Our first winter snow! This is the most snow we have had in December ever!
Here is my garden all covered in a blanket of snow. Last week I was hopeful about the broccoli but even the protective frame that I built over the top is covered in snow…..seems like winter has arrived.
We took off on our snowshoes to see what the neighborhood was like on this first snowy morning. Here I am about 1/4 mile from our backstreet. There were a few children out throwing snowballs and a man walking his dog but we pretty much had the whole street to ourselves. I always forget how quiet it is when there is snow.
We lost a few big branches from the trees that still had leaves on them. The evergreens held up pretty well but the oaks and sweet gums just aren’t built for this much snow.
Later on in the day, we all built what ended up being a snow bear in the front yard. Even our Kona dog “helped”.
The next morning we had icicles like never before.
Today is really, really cold for our area….15 degrees. The ice is thick on the roads and I am hoping my husband is careful on the way to work. He has to travel over the river and then climb up into the mountains to get to his station and yesterday it was treacherous. I can only imagine today’s drive. He has chained up the truck and he assures me he will be careful. I will be waiting for his call once he arrives.
Amanda hiked up to the top of our hill to see the sunset. The sky was pink and lavender and after such a stormy night and morning, it was great to see the sun again.
We had a perfect morning for a weather study as part of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Autumn Series. The air was cold, the wind was blowing, and the leaves were raining down all around us. It *felt* like autumn. Note: This morning it was 38 degrees outside..that is cold.
There are still loads of leaves left on the sweet gum trees but as of this morning, the fall color is breaking through. Reds, oranges, burgundy, and every shade in between are all popping out on the trees.
Still a few insect friends in the flower garden…..look at his wings in the sun. Gorgeous and amazing. I think this is some kind of hoover fly.
We came back in to warm up with a bowl of soup and then our weather notebook pages were filled in and filed away in our nature journals.
I love having a specific subject for our nature study….it motivates me to spend time with the boys outdoors each week. Don’t let anyone tell you that high school age boys do not enjoy nature study.
The challenge this week is one that can be done by every participant without regard to location.
This week we will start a year long, four season weather observation study. This challenge will be to make a record of your weather during the current season. I have put together a simple Seasonal Weather Notebook Page. You can use it for your records or you can simply record the information in your a nature journal.
Read pages 790-791 in the Handbook of Nature Study which includes the sections on Thermometer Scales in Use and Distribution of the Temperature and Pressure. Read the sections with a view to finding a few facts to share with your children this week about what influences the temperature and the atmosphere around us.
“The heat received on the earth from the sun is the controlling factor in all weather conditions.”Handbook of Nature Study, page 791
It might even be a good idea to purchase an outdoor thermometer so you can record the temperatures in your own backyard.
Outdoor Time
Pick a day this week to spend 15-20 minutes outdoors observing the weather and recording the conditions using the Seasonal Weather Study notebook page. We will be completing a weather study challenge during each season in the coming year and the more detailed you get in your observations, the easier it will be to compare the weather from season to season.
Follow-Up Activity
Spend a few minutes discussing what you experienced with your children. Find out if they have any questions about the weather that you can research together this week. The Handbook of Nature Study on pages 812-814 lists numerous specific weather related activities that will help demonstrate weather concepts for your children. Please complete any of the activities that interest your family and that you have time to complete. For your nature journal this week, fill out the Seasonal Weather Observation notebook page. If you prefer to record you observations into your nature journal and not on a notebook page, look to the sample blank chart on page 807 of the Handbook of Nature Study for a basic record keeping idea.
“Let us make it a daily habit to give a thought to weather conditions; the wind directions; the presence or absence of dew during the hours of evening, night, or early morning; and the readings of the barometer, thermometer, and the weather maps if any are available.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 806
On Monday we drove down to the bridge across the river near our house and this was what it looked like. The rainstorm has brought the river level up much higher than last week and look at that mist…..awesome.
We got a chance between pouring rainstorms to go out for a hike today. It was colder than I expected but it was worth the effort. I took a short video of one of the creeks that has sprung up since the rain started last week. Enjoy the sounds of water rushing down the hill.
Here are a few more shots of a different waterfall along the trail….one that I have shared before. The water was the highest we have seen yet.
What a glorious little waterfall.
There is a flower just starting to bloom right at the waterfall.
Here is what the flower looks like close-up.
I think it may be some sort of saxifrage…not sure.
We also were treated to some Shooting Stars today….the first I have seen blooming for this season. I didn’t get a decent photo but I will try again tomorrow.
This area around the trail is changing very fast now and it has a whole different feel to it as we take our walks. Spring is very, very close.
We completed our winter weather study today. We had a break in the rain so we could go outside and gather some first hand information.
Yesterday we had a full rainbow out our back window. I don’t know if you can see it because it is so faint but maybe if you click the photo it will show up.
My son completed his winter weather activity….with his own style. He drew the clouds and the view out the window in the big box and a winter scene in the top box.
I realized that maybe we should be doing the seasonal observations on the first day of the season. That means we will need to complete the spring observation in a few weeks.
If you read my blog with any frequency, you will remember that we had quite a bit of snow and very cold weather a few weeks ago. For now, our surroundings seem to be heading quickly towards spring.
Here are some signs that we found today.
My bulbs are pushing up into the sunshine.
Our indoor forsythia is blooming.
Our twig from our tree that we brought inside a few weeks ago is really starting to have leaf buds.
Just like many parts of the country, we are experiencing very cold weather. In the Sierra Nevada foothills where I live, the snow is rarely the fluffy flakes you see in winter storybooks. The snow we experience is very wet and is lovingly called Sierra Cement by skiers (watch the short video for an explanation). We had a few snow showers yesterday and that left behind a nice layer of snow and ice….brrrrr it is cold, well for this California girl anyway.
On my morning walk I was entranced by the ice on the deck railing. I could see with my naked eye the beautiful crystals.
So I brought out my camera with the macro lens and was able to capture the ice to share with you.
It really is like a whole little icy world down there.
“The ice on the surface of a still pond usually begins to form around the edges first, and fine, lancelike needles of ice are sent out across the surface….It is equally interesting to watch the formation of the ice crystals in a glass bottle or jar. Water, in crystallizing, expands, and requires more room than it does as a fluid; therefore, as the water changes to ice it must have more room, and often presses so hard against the sides of the bottle as to break it.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 811
Ice, snow, hail, sleet….all great subjects for winter nature study.
We were finally able to do a little weather study today and it was actually fun to be outdoors in the light rain.
It wasn’t too cold either so we took a few photos as we walked around the yard. The deck plants are so pretty and colorful and brighten even this rainy day.
The gray sky really brought the colors in the trees and it was interesting to watch the raindrops collect on the plants in the garden. One sweetgum tree has lost all its leaves but the other is still holding on to its bright red and green leaves…at least so far today. On the right of the photo above you can see our Giant Sequoia tree and how its evergreen boughs are still full and beautiful.
My youngest filled out the Seasonal Weather Study sheet and we filed it away in his nature journal to compare with the coming season’s pages.
This was really a great nature study and I think that watching and comparing the weather each season is going to help us notice more about each season.
Last week we read through a large section of the Handbook of Nature Study on water forms and hopefully everyone was able to go outside and observe the weather conditions in your particular area of the world.
We went outside on several days to try to catch some clouds and it just didn’t happen. I am going to save our official entry for last week’s challenge until we can draw some clouds in our journals.
This week we will start a year long, four season weather observation study. This challenge will be to make a record of some sort of your record during the current season….autumn. I have put together a simple weather study notebook page if you want to use it for your records or you can simply record the information in your a nature journal.
1. Read pages 790-791, sections on Thermometer Scales in Use and Distribution of the Temperature and Pressure, in the Handbook of Nature Study. Read the sections with a view to finding a few facts to share with your children this week about what influences the temperature and the atmosphere around us.
“The heat received on the earth from the sun is the controlling factor in all weather conditions.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 791
2. Pick a day this week to spend 15-20 minutes outdoors observing the weather and recording the conditions using the My Seasonal Weather Notebook Page. We will be completing a weather study challenge during each season in the coming year and the more detailed you get in your observations, the easier it will be to compare the weather from season to season.
3. To follow up your outdoor time, spend a few minutes discussing what you experienced with your children. Find out if they have any questions about the weather that you can research together this week. The Handbook of Nature Study on pages 812-814 lists numerous specific weather related activities that will help demonstrate weather concepts for your children. Please complete any of the activities that interest your family and that you have time to complete.
4. For your nature journal this week, fill out the My Seasonal Weather Notebook Page. If you prefer to record you observations into your nature journal and not on a notebook page, look to the sample blank chart on page 791 of the Handbook of Nature Study for a basic record keeping idea.
You may also be interested in purchasing a complete weather lapbook from my daughter over at Hearts and Trees. The lapbook includes: a winter nature journal, kinds of clouds, moon log, weather words, wind scale, weather record, weather forecasting, and space for your own weather poem. All for $2.95.
This has probably been the hardest challenge for me to put together. In planning, I would start off with one idea and then realize that everyone does not have the same sort of weather at the same time and I would get overwhelmed and put the whole thing aside. I know no matter what I chose for the next two challenges that I will not be able to meet everyone’s needs.
With that in mind, I decided that this week we should all read about weather topics in the Handbook of Nature Study and then apply what we learn during our Outdoor Hour. Next week’s challenge will be the first challenge in a year long weather observation study and hopefully that should be appropriate for everyone no matter where you live or when you complete this challenge.
I hope that you all give this challenge a try and either learn something new or just enjoy your outdoor time observing the weather conditions.
I have departed from my usual format and I am going to include some YouTube videos with this post that you can choose to watch on your own or with your children. Each family can choose whether to watch the videos or not but because I am a highly visual person, I enjoy a short YouTube video to draw attention with my own boys.
How about one that explains what weather really is and what influences it.
Here is another video if you have time and want to share with your kids. Water Cycle =video and corny song (younger children) Outdoor Hour Challenge #39 Weather Challenge #1
“The weather is the condition of the atmosphere at the moment, while climate is the sum total of weather conditions over a period of several years.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 780
1. Read pages 808-814 in the Handbook of Nature Study. This section describes in detail water forms found at various times during the year. Make sure to highlight or underline the sections in the text that talk about water forms that your family may experience in your local area.
“Water in its various changing forms, liquid, gas, and solid, is an example of another overworked miracle-so common that we fail to see the miraculous in it.”
2. Spend 15 to 20 minutes outdoors this week with your children in your own yard or on your own street. Make sure to take note of any clouds in the sky and try to put into words what they look like. Use words like fluffy, wispy, thin, dark, high, low, and any other terms you can remember from the links above or from the Handbook of Nature Study.
If your area is experiencing some type of precipitation, try to still go outdoors for a few minutes. Bundle up or put on a hat and rain boots.
See if you can find a puddle or a patch of ice or snow and take your time to observe what you can about it.
Is it windy during your outdoor time?
See if you can figure out which direction the wind is coming from and how strong it is.
Does it move the leaves or the branches on a tree?
Do you see a flag that is rippling in the wind or is it straight out?
If you have a thermometer, you can note the temperature.
3. To follow up your outdoor time, spend a few minutes discussing what you experienced with your children. Find out if they have any questions about the weather that you can research together this week. The Handbook of Nature Study includes numerous specific weather related activities that will help demonstrate weather concepts for your children.
You can pick any of the activities from the pages we read this week in the Handbook of Nature Study.
4. The nature journal this week can be filled with their observations about the weather and drawings of the clouds or precipitation that they encounter during the Outdoor Hour Challenge.
You are welcome to submit any of you blog Outdoor Hour Challenge blog entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.
You may also be interested in purchasing a complete weather lapbook from my daughter over at Hearts and Trees. The lapbook includes: a winter nature journal, kinds of clouds, moon log, weather words, wind scale, weather record, weather forecasting, and space for your own weather poem. All for $2.95.
