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Posted on January 20, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Chickadees

Outdoor Hour Challenge- Chickadees

From the Archives and the More Nature Study Winter Ebook

This is a week that those that have a backyard feeder are going to enjoy. Chickadees are frequent visitors to many feeders here in the United States. These cheerful little birds are fun to watch and will be a wonderful wintertime bird study for even beginner families. Use the information in the link to the archives post to get started learning about chickadees. Follow up with some discussion and perhaps a nature journal entry.

For those of you who are like me and don’t have chickadees in the feeder, you might want to substitute the titmouse instead. This page on the Audubon website will prove very helpful in a visual way to knowing what chickadees and a titmouse looks like: Chickadees and Titmice. You may also want to view this page on AllAboutBirds: Chickadees and Titmice. We are also getting closer to the favorite time of year for many birders- Great Backyard Bird Count time! Mark on your calendar February 17-20, 2017!

Great Backyard Bird Count

If you are interested in purchasing an Ultimate Naturalist Membership at this time, you will gain access to the custom notebooking pages that go along with each of the challenges in the ebook.

Note: You do not need to purchase the ebook to participate but they are handy to have for planning and for the regular and advanced notebook pages included in each one. Click the graphic at above to go over to check out the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Spring Plans!

We will be working through a new series of wildflower challenges starting in April using a new ebook that will publish sometime in March. The new wildflower ebook will also be added to the Ultimate Naturalist Library so if you purchase a membership now, you will have the new ebook as soon as it is available. I will posting details about the new ebook soon.

Posted on January 18, 2017 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Mom’s Journal – January 2017

My February entry is a little early this month because I am anticipating a week with my daughter where we will be going unplugged for the most part. I will share my early February activities and thoughts in the hope that it will inspire you to get out and have your own Outdoor Mom time. Don’t miss the prompts at the bottom of the post for some ideas to get you started if you want to write up your own journal or share something in a comment here at the end of this entry.

During our outdoor time this month we went….

We have made time for only one formal hike because of the weather. It has been all over the place as far as rain, snow, ice, and wind. What a ride! My husband takes a daily hike and he invited me to accompany him early one morning last week during the middle of our wettest week in a very long time. We actually had over 17 inches of rain in less than a week. He loaned me some rain gear and it kept me dry as we hiked down a familiar trail to the river. It is usually a loop trail but on this day about a third of the trail was under almost flood stage water. The power of water always impresses me and this day was no different. The photo above shows my husband on the trail’s end. I captured the event in my nature journal.

The most inspiring thing we experienced was…

We had one snow even where we received about an inch and a half overnight. The snow stuck around all morning and it happened to be a Project Feederwatch day so I was periodically looking out at our feeders.

About 9 AM I noticed a small hawk resting on the block wall to the side of our feeder area. He had his back to us so I tried to use the binoculars to spy his features. I didn’t want to spook him so I stayed fairly still as I observed. I was able to snap a few images that helped me identify him as a sharp-shinned hawk. It was an awesome sight and very rare to see a hawk in our yard.

I added nature journal pages about….

In living up to my goal to create a nature journal page each week, I have been working diligently on my journal.

>>>Winter Backyard Study (from the January 2017 newsletter), Nature Goals 2017 – made an official record of my goals, focused mainly on my journal, Sharp-shinned Hawk sighting, Rain Day at the American River<<<<

I am dreaming about…

An up-coming trip where I will put my feet in warm sand.

A photo I would like to share…

We have had a downy woodpecker visit our suet feeder just about every day this week. He is a welcome visitor!

Outdoor Mom’s Journal

Whether your family spends a few minutes a week outside or hours at a time, share what is going on in your world.

How Do You Join?

Answer all or just one of the prompts in a blog entry on your own blog or right here on my blog in a comment. If you answer on your blog, make sure to leave me a link in a comment so that I can pop over and read your responses.

During our outdoor time this week we went….
The most inspiring thing we experienced was…
Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about)…
In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting….
I added nature journal pages about….
I am reading…
I am dreaming about…
A photo I would like to share…

You can use the free monthly newsletter along with the Handbook of Nature Study book for your nature study. Adding a membership gives you access to the Ultimate Naturalist Library’s ebooks and printables which provides members with even more in-depth studies each month.

Read more about it!

Look for me on Instagram if you want to follow my outdoor experiences in photos. Use the hashtag #outdoorhourchallenge or #OHCnaturejournal and I will stop by and see what you are up to on your Instagram account.

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Barb — 4 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Winter Wonder Revisited

Outdoor Hour Challenge

Winter Wonder Revisited – Archive and in More Nature Study Winter ebook

This week we will ease back into our winter nature study using a simple nature walk idea from the archives. Click over to read the full challenge, including a bit of reading in the Handbook of Nature Study. If you are new to the OHC, this is going to be a great place to start because even if you don’t have snowy weather you can still complete this challenge that will help you see your local winter weather and wonders with your children.

Winter Wonder Outdoor Hour Challenge journal page — Winter Wonder Notebook Pages in the More Nature Study – Winter Ebook

Keep it simple and just take a Winter Wonder walk this week. If you are a more seasoned nature study type family or you have older students, make sure to read the “advanced study” ideas in the challenge.

If you are interested in purchasing an Ultimate Naturalist Membership at this time, you will gain access to the custom notebooking pages that go along with each of the challenges in the ebook.

Spring Plans!

Posted on January 11, 2017 by Barb — 6 Comments

Outdoor Mom’s Nature Goals 2017

Nature Study Goals 2017 – Let me inspire you to create your own goals!

I am at a point in my life that I am simplifying and decluttering my home, my thinking, and my lifestyle. I’m embracing these changes as I see the space both physically and mentally it provides for new opportunities and experiences. I have thought long and hard about how this relates to what I do here on my blog and with the Outdoor Hour Challenge.

Things here on the blog will go on pretty much as before except for perhaps fewer posts in months where we are traveling. I will still be creating a monthly newsletter as a companion to the weekly Outdoor Hour Challenges. There will still be printables and activities added to the Member’s Library.

Big News Here at the Outdoor Hour Challenge

The biggest development here, and the real reason I want to simplify my blog work, is a new wildflower ebook in the works. I will expound on that very soon here on the blog but you can anticipate the first set of wildflower challenges (all new) to start posting in April.

But for me personally, 2017 is going to be a year that I focus on my personal nature journal. Most of my goals will be centered on creating a more meaningful and thorough record of my nature study experiences. (Especially after reading and being inspired by The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling.)

You are welcome to join me as I pull from ideas that are in my archives, from internet sources like Pinterest, and from the books I have on my nature reference shelf. I will of course be sharing some of my work here on the blog but you may consider following me on Instagram since that is my social media outlet of choice and lends itself to the visual nature of a nature journal.

Nature Study Goals 2017 – Focus on My Nature Journal

Create monthly entries for my Outdoor Mom experiences as I share our nature study using the Outdoor Hour Challenge, our travel experiences, and any of my family’s nature adventures.
Focus on my nature journal and create at least one page weekly. This is a BIG commitment on my part but I think it is a goal I can reach with continued focus and inspiration. I have created a chart for the front of my nature journal that has page ideas for me to use so that I get a variety of pages over the year’s time.
Post images of my nature journal pages on Instagram each week.
Read and review 6 nature journal related books. I will need inspiration to keep me going. I haven’t had a chance to gather 6 books together yet but I will be sure to share them both on Instagram and here on my blog ASAP.

I always love to read your goals so leave me a comment with your goals or a link to your blog if you post an entry there.

Be Inspired! Be Encouraged! Get Outdoors!

Nature Study Goals From Previous Years:

2016

2015

2014

2013

Are you interested in creating your own nature goals? Here is a free printable for you to use as you brainstorm the goal and the steps to meeting that goal.

Nature Study Goals 2017 Planning Page

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Barb — 2 Comments

New Members Printables – Bark Study, January Backyard and Birds

New this month in the Member’s Library:

1. Bark Study – Up Close: This is the perfect place to record your winter tree study as you focus on the bark.

2. Know Your Own Backyard – January: Use this notebook page to record a sketch and some details after you complete a backyard nature study. This is the focus of the January 2017 newsletter and you will find many ideas to help you get started.

3. January and February Bird List Notebook Page: This is for your January and February bird nature journal entry. We love to keep track of our winter birds and this is a simple chart that you can use to keep a running record of birds you observe in your own backyard.

For a complete list of member’s printables, click the button below for a printable list.

Please note that Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level members have access to members only printables each month in addition to the newsletter printables. You will need to log into your account and then go to the “Other Releases” section. You can download a complete list of printables available to members here:

Printables Current List January 2017

Posted on January 1, 2017 by Barb — 4 Comments

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter – January 2017 Backyard Nature Ideas

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter

January 2017 – Backyard Nature Ideas

Please read the following explanation outlining how to get this month’s newsletter.

The newsletter link is not in this email but will come separately. There may be a delay in your receiving the email so please don’t email me until the second day of the month if you haven’t received the link on the first. For some reason, some email providers take longer to receive the newsletter email.

If you don’t receive the separate email with the download link, you probably aren’t subscribed to the blog yet. This will take less than a minute to do if you follow the steps below.

If you are a subscriber and you haven’t received your newsletter email yet, check your SPAM inbox. Some subscribers have found the email buried in SPAM inbox.

If you need to subscribe:

You will need to go to the Handbook of Nature Study, look to the top right corner for the box to type in your preferred email address, and then confirm the email that comes to your email inbox.
Once you subscribe, you will receive a thank you email from me with the download link for the current month’s newsletter.

This month’s newsletter link will be available only during the month of December so be sure to download it before 1/31/17.

Remember! All of the archived and current newsletters are available as part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library…every level!

Contents of this edition of the newsletter include:

This month we are focusing on finding something in our own backyard for nature study. I have written an article sharing subjects that might be right outside your back door and then a plan for following up with some of the Outdoor Hour Challenges available on the website archives.
There is a new article from Shirley Vels (from Under an English Sky) that tells how she uses her kitchen window as a way to view the natural world.
From the archives: There are two articles I wrote that explain how we created a “wild side” in our yard as a nature “laboratory” and another article that talks about creating sensory experiences in your own backyard.
January Planning Page for Mom – Much more than just a planner page, this is full of nature journal ideas, a short challenge for parents, links to the up-coming challenges, and ideas for using the archives.
Printables: This month I have mined the archives to find a nature study grid and bookmark for you to print and use. Plus, there is a brand new nature journal topper just perfect for this month’s nature study topic..winter backyard study.

Resources for your Nature Library: I have started to build a nature library store on Amazon that will feature by category my favorite nature study books and resources. Take a look and see if there is anything you would like to put on your wish list for your family’s nature study library: Handbook of Nature Study Nature Library Suggestions on Amazon.com. Note this is my affiliate store to items I personally recommend and have read or seen in person.

We will be using the More Nature Study – Winter ebook starting on January 13, 2017. You can find it in the Ultimate Naturalist Library.

Posted on December 30, 2016 by Barb — 6 Comments

Nature Study Goals 2016 – Year End Recap

Nature Study Goals 2016- End of the Year Update

1. Complete 2 out of 4 Outdoor Hour Challenges each month posted on Fridays.
I did fairly well for the first part of the year but then tapered off drastically at the end of the year. I know consistency is really the key to nature study so I will be putting this on my goal list again next year.

This made me a little sad. I haven’t been as diligent in posting about our nature experiences as I would like to as the self-appointed leader of this Outdoor Hour Challenge project. The problem isn’t with getting outside or the actual completing of the challenges because I rarely miss out on that part of this goal. But, I do fall down a bit on the recording of the experiences here on my blog. Earlier this week I went through and created some nature journal pages for October, November, and December and I will be sharing those here on the blog.

January entries: Starling Bird Study and our Pines and Cones study was included in my Outdoor Mom’s Journal for January.
February entry: Weeds and Seeds.
March entry: Fungi Photos
April entries: Garden Seeds Project and Signs of Spring
May entries: Wildflowers by Color and Wildflower Color Hunt
June entry: June 2016 Nature Photo (from newsletter)
July entry: None
August entries: Wildflower Observations and Snail Observations
September entries: Insect Study
October entry: None
November entry: None
December entry: 3 Questions Nature Walk (from the newsletter)

2. Research and learn about four birds. Learn the call, field marks, and create a nature journal.
Completed!

Osprey
Great Blue Heron
California Towhee
Oak Titmouse

3. Focus on learning my local wildflowers. Create some sort of record of each flower.

Success!

I shared how I started a record of wildflowers observed in a separate notebook starting back in the first quarter. I was able to keep this going all year! I found this method of recording both local wildflowers and flowers I saw during our travels to be efficient and satisfying. I am going to start another notebook in 2017!
4. Take Yosemite photos from the Yosemite photography book– We didn’t take any Yosemite trips in the last quarter of the year. As a year-long project, I enjoyed taking the time to find out more about the beautiful national park that is so dear to my heart. I think we accomplished enough towards this goal during 2016 that I can call it a success.
5. Visit a new national park.
Accomplished!

Cabrillo National Monument

Shenandoah National Park

Devil’s Postpile National Monument

6. Visit two new state parks.

California State Parks: San Clemente State Park, South Yuba River State Park.

Oregon State Parks: La Pine State Park, Silver Falls State Park, South Beach State Park, Jessie Honeyman State Park. We also went to Cape Perpetua, Hecata Head, Cape Foulweather, and Yaquina Head.

7. Identify three rocks from my original challenge.

I was able to observe, study, and then journal about one rock this year, basalt.

8. Read 10 nature related book!

I finished 7 books and their reviews as part of this nature goal. I am in the middle of reading/using the eighth book, Laws Guide to Nature Drawing. Look for a review soon!

How did your nature goals play out this year?

Free Nature Goal Planning Notebook Page

Free Nature Book Project planning notebook page.

Need help getting started with your nature study using the Handbook of Nature Study? Check out the fresh “Getting Started” page here on the website!

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Posted on December 28, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Year Long Study Reminders – Winter Season

Seasonal Topics Reminders – Winter

Here is a link to the winter reminders post: Year Long Study Reminders- Winter.

Use the ideas in this post from the archives to schedule some winter nature study time for subjects you may want to revisit in future seasons as a way of comparing. Our family found observing things from season to season was informative and interesting as it showed the life cycle of a plant or other nature topic.

Hope your winter nature study is going well! I look forward to starting the next series of Outdoor Hour Challenges on January 13, 2017.

Posted on December 26, 2016 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge Schedule for Winter

Winter Plans

I have had some inquiries about the next season of nature study using the Outdoor Hour Challenge. Here are the specific challenges and dates for each of the up-coming months.

See the note at the bottom of this post for information about the spring nature study plans! Think wildflowers!!!

January 6 – off

January 13 – Winter Wonder

January 20 – Chickadee

January 27 – Tree Study – Twigs

February 3 – Sheep

February 10 – Mullein

February 17 – Galls

February 24 – Quartz

March 3 – Magnets and Compass

March 10 – Moon

March 17 – Pansy

March 24 – off

March 30 – Spring Observations (from the archives)

If you are interested in purchasing an Ultimate Naturalist Membership at this time, you will gain access to the custom notebooking pages that go along with each of the challenges in the ebooks.

Spring Plans!

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Tumalo State Park – Oregon: Tips and Images

Central Oregon is our favorite new place to explore. Our trip last August (and this entry: Oregon State Parks) made us anxious to return and we made it happen in October 2016. We pulled our travel trailer and enjoyed staying in both La Pine State Park and in Tumalo State Park. The season was winding down for the campground at Tumalo but it was still a full house every night we were there. In the autumn the campground has only one loop open so we were happy to score a spot even for three nights.

The park is not far off Hwy 20 (just off Hwy 97 which is the main road going north/south from Klamath Falls to The Dalles at the Columbia River. It is also not very far from downtown Bend, Oregon. In fact, its location makes it the perfect spot to explore Central Oregon, the Deschutes River, the Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway and more.

There is a large expanse of lawn and many picnic tables in the day use area that is situated right alongside the river. I can imagine this is a hopping park in the summer because of the easy access to the water and hiking trails. There is also a swimming area and fishing for trout is also noted in their brochure.

The campsites are ample in size and not too close together…just what we like. There is a picnic table and campfire ring in each site. There are showers and restrooms on every loop.

We spent parts of each day on foot as we walked along the trail first up river and then down river. This time of year it was very quiet and we saw very few other hikers. It was peaceful and gorgeous.

The views of the surrounding mountains was amazing and the terrain was interesting with rocks, trees, shrubs, and wildflowers to keep us entertained. Most of the trees were junipers like you see in the image above. I loved the blue berries!

The weather was conducive to being outside most of the week we were there and we took advantage of it. We had been in Eugene, Oregon right before this and it never stopped raining the whole time we were there. Sunshine and warmer temperatures made Tumalo a great experience!

Tumalo Falls is a short drive ( about 15 miles southwest of the state park). Be aware that it only open seasonally and there can be limited parking during busy months. In October, we had no trouble with either parking or crowds. The weather was a little misty for the short walk to the falls viewpoint and then another about a quarter mile hike up to the top of the falls for a different perspective. I highly recommend hiking up to the top.

There are many trails taking off from this same parking lot up river to see more waterfalls. Make sure to consult a good map (I tried to find one online but wasn’t successful).

Other Tips:

Tumalo State Park campground has yurts to rent if you don’t want to haul around your camping equipment.There are universal access campsites for reservations as well. Use the website to reserve your spot in advance which I highly recommend doing at this popular campground.
There is a day use fee both at the state park and in season at Tumalo Falls parking lot.

At Tumalo Falls parking lot there is a restroom and several picnic tables.
The last couple of miles to the Tumalo Falls parking lot are all gravel.

You can read more of my national park entries by following these links:

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Redwoods National Park (California)
Channel Islands National Park(California)
Death Valley National Park(California)
Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
Joshua Tree National Park (California)
Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
Point Reyes National Seashore (California)
Muir Woods National Monument (California)
Zion National Park (Utah)
Weir Farm National Historic Site (Connecticut)
Pinnacles National Park (California)
Paterson Great Falls National Historic Site (New Jersey)
Morristown National Historical Park (New Jersey)
Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (New Jersey)
Cabrillo National Monument (California)
Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
Calaveras Big Trees State Park (California)
Devils Postpile National Monument (California)
Oregon State Parks – La Pine, Silver Falls, South Beach, Jessie M. Honeyman, Valley of the Rogue (Oregon)
Newberry National Volcanic Monument (Oregon)
Tumalo State Park (Oregon)

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Spring Plans!

Outdoor Mom’s Journal

Spring Plans!

Be Inspired! Be Encouraged! Get Outdoors!

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter

January 2017 – Backyard Nature Ideas

How did your nature goals play out this year?

Seasonal Topics Reminders – Winter

Spring Plans!

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!