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Posted on October 30, 2014 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival – October 2014

October is a month of changes and far fewer chances for me to get outdoors..usually. This month we had ample opportunity to spend long days hiking and soaking in sunshine. My usual autumn blues have been kept at bay with activity to fill me up on the inside, gently easing into November and all its autumn-ness.

Thanks for sharing all your entries with the blog carnival this month since it is always fun to glimpse into your world too!

Our family’s October entries from this month’s study (in case you missed one):

Ash Tree, Witch Hazel, and Sumac Studies

Barbara from Schoolhouse on the Prairie has submitted their entry: October Challenges. They had some hawk observations, sumac study, and more.

Shirley from Under an English Sky also would love for you to pop over and see their OHC Sumac Shrub entry. They were able to find and identify this subject because of the OHC! Check out their lovely journals too.

Nature Journal from Michelle — Photo Credit: Michelle from Following Footprints

Potpourri

Kerry from Keeping Up With The Kordishes has submitted their Hemlock Nature Study entry for you to enjoy. Lovely images! They also have another tree entry for you to look at: Elm Tree. You will enjoy seeing their Fall Color Walk images.

Michelle from Following Footprints shares their Walking Among The Autumn Trees entry (their Fall Tree Grid) to this edition of the carnival.

Teasel Journal from Angie — Photo Credit: Angie from Petra School

Angie from Petra School shares their OHC Teasel Study this month. They completed their study with observations and journals…two different styles. Take a look!

Janet from Pursuing Joy in the Journey would love for you to hop over and read their two entries this month: Chillis and Nature Journals and also Wildflowers in the Park. So many pretty flowers and some elderberries too!

Carol from Journey and Destination shares a beautiful and interesting entry with the carnival: Outdoor Hour-Nature Study at the Beach. What a wonderful glimpse into their world.

Anne from Harvest Moon By Hand would love for you to view their nature study entries from October: Poison Ivy, Burdock, and Thistle. My favorite? The Burdock entry!

Janet from Pursuing Joy in the Journey has submitted their interesting entry: Recording Local Wildlife.

Angie from Petra School has submitted the entry First Heavy Rain – Mushroom Hunt for you to view and enjoy. I thoroughly enjoyed this amazing entry with all its great fungi! Wishing I had been along with them.

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

Don’t forget to share your blog entries with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. All entries done in November are eligible for the next edition. The deadline for entries is 11/29/14 and you can send them directly to me: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com.

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Barb — 4 Comments

Autumn Tree Study – California Style

Here in California we do not have a witch hazel to study up close. We decided to do a more general tree study and take a trip to the U.C. Davis Arboretum since it is just an hour drive from our home. For those that are not familiar with arboretums, they are botanical gardens devoted to trees. This particular arboretum has a three and half mile loop you can walk adjacent to Putah Creek.

Just a note: In doing some researching even after I wrote the Autumn Nature Study Continues ebook, I discovered that the sweetgum tree is in the same family as the witch hazel (Hamamelidaceae). Although it isn’t a late fall bloomer like witch hazel, we do enjoy our sweetgum trees and their autumn color. I will be creating a page in my nature journal for this tree instead of the witch hazel.

Back to our arboretum visit…

In several sections there are walkways on both sides of the creek with picturesque bridges connecting the two sides. On the afternoon we visited, there were few people and it was calming to stroll along taking in the beautiful surroundings.

Each section of the arboretum has a theme, a collection of trees from various parts of the world like Australia or South America. My favorite area was the Redwood Grove where there were many coast redwoods and sequoia trees planted like a small forest. There were benches and picnic tables at which there were people sitting and enjoying a quiet afternoon. I wish I could share with you the delightful aroma of the warm redwoods in the sun.

Many of the trees had small signs that gave you their name, family, and native habitat. I always like to know what I am looking at so this added to my enjoyment of the walk. The valley oaks are plentiful in this area and there were some majestic specimens to enjoy with their large sometimes colorful leaves and acorns scattered all around the trunks.

This made a perfect habitat for lots and lots of squirrels. Watch out for squirrels darting across the trail or sitting in trees above and chattering at you as you walk.

Here’s an image looking up at the valley oak…we wondered how old these trees were.

We truly enjoyed this afternoon at the arboretum. Not only the trees, but the ducks and turtles in the water. From the bridges you could get a clear view of the many Western pond turtles that were swimming and basking on this particular day.

I always find it interesting to take a few close ups of the ground in different places. Here are two of my images from our walk.

Can you tell it is autumn? Look at all those acorns!

Finally, I collected a few leaves to sketch into my nature journal….love the colors all together!

We continue to have warm sunny weather and we are trying to take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy walks to note the autumn trees.

Have you taken an autumn tree walk yet?

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Barb — 3 Comments

Chinese Pistache – Sumac Family Study

I was excited to learn that our Chinese Pistache tree is related to the Staghorn sumac tree, giving us a tree to observe and learn about as part of the Sumac Nature Study from last week.

This is a gorgeous tree in the autumn with its blazing red-orange leaves and bright red pea-sized fruits. We learned that only the female trees have fruit. Many of the resources we read about this tree said that it is not attractive to wildlife but we have found that we have birds visiting from autumn and on through winter that come and eat the fruit of this tree. Even in the winter when the limbs are bare and only the fruits are left, we see robins, starlings, and cedar waxwings visiting and feasting.

This is not a native tree to California but is a tree from China. We see them growing all over our part of California so they are a popular nursery tree that is commonly used for its autumn color. The red fruit is pretty this time of year and any left over the winter will turn a dark blue in color.

In comparing our Chinese pistache to the staghorn sumac, I see a similarity in the leaves and arrangement of leaves. Also, the color of the leaves is very similar.

We are always learning about the creation around us and this study helped us to take a deeper look at a tree we enjoy right in our own yard!

Have you found a sumac to study?

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Barb — Leave a comment

Nature Photo of the Week Recap – October

October was a great month to be outside and looking for those photo moments to capture!

Please feel free to join us over on the Nature Photo of the Week Pinterest Board.

Berries: The Pacific Dogwood has these berry-like fruits. We did some research and officially they are called “drupes” which are not really berries but still very pretty and interesting.

Simplicity: Our trip last week to Yosemite with our three boys was such a joy. Autumn is a very quiet time in Yosemite and this early morning walk along the Merced River was so very pretty.

Bridge: We had an absolutely spectacular walk today on the UC Davis Arboretum. What a fascinating place! This bridge, covered in grape vines, was over the little creek that was lined with the most amazing cattails I have seen.

I am getting down to the very last of the Nature Photo of the Week topics to find. Here are the things I have yet to do:

Crystals, fish, cold, refreshing, simplicity, energy, bubbly, sparkle, feather, self-portrait, Just do it!

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Barb — 6 Comments

New Printables for Members – October 2014

New Printables in the Member’s Library!

There are new printables for you to use with your family if you are a member of the Ultimate Naturalist or Journey level memberships. You need to log into your account and then check the “Other Releases” section for brand new printables to enjoy along with the Outdoor Hour Challenges in November 2014.

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Barb — 2 Comments

Autumn Bird List

We have been on the lookout for hawks or any birds that might come our way to study as part of our Outdoor Hour Challenge – Hawks assignment.

We had the opportunity to travel to Monterey, California last week for a wedding. While we were there we drove the 17 Mile Drive from Pebble Beach along the coast. This is a fantastic drive and winds through cypress groves, along the Pacific Ocean, and allows for many scenic stops at beaches and rocky outcroppings. The image above is the Lone Cypress stop along the drive.

At one stop, we heard and observed a Red-tailed hawk!

We were able to get a really good look at his silhouette and identify him both by his shape and his call. Perfect timing!

This is a month of changing birds at the birdfeeder.

My October Bird List (in our yard)

Anna’s hummingbird
American goldfinch
Western scrub jay
Dark-eyed Junco (returned to our yard 10/13/14)
White-crowned sparrow (returned to our yard 10/13/14)
Mourning doves
Flicker (heard and not seen)
Great horned owl (heard and not seen)
Northern mockingbird (singing his heart out every day from the top of a tree)
Edit to add: Titmouse 10/21/14
Edit to add: Nuttall’s woodpecker on 10/21/14
Edit to add: Spotted towhee on 10/18/14
Edit to add: House sparrows on 10/22/14

Now that the season is finally changing around here we will see more visitors to our birdfeeders. Coming up fast, Project Feederwatch will be here before we know it!

What birds did you see this week?

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Posted on October 20, 2014 by Barb — 10 Comments

Autumn Nature Journal Examples

There is something about autumn that makes me want to create a nature journal, capturing the last bits of warm weather left, the few colorful weeds still left blooming, the trees, the change of birds.

Using the grid from this month’s newsletter, I did a simple page that will be filled by the end of the month. It is a simple record of some of the changes and interesting events observed this month.

There was also some time during our visit to Yosemite to create a page for the thistles that were growing and blooming right behind our campsite. Nothing fancy but meaningful to me as I enjoyed an autumn afternoon sitting on a log and sketching a few thistles.

Have you created any journals this month yet? There is still time left to do one or two pages!

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Witch Hazel Tree Study

Inside Preparation Work:

Read the section in the Handbook of Nature Study on Witch Hazel found on pages 686-689(Lesson 190).
Find out if you have Witch Hazel as a native plant in your area by viewing this map: USDA Witch Hazel
Here is a video to help you identify a Witch Hazel in autumn Youtube video: Fall Blooming Witch Hazel
Here is an image of the seeds of a Witch Hazel. This blog entry has some amazing images of the Witch Hazel.
Advanced Study: Read these online articles for more in-depth information about the Witch Hazel: Witch Hazel and Witch Hazel.

Outdoor Hour Time:

Use your outdoor time this week to look at fall trees, looking in particular for the yellow strap-like flowers and nuts of the Witch Hazel. It might be fun to also include a Fall Nature Walk Scavenger Hunt using this printable from Hearts and Trees.
Take along your nature journals to sketch the Witch Hazel flower into your nature journal.
Advanced students: Make sure to look for the Witch Hazel nuts and find the seeds if possible. If possible, collect a few of the nuts to take home to discover just how far the seeds will fly once the nut opens up.

Follow-Up Activity:

Create a nature journal entry all about the Witch Hazel. Here are some things to include (or you can use the notebook page in the ebook:

Color and texture of the bark
Leaves, if any are present, noting the color.
Flower (see page 688 in the Handbook of Nature Study for a nice diagram of the flower)
Date of your observations and the location
Draw the Witch Hazel nut. Write how you think the seeds are thrown so far from the tree.

Advanced Study: Complete the notebooking page in the ebook using a field guide or the internet resources above.

Join us for this series of challenges every week here on the Handbook of Nature Study. If you want to purchase the Autumn Nature Study Continues ebook so you can follow along with all the notebooking pages, coloring pages, and subject images, you can join the Ultimate or Journey Membership Levels. See the Join Us page for complete information. Also, you can view the Autumn Nature Study Continues content list on the announcement page.

You can also submit any Outdoor Hour Challenge blog entry from October to the next edition of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival by sending the link directly to me by 10/29/14. Harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

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Posted on October 15, 2014 by Barb — 8 Comments

Yosemite National Park – Autumn Trip

Our recent trip to Yosemite National Park put us into the autumn mood. It is a quiet place in autumn with far fewer visitors and very little water in the waterfalls. In fact, Yosemite Falls and Bridalveil Fall are both dry, dry, dry. The story of Yosemite in autumn is more about the trees and peaceful landscapes.

Hiking in the big Sequoia trees at the Mariposa Grove gives you a chance to experience these trees up close. You don’t have to hike too far to find magnificent specimens with their wide trunks reaching up into the sky.

There is no real way to capture the whole tree from the trail but these images help you visualize the towering trees a little better.

I hiked with two of my men on this day…the other two were off climbing Half Dome. I am going to share some of their experiences in another entry later in the week.

I found a copy of this book Yosemite Photographer’s Guide; Official Camera Walk Handbook and decided that it would be a fun long term project to take photos from every single location listed in this guide (like a need another project!). There are 32 locations mentioned in this book that we can look forward to experiencing through the lens of a camera (or iPhone in my case on this particular trip since I forgot the charger to my digital camera). NOTE: This is an older book that you can’t purchase new…there are a few used expensive copies on Amazon. I may switch over to a newer book like this one:The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite. I will let you know how I like this book when I get it in hand.

We started the project with a few locations that were suggested for the fall season.

This is location #17 – Cook’s Meadow. There is a short boardwalk from the road out to the river where you can view many of the park’s landmarks.

This is from the same location, looking across the meadow to Sentinel Rock.

We stopped at Location #13 – Cathedral Beach. At this time of the year, there is very little water in the river and you can walk a long way up along the side of the water. I stopped to enjoy a little bit of fall color in the late afternoon sunshine. We didn’t experience a lot of color during this visit but the oaks, maples, and dogwoods were scattered with color throughout the valley.

From the same location at Cathedral Beach, you can clearly see the Cathedral Rocks. This is a prominent rock formation along the south side of the valley.

Here are the Three Brothers taken from Location #14. What a great spot to stop and enjoy the peaceful surroundings of a Yosemite autumn day!

Hello Mr. Deer! This guy wasn’t happy with me taking a picture of him from a distance and as I was standing there just came nibbling closer and closer. I finally had to move because I really think he was going to just push me over to get to his destination. So tame and accustomed to humans….great for viewing up close!

There weren’t many wildflowers at this time of year…mostly brown grasses and lots of weeds with seeds. These thistles were so pretty on closer examination…so much so that I created a nature journal page featuring them in my personal journal. These were up where we were camping at Crane Flat.

Some color!

One afternoon as we drove back up to our campsite, we noticed smoke in the valley. As we drove up the highway, we spotted a wildfire. It had just started and we could see from the pull out that it was just on the other side of the ridge. It was the Dog Rock fire and it continued to burn all through the night and next day…well, even longer than that but we came home before it was completely out. You can see the fire tanker flying over the blaze if you look closely in the photo.

It was such a great family trip and we enjoyed our last morning just wandering around, taking photos and sitting in the sunshine.

We ended up at the Ahwahnee Hotel for coffee and chatting. This is an amazing place for sitting and taking in the historical atmosphere of a Yosemite experience.

It is always sad to come home from this unique place on the earth but I look forward to visiting again soon.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival – October 2014

Ash Tree, Witch Hazel, and Sumac Studies

Potpourri

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

Autumn Tree Study – California Style

Have you taken an autumn tree walk yet?

Chinese Pistache – Sumac Family Study

Have you found a sumac to study?

Nature Photo of the Week Recap – October

New Printables for Members – October 2014

Autumn Bird List

What birds did you see this week?

Autumn Nature Journal Examples

Have you created any journals this month yet? There is still time left to do one or two pages!

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Witch Hazel Tree Study

Yosemite National Park – Autumn Trip

Thanks Yosemite National Park for a great visit!

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!

November 2014 – Fall Seeds

Ash Tree, Witch Hazel, and Sumac Studies

Potpourri

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

Have you taken an autumn tree walk yet?

Have you found a sumac to study?

What birds did you see this week?

Have you created any journals this month yet? There is still time left to do one or two pages!

Thanks Yosemite National Park for a great visit!

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!