rocks you may already have in your collection.
To purchase an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership, you can click on over to the Join Us page at any time.
You can use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off your Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
New Goals for 2021 and a Reflection on my 2020 Goals
Setting nature study goals each year has been a powerful tool in my life. Creating specific goals keeps you focused and then periodically reviewing the goals allows you to see what you’ve accomplished and how to further reach your goals by breaking the larger goals down into smaller bits. A few things have helped me be successful and I thought you might like to hear about those tips as you perhaps think about making your own nature study goals for 2021.
Be Flexible
First of all, don’t think of things you didn’t accomplish as “failures”. Maybe the timing wasn’t right for working on a particular goal. I’m thinking specifically of one of my 2020 goals to visit a new national park. I could not have anticipated the impact of a worldwide pandemic when I wrote that goal. Find a way to be flexible if you find you can’t achieve your original goal. We decided to build a “campsite” in our backyard where we could sleep outside whenever we felt like it. Some may call it “glamping”, but it really did fill the need to be outside in nature at night.
Review Your Goals Periodically
Another tip to achieving your nature study goals is to look at them periodically to see which ones can be added to your planner. I keep a weekly/monthly planner and I can add reminders to work at a goal. Can we go for a hike this week? Are we counting birds for Project Feederwatch this week? Do we need to get to the library to gather books for research and planning? Keep an eye on nature study goals as you go along.
Break Larger Goals into Smaller Steps
Breaking larger goals down into bite size pieces is also necessary to achieve more substantial nature study goals. For instance, planning a camping trip will involve some pre-planning. Deciding on a destination, reading about the habitat, making required reservations, gathering equipment, and blocking out time on the calendar are all steps that can be done to accomplish the larger goal of going camping.
We achieved our rather large 2020 goal to build a backyard habitat for wildlife by following this tip. Sometimes it is the largeness of a goal that keeps us from reaching it. You can read the first installment in my series to see our first steps: Creating a Wildlife Habitat.
Make a Reasonable List
I also suggest keeping your goal list to a manageable size. It is easy to want to include a lot of great goals but as you start your list of goals, keep it simple. If you are just starting out with nature study, your goal list may only have a couple of items. You can always add things later in the year!
Create Achievable Goals – Don’t be too ambitious!
Another mistake I made in years past is to overestimate my long haul interest in a topic. For instance, one year I made the goal to learn about and then find in real life every rock in a particular book. Wow! That was hugely ambitious and would have taken a miracle to accomplish. We did manage to complete the study of quite a few rocks from the book but my interest really did wane after a few months. A more reasonable goal would have been to “learn more about the rocks in my local habitat”.
I hope you are encouraged to create your own nature study goals after reading my tips. My main message is to make sure you create a list that helps you with your own interests and supports your family getting outdoors to learn more about your own particular habitat.
So, without further ado, here is my list for the upcoming year.
Nature Study Goals – 2021
Nature Journal Goals: I’m trying out a different format this year for my daily nature journal notes. I’m anxious to share this with you so watch for it in upcoming posts. I’m also testing out some ideas for the Member’s Library that includes a perpetual nature journal using notebook pages I’ve designed. It’s most definitely a work in progress and I’ll be adding them to the Member’s Library after seeing which style works best for me.
Backyard Habitat development: We’re going to keep adding to the wildlife garden we started last year and hopefully add some more beneficial elements that are practical and beautiful in our Central Oregon climate.
Local Hikes: I’m determined to try to find places to hike in all seasons.
Make notes in field guides: This is a project I started last year and I think it’s just a part of what I do now with my field guides.
Project Feederwatch and Great Backyard Bird Count: We are in the middle of the Project Feederwatch season already and it brings us such joy to see our backyard birds come each day.
Go camping: We have a new, much smaller travel trailer now and this opens up some of the more rugged campsites in our area. We can be completely off grid and get out into the forest much easier. We’ve already mapped out some places we want to go explore. Even with COVID restrictions, we should be able to get outside and camp this summer.
Learn about succulents: I’ve developed a love for succulents. The amazing variety and the beautiful colors and shapes have captured my heart. I became aware this year of the flowers that succulents have that I overlooked. So joyfully, right now my succulents are covered in snow and ice but I know that next summer they will again treat me to a colorful display. I have a great desire to learn more!
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 2 new ebooks in 2021! 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 2021 the best year of nature study ever for your family!
Use the discount code NATURE5 for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership!
Here are some observation ideas from the challenge.
I have listed an linked below many of the summer seasonal studies to get you started. You can start now if wish or you can continue a study you have already begun in a previous season. Many of the challenges have free printable notebook pages for you to use in your nature journal!
