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Posted on April 9, 2013 by Barb — 4 Comments

Spring Garden Box Clean-Up and Planning

We had a chance to work on our garden boxes this past weekend….cleaning up the debris and tilling the soil. It is always a joy to see what is already sprouting and growing without much effort. We made some hard choices this year about which things to continue growing and which things to get rid of in each box.

Box number one is historically my box to plant and care for…I change it up every year. With the clean-up this weekend I realized that the Prairie Sunflowers are really going to fill the whole box up. I should probably thin the plants out but I will let them go one more year. They are great bird attractive plants and I have other boxes I can use for edibles.

Box number two has always been Mr. A’s box. He is a simple guy and enjoys his strawberries and dahlias. This is a no fuss kind of box. The berry plants are already growing like crazy and there are blossoms! There is one corner where all the strawberries died for some reason so we will be picking up some need seedlings next time we are at the garden nursery. He has both everbearing and June bearing plants in his box.

Box number three is Mr. B’s box. He is the herb man. This was where we made the executive decision to pull ALL the oregano from the box this year. Mr. B has lost interest in his herb garden so I am going to be using part of his box for my veggies. We left the lemon thyme and the garlic chives. There are also two small mystery plants that we will leave until we figure out what they are.

Box number four is Amanda’s box but she is off having the time of her life in Bolivia this year so I will be nurturing her box while she is gone. She has always had a cutting flower garden in her box….even after leaving home we still consider it her box. The coneflowers and daisies are looking healthy and I will be planting some zinnias and other colorful flowers to fill the box when it is time.

The rest of the yard is looking so spring-like. The climbing rose is dazzling yellow and there are so many promises in other parts of the garden as well. The roses are in bud, the butterfly bush and lavender are growing like crazy, the day lilies are all filling in….can’t wait for the show to begin. Something new this week- apple blossoms!

Plans for Garden Boxes – 2013
Box 1 – Prairie Sunflowers, shade tolerant herbs (dill, cilantro)
Box 2 – Add more strawberries and add stakes for dahlias.
Box 3 – Existing herbs, zucchini and green beans
Box 4 – Coneflowers, daisies, zinnias

Other Areas:
Under Birdfeeder – Morning glories
Large bed in back – Sunflowers

Deck Containers – I am receiving and reviewing from Renee’s Garden the Easy to Grow – Container Kitchen Vegetable Garden collection which includes tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, chard, and basil. Excited to see how this goes this year!

I would totally love to add a blueberry bed in a different area of the garden. The spot where my current blueberries live is just not right…they are not thriving. I am trying to convince my husband to help me add a row of blueberries as an experiment…we shall see.

How are your garden plans coming?

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Signs of Mammals

“The alert field naturalist learns to look for signs of mammals, even where there is little likelihood of seeing the animals themselves. He becomes an expert at interpreting tracks in mud, dust, or snow; at analyzing scats; at recognizing claw marks, gnaw marks, nests, houses, mounds, ridges, food piles, and other telltale indicators.”
Complete Field Guide to American Wildlife by Henry Hill Collins

Outdoor Hour Challenge:
For this nature study challenge we will be looking for signs of mammals. You can look for mammal tracks, holes, scratches on tree trunks, scat, hollows in the trunk of a tree, burrow, holes in the lawn.Record your findings in your nature journal along with a drawing, the date, the weather, the time of day, and the type of animal if you have identified it at this time.

We always enjoy following tracks to see where they will lead…this is especially fun in the snow! Make a mental note to try this activity the next time you have snow in your area.

Helpful challenge from the past: Winter Series #9 Mammals – Tracks
Helpful Link: Animal Tracks – Mammal Tracks
Printable Track Guide: Pocket Guide to Animal Tracks

I am highly recommending this book from Amazon.com:Tracks, Scats and Signs.

I know many of you own it already and now would be the perfect time to pull it off the shelf. It is also contained in this book if you own this one instead: Fun With Nature: Take Along Guide.

Printable Notebook Page

Mammal Letter Notebook Page:After your Outdoor Hour time, write a letter to a friend or relative and tell them about your experiences. You can share anything you observed including any mammals or signs of mammals that you found. Include a sketch of your mammal, the tracks you saw, or tell a story about a mammal. If you saw some tracks, explain how you think the tracks got there. Was the animal looking for food? Finding a place to hide? You can make a copy of your letter and put it in your nature journal.

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, use the suggestions in Outdoor Hour Challenge #1 for your Outdoor Hour time. Although we are looking for signs of mammals this week, make sure to follow up any interest that comes from your time outdoors. You can use the notebook page provided in the ebook to record your experience or you can use the suggestion above to write a letter to a friend or relative about your experience. Above all, enjoy a few minutes outside in your own backyard or neighborhood.

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Barb — 13 Comments

Nature Study: Struggling With Consistency and Focus

A few weeks ago I asked for readers to comment and let me know what keeps them from starting nature study or what happens to make them stop once they get going.

Sally made a comment that resonated with many of you. She shared that she has a hard time focusing, was easily distracted by really good ideas, and felt that she needed to cover academic subjects first while she had the children’s attention. You can read all the comments here: Getting Started With the Outdoor Hour Challenge.

After some thought about Sally’s comment and her struggles, here are my best suggestions that come from both my experience and from those I have seen over the years who have successfully kept nature study a consistent part of their homeschool life.

Set aside fifteen minutes a week to get outside with your children. Have no other agenda other than to spend time outside concentrating on finding something of interest.
At first your own yard may seem boring, but I guarantee if you really focus on finding something, you will find it. If you feel you need a task to accomplish, pick one of the first three Outdoor Hour Challenges.
Don’t feel you have to spend big blocks of time outdoors…everyone can spare fifteen minutes.

#1 Let’s Get Started (Observations) – Make sure to do the reading in the Handbook of Nature Study before you go outside (Honestly, it is eight short pages with pictures so it won’t take you that long.) This challenge suggests that you let your children find two things they want to know more about…..it can be anything. Nothing says you have to know anything about those two objects but that is what you spend the next week talking about and looking up.You don’t need to follow-up with a nature journal entry…the power of just getting outside for a few minutes will become the motivating factor for wanting to do this more often. Concentrate on making nature study a consistent part of your week and opening your eyes to what you have in your own backyard. It takes a few weeks to establish this habit but it is worth the effort. You may like to read this entry: Finding the Ordinary to Be Extraordinary. Take nature study one day at a time and one object at a time.

#2 Using Your Words – If you are Charlotte Mason homeschooler, this challenge encourages nothing more than simple narration. You are still allowing your child to explore for just a few minutes with you outside and then to share that experience with words. It is a simple task but very powerful. Once you get on a roll and you are spending some time finding something interesting and adding in some discussion, then you are going to see that this is the foundation of every single other nature study session you can ever have. Don’t make it complicated.

#3 Now is The Time To Draw – This is where I think a lot of families start to have trouble. I highly recommend that you read the two pages suggested in the Handbook of Nature Study. Nature journals can take many forms and you can spend lots of time bogged down with making the decision between a journal or a binder, watercolors or markers. We have tried every which way in our family and it doesn’t matter in the end. What matters is that you offer the time and the supplies to record the experience and then over time your child will find a method that works for them. Just get started! Put away the fancy artsy nature journal books for now and just let your children record a simple sketch, the date, and a caption. There will be time in the future to add in some more decorative entries once you have established the habit. Plenty of time…..keep it simple for now.

If all you ever did was to repeat those three challenges each month, you will have given your children a gift by allowing the time and motivation to be outside. It does not need to be complicated. You do not need fancy equipment, lots of nature journal supplies, a library of field guides, or a background in biology.

What Do Your Children Really Need From You?
Your children need you to encourage them to be outside on a consistent basis, learning to explore and to observe closely what they have in their own world. They need to see your enthusiasm. They will need your help to learn more about things that interest them by taking them to the library to check out books or to find the answers from the Handbook of Nature Study or on the internet and then share with them the next time you are outside. They need you to regularly allow time to just be outside during all the seasons….we can all bear fifteen minutes a week even under even the most uncomfortable circumstances.

If you haven’t yet downloaded and read my supplemental information, Nature Study-Three Steps to a Better Experience, I encourage you to do so now.

Read pages 2 and 3 and then realize that many families need to stick to the Observation column for a very long time. The Reasoning section will happen as you gain confidence and your children begin to make connections. The more time you spend in observations, the more you will have to build on as your children grow and mature.
This download will also help you if you have multiple ages in your family. The younger ones will stick to the Observation column and more mature students will move on to the Reasoning and then eventually Expression columns. There is no hurry.

Hopefully there is something here in this post that will help get you going if you have become stuck. I promise to keep the new Friday challenges simple and to give you the guidance you need to give the Outdoor Hour Challenge a try and to keep at it through the next year. We can all encourage each other with comments and examples.

If you ever get frustrated and need me to give you a pep talk, please let me know.

I have a few more entries in response to the comments left in the blog entry from two weeks ago.

Save

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Barb — 3 Comments

Summer at a Northern California Beach

Summer days at the California beach. This is typical Northern California beach weather for July/August….foggy mornings with the fog lifting later in the afternoon for an hour or two.

My daughter and I had planned a day trip to go hiking at Yosemite but the weather was way too hot to enjoy a day on the trail up in the Sierras so we went the opposite direction and headed for the coast instead. The cool weather was a welcome relief!

We got out our California map and scanned for a new place to explore.

Point Reyes National Seashore! We packed a lunch and zipped down the highway. Two and a half hours later we were at the Pacific Ocean with our toes in the sand.

Point Reyes is much larger than we imagined but after a quick stop at the Visitor’s Center at Bear Valley, we had a map and a plan. It wasn’t far to North Beach where we ate our lunch surrounded by the sound of roaring waves. The fog was lifting but you still couldn’t see very far up or down the beach.

Next stop was the Point Reyes Lighthouse…..we walked the 4/10 of a mile from the parking lot to the Visitor’s Center and then descended the 308 stairs down to the lighthouse on the point. It was windy! It was cold and misty!

But, that was the price to pay for a fabulous viewpoint of this part of the California coast.

See? I made it the 308 steps. Going down was the easy part though and huffing back up the stairs reminded me that I need to do more hills in my weekly workouts.

Amanda was like a gazelle with her super long legs and she made it up with little effort. Ahhh…to be young again.

The rocks alongside the stairs have a bright orange lichen on them. What a pop of color on a rather gray day!

Tucked in the nooks and crannies were wildflowers where they were fairly protected from the strong wind that was blowing.

We had one more stop for the day.

At last the sun came shining through and the fog lifted, allowing a wider view of the coast. The wide sand beach at Drake’s Beach was perfect for a long walk before we started the car ride back home again.

What a great day with Amanda! We both enjoyed the adventure of a new place, exploring the facets of a Northern California beach in the summer.

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Barb — 3 Comments

OHC More Nature Study Book 2 – Moon and Moon Names

More Nature Study Book #2
Moon and Moon Names

Inside Preparation Work:

Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 855-859 (Lesson 232). Read for your own information only because this week we are just going to focus on enjoying the moon and learning some of the history of the full moon names.
Read this page on Full Moon Names and see what March’s moon name means.
If you have a blog or website, you can add a lunar phase widget to keep up to date.
YouTube video: Moon phases (kid friendly)

Outdoor Hour Time:

Spend part of your Outdoor Hour time in the evenings looking at the moon. (Full Moon March 8, 2012) Have your child use words to describe what they see in the winter sky. If you have binoculars, make sure to bring those out with you and take turns looking at the moon.
As an alternative, bundle up and go outdoors for this challenge in the evening when it is dark. Have a flashlight for each person as you walk to a safe, predetermined spot (even within your backyard). Turn off the flashlight and allow time for your eyes to adjust. Make some observations. This might be a great activity to do when there is a full moon and then again when there is a new moon.
Advanced Study: Keep a record of your moon observations. The Handbook of Nature Study suggests, “Have the pupils observe the moon as often as possible for a month, beginning with the full moon.”

Follow-Up Activities:

Talk about your experiences outdoors at night. Record your moon and nighttime observations. You can sketch the full moon with colored pencils or watercolors. View these moon nature journals as examples to get started: Just Before the Full Moon, Waning Sturgeon Moon, Full Worm Moon. These should give your child an idea of how to show the moon and a setting.
Ebook Users: After viewing the moon or looking at the Mood Words Images page included in the ebook, complete the Moon Words notebook page. Use your moon words and observations to make up a new full moon name. Be sure to record you name for this full moon on the notebook page or in your nature journal.
Advanced Study: Keep a moon journal for a complete lunar cycle (full moon to full moon). Make as many moon sketches as you can during this month to document the lunar cycle. Record your observations in your nature journal. Ebook users: Use the Moon Journal notebook page from the ebook.

Additional Links:

Oreo Cookie Phases of the Moon (Uses cookies to explain the different phases!) If you scroll to the bottom there is a link to a printable notebook page.
Moon phases: Simple illustrations and glossary of moon vocabulary.
Previous Winter Moon Challenge: Winter Sky and Stars.

You can see how our family completed this challenge here in this entry:
Magnets, Compass, and Moon Names.

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Barb — 11 Comments

Winter Snowshoe Hike – Jays, Tracks, and Weeds

Tahoe National Forest – California

When I posted on Facebook yesterday that we were going to head out to snowshoe, the weather forecast said something like “partly cloudy, high of 52 degrees, and 10% chance of precipitation”. Sounded good to me. Well no one told us that between our house and our hiking spot that there was going to be dense fog, drizzle, and the temperatures were falling into the 30’s.

I knew Mr. B was anxious to test out his new snowshoes so I didn’t want to disappoint him and we kept going up over the mountain. Once over the mountain it cleared up and we had lots of clouds but no rain.

Needless to say, we kept our eyes on the sky, checking for signs we were going to get rained or snowed. We had the snow to ourselves, not counting the many animal tracks that were visible. So many tracks going so many directions…there must be a whole forest full of animals out there.

Isn’t this a surprising sight of brilliant blue on this winter day? Steller’s jays are common and this one was posing for my camera. I love the blue feathers on the nose. My field guide says that these jays are “inquisitive, intelligent, and noisy”. Yep, that totally describes this bird.

We couldn’t resist seeing if we could lure the jay closer and Mr. B had a pocket full of pretzels. One little bit of pretzel and that Steller’s jay came swooping down for a tasty treat, making his shook-shook-shook sound as he flew.

We had to go the long way around since the beavers have now completely dammed up the water in the creek and the resulting pond has spread over the normal trail. This is where we saw the salmon spawning last fall and the mama bear with cubs. No signs of them now, although it smells rather fishy around this bend in the creek from all the dead fish remains.

We hiked along the creek a little way and we noticed that there are places where the creek mud is piled up onto the banks. We could see lots of little animal tracks around the mud but I’m still not sure what kind of animal did this and what they were doing. Winter hikes can lead to lots of questions. You can see the muddy sludge…it is the black stuff there along the edge.

I never get tired of looking at the landscape here at Taylor Creek. The patterns of the tree trunks against the Sierra sky in the winter is amazing and beautiful. Some people get to look out their living room windows and view a similar scene and I wonder if they stop seeing the awesomeness of it. I come here a dozen times a year and I never tire of this place.

When you are on snowshoes, you can follow tracks as much as you want but I am always a little afraid of getting out into the forest too far….I have a terrible sense of direction. This area is easy to navigate because I can hear the highway in the distance and I generally know which direction I need to head to get back to the trailhead. Here is an example of a nice clear print in the snow.

We did a little preliminary winter weed study while we were out traipsing around the woods. There were plenty of subjects even with snow on the ground. I just liked the way this one looked. I think it is a corn lily. Next week we plan on doing a whole winter weed study so we will revisit these images then.

So our first real snowshoe of the year is over and we didn’t get rained or snowed on. We were bundled up warmly so it was really a delight to be outdoors exploring just the two of us. Mr. B decided his snowshoes were perfect and now we will be able to explore the woods in winter as part of our Outdoor Hour Challenges.

You can read more about hiking in winter on my Squidoo page for tips on how to make it fun:
Winter Nature Walks

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Barb — 17 Comments

Ten Images I Should Have Posted On The Blog

I post lots of photos on this blog of our adventures, gardening, and nature study. You can only imagine how many images I don’t share….perhaps thousands (30-40 a week adds up especially when you add in longer trips). I decided to share ten of those images that didn’t make the blog for your viewing enjoyment.

#1 This was from an amazing day at Yellowstone…totally unplanned and we were on half-speed since both my boys were really sick with some sort of sinus cold. We had planned a glorious day of hiking at Teton National Park, but since they were sick we altered plans and opted to drive the short distance up to Yellowstone and take a leisurely day and let things happen. Sometimes you just need to be flexible and this was one of those times. It was a great day with some great images… this was the same day we saw the grizzly bear and cubs driving back from Yellowstone to Jackson.

#2 Roosevelt Elk in Northern California are such majestic animals…very powerful. This photo reminds me of a great camping trip full of boy stuff, including lighthouses, long deserted beaches, crazy long hikes in the redwoods, and roasting monster size marshmallows over the campfire.

#3 The real story of hiking with boys is shown in this photo. How do they always find something to climb on, over, or through? This gate leads to a fantastic little spot that we discovered this year and have been back in just about every season, including January with about four feet of snow.

#4 There is not nearly enough time and space to share all my wildflower photos with you on this blog. These are along the roadside inside Yellowstone National Park. Honestly, if I didn’t always have boys waiting for me I could get stuck on just taking photos of flowers.

Prepare yourself for a different sort of image….

#5 Yep, this is one of my boys’ favorite images of all 2011. They spent quite some time posing this salmon head for a photo. Mr. A had his camera phone out and was snapping away before I even took any images. Gross but sort of cool when you examine it….I think it looks like a fossil. Later they found a really funny looking dead fish but I will spare you the images.

#6 You must click over to Flickr and look at this one really big…the texture of the feathers is awesome. Do you think I will ever learn to identify more kinds of ducks. Mallards are the only ones I can name for sure…something to work on in 2012.

#7 I planned on writing a post that included this image and sharing how much I HATE brussel sprouts although they are really quite interesting to look at. Who likes brussel sprouts anyway?

#8 This is a combo I am thinking about for my yard. Isn’t it pretty? Love the white of the birch and the yellow of the yarrow together.

#9 My daily friend who visits our feeder. There is a pair that sits on the utility wire across from our house and they make the most amazing sound when they fly….mourning doves are a great bird.

#10 This is what my family sees me doing a lot….gazing out the window at a variety of things, mostly birds.

If you would like to see my Flickr set with my favorite images from the blog from 2011…here you go:

Barb’s Favorite Images from 2011

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Barb — 5 Comments

November Nature Study – Autumn Hiking Delights

The mountains and forest had been calling for us to come and explore the season before the winter sets in any time now. The forecast was for partly cloudy skies and perhaps a few snow flurries so we didn’t plan too long of a hike just in case we needed to move quickly to shelter. The sun actually poked through the clouds a few times and that was a welcome treat.

Right near where we parked the car and started on the trail we noticed that a beaver had gnawed this tree down…can you believe how strong that beaver must be? We weren’t sure if he was going to come back for the log but we marveled at his ability to bring down a rather large tree.

We hiked through the mixed conifer and deciduous forest, noting that the aspens were all bare but still very beautiful. We listened to the bird sounds and a squirrel chattering too. We saw and heard Steller’s jays, common ravens, California gulls, mallard ducks, white-headed woodpeckers, Canada geese, and an osprey. It was a great day for birds.

We stopped along the trail to view the meadow and marsh. This spot is known to be an eagle habitat so I had my eyes open wide hoping to see one this day. And…..I was not disappointed. A bald eagle flew very majestically above the meadow from the pine forest and then out over the lake. I was very excited to see this graceful bird as he flew right overhead and then disappeared. It was a moment.

In the photo above you can see how it was snowing up on the mountain peak and we even at one point had soft flakes of snow coming down on us but it didn’t last long or stick to the ground at all. It was a perfect day for a hike.

Journal tip: It can be overwhelming when you have so many subjects to write about in your journal. It helps to focus on just one of the highlights like our encounter with the eagle and a list of birds. I don’t like to draw birds so I used a photo and then answered the three main questions: when, where, what.

When I take my creative daughter with me, we always find a way to do something fun. This time we settled on making an Andy Goldworthy style art piece using natural items. There were loads of pinecones on the ground so we decided to feature those in our sculpture.

While we were busy with our sculpture, my husband added this line of pinecones leading down the stairway to our artwork. It made me smile and feel appreciative of the support of a great guy for his nature-loving wife.

On the hike back we found a patch of thistles to admire. After studying them this autumn I have a new found appreciation for their features. So pretty even now.

We also saw where the beaver is attempting to build a dam across the creek. The creek is flooding part of the trail right now because of the water backed up behind the dam. We had to circle around to avoid needing to wade through the creek. This is exactly where we saw the mama and two baby bear cubs earlier this fall…no signs of them now.

As always, we were rewarded for our efforts to get outdoors and do some exploring. The informal nature study opportunities were everywhere and I made some mental notes on topics we were curious about as we hiked along. Some afternoon on a cold winter day I will pull out some field guides and we will research a few of the answers to our questions. Nature study truly is a life project.

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Barb — 5 Comments

OHC Blog Carnival – September Newsletter Edition

This has been a very busy month around the Handbook of Nature Study blog. Not only with a new ebook and new series of Outdoor Hour Challenges but I got a completely new blog design. I was aiming at making the navigation easier for new readers and to have all the challenges, ebooks, free stuff, and nature journal ideas all organized for ease of use. There are two places to look for challenges now on the blog: Tabs at the top are grouped by season and buttons on the sidebar by topic. I think the blog turned out so much better than I ever imagined. (Thanks go to Emily Abramson from PolkaDotPixels.com….a dream to work with!) She even made us a pretty new carnival button…feel free to grab and link.

This blog carnival is so filled with outdoor goodness that it makes me smile from my top of my head all the way to my toes. You are in for a real treat this month. I know I pretty much say that every month but honestly, you all blew me away with your wonderful studies and the awesome nature journal pages are something we can all be inspired by as we move along the road with our nature study. Take a deep breath and dive into this edition of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.
(If I missed your entry, please email me or leave a comment and I will add it ASAP. This was a huge carnival.)

Photo courtesy of OHC participant: Nicole at One Hook Wonder

Milkweed (and other Fall Blooming Flowers)
Nicole and her children were able to observe some Magical Milkweed for this challenge. She shares some awesome images of their pods and seeds (see above for an example). Thank you so much for sharing your OHC. Nicole also submitted their Summer Wildflowers entry which includes some thistles!

Now that you are all warmed up with the milkweed pods…check out Ellen’s entry: Milkweed Update! She shares their pods and their magnificent nature journals. Don’t miss the images in this entry.

Heather from Kingdom Arrows shares their Autumn Outdoor Hour Challenge…they didn’t find milkweed but a jungle of other weeds provided some outdoor enjoyment.

Kim from Tolle Lege Christian Academy writes about their Milkweed Study with milkweed right in their own yard. I loved seeing the colorful blossoms and the many insects they observed during their outdoor time.

Angie and her boys didn’t find milkweed either but they write about their Wildflower Study as part of this challenge. I love that Angie adapted the notebook page to fit their study and their display of Oregon wildflowers.

Jennifer and her daughter share their September Nature Study with goldenrod, thistle, and Queen Anne’s Lace. Wonderful entry showing their nature study finds and notebook page.

Janet from Across the Page has written and submitted an entry sharing the culmination of their Monarch Study which goes hand in hand with a milkweed study. Please don’t miss seeing her entry Monarch Madness. I was fascinated with their study and I highly recommend reading her ten year old’s journal: Watching Peeper.

Here is another family that was able to observe the milkweed plant, the pod and seeds, AND a monarch caterpillar and butterfly. Read Monica’s entry on her blog Discover Their Gifts: Our Nature Study: Milkweed and Monarch.

Susan from Learning All The Time didn’t have any milkweed but they did have asters which were an alternate study from the Handbook of Nature Study suggested in this challenge. They brought in flowers to observe over time and then did their reading in the HNS. Wonderful follow up artwork too!

Taunya joins the carnival with their Know Your Own Backyard – Weeds entry. They did their outdoor observations and then completed the notebook page from the September Newsletter. So what is a weed?

Leaf-Miners and Leaf-Rollers
Amy from Hope is The Word did a great job of documenting their Leaf-Miner/Roller investigation. They found some leaf-miners and some other interesting leaves too. They tried out the suggested nature journal entry from the September Newsletter and they turned out beautifully. You can see their nature journals above.

Angie from Petra School submitted with a smile their Leaf Miners and Leaf Rollers entry. They had trouble getting the enthusiasm up at first but with a little help from the suggested video her boys finally were interested and successful. Read her complete entry for details.

Makita shares their Leaf-Miners and Rollers entry on their family blog Academia Celestia. They spent some time hunting for insects in two different environments and ended up with some wonderful journal pages.

I know that Tricia (Hodgepodge Mom) titled this one Weeds, Seeds, Insect, and Signs of Fall but I think it is a great entry showing how when you start out looking for one thing, you are often led to five other interesting things as well. Thanks for sharing your adventures.

Shirley Ann shares their Leaf Miners and Leaf Rollers entry from the UK! They had success in finding some interesting subjects without even leaving their own garden. They even found an insect friend to observe up close and record in their nature journals.

Cobwebs
All kinds of webs and a few spiders too! This is what Zonnah writes about in this entry: Spiders and Cobwebs.

Image courtesy of OHC Participant: Tricia at Hodgepodge

Pears
Zonnah submits their family’s Pear Study. It has inspired me to try a few new things….and eat more pears.

Tricia and her family spent some time looking at their pear tree, some pears, and then completing notebook pages from the More Nature Study ebook. They also completed the suggested nature journal idea from the September Newsletter. Great job! You can read their entry: Pears, Apples, and Nature Journal Art.

Kirsty joins the carnival for this edition with their families Pear Study. She tells of their wonderful day outdoors in the autumn sunshine.

Ellen and her children share their colorful pear study along with their very well done journals. Their entry, Double Duty, shows how they completed this challenge and then made something yummy.

Shirley Ann adapted the pear study to fit their opportunity to pick and take a closer look at their apples. You will enjoy seeing their account of their Pear…I Mean Apple Study.

Image from OHC participant: Barbara at Schoolhouse on the Prairie

Potpourri
Barbara from Schoolhouse on the Prairie shares their Monarch butterfly tagging project: OHC #4. You are going to see some fantastic photos of them catching and recording their monarch butterflies. The photo above is from their entry….stunning images and I think we all want to know the answer to this question: How do you know if it is a male and female Monarch butterfly? You can read their OHC #5 for the answer to that question! (Photo above is from their OHC #4 entry.)

Shirley Ann and her daughters did a fantastic job on their First Nature Walk of the School Year. They went with the focus of weeds and seeds and they found two additional delights. Don’t miss viewing their journals!

Julie from Homeschool Balancing Act shares their Outdoor Hour Challenge #4 Part 2 and their Outdoor Hour Challenge #5. They took their nature study ideas along on their camping trip to Sequoia National Park. Excellent!

Last Days of Summer.…Tricia and her family share their late summer outdoor time with carnival readers. Check out their collection of shells!

Kim shares their Nightshade Family and a Little Surprise entry with the carnival. They also completed an entry about Feeding The Birds (An Experiment or Two). They had one more study: Citronella Ants Go Marching. Making nature study an investigation always brings rewards.

Nadene is joining the carnival for the first time with their entry Starting Nature Study With The Handbook of Nature Study. They share their South African spring time study. Welcome to the OHC! The also completed their Spring Maple Tree Study for the OHC. Some of us are a little jealous that they are in their spring season but will enjoy watching their world change as they work through their challenges.

Kristen from Broom and Crown shares their Finding Dragonflies in the Desert entry with carnival readers. They were able to use a field guide and identify their Amberwings…check out the images to see why they are called amberwings. 🙂

Heather from Kingdom Arrows writes about their Canada Goose Outdoor Challenge. She shares how much her daughter’s complete nature notebook page means to their family. Special story showing how nature study can bridge some important gaps for our children. Thanks Heather.

Anne from Harvest Moon By Hand shares their two nature studies: Woolly Bears and Isabella Tiger Moths and White Pine Tree. Their family has started out on a study of each state’s bird, tree, flower, rock/gem. What a great idea! One last entry from Ann showing their Black-Capped Chickadee study…check out their journal for a fantastic idea (hint: coins)!

After a random drawing, the September Newsletter giveaway gift goes to Taunya from Taunya’s Place. She will be getting the download link for the Hearts and Trees Mammals Lapbook. Congratulations and please email me to verify the email address you would like the link to be sent to: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com.

See you all next month! Remember that October’s Newsletter link will be for subscribers of the blog only. Please click over to the blog and subscribe using the form on the sidebar.

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Barb — 3 Comments

Yosemite National Park – Hikes and Wildflowers

Evening Primrose

Up until last year I would not have know what this flower was called but we focused on it during the Summer Series of challenges last year. There is something wonderful about being able to name a flower or tree or bird, making it a part of your world. You can own it.

We took two hikes in Yosemite while camping this week, one new and one familiar. We drove up Tioga Road towards Tuolumne Meadows and stopped at Yosemite Creek. We hiked down the creek about two miles, enjoying the sound of water running over the rocks. This creek eventually filters down to fill Yosemite Falls…the iconic waterfall that so many come to see from all over the world. This time of year it is not much more than a small stream coming over the top but come next spring it will be a torrent.

Here is another view of Yosemite Creek which right now is lined with wildflowers. We stopped and took a break sitting on rocks as we took in the sights and sounds of the wilderness. We only saw two other people hiking on this trail the whole afternoon we were out there. It is an amazing experience to have this spot of the wild all to yourself.

Well, unless you count the insects. These Ranger’s buttons had a variety of insects enjoying the summer sunshine. We couldn’t name these critters but it was interesting to watch them do their work.

This trail was also home to quite a few trees that showed signs of bear scratchings. The bark on this cedar tree was roughed up by bear’s claws.

I started calling these “bear curls” since they were where the bear had pulled the tree bark down making it twist into curls. Interesting? I think so.

We also spotted this HUGE fungus on the side of another tree…really high up. Can you believe the size of it? Amazing to see!

The second hike we took was to Taft Point which is off Glacier Point Road. It is a favorite hike for the boys since there are lots of boulders to climb and the view once you get to the point is incredible….and high.

Here is a shot of the boys at the railing which is right at the edge of the cliffs….sorry no photos of the view to the valley or over across the valley to Yosemite Falls since my camera batteries were both dead. I broke my camera when we were at the Grand Tetons and I now have it duct taped shut but the battery door opens up and somehow the battery drains down very fast. I am in the market for a snew point and shoot.

The hike was highlighted by a slithering Rubber boa crossing the trail right in front of us. He was about 24-30 inches long and not in a very big hurry. We were able to get a really good look at him. Funny thing is we were just talking about how we never see snakes while in Yosemite and then we saw this one….weird.

Okay, so if you are not into snakes, how about a pretty wildflower? This is Monkshood and I have only seen in two places at Yosemite so I was happy to catch it in bloom. The yellow in the background is Arrowleaf groundsel.

We spent some time in the Valley walking the paths under the trees and I was on the look out for some thistles in preparation for the up-coming thistle challenge. I was pleased to find both milkweed and thistles growing right together along the trail. The thistles are in a variety of stages of life…some blooming, some going to seeds, and some getting very dry.

Guess who came along for us to observe? Mr. Dragonfly was enjoying the Bull thistles right along with us. So very pretty to look at!

Here is another insect coming to feast on the thistles…this one was very buzzy and I took a quick photo and then got out of his way.

The Showy milkweed is all producing large seed pods and we found this milkweed beetle crawling on one of the pods. These pods are amazing to see and touch…just like velvet.

So this is my new wildflower for the trip. We identified this lovely lavender flower as Sierra lessingia. We read in our field guide that Mary Curry (of Curry Village) called it Summer Lavender and I would agree with her that because it grows in such large patches in the flat spots along roads and in the valley, it looks like clouds of lavender. I love learning something new and now I can name that pretty flower that grows so profusely this time of year in the Valley.

So there you have our hikes and wildflowers, bears and beetles, dragonflies and snakes. So many things to enjoy and learn about when you get the opportunity to get to know a place….

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