2. Research and learn about four birds. Learn the call, field marks, and create a nature journal.
Osprey
Great Blue Heron
California Towhee
3. Focus on learning my local wildflowers. Create some sort of record of each flower.
We have been keeping up with wildflower journal that I started last spring. I endeavor to list any flowers we see on each hike. I think this is a tradition I will continue next year as well.
4. Take Yosemite photos from the Yosemite photography book– September trip: There weren’t many suggestions for September except to take a late afternoon photo from Tunnel View. We were there mid-morning so we took a photo then. Note: You can see the effects of the bark beetles on the forest in Yosemite. You can learn more about it here: Drone Shows Devastation of the Bark Beetle. 5. Visit a new national park. We didn’t add any new parks to the list but we did visit Yosemite National Park during September and hiked to the top of Sentinel Dome on a bluebird sky day.
6. Visit two new state parks. I had California state parks in mind when I made this goal but I am going to list the new Oregon State Parks we visited this quarter: 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. Nothing accomplished this quarter towards this goal. 8. Read 10 nature related book!10 Best of Everything National Parks.
How are your nature study goals coming along?
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!
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.
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This month’s newsletter link will be available only during the month of September so be sure to download it before 10/31/16.
Contents of this edition of the newsletter include:
Three weather and calendar related articles, two from contributors! (Shirley-Ann Vels and Lynn Seddon). My article includes a printable nature journal topper to get you started.
October planning page with this month’s Outdoor Hour Challenge links, nature journal ideas, field trip ideas, and more.
I have included an archive challenge: Outdoor Hour Challenge #10- Picnic. Use the ideas for some autumn outdoor time.
As always, some of my favorite links and some show and tell from my Instagram followers.
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.
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.
Please click over and read the step by step instructionsfor using the Handbook of Nature Study and the Outdoor Hour Challenge in your nature study plans starting in September. Let me know if you have any questions.
As a parent, it is our responsibility and privilege to introduce the natural world to our children.
This Outdoor Mom had a fantastic end of the summer! This post features our second Oregon trip of the year and lots of kayaking adventures. Technically, the Oregon trip was at the very end of August but after my August Outdoor Mom’s post so I want to include it here because it was a fantastic trip. I will be dedicating a complete post in October to the many Oregon State Parks we visited on this latest trip. It was a perfect trip!
We spent four days in the Bend/La Pine, Oregon area. It was a heat wave for them and most of the lakes and rivers were super busy with so many people swimming, using stand up paddleboards, rafts, and kayaks. I was really glad we had our kayak and we made the most of the time out on the water. We are in the middle of training our Labrador to ride along with us and she is quickly getting the hang of jumping in and enjoying the ride. The image above was taken in the Old Mill District of Bend, Oregon along the Deschutes River. It was a perfect night for a walk along the banks of the river and for sitting at an outdoor patio for dinner. We read in a brochure that Bend, Oregon is the most dog friendly town in the U.S. We believe it!
I think this is first photo I have shared where you can see our awesome tandem kayak (Old Town Loon 160T). We LOVE it! Both my husband and I are tall and there is enough room for our legs and the 70 pound Labrador. The image above shows us launching at Sparks Lake on the Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway. It is a large shallow lake within view of many of the area’s signature mountains: Mt. Bachelor, South Sister, Broken Top.
This collage of images is from our stay in Newport, Oregon. We found an amazing spot to kayak just south of town at Beaver Creek (Brian Booth State Park). First we paddled up the creek and saw some interesting birds: Belted kingfisher, Great Blue Heron, Turkey vulture, and several different ducks. Then we paddled back down the creek and all the way to the ocean! What a day!
This is the South Falls at Silver Falls State Park near Salem, Oregon. We had three days of hiking in this amazing place! There are actually TEN waterfalls that you can hike in a loop. This one was our favorite because you could actually hike behind the waterfall…look at the image carefully and you can see the trail. You can be sure I will be sharing more about this destination in my October Oregon State Parks entry.
I did fit in some nature journaling on this trip. I learned some interesting things about the heron and I actually heard the loudsound it made as we paddled too close to one and it flew off. Loud! It surprised me. I will be sharing a bit more about my nature journals in an up-coming post.
A little closer to home, my sunflowers bloomed! I looked out the window one morning and discovered this beauty. I love the sunflower time of the year and look forward to it each summer. This is one of the sunflowers from Renees Garden Seeds. So perfectly perfect.
We did some hiking closer to home when my two New Yorkers were home for a visit. We camped at Fallen Leaf Lake near Lake Tahoe in California. It was perfect weather and the hiking was filled with wonderful autumn air and sunshine. This is Fallen Leaf Lake on a crisp September morning. We all took turns taking the kayak out for a spin on the water to take in the high Sierra views.
The last place on our travel list this month was to Yosemite National Park. We hiked to the top of Sentinel Dome with our children and they posed at the top for this amazing photo. It captures so much of what our family is about as we adventure in the big outdoors together. It was a day of laughter, refreshing vistas, and friendship. I tried to soak in the family time since it is hard to gather us all in one place anymore. We end up outside when we do get a chance to spend time together….habit? necessity? mutual love for God’s creation? I think it is a little of all of those things.
I hope you enjoyed my entry this month and if you want to play along, there are instructions at the bottom of this post.
If you missed my August and September nature study entries, here are the links:
Snail Observations at the Tidepools:We had a fantastic time hunting, observing, and learning about marine snails in response to the August newsletter topic. This is one of my favorite blog entries of the year!
Insect Nature Study -Potpourri: We had several opportunities to observe insect homes up close. We even identified something new to us!
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 printablse which provides members with even more in-depth studies each month.
I love milkweed. Not only is it a beautiful flower but it is the host plant for one of my favorite insects, the monarch butterfly! During the autumn we can observe the milkweed plant turning dry and brown and the seed pods bursting open to disperse their seeds. The fluffy seeds fly away to hopefully create a new milkweed patch. This would be a great time of year to also research the many traditional uses of the milkweed fibers.
It is important to note there are many different kinds of milkweed….this I learned as part of our milkweed nature study. We have showy milkweed, purple milkweed, and narrow leaf milkweed in my part of the world. The flowers look very different and the seed pods look different. Use a local field guide to discover what kind of milkweed you have to observe in your neighborhood. If you need some suggestions for field guides, here is my Amazon.com affiliate link for my favorites: Wildflowers.
Here in California autumn is seed time for milkweed. The flowers are long past prime and the plant will be drying out. You may wish to start a year long study of milkweed and watch it over the next four seasons.
How about a free printable notebook page? This one is good for all four seasons.
Note: You do not need to purchase the ebooks to participate but just so you know, the More Nature Study Autumn ebook contains 3 custom milkweed notebooking pages (including an advanced version) and 2 coloring pages. Click the graphic at the bottom of this post to go over to check out the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
I have updated and added to the autumn seasonal nature study list above. Scan through and pick one to start with this month. Then in the seasons to come, revisit the topic and make some comparisons. Our family gained a sense of time and cycles by following one particular topic through a complete year noting the changes and the way life is a series of changes that make new growth possible. I highly recommend this way of learning to all of the Outdoor Hour Challenge families.
Enjoy your autumn and put some ideas on your plan for the autumn season. If you complete a seasonal study and create a blog entry, make sure to send in the link for the OHC Blog Carnival coming up in November. Send your entries to: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com
Autumn usually means a trip to the apple orchard but sometimes it includes some pears as well. We happen to have a pear tree in our backyard so it has been super easy over the years to watch the tree as it cycles through its many pretty stages, blossom to fruit harvest. Even if you can only manage to take a trip to a local farmers market or even to the supermarket to get some pears, this is an interesting and delicious nature study for the whole family. Use the ideas in the archive challenge above to get started. This is a challenge that is not from the Handbook of Nature Study but you will find online resources to get the interest going. Above all, enjoy some time outdoors this week!
You may be interested in viewing our family’s entry from the original study: Our Pear Study Using the Outdoor Hour Challenge. The notebook pages shown in this entry are from the More Nature Study – Autumn ebook and are the advanced pages that I included for high school or more advanced students. Of course, there is a notebook page for younger students as well available in the ebook.
Note: You do not need to purchase the ebooks 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 the bottom of this post to go over to check out the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
Our family loves to visit the national parks as a way of refreshment from our normal lives and as an adventure in the natural world whether it is close to home or far away on a vacation. Paging through this book puts the travel bug in gear and I start to plan in my imagination my dream road trip national park vacation. Honestly, the information and the images in this book inspire me to get outdoors and experience more of what our national parks offer. Isn’t that what a good travel book should do?
10 Best of Everything- National Parks caught my eye as I searched through Amazon.com and I purchased it as part of my nature book project for 2016. I set the book on my living room table which allowed us all to page through and read up on our favorite categories. The book is organized by categories that list the “10 best” from the national park system. For instance, in the category of Seasonal Enjoyment there are lists for best wildflower blooms, best fall foliage, best night skies, best sunrise/sunset points, best picnic spots, best sounds of nature, and best scenic drives. If you click the amazon.com link you can preview all of the 80 categories.
Shenandoah National Park – Best Cabins, Best Wildflower Bloom, Best Scenic Drive, Best Culinary Delights
Example showing how we used the book:
Using the index, we were able to look up specific national parks to discover where that park shines. We were planning a trip to Shenandoah National Park when the book first arrived and using the index gave us some great ideas for things to do and see on our visit. Shenandoah made the “10 best” in several categories which helped us make some choices before our trip about where to stay, how to plan our time, and what to keep our eyes out for as we traveled. We experienced the Skyline Drive (best scenic drive) each day as we moved from place to place and were rewarded with grand sweeping views of the surrounding hills and valleys. We were on the look out for wildflowers (best wildflower bloom). We stayed in the Skyland Resort cabins(best cabins). We drank Prohibition Punch at the Tap Room (mentioned in the best culinary delights section). Did we agree with the book’s selections? Yes!
I look forward to using this book with each national park visit. (If you want to read about our Shenandoah trip or any of our other national park trips, you can click over and scroll down to the list at the bottom of this entry: Shenandoah National Park.)
What I enjoyed about this book:
Helped us create a new national park wish list-things we want to see and experience after reading about them
Enhanced our visits with great information from the book’s categories
More than just a book of lists but it gave great descriptions and information about each park within a category
The index made looking for a particular category or park super easy
Short list of things that I see could be improved (getting really picky):
The book needs a map as a reference to easily show where all the parks are located.
Although the index is helpful and easy to use, I would love to have a chart that summarizes the parks and categories. This visual would have made it a lot easier to see at a glance where each park stacks up.
Also, I think when a park is chosen for a category, it would be helpful to have a symbol next to the name that would indicate which season is best for a visit to experience the park at its best.
I am thoroughly satisfied with this book and it will keep a place of honor on my nature book library shelf when it isn’t being used or sitting on my coffee table. Even if you don’t plan on traveling to many national parks in the near future, the information contained in this book is a wonderful way to learn more about the national park system.
Big thumbs up for this book!
This book is part of my Nature Book Project for 2016.
Note some of the links below are Amazon.com affiliate links.
As part of this month’s newsletter nature study suggestions,we have been on the lookout for insect home related subjects to take a closer look at in person. As it usually happens, we found some interesting things to learn about….research was definitely involved.
It does amaze me that there are so many things happening around us in the natural world that go unnoticed. Take the image above. My husband was trimming some tree branches from our maple tree last weekend and as we cleaned up the mess, we both noticed this growth on a branch. What is it? A gall of some sort? We decided to submit the image to Bugguide.net for some help in identifying what insect created this home. Guess what? They told me it was a praying mantis egg sack! Cool stuff! (I found this article very interesting: Dave’s Garden Praying Mantis.)
We are prone to walking right by the ant hills on our hikes. The common ant is an amazing engineer and we don’t often take time to note his industriousness.
Ok, this insect is not in his home but rather in MY home. Do you think he wants some toast or a bagel? We safely escorted him outside after taking a few pictures.
My cat is always hiding in the bushes and as we looked for signs of insects in our year she emerged from her hiding spot covered in cobwebs and dried leaves. She knows all the good spots to hideaway in our front yard but is willing to welcome us as we walk up the steps with a friendly meow. Give her a pet on the head as you walk by if you ever visit.
We will continue to look for insect homes as the season progresses. I didn’t spy any leaf rollers this timebut I am keeping my eyes wide open for the opportunity to see these interesting creatures up close.
We are going to start off our autumn nature study with one that will require some careful observations. The first time we did this challenge I was pleasantly surprised at how many subjects we found to look at as part of the leaf miner and leaf roller nature study ideas. There are videos in the archived challenge for you to view that will help you get started and know what you are looking for. Make sure to read the pages in the Handbook of Nature Study!
Note: You do not need to purchase the ebooks 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 the bottom of this post to go over to check out the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
I have received many emails asking me specific plans for the Outdoor Hour Challenge for the autumn and winter seasons. I had hesitated to post up a plan until I had it nailed down on my calendar. But, now I have it all straight in my mind and I’m going to share the specifics in this post. Make sure to bookmark it or add the topics to your calendar for future reference. My wish is that we all have some interesting and productive nature study time as a regular part of our week. If you miss a week or you don’t have access to the particular topic, just pick up where you can participate.
Remember that we are going to be starting up the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival again on November 1, 2016. If you create a blog entry with your nature study activities featured, please send me the link and I will add it to the carnival. My email is: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com
Note: You do not need to purchase the ebooks 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 the bottom of this post to go over to check out the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
Outdoor Hour Challenge – Autumn and Winter 2016/2017
September 9 – Leaf Miners
September 16 – Pears
September 23 – Milkweed
September 20 – Fall Webs
October 7 – Fall Color Walk
October 14 – Chipmunks
October 21 Sparrows
October 28 – Leaf Study
November 4 – Thistles
November 11 – Maple Tree and Seeds
November 18 – Oaks (from the archives)
November 25 – off
December 2 – Silent Nature Walk (from the archives)
December 9 – Senses Nature Walk (from the archives)
