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Posted on November 16, 2018September 10, 2024 by Barb — Leave a comment

Autumn Mushroom Nature Study

Our family loves going on a good mushroom hunt! You can read in the Handbook of Nature Study about this fascinating nature study topic and then set off on your own fungi hunt. Remember to create a sense of adventure as you set out to look for mushrooms, building anticipation for finding even just one mushroom to observe.

Did you know, mushrooms are grown in all 50 states? The majority of commercial mushroom growers are located in Pennsylvania. 63% of all white mushrooms are grown in Pennsylvania. Mushrooms require less water than other crops which makes them “energy efficient”.

Tip for Finding Mushrooms

My original mushroom challenge suggested that you let your friends and family know that you are looking for mushrooms and they can let you know if they come across any in their travels. Some of our best mushroom studies came from tips I got from my dad who found several interesting species of mushrooms on his property.

Autumn Mushroom Nature Study – Handbook of Nature Study Lesson 198, pages 714-719

Archive Outdoor Hour Challenge – Click the link above to see the mushroom study suggestions in the original challenge.

“Fungi, as a whole, are a great boon to the world. Without them our forests would be choked out with dead wood. Decay is simply the process by which fungi and other organisms break down dead material, so that the major part of it returns to the air in gaseous form, and the remainder, now mostly humus, mingles with the soil.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 715

More Facts About Mushrooms

Mushrooms are a good source of Vitamin E as well as protein.

Most children recognize the red cap mushroom with white spots in Super Mario, the Fly agaric. However this mushroom is not safe to eat. It is highly toxic.

Cook with Mushrooms

Bring the Autumn Mushroom Nature Study into your kitchen for a fun night of cooking! Try out different mushrooms from your farmer’s market or local grocery store. Mushrooms are great in spaghetti sauce, soups, scrambled eggs, and stir fry. Try adding them on hamburgers and pizza! This Whole Foods graphic is helpful if you’re not familiar with cooking mushrooms.

Watercolor Mushrooms

“Since mushrooms are especially good subjects for watercolor and pencil studies, it would add much to the interest of the work if each pupil, or the school as a whole, should make a portfolio of sketches of all the species found. With each drawing there should be made on a supplementary sheet a spore print of the species.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 718

Homeschool Nature Study Members can print the Mushroom Coloring Page from their dashboard.

Join the Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!

-First published by Barb September 2020. Updated September 2024 by Stef.

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Barb — Leave a comment

Beginning a Year Long Willow Study

Willows in our autumn landscape are a colorful accent, lining the river’s edge and adding a rich reddish orange as you look off into the distance. There are still a few leaves left on the willows and the limbs and branches are a yellow color.

As part of our autumn study, we picked a willow to use as our subject for a year-long willow study. We tied a piece of twine on a branch to help us remember which willow we are observing.

We have done this activity before with a birch tree. Having a piece of twine on a branch really helped us focus on watching for changes from season to season. I invite you to read this entry for the specific instructions for this kind of tree study: Twigs.

If you would like to start a yearlong study of willows, you’re welcome to click over to read the challenge from last week. It’s not too late to get outside looking for willows, learning about willows, and beginning a valuable nature study of willows.

Please note there is an Autumn Willow notebooking page in the Ultimate and Journey level membership libraries. You can print it and use it for your nature journal.

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Barb — Leave a comment

New Study: Autumn Willow Nature Study

Welcome to the brand new nature study featuring the willow! I’m excited to look more closely at my own autumn willows as the season changes. This should be an easy study as you look at the color changes and the dropping of leaves in your willow.

Start Here: Willow Nature Study – Handbook of Nature Study Lesson 179 (pages 651-655)

The link above takes you to a summer study of the willow using the Handbook of Nature Study. Pay particular attention to suggestions #8 and #9 in Lesson 179 for specific autumn willow study ideas.

In Addition: Year Long Tree Study in the Handbook of Nature Study Lesson 172 (pages 623-624) My favorite suggestions are to watercolor the shape of a tree with its autumn foliage and to carefully compare leaves found on your tree for any variation.

Activity: Tie a string on a twig attached to your willow. Observe and record in your nature journal the twig’s changes for a few months. We’re going to be doing this on a willow behind our house along the river.

Both Ultimate and Journey level members here on the Handbook of Nature Study have access to a new autumn willow notebooking page for recording your autumn observations. Look for it in your printable library.

This Outdoor Hour Challenge is part of the 2018-2019 Plan here on the Handbook of Nature Study. We’ll be using the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock to discover new things about the world around us. Join us each Friday for a different nature study topic. Make sure to subscribe to this blog to receive the weekly challenge right in your email box.

If you want to become a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you can click the Join Us button for more details. Benefits include those shown above including access to ebooks, notebooking pages, archived newsletters, and new ebooks and printables published during your membership.

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Barb — 2 Comments

Our Family Autumn Bird Study

October 2018 chalkboard bird list — Excited to have so many birds in October!

In our continuing effort to learn the bird migration patterns in our new habitat, our dining room chalkboard list of monthly birds is a valuable tool. It creates a simple record of birds that visit our feeders, our yard, and fly by our back windows. I copy the list into my nature journal at the end of the month so we’ll be able to see from year to year the birds that come and go throughout the seasons.

There was a new bird this month! The western meadowlark became my autumn bird study. I was really glad it appeared before I had my hip surgery so I could go outside and try to take a photo. Even though I wasn’t successful at getting an image, I did get a good look at the meadowlark and its behavior. I used AllAboutBirds.com to research this beautiful bird along with my Peterson field guide. These two sources gave me enough information to create a good nature journal entry. I hope to someday hear this songbird singing…perhaps this spring.

Project Feederwatch Nature Journal — Nature journal page from 2017 Project Feederwatch

November 10, 2018 is the first day we can start counting birds that visit our feeders as part of the Project Feederwatch citizen science opportunity. Click over to read more about this important and simple activity for families: Project Feederwatch.

You can read our November 2017 entry here: Project Feederwatch November 2017.

This is a perfect way to start or continue an autumn bird nature study with your family even if you don’t know the identity of all the birds that come to your yard. This project will help you learn as you go. Click the logo above for a video that explains how to participate.

How did your autumn bird study go this time around?

It’s not too late to do your own Autumn Bird Study!

Are you interested in seeing my picks for bird related books and field guides? Click over to my bird tab on the website.

Posted on November 2, 2018 by Barb — 2 Comments

Autumn Weeds: Milkweed, Thistle, Teasel, Burdock, Queen Anne’s Lace

This week’s Outdoor Hour Challenge allows you to pick from a list of the autumn weed studies already in the archives here on the Handbook of Nature Study. Pick one of the weeds and then mark your planner to revisit this weed in all four seasons to experience its full life cycle. Make sure to read the lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study as noted below for specific weed observation suggestions.

Autumn Weeds – Handbook of Nature Study

Autumn Milkweed – Lesson 148

Autumn Thistle – Lesson 141

Autumn Teasel – Lesson 147

Autumn Burdock – Lesson 142

Autumn Queen Anne’s Lace – Lesson 128

Make sure to click the links above to read the entire Outdoor Hour Challenge with helpful links, nature study ideas, printable notebooking pages, and suggested follow-up activities.

Additional Links

Queen Anne’s Lace Autumn Study: Here is a link to one of our autumn weed studies.

Autumn Nature Journal Examples: Take a look at some of my autumn nature journal pages, including an autumn thistle page.

If you’re a member of the Ultimate Naturalist Library, you have access to the following ebooks with notebooking pages for each of the autumn weed studies listed below.

Autumn Milkweed – More Nature Study Autumn

Autumn Thistle – More Nature Study Autumn

Autumn Teasel – Autumn Nature Study Continues

Autumn Burdock – Autumn Nature Study Continues

Autumn Queen Anne’s Lace – Autumn 2010

Posted on November 1, 2018 by Barb — Leave a comment

New Member’s Printables – Autumn Fun

Now available in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships:

Under the Fallen Leaves and Autumn Willow notebooking pages!

I created a few more autumn themed notebooking pages for you to use with your family.

Under the Fallen Leaves notebooking page: Take a few minutes to look under the leaves in your yard or a near-by park. What do you see there? Create a sketch and describe what you saw, felt, and smelled during your outdoor time.

Autumn Willow Tree notebooking page: Use this page to record your autumn willow observations. This can be the start of a year long/four seasons study of willows for your family. I will be reminding you each season to make some notes about your willow tree.

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.

FYI: There will no longer be a monthly printable planning page. Please note that members have access to the complete year’s plan in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships. Non-members can follow along by subscribing to this blog and each Friday the Outdoor Hour Challenge will come into your email inbox.

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Barb — Leave a comment

Finding the Value in a Dead Tree

My view from the edge of the forest looks out onto both live and dead trees. This natural cycle of life and death is fascinating and a terrific nature study for families who want to see how there is value to a dead tree long after the last leaf has fallen from its branches.

At first glance, a dead tree is just that, a lifeless object that may or may not be attractive from a human standpoint. Our family heats our home with firewood so from a completely practical and human standpoint, the dead tree is valuable as a source of life-giving heat. But, upon closer reflection and my own personal observation, I’ve started to see how a seemingly lifeless tree is far from being lifeless. These trees are actually highly beneficial to enriching a forest habitat, supporting new life and sheltering a variety of other species of creatures and plants.

Taking a closer look, I see now that a dead tree is an important piece of the complex life cycle of my local habitat.

We’ve observed the nuthatches making their nests in the cavities of a dead tree’s trunk. They create a small opening to squeeze into and make a nest deep inside the protective walls of the tree’s bark and trunk. Doing some research, we discovered that about 85 species of birds in North America nest in dying or dead trees.

Behind our house, there’s a tree stump from a long gone tree. It’s toppled over at this point but if you look closely during the summer months, you can see where the ground squirrels go into their tunnel from under the protective shelter of this dead tree stump. We’ve seen them use the stump as an observation spot after they climb up on top of it and then stand on their hind legs as they survey the land.

We have a particular standing dead tree behind our house that nearly always has a bird perched up high in its gnarly branches. I’m sure from up there they have a clear view for hunting their dinner. Or, they can just sit up there and sun themselves.

There’s a downed tree behind our house that we like to sit on and observe the sky and mountains. As we sit, we note there are many insects, including ants that are using the trunk for their home. There are birds that shelter in its branches, and small rodents that are hiding under the trunk. We’ve seen a coyote digging under the trunk and then pouncing on something before moving along. I assume he found a small rodent meal.

Look at the tree trunk and you may see lichen, mushrooms, spider webs, ferns, and new trees growing.

Last autumn we left one of our burn piles with many dead limbs and dead tree branches as a place for critters to shelter over the winter. As anticipated, we spotted birds, squirrels, and elk attracted to the pile.

Our observations have led us to rethink our view of leaving dead trees, snags, and downed limbs as a natural resource for the varied wildlife we coexist with.

Of course, these are away from our house at a safe distance because we do want a defensible space if a fire comes through. They’re at least 100 feet from our house and we have a green space between the dead trees and our backyard. We’ve cleaned up the lower limbs from the trees nearer to the house to give us a clearer view of the landscape. I like to think there’s a safe buffer but we still take into account the importance of saving some of the dying trees for the sake of creating a healthy habitat.

This are affiliate links to products I own and love!

Posted on October 17, 2018 by Barb — Leave a comment

Oaks and Acorns – California Visit

Oaks have a fragrance when the leaves are warm that conjures up memories of all the summers spent living in California. It’s an earthy smell that reminds me of hiking along trails beneath the oak forest canopy.

Dave Moore walking under the oaks — Walking with my son – 2012

Oaks can create a wonderful protective archway and I love to stand underneath and peek up through the leaves to the sky. Along a familiar trail, the oaks create an arching leafy roof that filters the sunlight and I remember watching my boys run ahead of me on this trail, blond heads disappearing around the corner.

This week we camped under the oaks at a friend’s house in California. I relished the time to wander the property to see his magnificent oak trees.

The crunching of dried oak leaves was a familiar trail sound as we walk along looking for acorns, none to be found this day. Perhaps it’s early in the season or maybe this year won’t be a “good” year for an acorn crop. Hint: If you dig around in the leaf litter under the tree, you may find a few of last year’s acorns not gathered by the squirrels or scrub jays.

We compared two different oaks growing at our campsite, the California black oak and the interior live oak. The leaves are very different in size and shape. The California black oak is a large tree with fairly good size leaves. The interior live oak has small, sharply toothed leaves.

This entry includes Amazon affiliate links to products I own and love!

I used the Peterson field guide to trees to figure out what kind of oak trees created each type of leaf. This guide is one of my favorites because of the detailed illustrations of not only the leaf, but also the bud and acorn. This makes it easier to distinguish which oak we are studying. Look for it on Amazon and note there is an eastern and western version for trees.

This day I was reminded that when you study oaks there are many other related studies you could work on at the same time: lichen, moss, mistletoe, woodpeckers, squirrels, and even lizards. Try to take it all in and see your tree as a living world.

See this entry for a free printable: My Tree is a Living World.

Make sure to read the original Oak Tree Outdoor Hour Challenge with a free notebook page: OHC Oaks and Acorns.

Posted on October 10, 2018 by Barb — Leave a comment

Immersing Ourselves in Autumn Trees

Immersing Ourselves in Autumn Trees

The change of the season from summer to autumn is noticed by the changing of the air and the bursting forth of colors in the deciduous trees. You can’t help but revel in the oranges, burgundies, and yellows of autumn leaves!

Did you get outside and take note of your neighborhood trees?

Our road is lined by mostly evergreens but a few of us are lucky enough to have aspens on our property to enjoy. We’ve been watching our trees, anticipating a change in color as the nights have turned colder, hoping the cold snap will give us a colorful display.

Our aspens haven’t disappointed us and they make me think of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Autumn Serenade. Glorious!

Aside from the leaves, I really love the bark on the trunks of the aspens. But, for autumn we will focus on the leaves and then take a look at the trunks in the winter.

Are you starting a yearlong tree study?

Link to the printable and the Four Seasons tree study.

See the original Autumn Tree Study from the archives of the Outdoor Hour Challenges: Autumn Tree Study.

Amazon.com links to tree books I own and love!

A Walk in the Boreal Forest (includes a discussion of aspen trees)

My Favorite Tree- Click over to see my entry for this awesome book that also includes a free printable!

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Barb — 4 Comments

Nature Goals Update – 3rd Quarter 2018

Nature Goals 2018

As the third quarter of 2018 comes to a close, it’s time to evaluate my nature goals. I can rejoice in my achievements and set a plan in motion for the goals yet to be achieved. You can read my original goals here: Nature Goals 2018.

3rd Quarter 2018

Continue to use the Nature Observer journal to keep a record of my nature study experiences. Focus more on sketching. Accomplished
Keep a record of the wildflowers that grow in my local habitat. Note the day they start to bloom and where we see them for future reference. Accomplished
Visit the High Desert Museum each month, each time focusing on a different exhibit. Partially Accomplished
Visit the nature center at Sunriver. Ask about volunteering. In addition, make note of their garden and the native plants they have growing there as a reference in planning our backyard garden. Postponed until next year
Take 3 new hikes. Partially Accomplished
Get the kayaks out in a new place locally. Accomplished

My constant and daily routine of writing in my Nature Observer Guided Journal continues to help me see the beauty of the world around me, no matter the weather or circumstances. The value of this kind of daily journal is becoming clearer and clearer to me as I make my way through 2018. Even if I only jot down a sentence or two along with the weather, I can see patterns and season markers that give me insight into my local habitat.

I did continue to keep track of our wildflowers, recording a list in my Nature Observer Guided Journal. This is why I love this journal so much! I can adapt the pages to fit my current interests and very easily be reminded to add to the list.

These lists will be ongoing in my journal as a way of keeping track of bloom time and new flowers observed.

We visited the High Desert Museum in July with our daughter to see the History of Rock Climbing exhibit. Fabulous! It covered not only the history, but there was some actual climbing equipment to check out and my favorite part of it all was a portion of a John Muir journal describing his climb to the brink of Yosemite Falls.

In August we visited the museum with my sister and her husband. We attended the Raptors of the Sky exhibition together because both of us absolutely love these large birds. The event is held outdoors and it allows the raptors to fly really close to you in the audience. A few times I thought they were going to actually brush my hair with their wings because they came so close! My favorite bird in the exhibition was the barn owl with his wings flying noiselessly through the air. I highly recommend working this into your schedule if you ever visit Central Oregon.

Our goal to hike this summer was hindered by the serious escalation of the arthritis in my hips. In a matter of months, I have gone from being able to hike 5-6 miles at a time with a moderate amount of pain to not being able to walk much more than a mile with a lot of pain and quite a bit of help from my husband. I’m going to be having a bilateral hip replacement in October to relieve the pain and hopefully change my life for the better. But in the meantime, I’m not able to do very much in the way of hiking. Most of what I do now could be considered a moderate stroll.

Taking that into account, my son planned a short, fairly flat hike to Benham Falls one afternoon. I thoroughly enjoyed the outing as we walked along the Deschutes River and ended up at the falls. We sat and took in the sights and sounds for a while before turning around and heading back.

We were also able to visit Crater Lake National Park as a day trip with our other son. He drove us there and we found a place to have a picnic lunch right on the rim of the lake. We walked along the rim for a little easy hike. In addition, we took the Castle Crest trail to look for wildflowers but because it’s really late in the season, we found just a few to enjoy. My slower pace really helps me see what is along the trail’s edge…trying to look at the positive.

We’ve had the kayaks out on the Little and Big Deschutes multiple times this summer, but we also made an effort to find a new place to paddle. My husband and I had an afternoon up at Little Lava Lake where we saw the headwaters of the Deschutes River, a new aquatic plant called water smartweed, and many of the local peaks: Mt. Bachelor, South Sister, and Broken Top.

Now for my 4^th Quarter Goals-taking into account my surgery in the middle of October

Finish up the year in my Nature Observer Guided Journal.
Participate in Project Feederwatch.
Walk as much as possible, allowing for healing from my hip surgery.
Read at least two nature related books from my personal library.

Here is a short list of books I am contemplating reading during my recovery (either on hold at the library or on my personal bookshelf):

Nature Principle by Richard Louv
Curiositree – Natural World by AJ Wood
How to Raise a Wild Child by Scott Sampson
National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry
America’s Mountains – Guide to Plants and Animals by Marianne D. Wallace

Please note this entry includes Amazon affiliate links to books I own and/or love!

If you would like to see the previous quarters for 2018: 1^st Quarter Update and 2^nd Quarter Update.

Be inspired! Be Encouraged! Get Outdoors!