The first teasel I ever saw was in New York at Anna Botsford Comstock’s cottage on Cayuga Lake.
This week’s Outdoor Hour Challenge was to look for and observe some Teasel. We were not expecting to see any teasel this week and we didn’t…not too disappointed and we didn’t let it stop us from taking some hikes to see some other weeds with prickles and interesting flowers.
We observed something with prickles….Yellow Star Thistle. This is a menace in our neighborhood and I immediately pull it out by the roots if I see it in my yard. We have friends that have a honey business and they insist that star thistle honey is the best. It is very light tasting and is one of my favorites.
Sometimes you just need to go with whatever subjects present themselves.
We are experiencing the King wildfire in our area which is a little scary. Each day we looked at the smoke and clouds and wondered how far it would come our way. Some of our friends were evacuated but so far we are safe here at home. The drought conditions in California are so severe and those dry conditions coupled with heat and windy afternoons make for perfect “fire weather”. This is from the bottom of my road.
This is from yesterday in town looking towards the fire. They call those clouds above the smoke “pyrocumulous“.
Yikes.
We are all praying for the fire to be contained and for all those evacuees to be allowed home to their homes. My husband is working on this fire but is in management with a job behind the scenes at base camp. He is tired but doing okay…this is what they do and they are accustomed to being under stress in emergency situations.
Hope you had a chance to get outside and look for some teasel or other weeds this week!
This Outdoor Hour Challenge is included in the new Autumn Nature Study Continues ebook. It is only one of fifteen nature study topics included along with notebook pages and coloring pages. If you have an Ultimate or Journey level membership, you will find this ebook in your library!
We were so excited to start the new series of Outdoor Hour Challenges this week with the Salvia Flower Study.We even went out and purchased a new type of salvia to begin our study with.
I was interested in researching more about salvia and the name “scarlet sage” as listed in the Handbook of Nature Study lesson.
We tried to observe a bee in our salvia but not this time. We did talk about how the bee needs to duck inside to reach the nectar wells.
Now that I am looking at these images in a large format on my computer, I can see the fuzziness of the salvia which is just like the sage we have in our front yard.
The leaves on our two different salvia plants are completely different.
Our autumn flowers have been a little slim pickins this year. But there have been some surprises around the yard, including this sunflower that came from a seed that fell from the birdfeeder right into a pot on my back deck. I wasn’t sure it was going to actually bloom but here it is!
It is gorgeous and we enjoyed watching the bees visit it…no wonder! There is so much pollen coming from this sunflower that they can actually just bathe in it as they fly in and out.
Look at that pollen!
These zinnias are from my dad’s garden…he had saved seeds from last year and sprinkled them in his flower bed a few months ago. Now, they are blooming like crazy with a variety of flowers that dazzle the eye.
He also has a bank next to his driveway that he has filled with different colors of lantana. This one is my mom’s favorite color and the hummingbirds and butterflies love it too. This is a great plant to have in your garden to attract birds and insects for observation. (Note to self…plant lantana when we can have a garden again.)
Our little explorers were more interested in watching birds this week and not going on a flower hunt. Maybe next time….
We also looked at ants this week since there was a whole nest of them under a rock we turned over to look for insects. Can you believe all the leaves that have fallen already in my backyard?
I forgot to take photos of their flower drawings but here is mine.
Here is a sketch that one of the boys did of a black widow spider. He had seen one in his garage and decided to draw it using a book I have on how to draw insects.
It was a really great week observing flowers as the autumn season starts. We will continue to keep our eye on flowers as we work through the next few flower challenges.
This Outdoor Hour Challenge is included in the new Autumn Nature Study Continues ebook. It is only one of fifteen nature study topics included along with notebook pages and coloring pages. If you have an Ultimate or Journey level membership, you will find this ebook in your library!
I am continuing our study of the mystery tree…our year-long tree study that we began in springtime. I am frustrated about its identity and have spent lots and lots of time scouring my field guides and the internet for just what kind of tree this is in our yard. I know it is not a native tree which only complicates matters.
Here is the leaf.
Here is the bark.
Not much to go on since it doesn’t currently have flowers, seeds, or pods.
I got excited when I found this tree, the Hardy Rubber tree. It looks like the right bark and leaf but the rubber tree doesn’t turn color in the fall like my mystery tree.
Something I recently learned about another tree in our yard, the tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). It is a host tree for swallowtail butterflies! I love that I have a great habitat for the caterpillars right in my front yard among my other butterfly, bird, and bee habitat. Read more about hunting for swallowtail caterpillars in this post over at Beautiful Wildlife Garden.
We set out to look for and observe some mosquitoes (as part of the OHC Mosquito nature study) a couple of evenings this week with no luck. I know…sad to NOT observe any mosquitoes which is a weird thing to say. We even sat by the little slow moving stream where we thought for sure we would find some mosquitoes but there wasn’t a single mosquito to be seen.
Instead, we decided to look at all of the interesting things we could find along the trail and here are a few of our images.
The deer are all coming in close to town because of the drought. This one was peacefully grazing along the trail in a meadow.
The Queen Anne’s Lace is blooming all over the place…not very tall this year but lots of flowers to enjoy.
There are Sweet peas blossoming as well…seen slightly in the background of this image.
Here is a side view of the Queen Anne’s Lace…so very interesting!
The Toyan berry is blossoming right now…this will be covered in red berries come the late fall.
The Manzanita is developing berries…I love the way they look.
I have the privilege of taking care of two little boys this summer…a little each week. We are going to be doing some of the Outdoor Hour Challenges together since they are avid outdoor kids and love anything that creeps, hops, and slithers. I took over some pond water for them and along with the water I also got four little fish in the jar. These boys spent some time finding a little aquarium, cleaning it up and watching the fish. I was not successful in capturing some mosquito larvae like I had hoped but the boys still had a blast with the little fish. It is going to be a fun nature study summer with them.
We have been spending lots of time outdoors in the evenings so maybe we will eventually see some mosquitoes.
What a glorious thing to explore a new state, a new trail, and then to top it off…a NEW to me flower.
Our recent trip to New York (via a road trip across the complete United States), gave us an opportunity to take several new hikes in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. My daughter picked the hike to Mount Arab out of the guide book and it was a winner! Just outside of Tupper Lake, NY, this trail is a short hike up the mountain and through a heavily wooded forest. Since it is early spring, the trees were just starting to get their new leaves and there were wildflowers just starting to bloom alongside the trail.
I created a list of wildflowers to look for during our trip, flowers we don’t have in California but are listed in the Handbook of Nature Study. I had a east coast wildflower field guide with me too for reference since most of the flowers are new to me. We actually spotted this variety of trillium (Purple Trillium) right at the beginning of the hike…so pretty and colorful in the brown woodsy floor. (Outdoor Hour Challenge for this flower in the future.)
Then we saw lots and lots of Trout Lilies! This is another one on my list of wildflowers to study and I will now be able to create an Outdoor Hour Challenge for this flower. The abundance of these lilies really created a special atmosphere as we hiked up the mountain.
I read in a guide book before we left that May is “mud season” in the Adirondacks. There were sections of this trail that turned out to be quite muddy but the trail makers had made it easier by adding these board walks to span the muddier parts. The mud created spots for insects to gather and we tried not to stop and get eaten by bugs.
The trail at the top opens up where there are large rock slabs and an incredible view. The weather had been threatening to rain in the morning but we enjoyed sunny skies when we reached the top.
Here is the fire tower at the top of Mount Arab. The wind was blowing really hard which felt like air conditioning after a hot hike up. I am not great with heights but my kids and husband were eager to climb up the stairs and check out the view from the top.
I was a little sunburned…that’s the trouble with fair and freckled skin. I had on sunblock…really. I climbed about half way up the tower and the wind was whipping through up there. I was good with the view from there, I know my limits.
On the way back down the trail, we spied several toads. The above image is a “Where’s Waldo?” sort of photo where the toad is very well camouflaged by the leaves on the forest floor.
We also saw a snake! He was as curious about us as we were about him.
What a great hike! We will remember this one for its trilliums, lilies, toads, snake, and view from the top. I will also try to remember the variety of bird song we heard as we hiked along as a family.
This hike will count toward my Nature Study Goals for 2014…a new hike!
My garden is coming to life during the month of May. We had an unusual winter so many of the plants didn’t do well without our normal winter rains. Our dogwood barely bloomed this year with perhaps only five or six flowers compared to dozens in past years. Some of our lavender plants did not survive either…perhaps the week of snow and freezing temperatures with the snow left on top made the death blow but no matter the reason, we will be digging them up and replacing them next year.
Come along on a quick trip around my spring garden…welcome to all who are popping in from the Tuesday Garden Party.
We are currently experiencing drought conditions in our part of California and we are under mandatory watering restrictions. This means I will not be planting my traditional garden but trying to keep our drought resistant plants and native plants going with the water we have available. The weird winter didn’t seem to effect the California Poppies at all and we have a beautiful crop of flowers right now in our front yard.
The Spanish Lavender did much better than the English Lavender over the winter and the bees are back in full force. There are lots of spittle bugs and border bugs too.
We have not put much time into the garden yet and it shows. There are lots and lots of weeds all around the garden boxes. The interesting thing is how many oregano, thyme, and sunflower plants there are growing outside the boxes! We also have a pile of wood left from the walnut tree we cut down that needs to be stacked neatly. I am missing my strong teenage boys who usually take care of tasks like this for me.
This is a monster size sunflower growing where the walnut tree was before we cut it down. I think I will leave it to grow in this spot and let the birds enjoy the seeds this summer. I can hand water it if I need to since there are not drips over on this side of the yard.
There are sunflowers growing in several of my deck planters as well. In the past, these volunteer plants seem to be the most hearty of plants and they have great flowers so I will leave it growing here as well.
The Hedge Bindweed is so pretty right now as it grows under the birdfeeder and around the old pine tree stump. There is a lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study for this flower if you have it in your yard too.
There are so pretty and remind me of morning glories. My little patch is growing in a spot that I can let it wander without too much trouble.
There is lots of mullein around my yard…I love to watch the flower stalks grow and the leaves are so pretty and soft.
We have quite a crop of strawberries already which is a little early for our “June” berries. I don’t think they will do well with our restrictive watering rules this summer. I may need to pull a couple of plants out, put them in a pot, and hope that I can keep them going during this drought year.
I found this mystery flower growing among the mullein and I am not sure what it is yet. I know that last year I planted a mix of seeds on this side of the yard but none of them grew. I am wondering if this is from a seed that I planted last year and it is just now growing. I will keep an eye on it.
The Disneyland Rose is gorgeous right now, the whole plant full of blooms. I am filling vases full for the kitchen table and they just keep coming.
The shady part of the yard is filled with Bleeding Hearts…such a fun flower that I love to see when I look out the window. I appreciate that this plant comes back year after year with no fussing from me. I just get to enjoy it.
The Jerusalem Sage is an amazing grower in our garden. It is thankfully a drought tolerant plant and I don’t have to worry about the amount of water it will get this summer. It just keeps on blooming.
The Star Jasmine is filling the air with its sweet perfume. This is another plant that will take the heat and very low amounts of water.
Well, there is a look at our spring garden. I would love to get out and plant some summer veggies but it looks like that is not going to happen this year. Instead of being disappointed, I will focus on the plants and flowers I do have and be satisfied.
Our challenge from last week was to find and observe some spring cattails: Springtime Cattail Observations.We headed over to our local park where we had observed some fabulous cattails last year. Because of the drought, there are not as many as we had noticed during the summer of 2013 and they were much smaller than expected. We are going to mark our calendar to make some summer observations and compare our results.
There was enough water in the pond to see a beautiful reflection of the clouds and there were insects making little ripples and bubbles in the water. We estimated that the cattails were about three feet high and we will compare the height when we return this summer.
When we took a closer look at the water’s edge, we saw an old cattail that had disintegrated into a soft pile of fluff. What a great find!
Using the Nature Journal Topper from the April 2014 newsletter, I created a nature journal page with some of my observations and a simple sketch.
Hopefully, your family will get a chance to find a place with cattails for your springtime observations. If you started a year-long study already, return to your cattail spot to make some comparisons for your nature journal.
Do you know where there are cattails in your area?
Our weather has dried up again after about twelve more inches of rain. We had a week of rainy wet skies which were much welcomed in our drought-restricted area. My garden is much happier!
My faithful readers know once the trails are dry and the sun warms the air that I itch to get outdoors for a good springtime explore. My husband and I carved out a whole day for a good hike…traveling out of our county, through another county, and arriving at a spot that we love to ramble down to the river. There were two cars in the parking lot at the trailhead but we never saw anyone until we were returning back up the trail much later in the day. I love that!
This time of year the hiking story is really about the wildflowers. You can hike along for a bit but you do need to stop and take a few photos along the way. Here are a few of the highlights. I know for many of you that spring has not yet arrived….so enjoy my images and dream of your springtime coming soon!
The Blue Dicks or Wild Hyacinth is in full bloom at the top of the trail. As we began our hike, the slope from the parking lot down to the little ravine was dotted with pretty bluish/purple flowers.
Another one of our regular early spring wildflowers is the Shooting Star. Once it starts blooming, you can be sure it is spring for sure and the days will get warmer.
I am pretty sure this is a new to me wildflower…I have seen something very similar but a different color. Using my field guide and the CalFlora site, it looks like this may be a Brown Bell or Brown Fritillary
This is such a beautiful blue wildflower! There were several spots along the trail that had Hounds Tongue. We have this on our local trail as well and it is just starting to blossom for the early spring bloom.
This Caterpillar phacelia has such a unique looking flower that I never forget its name. It really does look like a caterpillar!
Coyote Creek at the bottom of the trail, beyond the natural bridge, runs cool, clear, and fast over the marble rocks. It is a great place to sit a few minutes and listen to the birds singing and the insects buzzing. This is where we observed our new spring bird, the Black Phoebe!
Hopefully this is the start to a fantastic hiking season!
Did you know you can get access to all the archived newsletters (all 36 issues) with every level of membership?
We have completed several year-long tree studies in the past, observing a particular tree in each season for a whole year. We haven’t had a tree for some time. I looked back and we started a study of the neighborhood cottonwood tree but never finished. Oops.
Time for a fresh start and a new tree. We looked around our yard and realized that we have studied quite a few of those trees already. Hunting around, we found a new tree. We know the tree as the “birdfeeder tree” because it has always had our birdfeeder hanging from its branches. We don’t know what the name of the tree is officially so it is going to be a mystery tree until we complete the study.
This is our tree looking from our back deck and between our house and the neighbor’s house. It is an awkward place to take a photo but you get the idea of the shape of the tree. You can see the Pittosporum plant on the right of the tree.
Here is a look at the branches from underneath. In the summer this tree shades the end of our deck where I have some chairs and a table. We spend many an afternoon and evening enjoying the shade given by our “birdfeeder tree”.
This is what is on the branches on this first day of spring. Wow! Look at all those tree parts. A few days ago, when the sun was shining on the tree, I could see it actually giving off little puffs of pollen into the breeze. I am sure this is the tree that is making pollen on the deck.
Here is another view of the flowers (fruits?) of this mystery tree. If anyone has any idea what this tree is from looking at the images in this entry, please leave me a comment or send me an email. I freely admit I don’t know all there is to know, or even a fraction of what there is to know, about trees even in my own backyard.
I added a photo and some notes to my page that I had prepared using the new Nature Journal Topper from the newsletter. Hopefully this will remind me to complete a summer study of our tree and perhaps be able to identify it when it has leaves.
We set out to look for signs of mammals but good intentions were set aside when we spotted some wonderful butterflies along our hiking trail. I reminded myself that the best advice I always give is to follow interest and to be flexible if a nature study topic comes along that you can’t pass up.
We have long past our winter season anyway so last week’s Winter Mammal study not really a perfect fit. We had plenty of winter mammal observations when we saw the signs of beavers at our creek. We see scat all winter long just beside or in the middle of our walking trail. I have stopped sharing scat photos because it seems a little weird. I don’t want to be the “weird nature lady”.
So, our first subject of the day is this Mourning Cloak butterfly. We looked it up when we got home in our insect field guide and online. It seems the host plant for the caterpillars is the Black willow. I am going to check and see if what I remember observing in this area is a willow.I also read in my field guide that the edges can look a little “tattered” and that was the case with this particular butterfly.
We hiked down to the river, which was extremely low from lack of rain and snow melt, and we threw the ball in for our Kona dog. She never tires of retrieving the ball even when the water is cold. The sun was warm though and I sat on a big rock and felt the refreshing air and sunshine.
So how did this violet arrive here below the normal water line, in among
the river rocks? What a surprise to see its pretty purple blossoms!
Taking a break from swimming…love the pink tongue. She is one happy dog.
On the way back up to trail, I was able to capture another butterfly that we saw as we hiked. There were many, many of these flying around the area but managed to get a really good close-up of this one to share. This is a Pipevine Swallowtail. I did some research and found that this butterfly only lays its eggs on the Dutchman’s Pipe plant. I found after digging on the CalFlora website that this particular plant is found in the area we live in but I have never seen it. I am now adding it to my list of plants to look for during our travels.
One last image from our hike today. The dog went off the trail and disturbed some leaves…my husband spotted this snake all coiled up underneath. We came home and looked it up on California Herps and it appears to be a Sharp-tailed Snake. It was very small but bright red on top and black underneath. I am not a big fan of snakes but we will keep this one in mind when our spring snake study comes along.
Although we set out to look for signs of mammals and we didn’t find any to note, we feel like we were a success in keeping our eyes open for interesting things to learn about as we hiked.
I hope you get outside this week to look for something to share alongside your children.
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