Today it snowed. Today it rained. Let’s just say we were surprised at how many birds we had in our feeders despite the crazy weather.
I had my Canon Rebel out again and did some practicing and experimenting with various settings.
This is a resident Western Scrub Jay in our Sweet gum tree. I like the little sticker balls in this photo.
This is my absolute favorite photo of the day. A pair of Mourning doves perched in the Sweet gum tree and did some posing just for me.
I love their little pink feet. They also make a wonderful sound when they fly. If you would like to hear what it sounds like, click over to Cornell and scroll down to where it has the listing for wing whistles. This is exactly what it sounds like.
Here is one of our many, many juncos sitting in the rain.
This photo is from yesterday and even though it is a little blurry, I thought you might like to see one of our Northern Mockingbirds with a tasty little treat in his mouth. He stopped on my neighbor’s mailbox and looked over his shoulder at me before flying off.
That’s enough birds for today……thanks for indulging my bird photography habit.
Last year we had a great time keeping track of all our early spring wildflowers. It became a sort of treasure hunt for our family as we hiked every week. Although none of us felt much like getting outdoors for a walk yesterday, except for perhaps our dog, we kicked ourselves out the door and were rewarded with some beautiful wildflowers to look at as we hiked.
The manzanita is blooming now and technically it is a flowering bush…I still think the buds are very pretty and this one with the bright red bud caught my eye.
There is a special spot in the canyon that we can hike to that has a slope where as the seasons progress it has different wildflowers. Right now it is starting to bloom with this Popcorn flower.
The saxifrage is starting to bloom now and it is interesting with its red stems.
How about this Houndstongue? Wow! It is so very pretty. Just like it shows in the photo, some of the blooms are almost blue and some are purple.
Okay, so this one isn’t a photo of a wildflower but he was hopping all over the meadow where we were taking photos. He was a very spirited grasshopper….let’s just say I took about ten photos trying to get him inside the frame. 🙂
We were very glad that we got out and took a hike yesterday. The sun was warm and the flowers cheered us all up. I hope they cheer you up as well.
This has been a very busy month for nature study using the Outdoor Hour Challenges despite the blizzard conditions in much of the United States.
I am encouraged and impressed by all the families that have joined in a winter nature study routine this year. Usually, I am plodding along with a few others during the cold winter months, but this year you have all rallied to inspire each other.
I hope you enjoy reading the entries and viewing the images as much as I have over the last few weeks. Thank you so much for your participation!
Outdoor Hour Challenge #1 Let’s Get Started
Erin shares their nature study at Life in Poland. They are just getting started with the Outdoor Hour Challenges so you might want to send them a big welcome all the way over in Poland!
Outdoor Hour Challenge #2 Using Your Words
Quinn from Inside the White Picket Fence shares their second Outdoor Hour Challenge: Outdoor Hour. It looks so very cold, but also very beautiful!
The Chances are continuing with the Outdoor Hour Challenges in Arizona. They share their second challenge on their blog In Perpetuity Throughout Our Universe.
Outdoor Hour Challenge #3 Now is the Time to Draw
Quinn shares their very snowy world in their OHC #3 Entry at Inside the White Picket Fence. Don’t miss her beautiful photography!
Holli and her children took their outdoor time for this challenge and found some interesting things to learn more about and they share in their entry on their blog Settled In My Home. They also worked in their nature journals!
Outdoor Hour Challenge #4 Time to Focus
Quinn and her family are studying birds as their focus area. They combined several studies all in one to create this wonderful Bird Entry. Thanks for sharing your cardinals with us all.
Holli shares their family’s bird focus in her entry for Outdoor Hour Challenge #4. Warning: This entry includes cute baby chicks!
Outdoor Hour Challenge #5 Making a List
Quinn is on a roll with the Outdoor Hour Challenge and this week they used the Handbook of Nature Study‘s suggestions to study their hens feathers and more. She also had her children start Life Lists of birds they have observed. Great job! Nature Study and Feathers Note: One of her hen photos is on the sidebar of my blog as the Outdoor Hour Challenge Photo of the Week!
Outdoor Hour Challenge #30 Weeds and Seeds
Andi shares their weeds and seeds challenge on The Learning Pomegranate. I am always amazed at seeds and their power stored within. Thanks Andi for the beautiful photographs.
Outdoor Hour Challenge #32 Pine Trees and Winter Series #5 Pine Trees
Andi from the Learning Pomegranate shares their very wintery study of Pine Trees. I was interested in reading about the pine needle tea.
Gabby from The Work of Childhood shares their family’s study of a great big pine tree and its cones (includes a craft as well).
Angie shares their latest Pine Tree Study on her blog The One Thing, this time around with snow in Georgia! Her boys are loving it.
Amy shares their snowy pine tree study on her blog Together for a Reason. They always look like they are enjoying their outdoor time.
Angie (Pebblekeeper) shares their very interesting Oregon version of the pine tree study on their blog Pebblekeeper.
Alex shares their White Pine Study for this challenge. They even drew some pine cones.
Winter Series #2 Winter Tree Study
Makita at Academia Celestia shares their Winter Tree Study of an apple tree!
Alex shares their Canadian Winter Tree Study….their birch tree is the focus for the year in their family.
Winter Series #3 Winter Sky
Amy at Together for a Reason completed the Winter Sky and Stars Challenge with her family….great job getting outdoors in the cold weather.
Alex shares their Winter Sky Study. Love the photo of the kids all bundled up outdoors at night!
Winter Series #4 Winter Weather
Amy at Together for a Reason says that this weather challenge came just in time for the blizzard!
Angie and her family enjoyed the big snow this year as well. They share their Winter Weather Study with us all on her blog The One Thing.
Michelle from Delightful Learning completed an excellent study of salt along with four different salt evaporation activities.
Winter Wednesday -Insect Study
Loni had a close encounter with a earwig and it made for a great nature study subject. Read her blog entry at Hearts in Training.
Winter Series #7 Winter Bird Study
Casey and her family participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count *and* her daughter started a study of robins. Here is her entry at Bumpin’ Along the Road Less Traveled.
Tricia at HodgePodge shares their Great Backyard Bird Count along with some truly wonderful photos of cardinals. Don’t miss this one!
Another family participated in the GBBC…Alex and her kids counted birds in Canada and they share their results with some photos in their entry: Winter Series-Winter Birds.
Loni from Hearts in Training shares their backyard birds including woodpeckers, robins, , cardinals, and mourning doves. Here is their entry for the carnival: Winter Winged Visitors.
Kellie at the Blue House Academy shares their thoughts on bird study and some great resources in her blog entry, A little bird told me… She also has some wonderful bird photography.
Outdoor Hour Miscellaneous
Loni atHearts in Training shares their family’s study of a newborn White-tailed deer. Beautiful nature journal done by Mom.
Angie at The One Thing shares their nature study field trip along with some wonderful photos of things they saw “not so close to home”.
Thanks to everyone for all the entries and photos and participation. Please consider submitting your Outdoor Hour Challenge entries and your Winter Series entries to the next carnival. Deadline for submissions will be March 26th and all entries from March are eligible. Here is the link for submissions: LINK.
You can find all the paintings listed here on Wikimedia Commons: Caspar David Friedrich, Hut in Snow Conrad Alexander Muller-Kurzwelly, Waldlandschaft in Winter Boris Kustodiev, Winter Nikifor Krylov, Russian Winter
My oldest son gave me his old Canon Rebel to use and yesterday I took a deep breath and started using it for the first time. I am a little intimidated by the sheer number of things I can do with this camera compared with my point and shoot.
I must have taken 100 photos and there are only four that are worth sharing. 🙂
I shared last week that we have a Western Scrub Jay building a nest in our front yard. I was able to capture him gathering some twigs for the nest as he flew from the backyard to the front yard about fifty times.
Here is another jay in the feeder. I love the way his tail feathers are all folded up in this photo. He really is the King of this particular feeder. He spends a great deal of his time chasing the little birds out of the way.
Here is a junco who managed to get his share of dinner before the jay swooped in and scared him away. The juncos are not particular about which feeder they eat in or under. I like the way you can see all his different colors of feathers in this photo.
One last photo of one of our resident juncos. He is so cut all puffed up and sitting on the branch of our sweet gum tree.
My goal is to work with the Canon a little each day so that I gain some confidence.
Outdoor Hour Challenge
Winter Series #8 One Small Square-Winter
(See also Outdoor Hour Challenge #9)
Outdoor Hour Time:
Gather:
Yarn
Scissors
Ruler
Four rocks
Optional: small garden trowel and magnifying lens
Measure off one square somewhere out in your yard or near-by park. I prefer to do this somewhere I can dig up a few inches of soil and not get into trouble. Use your ruler to place rocks in a one foot square plot. Use the yarn to mark off the edges of your square.
Now the challenge comes in. See how many different things you can find in your square. Now that it is winter, you may need to dig a little snow up to see if there is anything hidden in the snow or under the snow. If there are leaves, lift them up and see what is underneath. If there are rocks or gravel, scrape them aside and see what is underneath. If there is grass and you have permission, use your trowel to dig up a few inches under the grass, moving it carefully to the side to replace when you are done observing. Use your hand lens if you have one along with you on your challenge. If you would like more information on square foot nature study, you can click over to my Squidoo Lens: Square Foot Nature Study.
Follow-Up Activity:
After your outdoor time, take a few minutes to discuss what you found in your small square. Make note of any items you want to research further.
“Make the lesson an investigation and make the pupils feel that they are investigators…….The ‘leading thought’ embodies some of the points which should be in the teacher’s mind while giving the lesson; it should not be read or declared to the pupils……..The outlines for observations herein given by no means cover all of the observations possible; they are meant to suggest to the teacher observations of her own, rather than to be followed slavishly….If the questions do not inspire the child to investigate, they are useless.” Handbook of Nature Study
Give an opportunity for a nature journal entry. If you used your hand lens during this week’s challenge, encourage your child to draw something they saw that you would not normally see like a small insect, worm, or seed. Your child could also make a list of things that were found in the small square in addition to the drawing. You can use the provided notebook page in the Winter Series ebook, a blank notebook page from the sidebar of my blog, or your nature journal for your observations.
One time we did a really big square in the woods and we kept the yarn up for a complete year. We would go back and make observations in each season. I would highly recommend this activity if you have a place you can mark for a whole year.
I thought you might like a little tour of my early spring garden since the rain stopped last night and the sun is out this morning. Everything is a little damp from the rain still.
The tulips are all up and promising to give a colorful display very soon. This was my purple garden last year but I added a few new tulip colors so it will be a surprise when they bloom.
I honestly can’t remember this flower from last year, but it is bursting with oranges and greens in the far corner of the garden.
There is an explosion of primroses under my other birdbath. These were transplanted from Amanda’s garden box last year and they love this spot in the garden.
Ahhhh….this means it really is almost spring here in our neck of the woods. The grape hyacinths are blooming in all their purple glory. Now if I can just keep my boys from mowing them down along with the grass.
Little tiny flowers…can’t remember the name of this one….are blooming if you keep your eyes focused for the pretty periwinkle color.
My daffodil patch is ever so close to blooming and since it is by my mailbox, I can see it every day as I collect the mail.
Everyone who reads my blog with any regularity knows that I have a “thing” for lavender. This year our plants promise to give us a beautiful show of color and fragrance. The hummingbirds have already spotted these blooms and in the early morning I have seen them out here sipping at the flowers.
I learned something this year quite by chance. I left my broccoli plants in the ground and in a few pots all winter and this is what happened….beautiful yellow flowers. The hummingbirds have been in these blooms as well. I think next year I will leave a whole bunch of broccoli plants in the ground because they make really pretty blooming plants.
I would call this a true *spring green*. The moss growing between the bricks in my little arbor is thick and soft.
We have a new development in the front yard. We noticed today that the Scrub jays are building another nest in our magnolia tree. They fly back and forth with little twigs….hundreds of times over the course of the day so far. They are very busy. If they succeed in building their nest, this will be the third year in a row in this particular tree.
Hope you enjoyed my little tour and if it is cold and you are having winter weather today, I hope it cheered you up.
This post is a mix and match post with lots of different interesting things we are studying. I am trying to get through all the photos I have taken in the last month to close off our winter studies before spring comes.
I brought in some branches of various trees and bushes in January and we have been watching them as they unfold. This is such an easy project that I encourage you to give it a try. Any woody plant will work and we are trying some new ones this year.
Here are some instructions you might want to read: Bursting Blooms
This is the sweet gum as it starts to unfold. Edit to add that this is a maple and not a sweet gum.
Now this is my mystery tree branch (perhaps a Quaking Aspen) that I brought home from my romp up in the mountains. The branch was broken off on the trail and I decided it might be interesting to bring it home and see if it would sprout leaves. It had buds at first and then the buds burst open to reveal these catkins.
The catkins then dropped off and the leaves are now sprouting bright spring green leaves and I am still not 100% sure this is a Quaking aspen branch.
This is the forsythia bush twig that I brought in and it is so pretty in yellow. I must be tired of the winter drabs because this yellow really cheers me up.
These are just two things that have been sitting on the nature shelf that someone brought in to look at and study. We haven’t had time to really research them much, but they are interesting none the less. The crepe myrtle bush has some interesting seeds and the pods have become really hard as they dry. The seed pod from the trumpet vine is filled with thousands of seeds with wings. They are amazing actually.
Now for a few outdoor things that I would like to share.
This buckeye seed has broken open and sent out a pinkish root. They are striking to see as we walk along the trail.
The acorns are doing the same thing right now as well. This black oak acorn has sprouted.
Here is another photo of an acorn sending down a root. Amazing to see in real life. Just think, a gigantic tree can grow from just this little acorn and one little sprout.
One last photo with some manzanita that is ready to bloom. I love the delicate pink buds that will soon be blooming all along our walking trail.
I think that catches me up with photos from the camera. We are trying to keep up our daily walks and I am feeling the change of the seasons coming. The air is different.
I encourage you to try the Bursting Blooms activity with your kids and to get outside for a few minutes this week to enjoy the day.
Special Long-term Project: For this challenge we will be doing something a little different. How would you like to grow your very own crystals to observe? You can make our own crystals by dissolving salt in water and then letting it sit in a saucer in your very own windowsill.
Inside Preparation Work:
Read pages 753-754 in the Handbook of Nature Study. These pages give you a quick study of this common substance that we use daily. Be sure to read through the lesson starting on page 753 that outlines an easy to complete activity to make salt crystals to observe using regular table salt and water. Get your crystals growing and then take your outdoor time. I would suggest putting the saucer in a warm windowsill where it will not be moved.
Outdoor Hour Time:
Spend 15-20 minutes outdoors this week in your own backyard carefully looking for something that interests you. Relaxed nature study outside your own backyard can be surprisingly fun since you let your children lead your adventure.
Something you might like to try if you have freezing temperatures in your area is to conduct an experiment where you try to freeze salt water outdoors in your own backyard. Take two pie pans. Fill one with tap water and one with saltwater. Compare the time it takes for each to freeze.
Follow-Up Activity:
Keep close watch on your salt crystals growing in your saucer. Use the notebook page from your Winter Series ebook or a blank page in your nature journal to record your crystal’s growth. You can use a hand lens to observe the crystal’s shapes more closely and then record their appearance in your nature journal.
It took about six days before we actually began to see some salt crystals form in our saucer. They are fairly small but with a magnifying glass we could see their shapes easily. We found it easier to observe the crystals if you put them on a dark surface.
I know there are lots of fancy salt experiments out there, but I like to keep things simple. This simple salt and water on a saucer experiment is easy enough for any family to complete with children of any age.
“When the flowerstalk first appears, it comes up like a sheathed sword, pointing toward the zenith, green, veined lengthwise, and with a noticeable thickening at each edge. As the petals grow, the sheath begins to round out; the stiff stem at the base of the sheath bends at right angles.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 550-551
We have daffodils. They started blooming yesterday on the sunny, warm south side of our house. I planted a new bed of daffodils in the fall but they are still just all greenness…..there is the promise of bright yellow blooms soon.
“It is interesting to note the flowers which have impinged upon the imagination of the poets; the violet more than most flowers has been loved by them, and they have sung in varied strains of its fragrance and loveliness.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 476
We also have a bed of violets blooming and when the sun hits the blossoms it smells so sweet and good.
I brought in a handful and decided that the stems are just too short for any vases I could find so I thought this glass butterfly dish would cradle the blossoms just so.
We had to get out and hike today with the sun shining and everyone home from work.
This post is no way to make anyone jealous of our weather…but rather to remind those who are weary of the snow up to your eyeballs that it will be spring again soon. The photo above shows the start of our hike which winds along the edge of the American River. We hiked up to the bridge, underneath, past, and then around the hill to a lake.
Just as a sidenote: The reason the bridge is so tall is because they were planning on building a huge hydroelectric dam on this river. The bridge was built in anticipation of how high the water would rise after the dam was built. The dam has never been constructed for a variety of reasons, but just keep in mind that everything you see in this post would be far under water if they ever did proceed with the dam project. I thought about that a lot as we walked along. (It is the third highest in the US and the highest in California.)
Here are all the guys heading up the trail and it is true that my middle son is wearing shorts.
This is a great trail for birding as you go and these turkey vultures were soaring and spiraling upwards on a current of air. They are actually very graceful in the air and a lot of fun to watch.
I commented about the fact that with very little effort we could leave the crowds behind and have the trail mostly to ourselves. It was a wonderful day to just listen to the river roar down the canyon and to feel the sun on our shoulders. I must admit that I was a little warm as we hiked up the hill. I was thankful that I had layered up so I could shed a few layers as we went.
This is the official first wildflower of this year for me. The boys spotted it and of course I had to stop to admire it and then take a few photos. I have not yet had a chance to identify it.
So this must be the second wildflower of the year….some kind of saxifrage that was just beginning to blossom with delicate pink blossoms.
Then around a few more bends in the trail and we found this yellow flowering bush! I have no idea what it is but it was gorgeous. About this time my boys are calling to me to catch up because they have kept walking while I am snapping photos.
This was our destination today and it did not disappoint! The spillway at Lake Clementine was roaring as we went around the last corner. It was so nice and cool as we stood and listened and marveled at all that power. This is not a hydroelectric dam but rather a debris control dam they build back in the 1930’s.
Here is my photo buddy/oldest son taking some shots of the spillway. He has become quite the photographer and it is great to share a hobby with him.
Here is one last photo as we return back to where we parked the car. It has been a great afternoon out in the fresh warm air. We all feel great! Our Kona dog was eager to get in a little swimming before we started for home so we detoured down to the river’s edge and let her splash and play for a few minutes.
I was exhausted when we arrived home so the boys decided to prepare dinner for me. What was on the menu? One of their specialties is spaghetti with meat sauce and this time they added some zucchini and topped the meal off with garlic bread. Yum! Being outdoors makes us all have an appetite.
Thanks for the great day to all my men.
Here is a link to another hike we took last spring to the same place: North and South Forks
