Tag: December World

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December World – Colors

Our December days are accented with color….right in our own yard.

12 10 10 Moss and Lichen

My husband brought some granite rocks into the front yard when we remodeled and I am so happy to see that they are alive with moss and lichens of a variety of colors. Now when I walk down my front path I will see some living things that have made themselves at home…that makes me happy.

12 10 10 Red Leaf

There are still leaves falling each day from the colorful trees and I love the way this red leaf fell among the yellow-green leaves. Now that I look at the photo closely, I notice there is a mushroom peeking through on the top left side.

12 10 10 Sweet Gum Tree

The gray skies of December have a different feel to them and give the afternoon a somber cast. The sweet gum tree is all dressed up with its sticker balls and a few remaining red-orange leaves. I find myself looking up at the sky more in the winter….checking the sky for clouds, looking for birds, viewing the world that opens up when the leaves are gone.

I feel a whole series of December World posts coming on as I work my way through my photos from this week. Using photography to capture your world is not only an easy way to document your time outdoors but it can be therapeutic to see the world through the lens of your camera. You get to focus on the small and the big.

Hope you are enjoying the series so far.

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Flaming Tree on an Autumn Morning

red orange leaves trees

Up early a few days ago on a brilliant autumn morning, I noticed one of our sweet gum trees ablaze with the sunrise. It looked like a torch against the blue sky all lit up with the morning rays.

The curious thing about this tree is that it still has most of its leaves. You can see in the photo there are similar trees on either side of it that have lost all but a few of their leaves. Three trees…all the same kind….all planted at the same time…..one decides to keep its leaves. Curious.

“The autumn leaf which glows gold or red, has in it only the material which the tree can no longer use. It is a mistake to believe that the frost causes the brilliant colors of autumn foliage, they are caused by the natural old age and death of the leaves-and where is there to be found old age and death more beautiful? When the leaf assumes its bright colors, it is making ready to depart from the tree; a thin, corky layer is being developed between the petiole and the twig, and when this is perfected,  the leaf drops from its own weight or the touch of  the slightest breeze.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 622

DSCN7042

Here is another tree that is planted on the side of our house and it is amazingly tall and colorful. The birds like to sit in this tree and sing in the summer time but now they are mostly gone.

Sparrow in a Tree

I spotted a house sparrow in this tree off the side of our deck. The sparrows are regular visitors to our feeders and stick around the whole year. This one seemed to be enjoying the sunrise.

I enjoy a good sunrise myself.

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December World – Fragrance

12 10 10 Lavender
Lavender in December-Still Fragrant

Our December World still has a fragrance. I stepped out the front door and down the steps and out of habit I reached to touch the lavender next to the stairway. Running my hand along the leaves and then placing my hand up to my face, I smell a summer smell. The leaves this time of year are a silvery-gray-green but they hold a sweet lavender smell that I adore.

12 10 10 Rosemary
Rosemary

My eyes started looking for other things that might have fragrance and I spotted my new rosemary plants up by the birdfeeder. They still have a few purple blossoms on the ends and as I kneel to take a photo or two I spot a bee buzzing near-by! I am surprised.

12 10 10 Violets
Violet

Around the corner and back to the back steps I spot my favorite cold weather fragrant flower…the violet. There are just a few starting to bloom but each flower holds a potent gift of violet goodness. Besides….who can resist a purple flower?

12 10 10 Oregano
Oregano-Still a few leaves to pluck and bring up to the kitchen.

My garden is pretty much sleeping for the winter but tucked into Mr. B’s box are a few herbs and these give a fragrance to winter as well. He has thyme, oregano, and chives all hanging in there despite our cold temperatures.

12 6 10 Peas in the box
Peas late in the season

I notice that the peas we tucked in the box a few months ago have woke up and are growing. It will be interesting to see if they continue to grow.

12 6 10 Garden Box and Compost Pile
Garden box and my leaf pile.

The rest of the garden is pretty much done and the pile of leaves there in the background will soon be spread over the remaining boxes as a nice winter blanket. The smell of the leaves as they decay is rich and potent, ever promising to protect the few plants that are left for the winter and then to enrich the soil when we till them under in the spring.

So there you have our fragrant December World….perhaps you have some smell that reminds of the coming winter. I encourage you to open your sense of smell this month and see if you can discover some odor to enjoy. Wood smoke? Pine boughs?

Thanks to Palmy from Mens Sana who sent me a link to her fragrance entry….you will need to translate if you don’t speak Italian.

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – December Mini-Challenge and Notebook Page

Outdoor Hour Challenge December Mini Challenge

My whole impetus for starting this blog was to share how our family finally cracked the book open and started implementing the ideas that Anna Botsford Comstock wrote about so skillfully in this book. The entire Handbook of Nature Study is to help parents/teachers to be better nature study guides.

Autumn Trees and Sky

The breath of fresh air, the moving about outside, the getting to know better our own backyard…these are the joys of the Outdoor Hour Challenge. The most successful families involved in the OHC are those that embrace the idea that getting outdoors as a family is important and worthy of our time. The OHC is the vehicle for getting us outside, hopefully giving us something interesting to learn about. If we skip the preparation work and don’t read the pages in the Handbook of Nature Study, we are missing out on the simple ideas that Anna Botsford Comstock shared in the pages of each lesson.

White Crowned Sparrow in the Birdfeeder

We can all use some refreshing ideas from time to time and I am encouraging every single participant of the Outdoor Hour Challenge to spend a few minutes over the next few weeks to read the pages from the challenges below…you will not be sorry. Read with a note pad or highlighter to create some of your own points to remember as you go outdoors with your children this winter. I have listed some of my favorite points below.


Handbook of Nature Study Reading Suggestions
Challenge 1: Pages 1-8
Challenge 2: Pages 23-24
Challenge 3: 16-17
Challenge 4: 10-11 and 13-15

“In nature-study the work begins with any plant or creature which chances to interest the pupil.”

“In nature study any teacher can with honor say, ‘I do not know’, for perhaps the question asked is as yet unanswered by the great scientists.”

“No child should be compelled to have a nature journal”

“…but in nature-study, the observation of form is for the purpose of better understanding life.”

“It is a mistake to think that half day is necessary for a field lesson, since a very efficient field trip may be made during the ten or fifteen minutes at recess, if it is well planned.”

You don’t have to go farther than you own backyard because “nature study is science brought home”.

To help us implement some of the ideas we read about, I have included a December World Notebook Page as part of this entry. You can use it to record your outdoor time over the next few weeks.

 

Free Notebooking Pages SamplerPlease note I am an affiliate for NotebookingPages.com and I receive a small commission for every purchase you make after clicking my links. I hope that you find their products as valuable as I do!

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