Today we identified a new woodpecker in our yard…really exciting stuff.
He was hopping between the tree and the feeder, but I was able to snap a few photos to share with you.
Nuttall’s Woodpecker Picoides nuttallii
“The only black and white, zebra backed woodpecker with a black and white striped face normally found in California west of the Sierra. Males have red caps.”
Habitat: Wooded canyons and foothills, river woods, groves, and orchards.
I just love the unexpected nature study that happens along with real life. When you have to observe closely to identify a bird, you learn all kinds of things in the process. We learned that the Downy woodpecker that we normally see is very close to the Nuttall’s woodpecker but he has a big white spot on his back. Now we will be able to tell them apart quite easily.
It was a day of hiking in the aspens and pines….there is something so refreshing about hiking in the snow on a sunny day. The light must be different or perhaps it is the air. Whatever it is about winter hikes, I feel more alive. The indoor life does not suit me very well and getting the chance to spend a few hours hiking with my family makes me smile even now just thinking about our time outdoors.
Although there were no other hikers on the trail this time, we knew there were other living creatures near-by. The snow recorded their activity for us. We always have a great time imagining who the tracks belong to and then discussing what they may have been doing out here in the woods.
Many times as we hike along we spread out and have some alone time. I love to walk and pay attention to the crunching of the snow under my boots. There were a few birds that showed their faces while we walked and a few that just let us know they were there by knocking on the tree or whistling a little tune.
These ducks don’t seem to mind the cold, cold water.
Our Bird List for the Day:
Mallard ducks
Ravens
Steller’s jays
Red-breasted nuthatches
The creek was flowing along with crystal clear water, much deeper this time of year than in the summer and fall. We observed lots of tracks on the other side of the bank….big tracks where it looks like someone came to get a drink perhaps.
I told the boys to be on the lookout for interesting tracks in the snow and if they found some to call me over. These are the “dinosaur” tracks they found….very funny.
Seriously though, this photo shows the most interesting and most abundant track we noticed through the trees. It looks like footprints with something that made a line to the side….a tail perhaps? I would love to know what made this track in the snow.
Maybe this is why I love winter hikes so much….there is an air of mystery and awe to them that I love and crave. We are looking forward to more snowy hikes in the near future.
Here are a few photos from my dad’s house from today. He lost about fifty oaks in the big snowstorm that we had two weeks ago. It is really sad to see them all down on the ground.
These big trees just can’t handle that much snow all at once.
This one would have smashed their house if it had fallen in a different direction. You can see their roof behind the tree…a little too close. Their neighbor did have their really beautiful old oak split into six pieces and it crashed through their bedroom roof. No one was hurt but it has left them devastated to lose their very old majestic oak tree.
Amid all this destruction, I found this pine sprouting in an older oak stump. Life really does cycle around and although it is sad to see the oaks down, it has cleaned out a lot of dead wood and eventually the woods will be more fire safe. For now, we have a huge clean-up job waiting for us.
We decided we should take our Kona dog out for a proper walk. She has not been out for her long walk in days. She was happy and we were feeling good too. The interesting thing about this walk was how many trees were down all along our regular walking trail. Many were actually across the trail and some were down in the meadows alongside it.
Mostly oaks had fallen which makes me sad, but they are clearly not designed for such a great snow like we had this week. The live oaks especially fared badly in the snow because they don’t lose all their leaves in the fall.
The leaves were my favorite part of the walk. The snow was sprinkled with leaves of all colors and shapes and sizes.
When the oaks fall down, you get to glimpse at what is going on at the top without climbing. The various kinds of lichen were amazing. We really must learn some more about lichens this winter. I will add it to the list.
The rains are coming and that will be the end of the Really Big Snow for us. My youngest is the one who will miss it the most. He was sick most of the time we had our big piles of snow to play in and he really needs to get in some more snow time. Perhaps it will snow again in the months to come and then he will be able to build his big snow fort and have snowball fights with his dad and brothers. It seems that snow is the great equalizer…..all my men love to get out and play in the cold stuff no matter their age and dignity level.
Our first winter snow! This is the most snow we have had in December ever!
Here is my garden all covered in a blanket of snow. Last week I was hopeful about the broccoli but even the protective frame that I built over the top is covered in snow…..seems like winter has arrived.
We took off on our snowshoes to see what the neighborhood was like on this first snowy morning. Here I am about 1/4 mile from our backstreet. There were a few children out throwing snowballs and a man walking his dog but we pretty much had the whole street to ourselves. I always forget how quiet it is when there is snow.
We lost a few big branches from the trees that still had leaves on them. The evergreens held up pretty well but the oaks and sweet gums just aren’t built for this much snow.
Later on in the day, we all built what ended up being a snow bear in the front yard. Even our Kona dog “helped”.
The next morning we had icicles like never before.
Today is really, really cold for our area….15 degrees. The ice is thick on the roads and I am hoping my husband is careful on the way to work. He has to travel over the river and then climb up into the mountains to get to his station and yesterday it was treacherous. I can only imagine today’s drive. He has chained up the truck and he assures me he will be careful. I will be waiting for his call once he arrives.
Amanda hiked up to the top of our hill to see the sunset. The sky was pink and lavender and after such a stormy night and morning, it was great to see the sun again.
We had freezing temperatures last night but by mid-morning it was at least sunny and up into the forties.
“Out-of-door life takes the child afield and keeps him in the open air, which not only helps him physically and occupies his mind with sane subjects, but keeps him out of mischief. It is not only during childhood that this is true, for love of nature counts much for sanity in later life.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 2
I was out for my morning walk in the backyard and I was amazed at how many honeybees we have left around on the last day of November. They were busy in the marigolds, the cyclamen, the alyssum, and the snapdragons. I love the way it looks as if he is going to burrow right down into the middle of this marigold! (You can read more about honeybees in the Handbook of Nature Study starting on page 391.)
The peas are all nice and green with lots of tendrils everywhere. I am not sure if the weather will hold out long enough for us to harvest some pea pods but we will keep our eye on the box.
Our broccoli is finally looking like it might survive the weather and bugs and give us a crop to enjoy. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me since I love home-grown broccoli and it has been a number of years since we have been successful at getting the plants all the way to maturity. I have five plants that look hopeful.
The millet fell from the birdfeeder this past summer and it sprouted and is now bearing its fruits. The finches are loving the bonus of the meal *under* the birdfeeder. I also harvested the last of the giant sunflowers and the seeds are now safely stored in a sack for winter meals for the birds.
Up on our deck the potted plants are blooming again and the snapdragons are attracting the hummingbirds and the bees.
We are taking advantage of every sunny day to go outdoors for long periods of time. Taking long walks with the dog have been such a great source of refreshment to us all….helping us to keep our sanity.
It seemed that everyone was behind a camera on this particular trip. It is a lot of fun to share hobbies with your children and photography seems to be a interest for all my kids.
We picnicked, we hiked, and we craned our necks to see the tops of the sequoias.
Here are the bottoms of some sequoias.
Here are some tops.
It is our tradition to take a family photo in this particular part of the forest. Using a tripod, we set up the camera with the timer. We did get some great family shots with the six of us, but I think this one is my favorite shot of all the kids.
Here she is. The grown up girl having a little time with her brother’s camera.
At this time of year, the forest is a delightful place to take a hike and spend family time. As my family grows up, I am appreciating more and more the time we all spend together exploring and making memories.
We have quite a list of subjects from out Field Notebook Listto study over the next month or so. The last Autumn Series Challenge was a great way to wind up our autumn nature study and the reading reminded me of some important thoughts from Anna Botsford Comstock.
Here is our narrowed down list:
1. Wild geese – We have never studied the Canadian Geese that fly overhead and make their home in the pond and lake near-by. (section in the Handbook of Nature Study)
2. Sequoia tree – We have a sequoia tree in our yard and we have never done a complete study of it and it is high time we do so. (not in the Handbook of Nature Study)
3. Ferns -we know of at least two different ferns on our walking trail and we would like to identify and then sketch them into our nature journals. (included in the HNS)
4. Mullein – We allowed our mullein to grow in the flower bed this summer and it is very, very tall. In fact, it is still blooming in November! It will be interesting to use the Handbook of Nature Study to learn more about this plant that grows naturally in our backyard.
I think that should give us ample material to fill in on those days we cannot go outdoors for our nature study.
I thought with this last of the Autumn Series Challenges we could go back to the basics. Similar to Outdoor Hour Challenge #1, you will be reading a section of the introductory pages to the Handbook of Nature Study to refresh your minds about the basic ideas of nature study.
Keep a running list on a Field Notebook List of any topics for additional nature study during the winter months. When winter weather has set in and you are not able to go outdoors or your children are just getting over the flu, you don’t want to take them outdoors. Pull out the list you made in this challenge and take the opportunity to research and study something from your list.
I did this winter work last year with my wildflower photos. I spent cold winter evenings with my photos, my nature journal, and a field guide completing journal entries from the summer before. What an enjoyable experience!
Outdoor Hour Challenge Autumn Series #10
Field Notebook List
Inside Preparation
Read pages 1-8 of the Handbook of Nature Study. Even if you have read it recently, skim through it again to refresh your mind and heart.
“It is rejuvenation for the teacher, thus growing old, to stand ignorant as a child in the presence of one of the simplest of nature’s miracles-the formation of a crystal, the evolution of the butterfly from the caterpillar, the exquisite adjustment of the silken lines in the spider’s orb web.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 4
Outdoor Time
Spend your 10 to 15 minutes of outdoor time exploring your own backyard or the street you live on. Follow your child’s lead and try to see your yard through their eyes. You might like to take along this week’s Field Notebook List notebook pageon a clipboard and record any items of interest you find. Remember that you are not going to try to research and study everything on your list this week, but you will keep the list for future indoor nature study times over the coming winter.
Follow-Up Time
If you filled in your notebook page during your Outdoor Time, pick something from the list to discuss with your child. Do they need help identifying the object? Would they like to complete a nature journal entry for the object? Remember my formula for a simple journal entry is to make a simple sketch, a label, and a date.
Now would be the time to record your list if you did not do so during your Outdoor Time. Keep it simple and fun. If your child can only think of one thing to put on the list, do it with enthusiasm. Most children will be able to think of at least two or three things to record and one of those things can be this week’s subject for nature study. Remember the most important part of any challenge is to get outside and everything else is just icing on the cake.
