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Posted on October 10, 2010 by Barb — 7 Comments

We are on the Edge of Autumn

Caught in the act of climbing up to the birdfeeder…this squirrel is a permanent resident in our backyard. He and a friend have totally stripped the walnut tree of any nuts.

Here is what my sidewalk looks like under the walnut tree…nothing but shells and casings. What a mess! This is the second year in a row that the squirrels have eaten all the nuts.

There is finally a little color along our regular walking trail and those are clouds in the sky but there was no rain. My daughter Amanda had to take a trip over the Sierra this week and she said that the trees up on the pass are just starting to turn colors…mostly aspens. We may need to take a drive up their next weekend.

We saw lots of these wild grapes far up over the walking trail. They look so good and we wondered if they would be sweet or tart. There was no way to reach them since they were far up in the trees where they reach the sunlight. So I will be satisfied with recreating this photo in my nature journal this week since I love the colors of the leaves and grapes and the shape of the leaves is awesome.

One last photo that really isn’t a sign of autumn but I thought it was fun to catch this hummingbird stopping by to sip at our feeder. We have had a bunch of hummingbirds this summer and I even hung another feeder because there was always a fight happening at the two we already had.

Yesterday we worked in the garden and completed the initial fall clean up. There is still some life out there and a few tomatoes and peppers to ripen up. I composted a bit in one box and I will be planting some peas, spinach, and lettuce later today and hopefully we will have another crop before the winter weather hits.

I think we will take a trip to the apple orchard this week if all my boys are recovered from their cold/flu from last week. Nothing like the thoughts of a little apple pie to perk up a sick boy! Of course we will be tasting different varieties of apples as part of the apple challenge….research of course. 🙂

Have a great weekend.

Posted on October 9, 2010 by Barb — 5 Comments

Trees Do Fall Down in the Woods

Now this could pose a problem…..a big pine tree down across our hiking trail.

We actually noticed before that this particular tree is *full* of acorn holes where the woodpeckers have made a huge storehouse of acorns in the trunk. We think this is what led to the demise of this big tree. That looks like a fresh acorn inside the hole.

When it fell, big pieces of the bark came off and exposed all the acorn holes. We climbed up and over to continue our hike. The dog decided to crawl underneath but either way it worked.

Further down the trail my son spotted this section of a wasp nest on the trail. These are amazing creations and hard to believe that an insect made this out of their spit and plant fibers. Once again the Handbook of Nature Study helped us to learn a little bit more about the process of building the nest on page 381 (Lesson 95). The whole section is fascinating…here is an excerpt:

“The nest is of paper made of bits of wood which the wasps pull off with their jaws from weather-worn fences or boards. This wood is reduced to pulp by saliva which is secreted from the wasp’s mouth, and is laid on in little layers which can be easily seen by examining the outside of the nest.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 381.

We also noticed these puffy growths on the oak branches along the trail. We thought maybe they were some sort of gall. I am still working on figuring out what exactly they are so if anyone has any ideas, I would appreciate an email.

It is nice to be out hiking again as the weather is cooling down a bit. My sons have been down off and on this week with a cold/flu. Mr. A said it was nice to get out and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine and I know it always makes me feel better too.

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Barb — 10 Comments

Meet My New Friends-The Goldfinches

We have had a hard time attracting goldfinches to our yard. We tried thistle feeders before but the goldfinches never came. I decided two weeks ago to try again and this time….they arrived right outside my window!

I can’t tell you how thrilled we were to see them in the feeder, lined up along the branches, and sitting in the top of the tree. Their bright yellow color is amazing to see flash across the yard and their sweet little song is so beautiful coming in the windows.

Mr. B came in yesterday with a gift for me.

He found a goldfinch feather under the feeder and brought it in for me to see. Doesn’t it look as if someone dipped the tip in yellow paint?

This is going in my nature journal! We found the goldfinch in the Handbook of Nature Study and now we are going to read up on them and do some of the suggestions in Lesson 10.

“Goldfinches are seen at their best in late summer or September, when they appear in flocks wherever the thistle seeds are found in abundance.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 57

Hopefully they are here for awhile so we can get our fill of finches.

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Barb — 8 Comments

Hornworm…..Wow!

What is she looking at? We could not figure it out for a day or two. Then….

We took a closer look.

We could not believe the size of this tobacco hornworm.We at first thought it was the tomato hornworm but after investigation decided it is the tobacco hornworm which also eats tomato plants.

The birds ate a few of them and we picked off the rest. I love it when a new and interesting nature study subject comes our way unexpectedly.

I like the way it looks like their little feet are holding onto the branch. My son was fascinated with their mouths. Another great subject for our nature journals.

If you would like to know more about hornworms, you can read in the Handbook of Nature Study in the section on the hummingbird or sphinx moths (Lesson 75).

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Barb — 7 Comments

OHC Blog Carnival-It’s time For Fall Edition

September was a rather busy month for all of us…either starting a new school year or really getting into the rhythm of a new year. I am so proud of the families that are adding nature study to their normal routine and those that are still faithfully spending time outdoors a little each week discovering things in their own backyard.

Without further ado, here is your carnival of Outdoor Hour Challenges for the month of September 2010.

Autumn Leaves, John Buxton Knight

Summer #11 Queen Anne’s Lace
Allison from Barefoot in Suburbia shares their study of Queen Anne’s Lace where they found some in their own backyard in various stages of bloom. She also shares photos from her children’s garden.

Tricia shares their extended Queen Anne’s Lace entry along with a wonderful tutorial for capturing its beauty with pastels. They made some memories as part of this study as well.

Under the Trees, Thomas Moran

Summer #12 Raccoons
Angie from Petra School writes about their summer study of raccoons around their lake house. As usual, their journals will make you smile.

Autumn landscape with four trees van gogh

Autumn Landscape with Four Trees, Vincent Van Gogh

Signs of Autumn Challenge
Phyllis from All Things Beautiful joins the carnival this month with their Last Day of Summer/First Day of Fall nature walk party. Excellent photos!

Angie shares their Signs of Autumn as part of the Fall Scavenger Hunt. This is a great way to spend some time outdoors this season.

Tricia writes about their Signs of Autumn, sharing their finds in photos.

Allison found lots to investigate in their own backyard. Read her entry Our Own Backyard.

Lorus shares their signs of autumn from her blog Because of the Children. They were not expecting to find any signs of autumn since they are still experiencing warm weather but they ended up being quite successful! Thanks for sharing your day!

Autumn Leaves, Millais

Autumn 2010 Series #1: Nature Journals
Edwena from Only One Life writes about their experiences with this challenge. I think she did a great job encouraging her children to get started with their nature journals.

Amy from Peru submits her encouraging post on nature journals from her blog Fisher Academy International. Thanks Amy.

Paula from Belgium shares her daughter’s nature journals as part of this challenge. Her birds are wonderfully recorded safely in her journal.

Tricia shares their results of this nature journal challenge and their nature journal pages….and of course the flying squirrel babies.

Angie from Petra School and her boys share their wonderful nature journal entry. I love all the ideas they included but most of all the zucchini warrior sculpture!

Girl in a Boat with Geese, Berthe Morisot

Autumn 2010 Series #2 Geese
Angie starts off our goose challenge with her entry showing their comparisons between the goose and the duck. This is an excellent example of how we can always learn something new about a common subject if we take the time.

Jennifer writes about their wonderful goose study on her blog The Fairy Mum. Their study is a great example of how thorough you can be if your children are willing and interested. Thanks so much for sharing your entry with the carnival!

Tricia and her family did an in-depth study of geese this week, comparing them to ducks as part of the challenge. They also learned a lot about honking and quacking!

Amy at The Teachable Heart shares their first Autumn Challenge with carnival readers. If you have preschool age children, don’t miss her great ideas for adapting this study!

Monica shares their autumn bird study on her blog Discover Their Gifts. You may be interested in seeing their well-done notebook pages.

Melissa shares their Nature Study That Almost Wasn’t that led up to their study of geese. She shares a great example of how to complete a Venn Diagram in connection with comparing geese and ducks. Thanks so much for sharing this with the carnival.

Michelle shares their autumn bird study Florida-style with some time observing and journaling The White Ibis. While they were outdoors, they had an unexpected subject come their way and you can read about their soft-sided turtle in this entry What is Lurking Beneath the Water. I love it when interesting things present themselves unexpectedly.

Paula from Belgium shares their goose nature study with carnival readers. She is using the Autumn Series in her part of the world and adapting the study to fit her local environment. Thanks Paula!

Autumn 2010 Series #3 Horses
Michelle shares their families early study of horses with carnival readers. Check out their entry on her blog Life on My Planet.

Chasing Butterflies, Berthe Morisot

Butterflies and Other Insects
Jennifer shares how their family studied a katydid up close. Check out her entry on The Fairy Mum.

Allison shares their butterfly entry on her blog Barefoot in Suburbia. Not only is this a great record of their study but it shares their personal story of how butterflies keep a memory alive. Thanks for sharing.

Phyllis shares another nature study from their family, this time the butterfly. Check out her entry on All Things Beautiful.

Quinn from Inside The White Picket Fence shares some amazing photos of caterpillars and moths…up close! Don’t miss their entry if you want to be in awe. While you are at it, check out their butterfly entry as well.

Autumn, Unknown Master

Garden Challenge, Mushrooms, and Bird Challenge
Shirley Ann is enjoying her spring garden in South Africa! She shares her Nature Hour: Garden Flowers with carnival readers.

Casey at Bumpin’ Along the Road Less Traveled shares two entries as part of their on-going bird/chicken study: Wings (scroll down the entry) and Feathers (scroll down the entry).

Karen writes about their mushroom study on her blog Fruit of Her Hands. Her entry, Autumn Treasures Part 2, has loads of great mushroom photos to view, a spore print activity, and some painting of mushrooms too.

Please consider submitting your Outdoor Hour Challenge entries to the next carnival. Deadline for submissions will be October 31, 2010 and all entries from October are eligible. Here is the link for submissions: LINK.

Thanks again,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Posted on October 2, 2010 by Barb — 2 Comments

Our Family OHC #2 Geese and Ducks

We had quite a few false starts on this particular challenge. A couple times we planned to go out after dinner but it is getting dark so early these days that we decided it was too late to go once the dishes were done. Then one of the boys was sick and wasn’t up to going.

Thursday was the day! We went in the afternoon before dinner and we were able to see some geese and ducks.Usually there are more ducks than geese but this particular time there seemed to be more geese.

No Canada Geese this week but we did find these white geese at our local duck pond.There were a few mallard ducks hanging out with the geese as you can see in the background of this photo.

Their necks are so very long that they can do amazing maneuvers like this!

There were a few gray geese like this one as well. They would flap their wings and you could glimpse at how long they were. I love the way when he stood still his feet were on top of each other…really big feet! This guy is definitely going into my nature journal.

The goose in the background shows how they stand on the dry land and poke around in the edges of the pond to find something to eat.

The ducks floated out onto the water and did the bottoms up technique instead.

We were able to make quite a few observations on this trip because there were not too many people around to distract the birds from doing their own thing. We just stood on the bridge and watched the geese and fairly soon they totally ignored us and went about their business of preening, eating, and honking.

We are heading out to the river today to do some kayaking so maybe we will see some Canadian geese there…I will update if we do.

If you are interested in more bird challenges, you can look on the right sidebar of my blog and see a whole series of bird challenges listed there for you to choose from. Enjoy!

Posted on September 26, 2010 by Barb — 1 Comment

Another Cricket and Some Queen Anne’s Lace

So we were out for a walk and I decided to take a photo of the Queen Anne’s Lace with all its seeds and the clusters. It is so pretty even now that it is drying up in the September drought.

I was excited to see an insect on the top of one of the seed clusters! It looks like a cricket to me. Just look at those really long antennae!

A wonderful surprise to add even more joy to our walk.

Posted on September 24, 2010 by Barb — 16 Comments

Autumn 2010 OHC #2: Birds-Geese and Ducks

Autumn Series #2
Bird Study: The Goose

“And there is not a more interesting sight anywhere in the autumn landscape than the wedge-shaped flock of these long-necked birds with their leader at the front apex.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 133

Inside Preparation Work:
1. Read pages 130-135 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 34). Take special note of the fact that the northern migration of wild geese takes place in April and May, and the southern journey is from October to December. (Check this website for a map of where Canada Geese live in North America.)

2. Listen to the sound of Canada Geese and Snow Geese. Many times we will hear a goose before we see it flying overhead. Use your sense of hearing to help you identify a goose when the opportunity arises.

Comparison Ideas:

Compare a Goose to a Duck

What do ducks eat and what do geese eat? (Hint: Where do they look for food?)
Compare the duck’s and the goose’s beak, the length of their legs, and the shape of their necks.
Compare the color of their feathers, beak, eyes, and feet.
Do they both swim in the same way? How about flying?
Are there some feathers on the ground to observe and compare?
What does each bird sound like?
Are they friendly, shy, or aggressive?

Outdoor Hour Time:
Take the opportunity during this challenge to find a local duck pond and check to see if there are any geese visiting at this time. You also might try a local farm that may have geese and ducks for you to observe. Use your Outdoor Hour time to observe geese and/or ducks with the suggestions from the Handbook of Nature Study as well as those suggested above. Help your child to find words to compare the goose to some other bird they already know as far as shape, size, and habits.

If you do not have any geese or ducks to observe, you can observe any of your backyard birds and make some comparisons. This activity is one that can be done with any bird at any time. Work on your observation skills a little each week to sharpen your child’s awareness of their own surroundings.

Follow-Up Activity:
Take a few minutes to talk briefly about what you saw during your Outdoor Hour time. If you observed geese and/or ducks, use the gentle reminder questions in the list above to stimulate a little conversation. Your child can also record their observations in their own blank nature journal or use the notebook page from the ebook for convenience. You may wish to pull up the website listed in the preparation work to view more photos of geese to make sketching a little easier. In the Autumn 2010 ebook, there is a printable notebook page for a goose and another more general page for an autumn bird study of any bird.

If you did not observe a goose or duck, you can still complete a nature journal page or notebook page for any bird you did observe. Use your field guide or AllAboutBirds.org to glean more information if desired.

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 September 23, 2010 by Barb — 15 Comments

Your Backyard Feeder Bird DVD – Review

Your Backyard: A young beginner’s guide to identifying 18 common feeder birds by sight and sound! Presented by Crowe’s Nest Media

It is my joy and privilege to write a review of this wonderful new product. I received a copy of the new DVD titled Your Backyard a few weeks ago and I think it is a perfect start to birding for families.

This DVD, presented with a Christian point of view, introduces 18 common feeder birds of the Eastern and Central U.S. Even though I live in California, I found this DVD extremely helpful and full of information that I can use in my area.

Features I love about this DVD:

Wonderful, clear video of each featured bird, organized by colors of birds
Just enough audio and repetition to be able to learn how to identify birds by their songs and calls
Tips for attracting birds to your yard and instructions to make your own feeders
Ability to use this video with even young children but still be interesting for older children

Other information you may find helpful:

58 minutes long
Bonus features like a range maps, quiz, additional images

Would you like to see a sample? Here is the trailer for the video!

I am going to be giving a copy of this DVD away to one family as part of tomorrow’s Autumn 2010 Outdoor Hour Challenge. Please make sure to read the bird challenge and see how you can participate to have a chance to receive your own copy of this video.

At $19.95, this DVD is affordable for all families and your children will want to watch it over and over. What a great way to introduce a love of birds in your family!

Posted on September 21, 2010 by Barb — 13 Comments

OHC Autumn Series #1: September 21, 2010 Afternoon

OHC Autumn Series #1: Nature Journals

We took advantage of a perfect sunny warm afternoon to spend some time enjoying our backyard. I decided to focus on the colors of yellow and orange for my nature study time. I used my camera to record the many shades of yellow and orange that are visible in our garden. These colors are really starting to pop and it was an easy assignment.

Mr. A wandered around the yard with his dog Kona, trying to find something to be interested in. He observed some sort of beetle on the concrete before it escaped under the pincushion plant. He found a spot in the yard where we think the squirrels are making a stash of walnuts…it is either the squirrels or the Scrub jays. We looked at the leaves on the sweet gum trees. He picked some strawberries and I picked some tomatoes.

It was just a nice few minutes outdoors…since this is his last official year of homeschooling I try to savor all the moments we spend together. I asked if he would like to sketch something for his journal and he sort of gave me one of those unenthusiastic teenage looks but then I noticed he had his journal and was outside for a little while longer.

Sitting on the lawn he sketched a trumpet vine blossom for his journal. The words of the Handbook of Nature Study echoed in my head and I didn’t push him to make it fancy or add to the entry in any way. The nature journal is his record and not mine.

I have received quite a few emails asking me what kind of journal I prefer to work in to record our entries. I have used several different kinds but my favorite is a small spiral-bound book with sketch paper.

I have to admit that I do use it for watercolors so the pages bend up a little when they dry. I think it adds to the charm of the finished product. If a painting makes the page curl up too much, I just don’t sketch on the back of it and leave it blank. (Yes, that is a feather sticking out of the side of the journal…what can I say?)

Here is a link to what we are using now:
S trathmore Sketch 400 Series 5.5″ x 8.5″, 100
sheets

I also have a three ring binder that I add to when I use notebooking pages or I want to save large items like bigger pressed flowers. The binder is my catch-all for things that don’t get recorded in my sketch journal.

Maybe tomorrow I can ask Mr. B to go outside with me and we can have another adventure in our backyard.

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!