Butterflies Archives

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Barb — 6 Comments

Family Monarch Study – How To Conduct a Nature Study Follow-Up

In any blackboard reading lesson, and, so far as possible, in individual written work by the children, tell —

First. What I did.

Second. What I saw.

Third. What I thought.

If this order is habitually followed, the children are more apt to think for themselves, and to base their conclusions on what they have seen. If told in the first person, as far as possible, class reproduction is apt to be more thoughtful and the pupil’s work more individual.

Nature Study and the Child by Charles Scott, 1900

What We Did:
We sat in the garden on several occasions to try to spy out some butterflies as part of the Outdoor Hour Challenge for summer butterflies. Mom had her camera and was ready to snap some images if a beauty came along. We mostly saw bees of various kinds and the occasional dragonfly.

Fiery Skipper from 2009 – I forgot to plant my cosmos this year…just realized.

What We Saw:
Western Tiger Swallowtail (We studied this butterfly during the summer of 2011.)
Cabbage White
Fiery Skipper (We identified this way back in 2007.)

Photo from a few weeks ago showing the damaged wing.

What We Thought:
We wondered why we never see the caterpillars in our yard so we investigated the host plant for the Western Tiger Swallowtail. Turns out we have no host plants so that solves that mystery. The host plants are: willow, cottonwood, and chokecherry. (You can use this link to learn about host plants: Create a Butterfly Garden.)

We also noticed that quite a few of the butterflies that come to our yard have tattered wings. We did a little research and found that butterflies can still fly even with up to 70% of their wings missing. It is really a blessing that they are capable of flying even after a bird has taken a bite out of their wings. (See this webpage.) Did you know that some people actually repair a butterfly’s broken wings? Never knew that.

I forgot to mention here on the blog that my milkweed that I had been nurturing along for a few years in a pot on my deck was totally and completely destroyed by the roofers that came to roof our house back in June. They somehow managed to dump it to the ground and it was just smashed into a million pieces, beyond saving. I shed a few tears and promised myself that I would try again. Reminds me I need to order some more seeds and buy a new pot. I am determined to start a monarch habitat in my yard.

We didn’t see any monarchs this week but we did last month.

So to wrap up this post, I want to encourage you to try the simple process that Charles Scott outlined in the quote at the top of this post. It is an easy way to structure a nature journal entry….even young children could give a few words in response to the prompts.

First. What I did.

Second. What I saw.

Third. What I thought.

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Barb — 10 Comments

You Build It and They Will Come – Butterfly Garden

This is the summer of the butterfly! We have been observing many kinds in our front yard garden…it is amazing to watch as several flutter around from flower to flower. The American Lady butterflies are smaller than we expected but they are daily visitors to the butterfly bushes.

We planned this garden for bees, butterflies, and birds and they are now moving in and taking advantage of our neighborhood oasis that we have created. Our neighbors all stop by to tell us how much they enjoy seeing our yard as they walk and drive up the street. It makes me smile.

Creating this wildlife habitat has been a dream realized. I can honestly say that we have spent time every single day enjoying the wonderful things in this space.

The Western Tiger Swallowtails are the most frequent of the larger butterflies to visit every day. They spend lots of time on the butterfly bushes but they also land on the lavender from time to time. I think they are my favorite butterfly.

The white butterfly bush is the color that attracts the most butterflies from our casual observation. It has larger amounts of flowers so I think they may be the attraction.

We have had a few Monarch butterflies in the past week. This one looks a little tattered. It is exciting to see a Monarch though…this is exactly why we created this habitat. We looked forward to having our nature study subjects come to us…and they have.

This long thin purple flower cluster is my favorite shape and color. This could be called my purple section since I have purple lavender, sage, and butterfly bushes literally bursting out all over. The bees have found this space and they are here all day long.
The deep purple bushes line the front street and there are hummingbirds that can be seen landing on the blossoms as they take a break from collecting the nectar. The blooms don’t even dip down…those hummers must be super lightweight.

There are a few more butterfly varieties that have come to visit but I haven’t caught them with my camera….yet. I will share when I do.

Just for the record, the bee balm and nasturtiums started blooming this week in the back yard. Beautiful!

Jami’s Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Barb — 7 Comments

Summer Nature Study: Something New Every Day

“Children are quick. In fifteen minutes, they will have finished with their sight-seeing exercise or imaginary picture painting. Other than that, an occasional discovery that the mother shows them with a name and maybe a dozen words about it at just the right time are all that’s needed; the children will have formed an interest in something they can continue on their own. Just one or two of these discoveries should happen in any given day.”
Charlotte Mason, volume 6 page 78

We spent our fifteen minutes everyday this week outside in our own yard. Here is a short list of the things we noticed and enjoyed from our time outdoors.

There were robins in the grass after the sprinklers turned off.
For the first time this year, we observed a tattered Monarch butterfly in our garden.
Our sunflowers started blooming..some yellow, some orange, some almost brown.
We noticed the first blooming morning glories in the front container garden.
We saw Painted Lady butterflies and Western Tiger Swallowtails too. There were a few more but we had to pull out the field guide so we can identify them the next time we see them in the garden.
The zucchini is blossoming.
The Starlings are back and eating the little fruits off the tree on our fence line.Noisy birds.
Hummingbirds in the butterfly bushes and the Red Hot Pokers. Amazing to watch.
Day lilies, day lilies, day lilies!
Big black bees in the lavender…had to cut it back off the walkway.
The winds on Tuesday and Wednesday were not cool at all…hot! The breeze on Friday was cool and from a different direction.

Those are just the discoveries we brainstormed as I was typing this up. This informal everyday noticing of nature related subjects taking just a few minutes a day adds such joy to our busy lives. As my boys grow older, I love that we have established this habit of noticing the seasonal changes and the cycle of life in our own backyard. You don’t always need to do lots of talking and follow-up to make nature study meaningful. Sometimes it is just the time spent together and enjoying a moment during your day.

We truly do discovery something every time we make the effort to get outside.

Give it a try! The Outdoor Hour Challenge July Newsletter is going to have suggestions for nature study when it is hot and humid. Make sure to subscribe to this blog for your free copy of it the minute it publishes.

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I am submitting this entry to the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival and if you have any entries you would like to submit, you can send them to this email address: charlottemasonblogs@gmail.com. The official blog carnival site is not working so you will need to send them directly to this email.

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Barb — 3 Comments

Updated Wildside-New Garden Arch-Delighted Nature Mama

This was a big week in the garden.

My dear sweet husband surprised me by making a new garden arch for my front yard. We had talked about adding a decorative arch, kicked around a few ideas, and then he added his creative touch. I love the way it makes a sort of “window frame” to the lower part of the garden. He is going to fill in the bare spot with another sage. The poppies are filling in naturally and I think by next year they will be to this lowest part of the yard.

He added a few of my favorite things….birds, butterflies, vines. (Maybe all this garden beauty will distract me from my neighbor’s falling down fence.)

He didn’t stop there. He finished up the top terrace of the front yard….he eliminated much of my wildside garden but now it is going to be filled with more wonderful color. Just a note: He used the idea I found on Pinterest to spray a solution of vinegar and water on the weeds before trying to remove them. He sprayed last weekend and let it sit for a week. It was awesome how easy those weeds just hoed out of the ground. He was able to do this entire area in less than an hour! I didn’t get a “finished” shot….I will soon.

We are adding more yarrow…a different color this time. The yarrow in our front yard is amazing right now…what a great performer with no water and lots of sunshine.

Maybe someday this new section will be as colorful as the established part of the garden. Here is an image from the top terrace looking down onto the yarrow, lavender, butterfly bush, poppies, and dogwoods. We also added some lamb’s ear among the rock garden. I am going to see if spreads too much but it has added a new texture to the yard.

Switch gears now and head to the back butterfly garden.

The columbine is starting to bloom! This is such a wonderfully happy flower that loves my semi shady spot in the butterfly garden. Look at those colors!

How about the shape? Isn’t it interesting to see how different the back of the flower looks from the front? I am adding this image to my nature journal…I think watercolors.

Last but not least, I wanted to share another one of my swallowtail visitors to my back garden. This magnificent butterfly spent quite a bit of time yesterday fluttering among my potted plants. He seemed to like the bright pink dianthus the best.

So now you know what I am one delighted nature mama. I love this time of year!

Jami’s Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Barb — 45 Comments

Crowe’s Nest Media: Your Backyard: Monarch Butterfly Review and Giveaway

Your Backyard:
The Life and Journey of the Amazing Monarch Butterfly
From Crowe’s Nest Media

You all know our family LOVES nature study. We are inspired by the colors, the patterns, the design of the many amazing things around us. The family oriented DVD, The Life and Journey of the Amazing Monarch Butterfly, feeds our passions. It is a feast for the eyes as well as the heart.

Even for families that have already studied monarchs and have raised them from caterpillars, you will learn so many awesome details that you will not look at a monarch butterfly the same…ever.

Have you seen a female actually lay an egg and know how she picks a milkweed to deposit it on?
Have you watched the caterpillar shed its final skin and eyes?
Do you have a picture in your mind of where the monarchs migrate to in Mexico and why we should care about their forests?
Do you truly understand why we should not view milkweed as weeds and remove it from our gardens?
Did you know you could tell a male from a female quite easily once you know what to look for?

This DVD will take you deeper and farther than your normal butterfly study could ever dream of doing. You will be encouraged to tell others about the wonder of God’s design and wisdom. You will be determined to nurture milkweed in your neighborhood. You will ignite a desire in your children to be a part of citizen science through the Monarch Watch and tagging program. This DVD will reach your heart.

Features I love about this DVD:

Remarkable video and images of each stage of the monarch’s life cycle: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult. You will see footage of things humans rarely get to see and your children are going to be amazed at the incredible close-ups that show the intricate workings of this butterfly.
The information is interesting to all ages. After watching this DVD, I heard little monarch facts being sharing among family members and with friends as well. There is enough detail for older children yet the animation and “story” make it appropriate for younger ones as well..
I was impressed with the creation focus done on a clearly scientific topic, just the way I try to present nature study in our family. Details from scientists, direct observations, and experts draw attention to the amazing design of the monarch.
This DVD is fairly long (approximately 60 minutes) but I appreciate that we can watch one segment at a time if we want to go back and rewatch a topic of interest using the buttons from the menu. This will aid us in using the study guide (see below for more information on the study guide.)
In addition, I appreciate that this DVD was a family production including all ages and abilities. The Crowe family provides a great example to other homeschooling families with their diligence.

Other information you may find helpful:

60 minutes long. In addition, approximately 45 minutes of bonus features. $19.95 (see special offer below).
Watch the DVD trailer on YouTube: Your Backyard: Amazing Monarch Butterfly
The bonus features are not to be missed. You will learn how to raise your own backyard monarchs, use extra websites for research, complete a fun follow-up quiz, and see behind the scenes information your family will find inspirational.
With the companion study guide this DVD could be the basis of a whole unit study for homeschoolers.

Companion Study Guide Coming Mid-Spring!

Companion Study Guide:
The Crowe family is in the process of writing a complete companion study guide to go along with this DVD. This downloadable guide will include: content review, discussion questions, diagrams to label, sketching suggestions, essay questions, copy work and coloring pages for a variety of ages, and ideas for further research. I know our family will be looking forward to using this as part of our nature study this spring and summer as the opportunity arises. The study guide is scheduled to be released mid-spring and will cost $8.95.

Special Offer:
As part of this review, I am thrilled to offer you the chance to purchase this DVD with a coupon code to receive the downloadable companion study guide FREE! Also, with the coupon code, you will receive the DVD at a discounted price of $18.95. This offer ends on February 3, 2012.

Read to purchase now? You can click over and enter your coupon code to receive your copy of this amazing DVD at a discounted price AND get a code to receive the companion study guide when it is available. The coupon code is: NatureStudy

Please note: I received this DVD and the giveaway copy in exchange for a review. I always give my honest opinion and share our family’s experiences when reviewing a product. I also will receive a small affiliate commission if you purchase the DVD using the coupon code listed above.

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Barb — 4 Comments

Fall Insects and A Pear Tree Update

Cooler weather means more time spent outside during the day….we went from really hot weather to cool weather in the span of a day or two. I am so pleased with these late blooming sunflowers and I am going to plant more of them next year. The insects have been visiting them every day and when I went out to snip a few flowers for the kitchen table, I saw this big guy!

This praying mantis decided to hang out on my stove one morning. It must have been pretty funny watching me try to scoop him up while he was hopping from side to side. I would try to scoop him up and he would hop just out of my reach. I would try again and he would hop too fast. Finally I got a bowl and set it over him and then slid a piece of paper under the bowl. Success! I transplanted him outside to my potted plants and he was happy to pose for a few minutes on the allysum.

Our butterfly bushes are still blooming, in white, lavender, and deep purple. I see the hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies all buzzing in and around in the morning sunshine. Makes me happy to see such a busy community right in my flowerbeds. We have spotted a few monarchs lately…none captured with the camera yet. They are fast!

We were out for a drive and took a back road only to find a pear orchard within about two miles of my house! It is tucked away off the beaten path and as we slowly drove down the lane I tried to snap a few images…..glorious fall pears to enjoy!

We are going out and about tomorrow so stay tuned for some more back roads loveliness.

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Barb — 5 Comments

Butterfly Days – Early Autumn Time Garden Update

It feels like fall and the front yard is starting to change and take on the colors of autumn. The leaves are starting to drop from the Tulip tree, blanketing the ground with a riot of yellows, oranges, and browns.

Time for a front yard update! I can hardly believe this is the same yard that we planted last fall and saw come alive last spring. You can see my July Update post for several images of the garden. We have been able to cut our watering down to twice a week and I anticipate even less next summer once the plants are all established. It is amazing the color and variety you get even within drought resistance plants. I love this yard so much more than the old ordinary lawn we replaced.

Note: We live in a dry place. Normal summers mean NO rain at all and this was a dry summer. We have had somewhat cooler than normal temperatures up until the last ten days. The heat turned on and I have been closely watching the yard for signs that I needed to water a bit but the only thing I pulled the hose out for was to fill up the birdbath.

One of my favorite aspects of this garden is the many textures and the movement that you notice when you watch it from the window. The grasses sway in the slightest breezes.

Here is a close-up of the pink fountain grass. It is so very delicate and feathery.

One of our goals in plant choices was to have the yard become a habitat for living things….like these butterflies.

We also wanted fragrances and with the lavender, sage, and butterfly bushes all in bloom we have a yard that smells inviting to humans and other creatures.

If you look closely at the left bloom, there are two skipper butterflies stopping by to enjoy the flower this morning. The plantings also encourage the birds to visit and the hummingbirds can be seen daily in and out of this garden.

Everything about this yard inspires me to be creative….the delicate pinks of the butterfly bush, the lavender of the sage, the crimson of the crepe myrtle. I just want to snap as many photos as I can so on a cold winter afternoon I can pull them out and paint some in my journal to cheer me up, reminders of warmer days.

One last butterfly on the sage….this plant didn’t look very healthy at the beginning of the season but it loved the heat and sunshine. It made an amazing comeback. (I like the shadow of the sage on the rock below the butterfly…just like lace.)

Another great update showing the progress in our frontyard remodel. It has been a year since we underwent the big change and I have no regrets.

Jami’s Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Posted on July 12, 2011May 1, 2023 by Barb — 6 Comments

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly – Our July Newsletter Insect Study

Swallowtail at Yosemite National Park 2006

Since we just studied and observed our honeybees, we decided to learn more about another common backyard insect that we see all the time in our butterfly garden….the Western tiger swallowtail. There are some amazing images on this webpage. There is also quite a bit of information on Enchanted Learning.

We often see swallowtails on our butterfly bushes.

This rather large butterfly is a frequent visitor to our backyard habitat. One afternoon this past week I watched as two swallowtails dipped and swirled around the garden. They are so pretty but they don’t stay put very long at all.

We pulled out the Handbook of Nature Study and read the section on Black swallowtail butterflies to get sort of an overview of this insect. (Lesson 70) Here is a little excerpt:

“This graceful butterfly is a very good friend to the flowers, being a most efficient pollen-carrier. It haunts the gardens and sips nectar from all the blossom cups held out for its refreshment; and it is found throughout almost all parts of the United States. The grace of its appearance is much enhanced by the “swallowtails,” two projections from the hind margins of the hind wings.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 301

We got out our insect field guide and found out some more interesting facts:
Its caterpillars feed on alder, poplar, willow.
Habitat: Mixed and deciduous forests, open ares, even in urban areas.
Wingspan 3 1/2″ to 4 3/8″
Yellow wings, single “tail”

This Saturday, July 16th, is the day that the Great Sunflower Project is requesting that we observe our bees. Read more about how you can participate HERE. I look forward to hearing about your bees as part of the July Newsletter challenge. You can also observe your sunflowers at the same time!

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Barb — 5 Comments

Ideas for Garden Critter Nature Study – June Newsletter Suggestions

As part of the June Newsletter, I suggested that you try to find a garden critter to observe and study using the Handbook of Nature Study. There are already quite a few challenges that feature critters that you may come across in your own garden. Using the Outdoor Hour Challenge does not need to take a lot of time. In fact, I originally started the challenges and expected participants to only spend 10-15 minutes outdoors with their children. You do not need to make your nature study into a unit study or complicated. In fact, the simpler the better since it usually means the children are following their interests. If you already own the Getting Started ebook, you can use the first five challenges along with the suggestions in the June Newsletter.

Here are a few links to challenges that you may wish to think about using as part of the Garden Critter suggestion in the June Newsletter.

Earthworms (Spring Ebook)
Rabbits
Bees
Ants (Spring Ebook)
Robin
Garden snake(Spring Ebook)
Swallowtail or Monarch butterflies
Grasshopper(Summer Ebook)
Ladybug
Garden snail (no OHC yet but covered in the Handbook of Nature Study)

Have fun exploring your garden or yard for something interesting to learn more about in your nature study. You might try to go outside early in the morning or later in the evening when the temperatures are cooler and there may be more critters moving around.

Make sure to follow up your study with the chance for a nature journal entry. Look up the answers to any questions your children may have either in the Handbook of Nature Study or at your local library. After you make your blog entry about your garden critter, submit it to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. Remember every entry to the carnival is an entry in my June Newsletter Giveaway for a Squirrel Buster Birdfeeder.

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Barb — 16 Comments

Creating a Bee Habitat Garden – Suggestions and Ideas

We are starting to build our new garden area to replace a huge portion of our backyard lawn area. It has been a dream of mine to take the water-hungry lawn out and replace it with color and attractive plants for birds, bees, and butterflies. My husband and I finally agreed on a plan and we started a week or so ago to build the first two garden boxes from recycled blocks that came out of our frontyard remodel last fall. We are on a limited budget for this project so we are reusing materials we have on hand and it is going to be a long range plan to add more as we have time and money. We did end up purchasing and hauling in a yard of garden soil that we added some of our homemade compost to so we could fill up our boxes. We didn’t use the complete yard of soil in the boxes but used the balance to top off our vegetable garden boxes and fill two pots for patio tomatoes.

Here is the first square which will anchor the whole project. We found some lavender on sale at Home Depot and we added four plants…..bees no extra charge. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that there are bees on these blossoms every day, at all times of the day.

We also have loads of bees in the dandelions over on the other end of the yard. I counted quite a number of bees in the yellow blossoms as I sat and enjoyed their cheerfulness one afternoon. My husband is not convinced to keep the dandelions and wants to pull them up. I asked him to wait a bit and then he can mow them over.

Mr. B is my garden helper these days and we enjoy spending time outdoors together.

The larger box is going to hold my sunflowers and zinnias. I am including the Lemon Sunflowers in this box as part of the Great Sunflower Project. I was reading on their website about their change this year and they have added quite a number of other flowers to the project so you can count bees in your area.

If you want to check it out, click over and read on their website but it looks like you can count bees on include Bee balm, Cosmos, Rosemary, Tickseed, and Purple coneflower.

The two brown piles of leaf compost that you can see in the image above are going to become part of another bee garden that we may get to this year. The link will take you to Renee’s Garden where she has collaborated with the Great Sunflower Project on a list of bee attractive plants for your garden.

The only other part we are planning on planting this spring is the Three Sisters Garden that will be a long row parallel to the sidewalk just behind where my son is working in the image above. The Three Sisters are pumpkins, corn, and beans that you plant as companions. I am excited just thinking about this part of the garden!!!

I am anxious to add in a few things as we have time and the weather warms up. My husband keeps telling me he doesn’t see my vision for the yard but I told him to have faith and see what evolves. At the bottom of the post are the seeds that I am planting in the new larger box if you are interested.

That is what we accomplished this week in our new garden project but here are a few of our on-going bee/butterfly/hummingbird habitat garden projects that are a work in progress.

We have been working on this section of the garden for a few years now and it is filling in and growing more beautiful with each passing season.

In our front yard we added some Moonshine Yarrow….this has become another favorite of the bees this spring. I am anxious to see how it grows over the summer since it says it needs very little water.

I have to share my new yard art piece that my dear husband found for me. It is a metal butterfly balanced on top of a pole with river rocks stacked. It is the perfect piece for our front yard. I love the way it moves in the slightest breeze and is a great addition to the look of the front yard. I decided it is all about movement…the grasses, the forsythia, the butterfly bushes, and now the sculpture.

I have enjoyed reading all the entries over on Jami’s blog An Oregon Cottage as part of her Tuesday Garden Party. Welcome to all who have clicked over to read my entry!
I welcome all readers to subscribe to my blog…see the sidebar for a place to enter your email.

Jami’s Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Tag: Butterflies

Family Monarch Study – How To Conduct a Nature Study Follow-Up

You Build It and They Will Come – Butterfly Garden

Summer Nature Study: Something New Every Day

Updated Wildside-New Garden Arch-Delighted Nature Mama

Crowe’s Nest Media: Your Backyard: Monarch Butterfly Review and Giveaway

Fall Insects and A Pear Tree Update

Butterfly Days – Early Autumn Time Garden Update

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly – Our July Newsletter Insect Study

Ideas for Garden Critter Nature Study – June Newsletter Suggestions

Creating a Bee Habitat Garden – Suggestions and Ideas

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!