Tag: Family Outdoor Hour Challenge

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Foggy Day Walk: Our Groundhog Study Week

The Outdoor Hour Challenge this week was to learn about groundhogs/woodchucks, prairie dogs, and marmots.

Since we do not have groundhogs, prairie dogs, or marmots in our area, we just enjoyed reading the information from the Handbook of Nature Study, the Burgess Animal Book, and watching the videos.

After that we needed to take our outdoor time.

We didn’t feel much like going for a walk but once we were on the trail….it was refreshing and it felt good to stretch our legs. The fog was drifting in and out of the trees as we walked and there was a squirrel chattering at us from high up in the trees.

The boys remembered that we had seen a prairie dog at the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum and I pulled up the photos to remind us a little more.

Wow, I totally forgot that we saw prairie dogs when we were in Arizona. (We saw so many interesting things at this museum that it isn’t any wonder that I forgot.)


I thought the prairie dog was posing for us because he looked right at us as I snapped the photo. He was rather cute for a rodent. Click on the photo and then tell me….is he posing or not? That is his hole right there between us and it was really big.

Okay, back to our walk.

On our foggy day walk, we started to notice more and more muddy trails off the main trail. We are assuming these are made by animals since this area does not get many visitors this time of year….or any time of the year for that matter. This particular trail heads down into another gully and I can hear in the distance the faint sound of water so I think there must be a creek. One of these days I will convince someone to go exploring with me down one of these trails. The photo looks crooked but it really is a very steep little gully and I imagine in the spring this will not be as noticeable as the trees put back on their leaves.

After completing a little more research, we found that there are marmots in the Sierras and in Yosemite National Park. I have never seen one there but now you know that it will be a goal to see one. 🙂

This was a great challenge for us and we learned a lot about these mammals. This challenge also encouraged us to get out on a day that we would have probably not ventured out as a family and that is the best part of the whole thing.

Autumn 2010 Nature Study cover

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Star Gazing….Moon Gazing Too

We took advantage of a few clear nights last week to view the moon and stars. It is a good thing too because this week we have had cloudy skies every night along with a really good soaking rain which we desperately needed. It was time to complete our Winter Wednesday – Winter Sky Challenge.


I have one son that has taken an intense desire to know more about the subject of astronomy since we started these night time session.


Several trips to the library and then a really good deal on a clearance book at Borders has feed his need to know more about the universe we live in.

We are working on learning some of the constellations visible during the winter months and in addition to the Discover Nature in Winter book, we have found the Handbook of Nature Study to be very helpful. There is a section starting on page 823 on the Winter Stars. I have heard talk around nature blogs lately that many view the Handbook of Nature Study as “old fashioned” and they prefer to use more “modern” books for reference. I do not find it to be outdated in the least. The clear explanations of the constellations in the Handbook of Nature Study make it an excellent first resource for families. For example: the lessons on page 820 explaining the North Star and the Big Dipper are clearly put down for anyone to follow and are timeless. The language used in the Handbook of Nature Study makes it enjoyable to read.

“After the polar constellations are learned, we are then ready for further study in the still earlier evenings of winter, when the clear atmostphere makes the stars seem more alive, more sparkling, and more beautiful than at any other period of the year.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 823

“Orion is one of the most beautiful constellations in the heavens. It is especially marked by the three stars which form Orion’s belt, and the line of stars below the belt which form the sword.”
Handbook of Nature Study page 825

Doesn’t that capture your interest? We are looking forward to a few more nights of stargazing this winter.

Winter Wednesday Button

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Mammals on an Afternnon Drive…Birds Too

We decided to go for a long drive today to enjoy the very warm spring-like day. I was driving and observing as we went along that there were quite a few dead skunks along the road, more than usual. I started counting.

Here is our official count:

  • 7 skunks
  • 3 rabbits
  • 2 squirrels
  • 1 possum
  • 1 raccoon

All dead alongside the road.

Are there usually that many mammals to count? I have never noticed that many before but maybe my mind was just thinking about mammals since it is our focus right now.

We saw lots of cattle and horses on this drive as well….very much alive and enjoying the sunny day. Happy cows come from California…or so they say.

As the afternoon sun was fading, the deer started to be seen alongside the road. I was busy driving but my husband and son counted seven deer….one really big buck. In the past, both my husband and I have hit deer with our cars….actually, he has done it twice.

My husband told me today that his friend’s daughter not so long ago hit a bear on the road that we were driving on. I slowed down after that.

Just as a note to myself about the birds we identified today as we drove along and then hiked a little along the river:

  • Six red tail hawks and one other hawk that I couldn’t identify.
  • Two turkey vultures.
  • Vast amounts of snow geese…too many to number.
  • Canadian geese as well.
  • We also saw one gorgeous great blue heron in a dead tree alongside the Feather River.
  • Several gulls….white and gray.
  • Red winged blackbirds by the dozens.
  • Two flocks of crows in the trees.
  • White egrets in the trees.

Great day for nature study.

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Signs of a Squirrel: Our Outdoor Hour Challenge #45

Today ended up with a nature study of squirrels at my dad’s house. We had gone over to visit him this afternoon and somehow it was mentioned that we were studying squirrels this week. His eyes lit up and he took us out for a little walk on the backside of his property. He has been up there cutting wood and he had something to share with us.

This is what he wanted us to see up on the hill next to his woodpile. There was a whole area that was piled high with shredded pinecones. All of the reddish material that you see in this photo is the remnants of a squirrel feast. The squirrels have been very busy eating up in the trees and letting the litter fall to the ground in great heaps.

Here in the center, probably easier to see if you click the photo, are some of the many, many pinecones stripped of their tasty seeds.

Here is a closer shot of another cone.
Can you believe how big this pile is? They are busy squirrels.


Here one of the seeds from the cone after the squirrel has finished with it.

Now for a few more mammal signs from our walk.

We also saw these “signs” from some mule deer that live in this area. Just last week we saw seven deer walking down to my dad’s pond late in the afternoon. They seemed not to care that we were watching in awe of their beauty.


Then right down the hill from where we were, we saw these tell-tale signs of a busy gopher. You could not walk easily on this slope because the ground was just full of holes and tunnels.


Here is another view of one of the holes. My dad was thinking about making a new garden in this area but I told him he better think twice….deer and gophers don’t mix very well with a vegetable garden. Even though it is a perfect spot for growing with lots of sunlight, he would need to fence it like his other garden area….a very tall fence.

What a great way to study squirrels. My dad thinks of his property as a sort of nature study laboratory for our family. He will call us over if he sees something interesting and I love that about him. My dad and I did not spend much time together when I was a child because he was always working but now that he is retired, he and I share our love of all things that have to do with the great outdoors. He has not always been a fan of homeschooling but I think he now has changed his mind and is eager to help us out with our nature study.

More Nature Study Book 2 Winter Wonder cover

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Wednesday Walk in the Snow: Beavers and Jays

Winter Wednesday-Week 2 Snow

We haven’t had much snowfall in our area since last week so our plans to complete the snow melting measurement activity are on hold for the moment. We did observe something that the book talks about on page 28 and 29, Snow Melt and Trees.

“During the day, the tree absorbs heat from the sun. The tree radiates heat and melts the snow.”

You can see in these photos how this looks out in the woods.

Here is another photo that shows the melted snow very clearly. Right after we took this photo we saw a coyote over beyond the trees. He was hurrying past on his way to somewhere else….we did not see him again all day.


On my the right sidebar of my blog I have a photo of my summer hiking boots….now here are my winter hiking boots. These are so very comfortable and warm. Don’t they look like brand new? They are two years old! I just love LL Bean. ( I just looked up on the LL Bean website and I can’t find these particular boots there anymore….just in case you were going to ask.)

The snow was just right for snow boots. I was really glad we did not need the snowshoes today because they are a lot of work and I wanted to just relax. Next time I am going to bring them along because there is an area that I wanted to explore but the snow was just too deep. I stepped of the trail and sunk down to about mid-calf.

We stayed on the trail….isn’t this a welcoming little entrance to this part of the wilderness? (Don’t tell Brittney…this is where we saw the bear last fall.)


Several people emailed me about the beaver dam in the header of the blog. Yes, it is a real beaver dam that is along one of our regular hiking trails. I promised a few more photos to go along with the beaver story. The photo above is a good example of what a tree looks like that a beaver has worked on. This particular tree is pretty far from the creek so I’m not sure why they chose it but it is still sitting in the woods. You can tell how big a beaver is by how far up the tree he was working.


You can see if you look closely or click the photo to enlarge it that the rangers have come through and protected some of the tree trunks with wire to prevent the beavers from falling the trees. There are quite a few trees that look as if the beaver got started and then the rangers wrapped up the trunks to keep the tree intact.


The turn around spot on this hike was this beach. This is the beach we spend hours and hours at during the summer and fall. This is a favorite with locals so there are lots of tracks and paw prints in the snow. There were a few mallard ducks hanging around today as well as a very chattery squirrel. More on the squirrels in another post soon.

One more friend from our walk this time.

Mr. Steller’s jay is a glorious blue and even more striking against the winter’s gray. They have to be some of the most loud and squawky birds you can ever imagine but they are so pretty when they hold still for a photo. Click the link above and scroll down to where you can listen to the call of the Steller’s jay….squawk indeed.

That was our Winter Wednesday this week. We are going to make sure to remember to actually do the activities we planned from chapter two when it snows here next….maybe soon.

Winter Wednesday Button

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On the Trail of Some Mammals: Outdoor Hour Challenge #44

We do not have many rabbits in our neighborhood although we have seen tracks in the snow up in the mountains not far from here. We read up on rabbits but we also tried to brainstorm other mammals we might see or see signs of on our Outdoor Hour hike this week. Here is our running list:

  • Western Grey Squirrel
  • Fox
  • Raccoon
  • Opposum
  • Skunk
  • Mule deer
  • Mole
  • Gopher
  • Deer mouse
  • Coyote

Many of these mammals are rarely seen during daylight hours but we thought we might see signs of them along the trail if we looked closely.

Here is a little glimpse of what we saw along the trail as we kept our eyes out for signs of mammals. We obviously don’t have any snow at the moment so we were looking for tracks in the damp earth. My husband thought it might be a deer trail but the branches of the bushes are too low for a deer to easily slip through. I think it must be a smaller mammal…maybe a fox? We looked very carefully but we could not see any clear tracks in the mud which is even more curious to us.

We also found several holes that looked promising and this one looked freshly dug. No prints in the dirt though.

Here is a pine cone that shows signs of having been someone’s dinner. Scattered around this area were parts of the cone as well.

Now for the photos for the more serious mammal hunters. Scroll down for some scat photos or you can finish here. 🙂 Seriously, these are really graphic animal dropping photos. Don’t feel bad if you skip them.


This was full of fur and very black. After looking in several reference books, including the Discover Nature in Winter book, I think this is fox scat.


This one was full of some kind of red skins, maybe from some berries or fruit. I am not sure at all who it belongs to.

Although we didn’t see any rabbits or signs of rabbits, we had a great time looking for other mammals during our afternoon walk.

https://naturestudyhomeschool.com/2010/01/winter-series-of-outdoor-hour.html

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Our Winter Color Walk

The weather has been glorious the last few days so it was easy to get out and explore. I even saw a hummingbird in my feeder yesterday if you can believe it. I can hardly believe it. I am so glad that I procrastinated and didn’t take the feeder down because he was drinking deeply. My husband and I were sitting on the deck enjoying the sunshine together as he recovers from his hand surgery and we both heard the little clicking sound of the hummer as he sipped at the feeder. I am so glad that there were the two of us so I had a witness to this event. No explanation for his appearance….just admiration for his beauty.

We are finally posting our color walk from last week’s Winter Wednesday. Our world is surprisingly colorful once you start looking carefully. Here are a few colors from our own yard.
Beautiful crimson pyracantha berries in our front yard. These berries are a favorite of the local birds in the winter although they do get a little “drunk” from them and fly into our picture window. Last week we had a bird fatality at this spot and it made me very sad.


Bright yellow-orange lichen on our tree….never noticed this before in our yard but my eyes spotted it as we were color searching.


The first of the violets are blooming….mmmmmmm…..can you smell the delicate fragrance? Lovely.


Something my son pointed out….red strawberry leaves in the garden. Wow!


Orange rosehips are covering the rose bushes in the front and backyards. Did you know that apples and roses are in the same family? I am tempted to try to make rosehip tea.

This was a great activity and now we have a simple journal entry to remember the afternoon by.

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Additional Options for Outdoor Hour Challenge 43 Growing Molds


We haven’t completed Outdoor Hour Challenge 43 yet but I wanted to give some additional ideas for options to the original challenge.

Here are some additional ideas to get you started with observing molds for Outdoor Hour Challenge 43.

Here is a YouTube video that shows mold growing on bread and then an orange. It is a short and sweet video. Please remember to preview.

How about some clipart for your notebook?

This diagram shows the parts of bread mold.

Label for this one:
“Showing One of the More Common Molds found on Fruits and Bread. The tiny stalks grow vertically into the air. The end of each thread swells into a small round knob, from the inside of which hundreds of minute bodies, called spores, burst. As a is seen a large knob filled with spores.” — Blaisedell, 1904


Here is a link to a whole list of information about puffballs and there are fantastic images to view as well.
Puffballs at MushroomExpert.com

If you are brave, you can grow mold in your own Mold Terrarium. I would love to see your results. We have conducted this experiment before and we found the best place to put our jar was in our laundry room cupboard where it was usually warm and dark.

Here is a complete booklet on fungus/mushrooms for you to look at using with your child. Preview it before printing the whole packet out since there are a lot of pages. I especially like page 17, 18, 21, 22, and 25 to print out and put in your nature journal.
How the Mushroom Got Its Spots

Hope you found something here to spark your interest.

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Learning Something New: Our Family’s Outdoor Hour Challenge #42 Moss and Lichen

In our part of the world it is the perfect time to be looking for and observing closely the mosses and lichens in our yard. Last week I posted an entry sharing one of our favorite local hikes that has literally come alive with mosses.

After reading the Handbook of Nature Study, we were on the lookout for some haircap moss. I looked it up in our field guide and it showed that we have it here in California so we were determined to find some to look at in person.

Last week on our hike we noticed the “little parts that stick up” and those are actually the spore capsules as shown in the diagram on page 710. Here is a photo of them as well.

These are about three inches high.

This is a close-up of the moss and lichen we saw growing on so many of the trees. In the top photo of this blog entry, you can see how it grows all the way up the tree trunks in this part of the forest. The greens of the mosses and ferns really show up in the forest as you walk along at this time of year when most of the green leaves have fallen from the deciduous trees.

We found some fungus growing on this fallen tree branch…new to us.

It had such a vivid color and look at the green growing on the branch as well….not sure what it is but it is pretty.

Then as we looked closely, we saw this part of a wasp’s nest on the ground right next to us. It was very delicate and soft.

We found this pretty fern growing all along the trail’s edge on the little embankment. It has a black stem and pretty bright green leaves. I think it is a California Maidenhair fern. I realize now that there are really three different kinds of ferns in the photo…I’m not sure what kind they are but I will update when I find out.

Can you tell we have enjoyed our week of exploring and looking for moss and lichen? We have been out three times on the trail and each time we have found something new to learn about. No nature journals this week yet but I am hoping to add at least an entry showing the parts of the haircap moss or something showing the life cycle. I know that we covered this in biology last year but I want to make it more real for the boys by viewing these things in real life and then making a nature journal entry to show what we learned.

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Fungus and Fern Hikes: Our Outdoor Hour Challenge #41

We have been on the lookout for mushrooms and ferns for the last few weeks in anticipation of this challenge. I am overwhelmed with how much I don’t know about mushrooms at this point but I am determined to document the mushrooms and other fungus that we see so that when I have a cold winter day and I want to spend some time with a field guide, I will be able to flip through the photos and hopefully come up with names for them.

I decided that there are so many photos that I would make a slideshow on Flickr.com to share with you. The fungi are from three different places but the majority are from my own yard or from a hike within three miles of my house. The others are from the Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

Mushroom Slideshow– Don’t miss viewing this page with all my fungus images

As we hiked yesterday, I noticed that the boys were catching sight of more and more varieties of mushrooms than ever before. They even spotted some that I didn’t see and directed me to go back to the spot and take a photo. 🙂

This particular hike they were having a good time in the cool fresh air together.

If you look carefully up over the trail where the boys are hiking, you will notice a tree that broke off and is just barely hanging in place. The boys thought they should try to throw rocks at it to see if they could get it to come down but my husband explained that he didn’t think that was a really great idea.

I noticed that I was getting into quite a few sticker type seeds as we walked along.

We hiked back to the top and noticed that the moon was up over the oaks. What a great blue sky, don’t you think?

So I am still getting used to my new little camera but I think I will like it in the long run. It has a better zoom and the viewing screen is much bigger.

Here are the last of the photos for today.

Backside of a fern
Big ferns along the path.

Ferns along the side of a gully that will have a creek running in it once it rains again around here. 🙂

Here is my son’s mushroom diagram for his nature journal. We copied this out of the Handbook of Nature Study, page 719.

This was a great challenge for our family and we never dreamed we would find so many different kinds of mushrooms and other fungi to study.

I encourage you all to give the challenge a try either now or when your weather is cooperating.