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Posted on August 25, 2011 by Barb — 6 Comments

Frogs of the Sierra Nevadas and the Handbook of Nature Study

I was given the opportunity to purchase a 1911 version of the Handbook of Nature Study….with all its well worn pages…all still intact and in very good shape. I jumped at the chance to have as a keepsake the volume in its original form. Thanks Anna Botsford Comstock for caring enough to write these lessons down for all of us that follow you.

My new Handbook is very similar to the current version that I use but what makes it nice is the layout….only one column on a page, original clipart, diagrams, little extra references to books and brochures that probably no longer exist. The charm of this book is how it is still relevant today…..one hundred years later.

Frog Pond

We had the chance to visit Grandpa’s pond last week and since the weather has been so dry, the creek fed pond is getting a little low. There is still a spring underneath keeping it wet enough for the critters that depend on it for water. We were surprised to see all the frog heads with bulging eyes sticking up above the water. They really do blend in except if they move….the duck weed is thick on the top and it makes the frogs look like they have beards.

Where’s the frog?

You need to move slowly or they plop under the water very fast. I was able to zoom in and get a few images of the frog heads for us to look at on the computer screen. We consulted our favorite frog and toad website: California Frogs and Toads. We are fairly sure it is an American Bullfrog…. we are going back later this week and we will take our field guide to confirm the identification.

In the Handbook of Nature Study in lesson 47, the suggestions are all things that we would need to really spend some time investigating and perhaps even catching one and taking a closer look. We decided to narrow our study down to a few things:
#3 Describe the colors and markings of the frog on the upper and on the under side. How do these protect it from observations from above? below? How do we usually discover that we are in the vicinity of a frog?
#4 Describe the frog’s ears, eyes, nostrils, and mouth.
#6 How does the frog feel to your hand? Is it easy to hold him?

Those seem like logical questions to keep in mind when we go back again next week. We will update this entry when we answer the questions.

I look forward to seeing some of your pond studies or any other nature studies you have completed this month. Make sure to submit your entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. You can submit your entries by following this LINK.

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Barb — 2 Comments

How to Beat the Summer Crowds at Yosemite National Park

The summer crowds at Yosemite can bring traffic jams, noise, and confusion to an otherwise peaceful and quiet place. They come from all over the world this time of year to take in the beauty of Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, and the Merced River. The sign at the entrance station said, “Expect Two Hour Delays in The Valley”. We decided to avoid the Valley for the morning and took the turn to Glacier Point Road.

Tip #1: Avoid Yosemite Valley and Yosemite Village if possible. Head to Glacier Point Road, Tioga Road, or Wawona.

My favorite wildflower hike is off Glacier Point Road at McGurk Meadow. This is a fairly easy out and back hike which leads to a high meadow, marshy and filled with wildflowers in many places. The marshiness means that there are also lots of mosquitoes and butterflies. The flowers were a little past prime in the meadow but along the edges of the forest we found plenty of color and beauty to enjoy.

Tip #2: Get out of your car and hike a little off the main roads. We hiked less than a mile and were all alone in a beautiful setting.

Alpine Lily at Yosemite National Park – We call them leopard lilies.

Like these leopard lilies that were blazing red in the dappled sunlight of the forest. The bees were buzzing along with the mosquitoes as we hiked through this section. I was hiking with a friend and she was a little nervous about encountering a bear on our hike. We decided to not hike quietly as we followed the trail deeper into the woods so we wouldn’t startle a bear if we came across one.

The California Mule Deer – Yosemite National Park

We were spooked by this buck as he leaped out onto the path past us and then over to a patch of wildflowers that he proceeded to munch as I tried to discreetly take a photo or two.

Crimson columbine – Yosemite National Park

Back to looking at wildflowers….we found lots of Crimson columbine in the marshy areas and we decided it is such a pretty creation.Our field guide tells us they are in the buttercup family. I have one in my nature journal already but I am tempted to sketch it again just so I can use my oranges and yellows.

Corn Lily in Bloom – Yosemite National Park

The corn lilies were blooming all along the trail and it is hard not to overlook their beauty when we slow down to take a look at this common plant. These plants can be quite tall and when you see them in mass…it is gorgeous.

Sentinel Bridge with the Merced River and my beloved pink Roxie bike

Tip #3: If you must go into the Valley, take the walking trail or a bike path to get away from the crowds.

After a quick PB sandwich lunch on the trail, a bottle of water, and a few more photos, we headed into the valley … braving the traffic. We had our bikes along and we wanted to find a place to park and take a slow ride around the bike path which loops around the majority of the valley. We made several stops at the river to cool our feet.

Yosemite Evening – El Capitan and Bridalveil Falls beyond the Merced River

Tip #4: Go early or stay late in the day and you will find the crowds disappear. The middle of the day is a great time to sit at the river and just let everyone else clamor for a spot on a hiking trail or a place on the road.

We ended our day with dinner at the Ahwahnee Hotel (actually sitting outside at the cafe) and then we packed up the bikes and headed home. Above is one last image looking back at El Capitan and Bridalveil Falls in the setting sun. This is my favorite time of day in the Valley.

There are plenty more ideas for day hikes away from the crowds on my Squidoo page: Yosemite For Families. It is possible to enjoy a day at this national park even when there are throngs of visitors. We enjoyed a great summer day in this awesome and unique place.

I can’t wait to go back again.

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Barb — 6 Comments

Our Spring Tree Has Leaves: White Birch Limbs and Leaves

This post is part of our on-going series of Year-Long Tree Studies, Spring Challenge. You can see our previous studies here: Autumn and Winter. If you haven’t started your own family’s Year-Long Tree Study, I encourage you to jump in now and start with a spring observation. I guarantee you will learn a lot!

“A person who has not had an intimate, friendly acquaintance with some special tree has missed something from life.”
Anna Botsford Comstock, A Study of a Tree

It has been with eagerness that we watched our white birch tree for signs of new leaves. This past week they seemed to appear overnight, gracefully blowing in the breezes that have come in the afternoon hours. Here is a video (you may need to click over to the blog to view it) that shows how the limbs are so fluid and dance in the wind. It isn’t very long…about half a minute.

We decided to focus on the limbs of the tree and see how they make that movement in the wind. It might have something to do with the shape and arrangement of the limbs. The limbs bend down towards the ground and are not stiff like the oak tree growing just a few feet away.

They sort of spiral up the trunk….isn’t it pretty?

It could have something to do with the leaves as well so we took a look at the arrangement and shape as part of our spring study. The leaves point down and the petiole is long and slender. The leaves catch the slightest breeze just like the sail on a sailboat. They shake and sway and remind me of Robert Frost’s poem, Birches. We decided to include a part of the poem in our nature journal.

I’d like to go by climbing a birch tree,

And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk

Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,

But dipped its top and set me down again.

That would be good both going and coming back.

One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.

(Excerpt)

“Catkins form on the trees in summer, remaining tight, smooth, and closed throughout the winter. They begin to expand in early spring, with most flowering before the leaves appear, or at least before the leaves get too large. As catkins rely on wind to spread their pollen, this arrangement prevents the leaves from interfering with fertilization. After the female flowers are fertilized, the male catkins wither and drop.”
Read more at Suite101: Catkins in Spring.

So another season is beginning for our tree and we will look forward to observing it closely as the days tick by. There is always something new to learn and think about in this great nature study project.

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Barb — 6 Comments

Tweet and See Post January 2011

We are so ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count and this month we thought we would join Heather over on her blog Kingdom Arrows for a new bird meme.

We live at about 2000 feet in elevation, in North-Central California, foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
Our yard has pine and oak trees as the natural habitat, supplemented with a variety of bird attracting features like sheltering bushes near feeders, birdbaths at both ends of the yard, and seed bearing plants.
Weather this month has been unusually warm, very little rain, and absolutely no snow.

Here is our list for our yard– I have starred the most common birds at our feeders:

Dark-eyed juncos***
House sparrows***
Spotted towhees
California towhees
Western scrub jays***
White-breasted nuthatches***
Mourning doves
Lesser goldfinches***
Downy woodpeckers
Nuttall’s woodpeckers
American crows
Oak titmouse***
House finches***
Purple finches***
White-crowned sparrows***
Hummingbird—not sure of identification. We are thinking it was migratory.
Northern mockingbird

In our travels-

Mallard ducks
Common mergansers
Red-tail hawks
Cooper’s hawk
Red-breasted nuthatches
Steller’s jays
Red-winged blackbirds
Rock pigeons
Western bluebirds

We have been out looking for bald eagles but so far we have not scored a sighting. Our friend did last week so we are not going to give up!

Don’t forget!!!

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Barb — 8 Comments

Snowshoe Adventures…Tramping Through the Woods

I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.

~Henry David Thoreau

By now you are more than likely tired of seeing my snowshoe photos but since the season is full of opportunities to hike out there in the snowy goodness, I will continue to share some of the best shots and stories from our wanderings.

This trip was a sisters trip and my big sis and I spent part of our weekend out in the sunshine hiking/wandering, taking photos, talking, sharing aches and pains, and nourishing our love of beautiful landscapes. We heard Steller’s jays and nuthatches as we “tramped” through the woods.The creek sounds were always in the background and every now and then the quack of a mallard was heard over the crunching of our shoes.

This particular place is known for being a bear and eagle habitat. Although I have seen bears here in the summer and fall, I have never seen an actual bear or signs of bear in the winter. There are plenty of other animal tracks around but never any bear tracks. My sister was still a little uneasy but we did not see a bear on this trip, thank goodness, or she would have never let me forget about it.

There has been no fresh snow in awhile but there were places where we really did need the snowshoes. The weather was warm and I ended up just with a fleece jacket, no gloves, and my light knit hat. My sister was trying out a new set of snowshoes which were much smaller and lighter than mine. She said they were very easy to get used to and we felt good about being out for a long walk….not totally by ourselves in the woods but still alone enough to feel peaceful and refreshed.

We wandered through the woods and only once did we need to take our snowshoes off and jump across the creek. Yes, I said jump. I didn’t feel very graceful as I made the leap across into the snowbank but there was no one else around to see me….

The aspens make such a visual treat with their beautiful trunks.

Yes, the limbs of the bare bushes are that pinky-red in real life. Amazing color along the creek for a winter scene. I was so surprised that my point and shoot was able to capture the exact look of this winter creek.

Does it get any better than this? With a little effort my sister and I made it out to the end of the creek where it spills into the lake. The snow had all melted on this side of the water and we took off our snowshoes and stood in awe of the mountains, the snow, the reflections, the sky, the peacefulness of this place. I felt like I was in some beautiful outdoor cathedral and I sent my thanks to our Grand Creator for the gift of this afternoon.

There is my sister taking some photos of her own. We share a love for the outdoors and photography and she is an amazing nature photographer. All too soon we realized the day was coming to a close and we needed to make the hike back to the car. We were tired but it was a good kind of tired.

I hope to get up to the snow at least one more time, probably with my boys if we can fit in the time.

I am not the only one that has snowshoes. Don’t miss reading another mom’s experience with her snowshoes…it will warm your heart: Pink Snowshoes by Richelle at Educating Mother.

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Barb — 8 Comments

Hiking On A Winter Day – California Style

We had the opportunity to hike down at the river, sunny skies and warmer temperatures were just too good to pass up. The Kona dog went swimming and brought us a bunch of sticks to throw for her to fetch. She was one happy dog!

This sign is for rafters, not hikers. There are stretches of the river that flow through “private” areas and you are not supposed to be loud and rowdy there but then when you hit public lands you can have water fights and swim and holler as much as you want. There were no rafters on the river this time but in the summer there is raft after raft of water lovers floating down this section of the river.

Hiking still means climbing on things for my teenage boys. This time it was an old oak tree lying on its side. It is a sad sight to see one of these old oaks giving in to the elements. I know it is home to creatures and soon it will melt into the floor of the woods but it still makes me sad.

Down at the river the boys made Andy Goldworthy style rock piles again but in the end my rock sculpture was the best…..

What do you think? At least it didn’t fall over before I could take a photo….just friendly family competition/fun. It is not as easy at it looks to stack rocks, big and small, into something that looks nice.

Hiking back up from the river I spotted this little mushroom growing in the moss on the side of a tree.

Here is another one that we thought was interesting. My boys call me the Fungus Lady for a reason. 🙂

Seriously, our part of the world is not a winter wonderland but it can get cold. I decided that it is pleasantly warm enough afternoons that it makes our cold winter mornings bearable. I have never lived anywhere else and I just don’t know how I would cope with really long, snowy winters. We have days at a time where it is cold and we get a few inches of snow but it melts and the sun comes out and we see green. Our green season is really from about this time of the year until the end of May…..they our state turns “golden”. I like “golden”.

Shhhh…don’t tell anyone. Barb is admitting that she doesn’t care for winter as much as summer.

154 days until the first day of summer but I’m not counting.

I am going to have to postpone our winter snow study until we actually get some snow. We are working on our winter tree study though so stay tuned for that this week. We also took another fabulous hike to a different part of the river today…I know….we are spoiled but loving it.

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Barb — 7 Comments

Autumn 2010 OHC #9 Pine Cone Study

Today we went on a drive up in the mountains and would you believe there was snow! I spotted some freshly fallen pinecones and it was a perfect introduction to this week’s challenge. The snowy landscape reminded me that we will soon be finished with the Autumn Series and it will be time for a new season to start. The Autumn Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges has greatly added to our family’s knowledge of everyday things around us and I hope they have helped your family too. Next week will be our last autumn challenge and a nice giveaway so make sure to pop over to the blog next Friday to read all about it.

Autumn Series #9
Pine Cones
(You may also like to use this challenge: Pine Cones.)

“Their foliage is evergreen but is shed gradually. The pollen-bearing and the seed-producing flowers are separate on the tree. The seeds are winged and are developed in cones.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 674

Inside Preparation Work:
Read pages 670-675 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 185). This section talks about the pine tree and gives the background for this challenge. Pay attention to questions 5 and 6 in this lesson covering the pine cone.

Compare A Tree with Cones and A Tree Without Cones

Compare needles and leaves, including their arrangement on the branches, shapes, and colors.
Compare the trunks and bark, including the shape of the tree. Does the main trunk go straight up or branch out? How low do the branches start? Is there a crown?

Outdoor Hour Time:
Take fifteen minutes outdoors this week to explore your yard or neighborhood looking for a pine tree and pine cones. Remember how to identify a pine tree and use some of the things you read about in the Handbook to help your child learn a little about the pine tree. You could point out the difference between an evergreen and a deciduous tree, how the pine tree’s leaves are needles, the distinct shape of a pine tree, and the cones. Collect at least one cone to bring indoors for observations in the follow-up activity.

Follow-Up Activity:
Use a hand lens to look closely at your pine cone. Take note of its shape, size, color, and patterns. The Handbook of Nature Study suggests the following sketches in your nature journal:

Bundle of needles, showing the sheath and its attachment to the twig.
The cone.
The cone scale.
The seed (under the scales)

You can use the notebook page provided with the Autumn ebook, a blank page in your nature journal, or a blank notebook page.

Additional activity: Soak your cone in water. Check your cone every 15 minutes to see what happens. Now let the cone dry. This sometimes will loosen the seeds inside and you can take a closer look at their shapes and structure. Try this activity again and soak only half your cone in water and see what happens. You can try this additional activity: Pine Cone Science Experiment.

Additional Resources:
Help in identifying pines.

A Pine Cone Tale: This link will be helpful if you don’t have access to a pine tree to observe and the formation of cones.

Note: This nature study challenge can be found in the Autumn 2010 ebook.

If you would like to own this ebook, it is part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library for members. You can find more details on how to get your own membership here: Join Us!

Ultimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Barb — 5 Comments

Salmon Circle of Life

We were able to experience two kinds of salmon and their spawning this autumn.

The Kokanee salmon are a land-locked species that live in the high mountain lake and then return to the creek of their birth for spawning.

This shallow creek is the perfect place for laying eggs in the gravel.

The fish come by the thousands, swimming and leaping around in the water as they make their way back up the creek from the lake.

The bears are around and we are warned to keep clear of them as they come for their autumn feast of salmon after the fish have spawned and then die.

Even though these are land-locked salmon, they still go through the same changes that their ocean cousins perform. Their colors change and their jaws and teeth become more prominent.

They wiggle a little dance to court the females and then fertilize her eggs. It is amazing to watch.

There are two bridges that you can watch the fish from and on this day there were quite a few nature lovers out there viewing the fish ritual.

The ducks, gulls, and eagles all depend on the salmon spawning for their autumn diet. We didn’t see any eagles on this day but the ducks were present.

They eat the freshly laid eggs if they get the chance.

Our second salmon observing opportunity came this past weekend at the American River above Sacramento. There is a fish hatchery below a dam where the salmon will make their way up the fish ladder.

Here is the ladder the salmon will leap up as they make their way to the hatchery. The officials were waiting until the next day to open the gate that ajoins the river to the ladder.

We were a little early but we were still able to observe the *huge* Chinook salmon waiting at the gate to climb up. They were actually jumping up out of the water and slamming into the metal gate. One sign says they can leap out of the water nine feet!

The Chinook are much larger than the Kokanee and we decided it was because they have a much longer migration journey. They travel round trip 2,000 miles from their birthplace, down the American River, through the Sacramento Delta and then out into the Pacific Ocean. Two or three years later, they make the return trip and end up at their birthplace again….changing from freshwater fish to saltwater fish and back again.

The hatchery we visited has a lovely visitor’s center to learn more about the cycle of life of the salmon.

Trout are filling the holding ponds of the hatchery at the moment. There are steelhead and rainbow trout to view. In a month or so the steelhead will start their journey up the fish ladder and we may take time to visit again.

We had an additional observation of the rainbow trout a few weeks ago at a local pond that they stock for the kids to fish in. They are such beautiful fish and very tasty too. (I’m surprised I didn’t encourage us all to taste test the salmon and the trout…next time.)

So for our Outdoor Hour Challenge we were able to compare two different species of salmon as well as the salmon to the trout.

Our favorite is still the Kokanee salmon in its wild habitat and its unique cycle of life.

Here is a nature journal entry I made a few years ago featuring this colorful amazing fish.

Here is one from my son’s portfolio…oil pastels.

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Barb — 5 Comments

Autumn 2010 OHC #7: Fish Study-Trout and Salmon

Outdoor Hour Challenge Trout and Salmon @handbookofnaturestudy

Autumn Series #7
Fish Study: Trout and Salmon

Inside Preparation Work:
Trout: Read pages 156-158 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 40). Much of this information seems outdated but if you Google search “trout fishing NAME OF YOUR STATE” you will probably find enough current information to fill in the gaps. Try to determine what kind of trout you have in your area: Rainbow, Brown, Cutthroat, Brook, Golden, or Lake. Here is some additional information on the Brook Trout (includes a video).

Salmon: There are no specific pages in the Handbook for the salmon but there is plenty of information online to use as part of this challenge. Here is a coloring book for the Pacific Salmon and Steelhead that is excellent (this download link keep disappearing so do a Google search for it if you can’t get it from the link provided). You can print the entire book out and use it to pre-study salmon. Here is the Atlantic Salmon version. Make sure your child understands that the salmon lives part of its life in saltwater and part in fresh water.

Compare a Trout and a Salmon

Does it live in fresh water or salt water?
Size, color, shape, markings, placement of fins, eyes.
Where do they lay eggs, how is the nest made, and how are the eggs protected

Outdoor Hour Time:
This is the perfect time for a field trip to a fish hatchery in your local area. Google search “fish hatchery list YOUR STATE NAME”. This will usually give you at least one good lead to where you can visit to see fish up close. If you cannot find a hatchery to visit, ask someone you know who is a fisherman if they could bring you a fish to observe up close. As a last resort, visit a local pet shop or an aquarium and look at any fresh water fish.

Follow-Up Activity:
Lots of choices for this challenge as part of your follow-up: Coloring book pages from above, the trout notebook page or the salmon notebook page in the Autumn ebook, a blank page in your nature journal, or the Venn Diagram activity suggested above. There is also a Salmon Life Cycle notebook page in the ebook. Have your child narrate what they learned from this challenge and help them write about it in their nature journal or on their notebook page.

Extra Resources:

Grizzly Bears and Salmon video on YouTube
Trout Fish Hatchery Video with examples of Golden and Rainbow Trout
Atlantic Salmon: coloring page and images to print
Brown Trout: coloring page and images to print
Grizzly Bear: coloring page and images to print (just for fun)

Note: This nature study challenge can be found in the Autumn 2010 ebook.

If you would like to own this ebook, it is part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library for members. You can find more details on how to get your own membership here: Join Us!

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Posted on September 16, 2010 by Barb — 3 Comments

Our Raccon and Skunk Study: Mammals of the Night

This is a visitor we had at our back door a few summers ago. We had a family of skunks and a couple of raccoons that frequented our backyard in the evenings all that long summer. The raccoon would stand at our door and look in until we would chase him off…..this is when we started keeping our cat’s food dish inside. We knew he was eating the food because he would wash the kibble in the water dish, making the water brown and his footprints would lead from the dish off to the edge of the deck.

Last summer was the summer of the skunk in our neighborhood. Just about every night we would smell the fragrance of skunk coming in the windows. This summer….nothing. No skunks at all that I have seen or smelled. What a relief! But also now that I think about it, sort of interesting and curious. Now that we have no grass in the front yard it will probably mean we no longer have a skunk digging around for something to eat….didn’t think about that aspect of our yard remodel.

Mr. B and I have spent more than the usual amount of time outdoors at night the past few weeks as part of his astronomy study. I don’t think we have heard any mammals around the yard except for our cats. We listened to crickets the other night as we sat and watched the stars. A friend of ours said they had a mountain lion on their property last week! I am happy to report we do not have a mountain lion this year like we did last year in our neighborhood. It went around knocking trash cans over and making messes on trash night.

That reminds me of a conversation we had when we were camping at Yosemite in July. My boys and I were talking about whether we were more afraid of bears or mountain lions. We all agreed that in our experience bears were far less intimidating than a mountain lion. I thought that was interesting and we talked a lot about why we were more afraid of the mountain lion. We talked about how bears appear and go about their quest looking for food. If you stay out of their way, they usually just go about their business. Mountain lions seem to be all teeth and claws and if you have heard one scream, well, it is frightening. The one in our neighborhood sounded like a loud baby crying….it totally creeped me out. It was almost as eerie as a coyote howling.

Well, that is our mammal post to wrap up our summer nature study series. We are anxious to start the autumn challenges. My husband and I have sat down to plan some field trips to enhance our studies. We may revisit bats this fall since they seem to be out in record numbers this week. There is also a resident squirrel that needs some observations and journals recorded. We realized too that we have not done a formal study of our frequent guest at the feeder, the white-breasted nuthatch so that may get done alongside our autumn bird study for the challenge.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this summer series of nature study a great success and joy.

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