Family Outdoor Hour Challenge Archives

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Barb — 3 Comments

Family Mammal Study – Unexpected Deer and Our Usual Squirrels

As part of preparing for our mammal study this week, I pulled our mammal field guide from our shelf to have for easy reference. I opened to the introductory pages and I would love to share a few thoughts from those pages with you in this post.

Most mammals are creatures of the darkness, only becoming active at night after dark and returning home again before dawn.
Most nocturnal mammals communicate by odor which humans cannot detect and with sounds which are frequently high pitched and low in volume.
Direct observation of most mammals is difficult except for a few species like chipmunks and squirrels.
The vocalizations of mammals have not been extensively explored and most make brief sounds called “call notes”.

We were walking along our usual trail having a great conversation when my son twirled me around to get me to look up on the hill. He had spotted a few young deer not too far from where we were. They were slowly moving along, not really paying too much attention to us.

California mule deer are very common in our area and we often see groups of 8-10 deer alongside the road or in grassy meadows. My husband actually hit a deer with his truck last month when he was coming home from work…minimal damage and the deer bounced back up and ran off into the woods. He was lucky. He once hit a deer and it totaled the vehicle.

We were planning on studying our backyard squirrels this week as part of our mammal study but we spent a little time reading up on the mule deer too. California mule deer are very graceful and agile mammals. They have lovely eyes but don’t let those innocent looking eyes fool you. They have been known to eat my garden down to the ground in one night.

There are three fox squirrels and one gray squirrel in our yard just about every day. They are in the bird feeders and up in the trees chattering at us and the dog pretty much all day long. I started off trying to keep them out of the feeders but it is an impossible task.

They are very acrobatic and can get to just about any of our feeders.

We spend time each day watching these very acrobatic mammals hop from limb to limb and then hang upside down to eat from the feeders.

Here is a coloring page for a Fox Squirrel. We found this website that has a recording of the sound the fox squirrel makes.

Again, I ended up including photos as part of my nature journal entry to show the differences between the Western gray squirrel and the Fox squirrel.

One of my sons told me that it used to be an “event” when the gray squirrel showed up in the yard but now we have so many squirrels that they are commonplace. We have started to think of them as rodent pests rather than welcome visitors.

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Barb — 6 Comments

Bird Stories for the Week: Hummingbird, Hawk in the Feeder, Raven, and Doves

Spring is a time for the birds. They seem to be everywhere and always making beautiful songs or calls to get each other’s attention. We have been keen to look out for new birds but the birds that came along this week were totally unexpected.

First, there was this Anna’s Hummingbird along our walking trail….he was giving his little squeaky sound which caught our attention. (If you click the link, there is a button to listen to what he sounds like.) I’m surprised that we were able to snap a good image of him before he sped off up the hill. I love that it is getting closer to hummingbird time in our yard….time to clean up the old feeder and get it hung on its hook.

Here is another bird that we heard before we saw him in our front yard. This Common Raven was up atop the utility pole across the street making a terrible racket. HERE is what he sounds like. There is a distinct difference between the sound of a crow and that of a raven. We have never had a raven here before at the house but I have seen them just up the road a bit so perhaps he was just passing through. (Sorry for the blurry photo but he didn’t let me get ready before he flew away.)

The mourning doves have made themselves a common visitor to the frontyard feeder. They show up in a pair and strut around under the feeder to clean up after the sparrows who spill seed. The doves took a break on the new retaining wall, perhaps they felt at home with the metal quail sculptures there along the edge. It was worthy of a photo.

Here is a close up of one of the doves in my front yard under the feeding station. They are typically found scratching around the base looking for a little nibble. The sound they make as they fly away is like a whirring, you can hear it on the Cornell page. (Scroll down and listen to the “wing whistle” clip.)

This one is hard to see but it is a Swainson’s hawk that is tormenting the birds in my yard. It has been here every day and is getting bolder and bolder. Mr. A saw him swoop down and get a sparrow and fly away. I have seen him making a move to the birds in the feeder and he actually perched on top of the feeding station one time. Today he landed on the ground near the feeder and looked right at me. Although I really think he is a beautiful, fascinating creature….I wish he would eat his lunch somewhere else.

“Their eyes are remarkably keen; they can see a moving creature from a great height, and can suddenly drop upon it like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky. Their wonderful eyes are far-sighted when they are circling in the sky, but as they drop, the focus of the eyes changes automatically with great rapidity, so that by the time they reach the earth they are nearsighted, a feat quite impoissible for our eyes unless aided by glassses or telescope.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 108 (section on hawks)

We had robins and cedar waxwings pass through again which is always interesting. There was also a honking V of Canada Geese that flew overhead this morning. So ends our bird week in review….

What have you seen this week? Leave me a comment with your most interesting bird observation this week. I love to learn about new birds.

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Barb — 7 Comments

OHC Winter Insects and Hike With a Waterfall

We had almost given up trying to fit in a winter insect study but it was such a perfect day today to get outdoors that we took advantage. I whipped up some sandwiches, we jumped in the car, and we had a little picnic before we took a hike on our close-by and most familiar trail.

What impressed me the most as we started to hike was the greenness all around us! The grasses, the mosses, and the ferns are what Crayola would call “spring green”. It felt good to get outside and hike…we saw a red-tailed hawk right above us and it was amazing! We heard robins and Western scrub jays as we went along, nice to hear the familiar spring sounds in the woods.

Then the sky and clouds captured my eye and the beauty made me stop to admire and try to get a good shot of just how beautiful the almost spring sky is in our neighborhood today. We had a hail storm around 5:30 AM today and then the storm passed and the clouds parted, revealing a bright blue sky.

So for our insect study I was hoping to find some oak galls or leaf miners and I was successful in finding one of those things.

Leaf miners are talked about in the Handbook of Nature Study starting on page 329 (Lesson 77).
“Among the most familiar of these are the serpentine miners, so called because the figure formed by the eating out of the green pulp of the leaf curves like a serpent…..The serpent-like marking and the blister-like blothces which we often see on leaves are made by the larve of insects which complete their growth by feeding upon the inner living substance of the leaf.”

We saw evidence of other insects all around the trail when we stopped to look closely.

As I was taking these photos, I happened to see this guy. I have absolutely no idea what kind of insect it is but was great to observe him this afternoon, a sign of life in these woods.

The next leg of the hike had some surprises in store for us. Like these very first of the season Shooting Stars!

And these colorful and cheery buttercups…added bonus….some small fly-like insect.

I have been down this trail a hundred times and I haven’t ever noticed how nicely this manzanita is shaped. It must be pretty old because it is taller than most of the manzanita in this area and looks more like a tree than a bush. See the nice oak on the left all covered with spring moss?

On the way back up the trail we stopped to admire the waterfall and I was excited to see the early spring saxifrage beginning to sprout. Soon it will be blooming and I will know it is spring.

Kona had to get in the water while she waited for me to finish my photo taking. She moved some rocks around in the water with her nose and got a drink.

Here is the waterfall from the trail. This is looking up and there is a section below where we are so the sound of rushing water is heard from the parking place all the way down to where we turn around and come back up. It is one of those very relaxing and comforting sounds that we enjoy on this hike.

Here is a red insect I spotted while I was crouched down taking photos of the saxifrage. I don’t know what it is but it had wings and eventually flew away.

I think that wraps up our hike and our insects for our study. We are going to try to identify the red insect in the photo above and add it to our nature journals this week. What a great day outdoors! I think I have been color deprived because just seeing the few wildflowers, the greens of the grasses and mosses, and the colorful insect has brightened my mood. I think we all feel better.

Update:
I updated my last entry with a photo from last summer….we were at the redwood forest in Northern California. Click over and scroll down to see how small we are in comparison to the base of the tree!

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Barb — 5 Comments

Fields of Mustard – Cheerful February Scene

I was driving on a back road yesterday and found this sea of yellow field mustard all in bloom! It made me smile so I had to go home and get my camera to capture the showy display of yellow. This was an orchard of apples but a few years ago they took down the trees and now it has come alive with mustard. I realize this is another of our county’s invasive species but it sure is pretty.

I am in awe of just how beautiful this scene sparkles on this February day.

We took the opportunity to take a family hike in the sunshine and it was fairly uneventful. All three of my sons accompanying my husband and I for a hike down in the canyon. Kona dog came too and she was eager to explore.

Kona was wild on this hike so she had to sit for a minute in a little doggy “time out”. She brought home some ticks a few times in the past week so I am trying to keep her in the middle of the trail and then check her when we get back to the car. She has other ideas….her nose is just so curious.

I know much of our nation is still deep into winter cold and winter weather but here in our part of the world it is sunny and warm in the afternoons. I hope my images cheer you up!

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Barb — 5 Comments

Pines, Evergreens, Cones, and Needles

This week has been full of nature study….the informal kind that happens as we go about our everyday life. My boys are a big part of the experience and they discover things in our world that I miss. Their eyes seem to be open to so much around them, while my head is full of schedules and tasks that need to be done. I really must make a conscious effort to clear my head more when we are outdoors.

First of all, before I get into the pines and cones, I have to share a rare visitor to our backyard. This Northern flicker was up on the tree and Mr. A spotted it and brought it to my attention. Not the first time we have ever had a flicker in the yard but it has been a long time since we observed this interesting bird. They eat bugs and insects from the grass below the tree but they are considered woodpeckers. They also have a red flash on their wings when they fly.

Our focus on cones and needles this week was highlighted by two events.

The first happened last week when we had a huge windstorm with lots of gusts. The wind brought down small branches and cones on the trail where we walk and we were able to get a good look at both. These are not from a pine but a fir tree, Douglas fir. I love what it says in our field guide about the Douglas fir cone. It says, “mouse tail bracts grow between scales”. Sure enough…there they are.

The second event was a walk on our walking trail where we were trying to notice something interesting about pines. Here is a spot on the trail where there are two different pines growing side by side.

Notice the two different colors of needles.

They both have bundles of three and are about the same length. We are pretty sure after much study of our field guides and online sources that one is a Gray pine and the other is a Ponderosa pine. We are going to take our field guide back with us later today and see if we can nail the identification down positively.

What a great week we have had looking for cones and pines! I know that many of you are experiencing cold snowy weather but here in our woods we are enjoying abundant sunshine and no precipitation.

Guess what I spotted yesterday in my garden? The first daffodil of the year is starting to bloom! Crazy, crazy weather for us too!

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Barb — 3 Comments

Weather, Weather, Weather….Nature Study in the Day to Day

We all have weather…..no doubt about it. Our family seems to notice the weather everyday and we often talk about how cold or how dry or how windy it is in comparison to last year or to the previous season. Sort of related this week, two family members came to me at separate times to tell me that the days are definitely getting longer. I had actually noticed it in the mornings and this morning in particular I realized that I did not need to turn the back lights on when I took the dog outside. The sky was just tinged with blue and the only luminary that I saw was Venus…nice and bright!

Weather Chart from the Autumn Series Ebook

We started this week keeping a daily record of our temperatures, sometimes several times a day just to see the variation. We compared this to our autumn study record that we kept in November 2010. There is virtually no difference except for perhaps we had more rain in November. We are going to keep going with our chart and see when we have a change in our weather.

Our tree silhouette study goes pretty much all winter so I had to try to come up with a new aspect to offer to the boys this week. We decided to note tree buds and to bring in some twigs from the forsythia bush to see if we can force some blooms.

Our sweet gum tree is already making some changes…the buds look like this right now.

Our birch is looking pretty much the same, it is in a shadier and cooler part of the yard.

The forsythia twigs are all gathered in a vase, sitting in the front window. I will let you know when and if they blossom.

Hope you had a great week of winter nature study and are getting outdoors a little each week to discover some interesting things in your part of the world.

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Barb — 8 Comments

Snowshoe Adventures…Tramping Through the Woods

I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.

~Henry David Thoreau

By now you are more than likely tired of seeing my snowshoe photos but since the season is full of opportunities to hike out there in the snowy goodness, I will continue to share some of the best shots and stories from our wanderings.

This trip was a sisters trip and my big sis and I spent part of our weekend out in the sunshine hiking/wandering, taking photos, talking, sharing aches and pains, and nourishing our love of beautiful landscapes. We heard Steller’s jays and nuthatches as we “tramped” through the woods.The creek sounds were always in the background and every now and then the quack of a mallard was heard over the crunching of our shoes.

This particular place is known for being a bear and eagle habitat. Although I have seen bears here in the summer and fall, I have never seen an actual bear or signs of bear in the winter. There are plenty of other animal tracks around but never any bear tracks. My sister was still a little uneasy but we did not see a bear on this trip, thank goodness, or she would have never let me forget about it.

There has been no fresh snow in awhile but there were places where we really did need the snowshoes. The weather was warm and I ended up just with a fleece jacket, no gloves, and my light knit hat. My sister was trying out a new set of snowshoes which were much smaller and lighter than mine. She said they were very easy to get used to and we felt good about being out for a long walk….not totally by ourselves in the woods but still alone enough to feel peaceful and refreshed.

We wandered through the woods and only once did we need to take our snowshoes off and jump across the creek. Yes, I said jump. I didn’t feel very graceful as I made the leap across into the snowbank but there was no one else around to see me….

The aspens make such a visual treat with their beautiful trunks.

Yes, the limbs of the bare bushes are that pinky-red in real life. Amazing color along the creek for a winter scene. I was so surprised that my point and shoot was able to capture the exact look of this winter creek.

Does it get any better than this? With a little effort my sister and I made it out to the end of the creek where it spills into the lake. The snow had all melted on this side of the water and we took off our snowshoes and stood in awe of the mountains, the snow, the reflections, the sky, the peacefulness of this place. I felt like I was in some beautiful outdoor cathedral and I sent my thanks to our Grand Creator for the gift of this afternoon.

There is my sister taking some photos of her own. We share a love for the outdoors and photography and she is an amazing nature photographer. All too soon we realized the day was coming to a close and we needed to make the hike back to the car. We were tired but it was a good kind of tired.

I hope to get up to the snow at least one more time, probably with my boys if we can fit in the time.

I am not the only one that has snowshoes. Don’t miss reading another mom’s experience with her snowshoes…it will warm your heart: Pink Snowshoes by Richelle at Educating Mother.

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Barb — 3 Comments

Our Winter Sky Studies

Beautiful Pink and Lavender Sunset

We have been out a few nights in the past week to gaze at stars even if it was for just a minute or two. The moon was very bright and we even saw it early in the morning a couple of times, peeking out from between the pines on the horizon. I think the moon impressed us more than the stars. We have been focusing on stars all this school year so I just went with what the boys were interested in learning about. The next full moon is on February 18, 2011 and is know as the Full Snow Moon.

I ordered a new book for them because of their interest in learning more about the Apollo landings on the moon and the Apollo program in general. I know it doesn’t look like a very deep book but it gets builds their interest and helps them to know what they can research more on their own. It is another one of those books that I will keep on the coffee table for a few months and let them browse it at their leisure.

The other interesting subject that came our way was a bat! We were out at sunset and here was a bat flying and swooping around our backyard. We were surprised to see him but it was fun to watch as he flew around and around putting on an acrobatic show.

Purple Sunrise…Looking West

My son pointed out this purple sunrise sky…this is facing west so the sunrise is behind us. It is the same spot that the very top photo was taken at sunset. I had a hard time getting the color right and had to take about twenty images on different settings to get it to come out. It was really this purple.

If you are looking for a journal to use over long periods of time for star gazing (or moon gazing), we found a perfect one that my son has been using all year.

It is called Stargazing Journal and it has pre-printed pages for you to record each night time session you have. There is even a place on the page for a sketch of your observations. I like that it is hardbound and has an elastic closure.

I have really enjoyed reading other family’s star entries and I encourage you all to give it a try. It doesn’t even need to be a long session but just calling attention to the winter sky’s beauty is even enough if that is all you can fit in. Do a sunset or a sunrise study if you can manage that for this challenge. I guarantee if you put in the effort, you will be rewarded.

Have a great week and I will post up the next challenge tomorrow.

Don’t forget to submit your January Outdoor Hour Challenge and Winter Wednesday entries to the OHC Blog Carnival. The deadline is this coming Monday, January 31st.

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Barb — 12 Comments

Our Winter Tree Study: Nothing Short of a Miracle

We started our birch tree year-long study back in October. (You can read it HERE.) I remember saying to one of the boys that soon the leaves would all be gone and we would be able to see the shape of the tree’s trunk and branches better. Well, time has flown by and here we are standing in the backyard looking at just those very things.

Words that are going in our nature journals: bare, thin, flexible, drooping, catkins, white.

This tree is so different in shape than our other year-long tree studies done with the silver maple and the tulip poplar. The bark on the trunk is different and the seeds are totally different. I anticipate that we are going to learn quite a bit about trees just taking a few minutes each season to observe this tree.

We wanted to take a closer look at the catkins from the tree so we brought a few inside to the table. I bumped one of the catkins and the seeds went everywhere. You can see the partial catkin in the photo above and how the seeds are attached to make it look somewhat like a little dangling cone but it is not really like a cone at all. It is a well organized bunch of winged seeds that are in the shape of a cone. We have seen finches land on the catkins and hang upside down as they nibble their treat.

After much manipulation of lights and magnifying lenses, my son and I were able to capture the seed in an image for you. Truly amazing!

Mr. B sketched the seed for me in my journal and I added color and the captions after we did the research. So much to learn about seeds and how they are part of the life cycle of a tree. I know in my head what seeds are but when you stop to think about the miracle of a complete tree growing from this one small hard to see with the naked eye structure…well, it causes me to sit and be amazed at our wonderful Creator. It is nothing short of a miracle.

It actually reminds me of this quote that I ran across and wrote down to save.

“Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference is nowhere.”
Blaise Pascal

My Encouragement to You
If you haven’t had a chance to start, begin now during the winter. Charlotte Mason in her writings suggests choosing trees in winter to observe and compare. She says to wait until spring to identify the trees when the leaves and blossoms appear.

“Children should be made early intimate with the trees, too; should pick out half a dozen trees, oak, elm, ash, beech, in their winter nakedness, and take these to be their year-long friends. In the winter, they will observe the light tresses of the birch, the knotted arms of the oak, the sturdy growth of the sycamore. They may wait to learn the names of the trees until the leaves come.”

Charlotte Mason, Vol.1 page 52

There are some simple ideas outlined in Winter Series Challenge #2 or you can just pick a tree and observe, perhaps taking a photo or making a simple journal entry. Don’t hesitate to jump in now!

See this entry for a description. Sample HERE.

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Barb — 8 Comments

Hiking On A Winter Day – California Style

We had the opportunity to hike down at the river, sunny skies and warmer temperatures were just too good to pass up. The Kona dog went swimming and brought us a bunch of sticks to throw for her to fetch. She was one happy dog!

This sign is for rafters, not hikers. There are stretches of the river that flow through “private” areas and you are not supposed to be loud and rowdy there but then when you hit public lands you can have water fights and swim and holler as much as you want. There were no rafters on the river this time but in the summer there is raft after raft of water lovers floating down this section of the river.

Hiking still means climbing on things for my teenage boys. This time it was an old oak tree lying on its side. It is a sad sight to see one of these old oaks giving in to the elements. I know it is home to creatures and soon it will melt into the floor of the woods but it still makes me sad.

Down at the river the boys made Andy Goldworthy style rock piles again but in the end my rock sculpture was the best…..

What do you think? At least it didn’t fall over before I could take a photo….just friendly family competition/fun. It is not as easy at it looks to stack rocks, big and small, into something that looks nice.

Hiking back up from the river I spotted this little mushroom growing in the moss on the side of a tree.

Here is another one that we thought was interesting. My boys call me the Fungus Lady for a reason. 🙂

Seriously, our part of the world is not a winter wonderland but it can get cold. I decided that it is pleasantly warm enough afternoons that it makes our cold winter mornings bearable. I have never lived anywhere else and I just don’t know how I would cope with really long, snowy winters. We have days at a time where it is cold and we get a few inches of snow but it melts and the sun comes out and we see green. Our green season is really from about this time of the year until the end of May…..they our state turns “golden”. I like “golden”.

Shhhh…don’t tell anyone. Barb is admitting that she doesn’t care for winter as much as summer.

154 days until the first day of summer but I’m not counting.

I am going to have to postpone our winter snow study until we actually get some snow. We are working on our winter tree study though so stay tuned for that this week. We also took another fabulous hike to a different part of the river today…I know….we are spoiled but loving it.

Tag: Family Outdoor Hour Challenge