You searched for winter walk - Page 4 of 25

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Wonderful Winter Weeds

Outdoor Hour Challenge

Wonderful Winter Weeds

From the Archives and the Winter Wednesday ebook

We’re in the winter weed season here in Central Oregon. We walk pretty much every day to the river behind our house and the weeds are all in various stages of decline. Some are flat to the ground from the rain and snow but there are surprisingly quite a few “weeds” or grasses still upright. I even noticed some still have their seeds clinging on even in the wintry weather.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and use the link to the archive challenge above for lots of specific ideas for a winter weed study this week with your family. Enjoy a few minutes outside and then create a nature journal of your experiences.

If you’re interested in seeing how our family completed this challenge, here’s a blog entry from the archives: Winter Weeds-More Lovely Than I Imagined and Winter Weeds-Our Continuing Story.

If you have access to the Winter Wednesday ebook in the Ultimate Naturalist Library, there’s a custom notebook page available to use as a follow-up to your nature study.

Join us for the Winter Wednesday series of challenges here every FRIDAY. You can find them under the winter tab on the blog or if you have an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership, you can find the ebook there for downloading.

For the month of February, I’m offering a $5 off coupon for every level of membership here on the Handbook of Nature Study. Take a look at all of the benefits of having a membership!

Discount Code: $5 off any membership on the Handbook of Nature Study by using the code FEB5 during the month of February 2018.

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Winter Snow Study

Outdoor Hour Challenge

Winter Snow – January 2018

From the Archives and the Winter Wednesday ebook

We’re going to be completing the snow activities in this challenge as a way to learn more about our new Oregon habitat and weather. Use the link above to find specific ideas for making some snow observations of your own and then follow up with a nature journal entry.

The link above includes a free downloadable winter nature walk printable!

If you have access to the Winter Wednesday ebook in the Ultimate Naturalist Library, there is a custom notebook page, images of snowflakes, paper for creating a paper snowflake and a snowflake coloring page.

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

November Nature Walk Project

November Nature Walk Project

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

All I needed now was some motivation.

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

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

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

November 1^st– just a typical autumn day

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here a few nature walk ideas from my archives:

No Technology Walk

Use Your Senses Nature Walk

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

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

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

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Barb — 4 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Winter Wonder Revisited

Outdoor Hour Challenge

Winter Wonder Revisited – Archive and in More Nature Study Winter ebook

This week we will ease back into our winter nature study using a simple nature walk idea from the archives. Click over to read the full challenge, including a bit of reading in the Handbook of Nature Study. If you are new to the OHC, this is going to be a great place to start because even if you don’t have snowy weather you can still complete this challenge that will help you see your local winter weather and wonders with your children.

Winter Wonder Outdoor Hour Challenge journal page — Winter Wonder Notebook Pages in the More Nature Study – Winter Ebook

Keep it simple and just take a Winter Wonder walk this week. If you are a more seasoned nature study type family or you have older students, make sure to read the “advanced study” ideas in the challenge.

If you are interested in purchasing an Ultimate Naturalist Membership at this time, you will gain access to the custom notebooking pages that go along with each of the challenges in the ebook.

Note: You do not need to purchase the ebook to participate but they are handy to have for planning and for the regular and advanced notebook pages included in each one. Click the graphic at above to go over to check out the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Spring Plans!

We will be working through a new series of wildflower challenges starting in April using a new ebook that will publish sometime in March. The new wildflower ebook will also be added to the Ultimate Naturalist Library so if you purchase a membership now, you will have the new ebook as soon as it is available. I will posting details about the new ebook soon.

Posted on December 16, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – December World and Winter Berries

Outdoor Hour Challenge

December World (from the archives) or Winter Berries from the Autumn Nature Study Continues ebook.

We have reached the last official Outdoor Hour Challenge of 2016. I thought it would be a perfect time to complete one of the two suggested challenges during the next few weeks.

Everyone can record their December World observations even if you don’t live where it is currently winter. I know I put snowflakes on the notebooking page but you can make a sketch of anything you want from your outdoor time and then describe your December conditions. Note: This link includes a free printable notebook page. Plus, there is a new December Words notebook page activity in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships in the printables section.

Winter Berry Hunt Activity Image — Winter Berry Hunt – This is found in the Autumn Nature Study Continues ebook found in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships.

The Winter Berry OHC is one of my favorite challenges because it makes you realize how much color there is out there in the natural world. I have started to see colorful berries everywhere I go on trees, shrubs, and other plantings around town. Use the ideas in this challenge to open your eyes up to the wonderful world of winter berries. Note: There is a notebooking page included in the Autumn Nature Study Continues ebook if you have access to that in your Member’s Library.

The winter series of challenges will start on January 13, 2017.

Save

Posted on December 9, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Using Your Senses Nature Walk

Outdoor Hour Challenge

Using Your Senses Nature Walk – December from the archives

December is such a busy time for most families as we wind down before a winter break. Why not take a few minutes to enjoy this month’s natural beauty as a refreshing change and reminder that this is a beautiful time of year?

Try to use as many of your senses as you can during your outdoor time.

You can also use the ideas found in the Once a Month Nature Journal Project – Use Your 5 Senses entry for additional inspiration.

Here is my 5 senses nature journal page from last summer. Your page doesn’t need to be fancy in order to be meaningful and interesting. I urge you to give it a try after your senses hike.

The winter series of challenges will start on January 13, 2017.

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter – December 2016 Nature Walks

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter

December 2016 – Nature Walks

Please read the following explanation outlining how to get this month’s newsletter. The newsletter link is not in this email but will come separately. There may be a delay in your receiving the email so please don’t email me until the second day of the month if you haven’t received the link on the first. For some reason, some email providers take longer to receive the newsletter email. If you don’t receive the separate email with the download link, you probably aren’t subscribed to the blog yet. This will take less than a minute to do if you follow the steps below. If you are a subscriber and you haven’t received your newsletter email yet, check your SPAM inbox. Some subscribers have found the email buried in SPAM inbox.

If you need to subscribe:

You will need to go to the Handbook of Nature Study, look to the top right corner for the box to type in your preferred email address, and then confirm the email that comes to your email inbox.
Once you subscribe, you will receive a thank you email from me with the download link for the current month’s newsletter.

This month’s newsletter link will be available only during the month of December so be sure to download it before 12/31/16. Remember! All of the archived and current newsletters are available as part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library…every level!

Contents of this edition of the newsletter include:

My special article this month shares a new idea for a nature walk, the 3 Questions Walk. This fresh idea can be done on any walk you take and will help your child personalize their nature learning.
December Planning Page for Mom – Much more than just a planner page, this is full of nature journal ideas, tips for nature walks, links to the up-coming challenges, and ideas for using the archives.
Printables: Silent Nature Walk notebook page and four nature walk ideas activity page from the archives.
Show and Tell and my favorite links for the month.

Resources for your Nature Library: I have started to build a nature library store on Amazon that will feature by category my favorite nature study books and resources. Take a look and see if there is anything you would like to put on your wish list for your family’s nature study library: Handbook of Nature Study Nature Library Suggestions on Amazon.com. Note this is my affiliate store to items I personally recommend and have read or seen in person. 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.

We will be using the More Nature Study – Winter ebook starting in January 2017. You can find it in the Ultimate Naturalist Library.

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Fall/Winter Specific Plans

I have received many emails asking me specific plans for the Outdoor Hour Challenge for the autumn and winter seasons. I had hesitated to post up a plan until I had it nailed down on my calendar. But, now I have it all straight in my mind and I’m going to share the specifics in this post. Make sure to bookmark it or add the topics to your calendar for future reference. My wish is that we all have some interesting and productive nature study time as a regular part of our week. If you miss a week or you don’t have access to the particular topic, just pick up where you can participate.

Remember that we are going to be starting up the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival again on November 1, 2016. If you create a blog entry with your nature study activities featured, please send me the link and I will add it to the carnival. My email is: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Note: You do not need to purchase the ebooks to participate but they are handy to have for planning and for the regular and advanced notebook pages included in each one. Click the graphic at the bottom of this post to go over to check out the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Autumn and Winter 2016/2017

September 9 – Leaf Miners

September 16 – Pears

September 23 – Milkweed

September 20 – Fall Webs

October 7 – Fall Color Walk

October 14 – Chipmunks

October 21 Sparrows

October 28 – Leaf Study

November 4 – Thistles

November 11 – Maple Tree and Seeds

November 18 – Oaks (from the archives)

November 25 – off

December 2 – Silent Nature Walk (from the archives)

December 9 – Senses Nature Walk (from the archives)

December 16 – December World (from the archives)

December 23 – off

December 30 – off

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Winter Weeds and Seeds

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Seeds

Here are a couple of weed/seed photos I took over the past few weeks. We were out on a snowy walk and I spotted this beautiful seed pod! In my mind’s eye I see the seeds all sleeping inside cozy, waiting for the right time to spring out and sprout in the springtime sunshine.

We also squeezed in a sunny hike after a big week of rain and the grasses were already starting to turn green but last season’s star thistles were still standing dry, stiff and full of seeds. The birds like these invasive plants because they provide seeds in their diet…at least there is that! I recently had a discussion with a young girl about the difference between a wildflower and a weed. It was interesting to hear how she appreciates the beauty in what many deem to be weeds, things like dandelions, mustard, and wild radish. She has studied herbs a bit and understands the value of many of our so-called weeds. (She is a girl after my own heart.)

Take advantage of your winter season to look for weeds and seeds. The landscape at this time of year has far less competing for your attention and weeds can be spotted even if you have snow or ice.

I am so looking forward to wildflower season this year! We have had a decent amount of rain and it should help make it a splendid show of color in a few weeks.

Have you looked for weeds and seeds yet?

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Barb — 1 Comment

Winter Berry Hike – Fungi Too!

We had a chance to hike to the river this week to look for winter berries. The only ones we observed were the bright red toyon berries that lined the trail in certain spots. This is a shrub that we have studied in depth in the past and although it is not in the Handbook of Nature Study, we used the internet to discover what birds or animals eat the berries.

I found information that says that there are many birds, coyotes and bears eat the toyon berries which help to disperse the seeds.

Here is my Toyon Berry (or Christmas Berry) entry from last year.

This hike though was all about the variety of fungus that we have emerging from the ground in our area since the rainy season has officially started.

So these look like Emetic Russula that my field guide says are present in all western forests. In the comments in the guide it says that they are usually regarded as poisonous and have an extremely acrid taste that would discourage you from eating them anyway. I will just enjoy their bright pops of red on the forest floor as I hike along.

Here is a glimpse into some of the other more interesting fungi we spotted as we hiked. It was actually a little overwhelming to try to see them all…it was a perfect fungi walk!

This is my favorite…the trametes versicolor or turkey tail. Don’t you just love it?

The woodlands of our area are coming alive right now as the rains bring on the green grasses and beginnings of the early wildflower plants. As we pass the first day of winter and the days gradually get longer and longer, I feel the pull to be outdoors again even in the cold temperatures. This is actually one of the best times to be outside in our area if the sun is shining. Hats and jackets are required to keep warm but as long as you keep moving or stop only in the sunshine, it is a glorious time outside.

As this year draws to a close, I am reviewing my Nature Study Goals for 2014 and anticipating those for 2015. Stay tuned for those posts soon!

Search Results for: winter walk

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Wonderful Winter Weeds

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Winter Snow Study

November Nature Walk Project

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Winter Wonder Revisited

Spring Plans!

Outdoor Hour Challenge – December World and Winter Berries

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Using Your Senses Nature Walk

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Fall/Winter Specific Plans

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Autumn and Winter 2016/2017

Winter Weeds and Seeds

Have you looked for weeds and seeds yet?

Winter Berry Hike – Fungi Too!

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!