It may seem like cheating because where I live in Oregon it’s barely thawing out from our record breaking snow storm earlier in March but, I’m going to share some signs of spring from my first day of spring in California. I was staying at my parents’ house in Northern California where it is most definitely spring!
There were early spring bulbs blooming like daffodils and hyacinths.
We took a long hike where we observed quite a few wildflowers and flowering shrubs.
As well as seeing signs of spring with our eyes, we heard many sounds that made us know that spring was well on the way. We heard robins, towhees, frogs, coyotes, and the buzzing of bees. Those sounds always make me think of spring in California.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed visiting spring and now I can look forward to experiencing it again here in Oregon in a few weeks (hopefully).
We had so much snow a few weeks ago that I didn’t think we would see the ground again for a long time. But, during the last week or so the rains have come with warmer temperatures and melted the large mounds of snow. Now that the ground is exposed, we’re beginning to see signs of spring like sprouts of green grass, green leaves of the lilies and other wildflowers poking up through the grass, and the increase in birds that stop by the water and in the grass. What a welcome sight!
We had a chance to go out between rain showers to look at our willow for signs of spring. We had to find the willow with our string attached and it took a bit of navigating to get to it with the standing water from the melted snow and rain. We got fairly close to the willow and it looks slightly greener on the limbs and the buds are getting larger. We also observed some red-winged blackbirds in the area, both by hearing their song and seeing them sitting the willows.
We’ll soon be seeing new leaves appear on the willows but not quite yet.
This photo was taken a week after the ones in the beginning of this entry. Look how high the river has come up since then!
The most exciting thing we spotted during our walk was a Belding’s ground squirrel racing from his hole to eat under our birdfeeder. We stopped and watched him with his curiously short tail and chubby body. He evidently ate well all holed up in his den this past season.
Now all we need is for the return of the elk and it will really feel like springtime.
If you’d like to join me in a spring willow study, you can click over to see the original challenge. It’s not too late to get started with a yearlong study of willows!
Don’t panic! I know that many of us have a fear of drawing and the idea of teaching our children to draw makes us anxious! Please give this Outdoor Hour Challenge a try alongside your children. There are plenty of suggestions and a link to a fabulous website of tutorials in the original challenge to make this week’s nature study a complete success.
Keep it simple and if you have any trouble, be patient with yourself. Remember the flower parts that we learned about in the second challenge in this series? Keep those in mind as you look at your flower and try to create a simple sketch in your nature journal.
If you’d like to look for a couple of books at your library, here are two that I really enjoy and they’re appropriate for children of all ages.
I wrote a blog entry a few years ago with a few simple tips to encourage moms who don’t think they can draw. I hope you’ll find some inspiration here if you’re one of those moms:
We’re continuing to work through the Garden Flower and Plants ebook over the next few weeks. If you own this ebook or have access to it in your Ultimate Naturalist Library, you’ll want to get it out and read the first few pages. It outlines how the ten week series of garden challenges work together and can be done in any order that makes sense to your family. The ebook has planning pages as you choose, observe, and then learn more about each garden flower you study.
Use the Outdoor Hour Challenge topics to stimulate my interest in my local habitat and help to build my skills as a naturalist. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the Outdoor Hour Challenges during the first quarter. Here are links to my favorite challenges: Our Winter Willow Observations – Buds, Galls, and Beavers
Keep a detailed record of my nature observations. I’m keeping up with my daily nature journal notes and it’s always amazing to me that I have something to write about each day. It’s made me be more aware of the many interesting things that happen right in my own yard and neighborhood. My personal nature journal is going well and there are lots of pages completed already. If you read my Nature Observer entries each month here on my blog, you’ll see the pages as I complete them.
Hiking and Kayaking. We haven’t really been able to do either of these activities yet but this coming quarter should be much better weather and trail conditions for us. I’m anxious to get back in my kayak after the river ice melts. (insert a photo of the the icy river)
Read nature related books this year. I’m sorry to say I haven’t read any books yet. I’m going to do something about that this month!
I still think it’s a worthwhile activity to make and work towards nature goals each year. Even though I didn’t quite live up to my goals this past quarter, I’ll make some adjustments to do a better job over the next few months. I’ve had a lot of family obligations in February and March that have kept me from spending as much time outdoors as I would like. I am not going to be discouraged!
I’m doing much better physically with my recovery from my bilateral hip surgery last October. I can walk a great distance and my strength is coming back. I started swimming at my physical therapy and that is really bumping up my stamina. With renewed vigor, I’ll hopefully hit May and June this year with a new ability to hike and kayak to my heart’s content.
Now available in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships:
Garden Notebooking Pages – Set #1
(See the end of this post for more information on how you can become a member.)
Garden Notebooking Pages Set #1: This set of notebooking pages for your nature journal will help you study the following topics: morning glories, lilacs, marigolds, caterpillars, and cabbage whites. I love this time of year and hope these pages will inspire you to get out into your garden and look for these common subjects. There are 7 notebooking pages in this set. These pages are a great supplement to the Garden Flowers and Plants ebook that we are currently working through with the Outdoor Hour Challenge.
Note: If you have any subjects you would like me to create nature notebook pages for, please let me know in a comment here on the blog or in an email: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com
Print a complete list of printables available in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships by clicking the button above.
Use the discount code NATURE5 for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership!
We’re starting to work through the Garden Flower and Plants ebook this week! If you own this ebook or have access to it in your Ultimate Naturalist Library, you’ll want to get it out and read the first few pages that outline how the ten week series of garden challenges work together. These can be done in any order that makes sense to your family. The ebook has planning pages as you choose, observe, and then learn more about each garden flower you study.
If you would like to purchase a membership so you have all of the challenges at your fingertips and the custom notebooking pages too, click over to read all the details and download a sample: Garden Flower and Plant Challenges.
Garden Flower Nature Study – Read the Handbook of Nature Study Pages 453-456 (Section titled: How to Begin the Study of Flowers and Their Flowers)
This challenge has a lot of suggested activities for your family to begin a flower study starting from the seeds all the way to blossom. Page through the Handbook of Nature Study section on garden flowers and see if there are any topics of interest. But, the most important thing is to choose at least one flower to get started with this week.
You may want to take a field trip to the garden nursery to look at the seed packets. My kids always got super excited when they actually picked their own seeds and then anticipated the flowering garden that would eventually be a reality.
“The only right way to begin a plant study with young children is through awakening their interest in and love for flowers.” Anna Botsford Comstock
After you choose your seeds, make sure to draw each seed in your nature journal, labeling the flower’s name. I find it so interesting to see all the different shapes, sizes, and colors of seeds from flowers. If you’re using the ebook, there will be an upcoming challenge for taking a closer look at seeds.
Back in 2009, our family completed a bunch of garden flower studies using the Garden Flower and Plants ebook. Here’s a list of the flowers with links to my blog entries once we finished, hopefully it will inspire your family to create a list of flowers and then study them one at a time as part of the Outdoor Hour Challenge. Violet Tulip California Poppy Petunias Mullein Bleeding Heart Bachelor’s Buttons Sweet Peas
What flowers do you want to study this spring?
If you’re a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study website, you can also download and use the April 2016 newsletter for more garden seed nature study ideas.
Ultimate and Journey Level members can click this graphic to go directly to the library to download a copy of this new ebook. Make sure you are logged in and if you are having trouble with your password, please leave me a comment or send me a direct email to receive my assistance. Email: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com
Outdoor Hour Challenge Wildflower Nature Study Set #3
This 44 page digital ebook has 5 challenges and supplemental activities that will help you learn about some common wildflowers.
There are custom notebooking pages for each of the five wildflowers featured. In addition, there is a general notebook page for recording information for each of the plant families introduced in this ebook.
I have included two wildflower related activities from the archives: Wildflower Photo Hunt and the Wildflower Big Grid Study.
Five coloring pages
There is enough material in this ebook to provide 5 weeks of wildflower study or more depending on how long you take to complete each challenge.
One of the resources in this ebook is a chart that coordinates each study with the Botany in a Day book.
Here are the specific flowers included in this ebook:
Fireweed (Evening Primrose Family)
Salsify (Aster Family)
Forget-Me-Not (Borage Family)
Paintbrush (Figwort Family)
Common Silverweed (Rose Family)
Note: If you don’t have the specific wildflowers listed above in your area, there are suggestions for studying an alternative flower or you can focus on the plant family instead. This ebook will work no matter where you live if you want to just focus on the plant families and use a local field guide to look for flowers you can observe during a nature walk in your own habitat.
How do you get the new Wildflower Nature Study ebook?
Members of the Ultimate Naturalistand Journey levels have access to the new ebook in their library. You need to click the “Members Area” button at the top of the website, sign into your account, and the ebook is there to download and save for your family to use when desired.
If you don’t have a membership yet, I am offering a $5 off discount code that will be good towards your Ultimate Naturalist membership.
Discount Code: wildflower5
How To Get Started With This New Ebook!
Make sure you have a membership to the Handbook of Nature Study website! Click the Purchase Now button above or the Join Us button on the website. If you don’t already have a membership, use the discount code above for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Membership. If you are a member, sign in to your library and download the book.
You may wish to subscribe to the Handbook of Nature Study blog so you can receive the prompts in your email box each Friday.
Don’t forget about the other two wildflower nature study ebooks available in your Ultimate and Journey level memberships!
There is nothing better than seeing the beginning of the spring season, whatever that looks like in your local area. I am currently in California and the landscape is very different than back at home in Central Oregon. Here, the California rolling hills are turning green with the first of the spring grasses. The wild mustard is making its appearance with its yellow flowers that dance in the spring breezes. I have seen lots of red-tail hawks sitting in trees and up on telephone poles. The morning has birdsong and I can pick out a few of the main players like the robins and California quail.
It will be months before these are spotted in my own neighborhood once I return home.
In the meantime, I will enjoy the spring season while I can and make mental notes that will eventually go into my nature journal.
This week’s Outdoor Hour Challenge is linked above and the suggested activities will get you started with ideas for your outdoor time. There is a free printable notebook page included in that entry.
We are eagerly anticipating the spring season here in Central Oregon. In the meantime, we will plan our spring cattail nature study and keep our eyes out for the opportunity to study them soon!
If you have a near-by park that has a pond or little stream, look for cattails along the bank. Here are a few suggestions from the original challenge linked above:
Make sure to encourage your child to sketch the cattail leaves.
Try to include a little of the habitat that your cattails are growing in during this season.
Include in your sketch any insects, birds, or animals that you observed near your cattails during your outdoor time.
If you’re a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, there’s a notebook page you can use to record your spring cattail nature study observations listed in the printables section of your membership.
Posting the spring bird challenge a few weeks ago, I knew in my heart that I would have to wait a month or even two months before I could accomplish a true spring bird nature study. But, it has put it on my on plan for future nature study experiences.
We have not spotted one spring bird. In fact, our Great Backyard Bird Count was the smallest count we have ever recorded in the many years we have been tallying birds for the project.
Great Backyard Bird Count List for 2019
La Pine, Oregon
Hairy woodpecker -2
Northern flicker -2
Mountain chickadee – 5
Pygmy nuthatch -7
House finch -1
That’s it. Hardly a spectacular count here at my location in Central Oregon. We had snow on the ground and a high temperature of 35 degrees for the Bird Count weekend. Even for us this was a fraction of the usual birds we see at our feeders on any given weekend.
As far as new birds to learn about, none so far this season. I will keep watching and hopefully just like last year I will be surprised by a new species to add to my list. (Last year it was the Wilson’s snipe!)
If you’re a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, there’s a notebook page you can use to record your spring cattail nature study observations listed in the printables section of your membership.