Posts

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Barb — 5 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival – July Newsletter Edition – Sunflowers and More!

Summer nature study is so much fun! There is never any shortage of great topics and this carnival reflects how each family is taking the OHC and making it their own. (If I missed your entry, please email me and let me know and I will add it. The Blog Carnival website had some issues again this month.)

Thanks so much for sharing your nature study.

Make sure to check back tomorrow for the August Newsletter post with fresh ideas for your summer nature study. I will also announce July’s giveaway winner in that post.

July Newsletter Topics

Sunflowers

Kristin shares their mammoth sunflowers with carnival readers in her entry: Jack’s Beanstalk May Have Been a Sunflower. You can also read about and see their huge sunflower seed harvest in her follow-up entry: Harvesting Sunflower Seeds.

Tricia and her children share their sunflower study….their second summer taking a closer look. You can read their entry on their family Hodgepodge blog, Summer Sunflowers.

Mary Jo from Seeds of Peace contributes their Nature Study-Sunflowers entry for carnival readers. Her son did a great job with the details on his notebooking page.

Nicole and her daughter did a sunflower study complete with artwork and baking! Read on her blog, Journey to Excellence, their entry, Sunflowers.

Jenny from Grace in Loving Chaos joins the carnival with her entry: Nature Study Sunflowers.

Bees or Other Insects

Backyard Beauties from Tricia’s daughter’s perspective is a great entry showing how when our children are trained to see common things in a new way they have gained a whole new window to their own world. My favorite image is the mimosa blossom….now that would be in my nature journal! Thanks for sharing your backyard with carnival readers.

Nicole from One Hook Wonder writes about their experience with Painted Lady butterflies as part of this challenge. My favorite part of the entry is when they release the butterfly and it goes straight to their garden flowers! Perfect ending to the story of the butterfly.

Brandy writes about their Creepy Crawly Critters on her blog Half-a-Hundred Acre Wood.

Tricia and her family had an bee/insect study in their own backyard. Read their entry, Bees and Buzzy Insects, to see how they learned so much about their bees and wasps.

Susan from Learning all the Time shares their July Nature Study: Honeybees entry with carnival readers.Make sure to see their very well done nature journal entries.

Tristan shares their surprise insect study on her blog Our Busy Homeschool: We Play in the Rain and Meet a Furry Friend. What a colorful critter they found…don’t miss seeing it!

Nighttime Critters

The HodgePodge family contributes their Nighttime Critters: Flying Squirrels and More entry for carnival readers. They did a fantastic job of learning more about their nighttime visitors.

Ann from Harvest Moon by Hand writes about their Bats/Outdoor Hour Challenge. They went on a bat hunt!

Nicole from One Hook Wonder shares their Night Critters post…complete with a sound recording of their subject.

Summer Weather Study

Kristin from Broom and Crown shares their entry Tiny Birds and a Blue Tailed Lizard. She tells how they complete their nature study in 110 degree weather.

Tricia shares their Summer Weather entry on her HodgePodge blog. They share one day of cloud observations and end with an art project!

Potpourri

Angie and her son share their on-going study of the Yellow Pond Lilly using lots of up-close observations and the Handbook of Nature Study. I love the way they learn all aspects of a subject that is right in their own back yard (or lake in this case).

Heather from the Tully Telegraph shares their OHC #3 Green Anoles. Don’t miss reading their entry and seeing the nature journals. I love that each one captures a different aspect of their study. Great example!

A Little Fun With Our Fine Feathered Friends is a wonderful account of Kim’s path of nature study. She reflects on her experiences with her older sons and then shows us how things are going with her younger son. Wonderful entry to the carnival! Thanks Kim.

Ann and her daughters share their Clover Study on her blog Harvest Moon By Hand. What an interesting entry covering so many aspects of this everyday plant. She’s included some recipes again and some wonderful images. Ann also shares their Summer Cattail Study and their One Small Square Study with carnival readers. One last entry from Anne and her girls shows their wonderful Summer Tree Study, updating from their spring study.

Kristin from Broom and Crown shares a wonderful preschool nature study with carnival readers this time. Check out their entry: What’s Under the Dirt.

Kim writes on A Child’s Garden about their Dandelions: A Bilingual Lesson on Plant Study. She used the ideas from the Spring Dandelion Challenge and then added some great activities. Thanks for the great ideas.

Beachcombing- Shark Teeth is another entry from Kim and her blog, A Child’s Garden. She shows us how they studied shark’s teeth using resources other than the Handbook of Nature Study….I love to see how families take the ideas from the HNS and apply them to their own subjects. Great job.

Serena from Casting Pearls shares their Nesting Robins with carnival readers. She has some beautiful images of the eggs and wonder nature journal examples. Don’t miss the update to this entry where they make a positive identification of their nesting bird.

Kim also shares a great bird entry in their post Summer Bird Study: Blue Jays. She shows how their family pulled together a number of resources, including the Handbook of Nature Study, to make their bird study complete.

That completes this edition of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. I look forward to reading your August entries and seeing how nature study is accomplished in your part of the world.

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Barb — 10 Comments

Hiking in the Sierra: Cascade Falls at Lake Tahoe

What did Harmony Art Mom do for her 27th Wedding Anniversary?

Hiked to a waterfall!

My dear husband and I took a day to hike up to one of our favorite spots at nearby Lake Tahoe. The trailhead is at Bayview Campground and the parking can be tricky. We caught someone as they were leaving and got a spot in the shade.

The trail is not steep or very long but there are sections that are covered in granite rocks that you need to scramble up on or over or around. There are plenty of spots to stop and take in the view as you hike along.

We hiked to the Cascade Falls and then sat and just enjoyed each other’s company and the solitude for awhile.

The wildflowers were blooming along the trail and this one was abundant.

You actually hike to the top of the waterfall so there isn’t a really great place to take a shot of the whole waterfall at one time. Here is a section of it.

We hiked back down the trail in the late afternoon and then made our way over to Tallac Historic Site to have a picnic (including a special slice of cheesecake for each of us).

I worked in my nature journal recording the wildflowers we saw earlier and my husband did some reading until we decided we better take an after dinner walk to burn off some of the picnic calories. I love the long hours of a summer evening and this time we found a place that I want to bring the kids back to.

This promenade in the middle of the forest was the connecting sidewalk between two turn-of-the-twentieth-century hotels. The hotels are long gone but the promenade remains. We tried to imagine what it would have been like to stay at one of the hotels way back then.

It was a perfect anniversary day….hope to do it again sometime!

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Barb — 4 Comments

Summer Weather Observations 2011 – Can You Say HOT?

As part of the July Newsletter Summer Weather Challenge, we looked back to the Summer Series Weather Observation Challenge from last year.

Our roses love the heat and this is our Disneyland Rose…sweet fragrance.

July weather is always hot but this year we have had alternating weeks of HOT and then cooling off to the 80’s. It makes for a nice mix of summer weather. The garden likes the heat but once the temperatures heat up we need to water our garden everyday. We don’t get much in the way of rain in the months of July and August and our heat does not bring any humidity with it.

The mullein this year is really TALL.

The nights are cool so we can expect to have cool breezes sometime in the night that are our natural air conditioning. We do most of our cooking outdoors this time of year, either on the grill or our outdoor oven. This keeps the kitchen cooler and we don’t have to run the a/c.

Front Yard Butterfly Bush and Yarrow Summer

The yarrow, lavender, and butterfly bushes are full of bees.

We decided to complete these two activities from last year’s challenge:

1. Use some of your outdoor time to take temperature readings on your thermometer at sunrise (or early morning), noon, and then again at sunset. Record these temperatures, making comparisons. You can also use your outdoor time to use the suggested observations using your senses as noted in the box above.
2. Get up early and watch the sunrise. Note the place where the sunrises by observing something on the horizon such as a tree, a building, a mountain, or something else that can serve as a landmark for the sunrise. Do the same thing at sundown, finding a landmark to note.

Here are our statistics.
6 AM 59 degrees and 76% humidity
Noon 74 degrees and 52% humidity
4 PM 83 degrees and 32% humidity

Sunrise at 5:53 AM and Sunset at 8:25 PM

Don’t forget to make your own Summer Weather Observations and submit your entry to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Barb — 6 Comments

Front Yard Remodel Update July 2011

Front Yard March 28, 2011

Front Yard July 20, 2011

Wow! Can you believe how much the plants have grown and filled in the space? It is amazing to see a garden come alive….from your ideas, to paper, to real life.

I love gardening.

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Barb — 4 Comments

Sunflower Garden – July Newsletter Grid Study

Our Sunflower Garden July 17, 2011

Sunflowers are the theme of our garden this year….as anticipated. We planted our seeds on May 10th and they started blooming on July 16th. That is a long time to wait but so worth the time and effort! Now with the July Newsletter focus on sunflowers using the Nature Study Grid and notebooking page, we are slowing down to do some careful observations. This is also made easy by the fact that we are participating in the Great Sunflower Project and counting bees.

Here are the first of our blooms.

Sunflower with lots of pollen!

This is actually not one of the seeds that we planted but it popped up under the birdfeeder. They are a perfect complement to our little backyard feeder garden.

From Renee’s Garden Seeds – Royal Flush. I love the watercolor like colors in this bloom.

Here is another one from Renee’s Garden – Chocolate Cherry. Amazing color in the garden!

I think this is the third seed from Renee’s Garden – Van Gogh.

We found this spider crawling on a big sunflower last week…..he sure blends in.

Here is another image from the volunteer sunflowers around the birdfeeder. If you look carefully, you can see that these are actually two different kinds of sunflowers.

Another bee favorite in our yard is the coneflower. They are rather tall this year and always full of buzzing bees. Coneflowers are on the list of bee attractive plants that you can use as part of the Great Sunflower Project this summer.

How about that bee? He is in our bee balm and loving it. I decided this is a plant that I need to add to more of my flower garden next year.

We have been busy learning some new things and making lots of detailed observations using all of our sunflowers. How about your family? Have you done your July Newsletter sunflower study? I look forward to seeing your entries in the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.

Jami’s Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Barb — 3 Comments

Nighttime Critters – Our List from the July Newsletter

Summer evenings outdoors….with our chiminea.

We have been working on our July Newsletter Nighttime Critter Challenge all month. I wanted to post a little of what we are observing and learning to give you an idea of how you can pick a few things from your area to study in the evening hours. I will update our list after the end of the month with any new finds.

Our most predominant nighttime critters of interest are the Brown bats that come every single night to fly in our backyard. I wrote about them back in May as part of mammal study. For the July newsletter challenge for Nighttime Critters, I decided to share a few of our other nighttime visitors of interest. This study was sort of on-going because when the weather is hot, we tend to drag sleeping bags out to the back deck to sleep in the cool night air. We all lay awake and listen and watch as the nighttime settles in around us.

Shooting stars, satellites zipping across the sky, the moon, the swaying trees in the breeze, and the night sounds all entertain us as we wait for sleep to come.

Fill In The Circle and Fill In With Color Example – Poor owl sketch…he has such a crooked beak.

One of the things that we have discovered sleeping outside on hot summer nights is that we have quite a few great horned owls in our neighborhood. We can hear them calling back and forth right after the sun goes down and then again at around 5 AM. Here is a link to AllAboutBirds.org and if you click the sound button, you will hear the two types of sounds we hear from our owls: Great Horned Owls. We have yet to actually see them but they are out there…no doubt about it.

We also are serenaded by crickets when the temperatures get just right. It is amazing how you don’t hear any crickets and then all of a sudden it is as if someone turned on a cricket soundtrack and they all chirp at the same time. The lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study gives a great illustration showing the parts of the cricket and an excellent explanation of how he “sings”. (Lesson 82)

“The wing covers are much shorter than the abdomen and beneath them are vestiges of wings, which are never used. The male has larger wing covers than the female, and they are veined in a peculiar scroll pattern. This veining seems to be a framework for the purpose of making a sounding board of the wing membrane, by stretching it out as a drumhead is stretched.” Handbook of Nature Study.

Turn in your copy of the Handbook of Nature Study to read much more in the lesson explaining this interesting creature.There is such a simple explanation of the mechanics of the crickets chirping that it is perfect for sharing with younger children. The crickets and the frogs compete in our neighborhood for the winner of the “background” noise. It seems as if one or the other is singing their little hearts out.

We smell skunks quite a few nights a week. Sleeping outside we hear rustling in the garden and I think it is the skunk. I know they dig around the base of the birdfeeder outside our window but over the years I have decided that if he leaves me alone, I will leave him alone. Here is another entry where I talk about our nighttime visitors.

Nighttime Critter LIst - Outdoor Hour Challenge

List from the July Newsletter. I cut it out and taped it inside my nature journal.

One last nighttime critter we have had around the neighborhood is the raccoon. Our neighbor has been sharing how they keep forgetting to bring in the dog’s food dish at night and the raccoon has decided that it makes a easy snack taken just outside their patio door. We have had our share of raccoons in the yard over the years but we haven’t seen any lately. Here is an entry sharing one raccoon experience: Raccoon Visitor.

Well that gives you a taste of what we have around here in the evenings. I just thought of something else I need to put on my list….moths.

I look forward to reading about your nighttime critters. Don’t forget to post your entry and then submit it to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival before 7/30/11 for a chance in the July Newsletter giveaway!

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Barb — 2 Comments

Out and About This Week: Mountains and the Ocean

The best thing about summer is getting to be outdoors everyday. Where we live in California we can do day trips to just about any sort of environment you can imagine.

Here are a few images from the last week.

The boys took some kayaks out at a local lake…..not too hot and we went early.

Fallen Leaf Lake is an hour’s drive from our front door and we took the short hike around the edge of this crystal clear alpine lake last weekend. The lupine was divine and the sky was equally as awesome.

The wildflowers were amazing! I love getting the chance to experience this Sierra Nevada habitat.

We took a day trip to visit an elderly relative and we took the “long way” home along the California coast. The wildflowers were blooming here as well.

See what I mean? Northern California is such a gift to those of us who live here. Our job is to take the opportunity and get outside!

Posted on July 12, 2011May 1, 2023 by Barb — 6 Comments

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly – Our July Newsletter Insect Study

Swallowtail at Yosemite National Park 2006

Since we just studied and observed our honeybees, we decided to learn more about another common backyard insect that we see all the time in our butterfly garden….the Western tiger swallowtail. There are some amazing images on this webpage. There is also quite a bit of information on Enchanted Learning.

We often see swallowtails on our butterfly bushes.

This rather large butterfly is a frequent visitor to our backyard habitat. One afternoon this past week I watched as two swallowtails dipped and swirled around the garden. They are so pretty but they don’t stay put very long at all.

We pulled out the Handbook of Nature Study and read the section on Black swallowtail butterflies to get sort of an overview of this insect. (Lesson 70) Here is a little excerpt:

“This graceful butterfly is a very good friend to the flowers, being a most efficient pollen-carrier. It haunts the gardens and sips nectar from all the blossom cups held out for its refreshment; and it is found throughout almost all parts of the United States. The grace of its appearance is much enhanced by the “swallowtails,” two projections from the hind margins of the hind wings.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 301

We got out our insect field guide and found out some more interesting facts:
Its caterpillars feed on alder, poplar, willow.
Habitat: Mixed and deciduous forests, open ares, even in urban areas.
Wingspan 3 1/2″ to 4 3/8″
Yellow wings, single “tail”

This Saturday, July 16th, is the day that the Great Sunflower Project is requesting that we observe our bees. Read more about how you can participate HERE. I look forward to hearing about your bees as part of the July Newsletter challenge. You can also observe your sunflowers at the same time!

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Barb — 3 Comments

Day Lilies – Abundance of Beauty

We have collected quite a few different varieties of day lilies over the year and right now they are blooming like crazy. Thanks to a day lily farm not too far from our house we have access to so many different colors, shapes, and sizes of lilies to choose from. We try to add one new variety each year and keeping track of the names has been a big job.

I thought perhaps taking a photo and keeping a record of the names would be a better way than relying on my memory. I have lost my paper with my whole list so I have only given the names for the flowers I am sure of in this post.

Dark Pink and Orange

Light Pink and slightly fragrant = American Original

Yellow and shaped like a spider = Shenandoah

Maroon and yellow = Rain Dance

Yellow and Purple

Red and yellow shaped like a spider = Stoplight

I guess I have become sort of a “collector” of flowers. I love walking around my garden each week and seeing which flowers are blooming. Some of the day lilies will bloom later in the summer, some even into autumn. We tried to pick particular varieties so we would continually have blooms to enjoy.

I love this plant and it is super easy to grow. They multiple fairly fast and you can divide the plants and fill in spaces as you like. My dad and I have started sharing day lilies and that is a great way to build up your beds.

This is also a perfect flower to learn your plant parts. Check out Garden Flowers-Flower Parts: Challenge #13 and Garden Flowers-Pollen: Challenge #18.

“All the names should be taught gradually by constant unemphasized use on the part of the teacher; and if the child does not learn the names naturally then do not make him do it unnaturally.”Handbook of Nature Study, page 456

Enjoy your garden this week!
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Barb — 4 Comments

Northern California Redwoods – Hiking Jedediah Smith Redwoods

Jedidiah Smith Redwoods - Posing on a Tree

Boy Scout Tree Trail – Jedediah Smith Redwoods

We had the opportunity to take several hikes in Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park while on our trip to Southern Oregon. No matter where you go in this area of California, you are going to see some spectacular trees and other plants of the redwood habitats. In a matter of minutes, you can be on the trail, hiking along the forest floor, bordered by ferns and wildflowers. There is always a bird singing somewhere in the forest and since you feel as if you are all alone you realize it is singing for your enjoyment.

Look up there at those redwoods….in the sky…practically.

There is no chance of missing these ancient trees when are right there hiking under them. On some places along the trail you can reach out and touch the soft fibrous bark. In other places you have to literally climb under or through downed redwoods. This is the best way to get to know these quiet giants.

Looking down wasn’t so bad either…these are monkeyflowers.

When all around you are tall redwoods, it is easy to forget to look down and notice the floor of the forest with its carpets of Redwood sorel and other colorful wildflowers.

Red Clintonia – Amazing!

I love this flower! We actually stopped and just enjoyed the color of the bloom and as we stood there another couple came along and wanted to photograph the flower since it was new to them. I was so glad that I had read my field guide before we hiked to refresh my memory with some of the flowers we would more than likely see. I was able to share the name of the flower which is always fun.

We saw lots of downed trees that appear to be melting into the forest floor. Even in their death, these trees provide a living habitat for other growing things.

Like these False Lily of the Valley plants…..isn’t it great how the forest just fills in when a tree falls?

Fern Falls was found at the end of one of our hikes….time to just stop and drink it all in. Time for a nature journal for me and climbing up to the top of the falls and then out on the log for Mr. A. It was hard to tear ourselves away to make the hike back. It was an awesome hike. (Fern Falls is at the end of the Boy Scout Tree Trail.)

If you venture to Redwood National Park in Northern California, don’t miss driving Howland Hill Drive. Even if you just take the drive and don’t get out of the car, roll your windows down and enjoy the scenic road winding around the redwoods.

There is also a lovely river that runs through the park. Here is the Smith River in all its glory. A few years ago we camped right next to the Smith River at Panther Flat….quiet campground with nice spots for tents.

There is no shortage of hikes to try in Jedediah Smith Redwoods. We drove down Walker Road all the way to the end and then got out to walk along the river. I love the poppies sprouting in the river rocks. It was a fine way to end our stay at the redwoods part of our trip.

Hope you enjoyed my Oregon/Redwoods series. We certainly had a wonderful, wonderful time getting out and spending time as a family in the wide open outdoors hiking and camping.
Oregon Tidepools
Oregon Coast Hiking

Speaking of wide open….my boys and I are going to heading out again soon to another part of the west, Grand Teton National Park. You can be sure we will share those experiences as well.

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!