Nature journal example Archives

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Barb — 3 Comments

Spring Green Nature Journal Ideas

Spring Green journal with colored pencils

So many shades of green!

The spring world just begs to be sketched in our nature journals. The colors of the flowers as they blossom in the warming sun just cry out to us to observe them closer, to see their intricate details. As I gather a few of our early spring flowers to record in my nature journal, I am struck the with the varying shades of green that appear in the leaves of these springtime beauties.

Each stem and leaf is a different shade of green, or they are even a mixture of greens that need our careful scrutiny if we are going to get them just right in our journal. Some leaves are olive green, some are emerald green, and some are dark green. I invite you to look at your garden greens and see if you don’t notice it too.

I count myself a very careful observer of nature. I spend lots of time in my garden enjoying the many varieties of plants, bushes, and trees, but I didn’t even notice the reddish edges on this leaf until I brought it inside to sketch into my nature journal. This illustrates the value of slowing down and taking the time to keep a nature journal…you are blessed with better powers of observation.

This is true in adults and also in children. We can help train our children to have better observation skills in all areas of their life if we use nature journaling as a skill-building tool.

Out of sheer self-indulgence I decided to make a couple pages in my journal with all the different greens I have in my colored pencil collection. I made small little sample splotches of color for each of the greens in my watercolor pencil and regular colored pencil sets. I labeled each color patch with the name on the pencil or in some cases the number on the pencil. This way I can use it as a reference whenever I need to find just the right green for a sketch. The color palette of spring is very different than that of autumn or winter.

Note to self: I think I have a lot of shades of green pencils…no need for any more.

Now I am ready to make some nature journal entries!

You may be interested in seeing my fall color palette. I did a similar nature journal entry last fall with my fall colors nature journal.

You may wish to include this nature journal idea as part of your Spring Wildflowers study.

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Barb — 2 Comments

Garden Update and Nature Journal Tutorial-Window Frame

When we started our front yard remodel in 2010 I had no idea how much joy this space was going to bring to our lives. Each week it is a new palette of colors. The plants are really filling in this spring and new critters are moving in as well. Here are some glimpses into our garden and then a nature journal entry tutorial for you to give a try.

Butterfly bushes, Yarrow, and Lavender – April 2012

Lavender is the main blooming plant on display right now. The bees love it and so do we!

Along with the lavender is the forsythia, which contrasts so well with the lavender.

The poppies are just beginning to show signs of flower buds and they are just waiting to tip their “hats” and show their blazing orange colors.

This is something new this week….a critter is making a home under my big rock! They have pulled the landscape material back and exposed a little space to hide in right there alongside my front path. I wonder who it is?

I still really enjoy watching our butterfly “fly” around in the breeze. It adds a little bit of whimsy to our front yard.

Nature Journal Tutorial- Window Frame

This project may at first appear to be a little complicated but I encourage you to give it a try. The finished project is so fun to look at and remember your nature time.

Supplies:
Nature Journal
Pen
Watercolor pencils and brush

Begin by sketching a frame that includes both pages in your nature journal.

Sketch your subject. I chose this butterfly bush sample to sketch. Just for fun I made it extend outside the frame.

Now you can add water to your sketch, a title, and a little detail sketch if you wish. Add some fun lettering along the one side…add a date (which I did after taking this photo) and you are finished.

I would love to see your version of this nature journal idea. Send them to harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com. You can find more of my Nature Journal Ideas on Squidoo. I also wrote this entry that might help you get started: 3 Tips for Nature Journals When You Think You Can’t Sketch.

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 April 11, 2012 by Barb — 5 Comments

Robin Nature Study – Where Have They Gone?

We have studied Robins in the past.

This week’s Outdoor Hour Challenge was to do a robin nature study…but where were the robins? Just a few weeks ago we counted six for our Project FeederWatch count. We saw forty-two during the Great Backyard Bird Count this year in February. This week….zero. We have been vigilant about looking but they are gone from our neighborhood now. So what to do?

We were out looking for any birds this morning and we were surprised to see that our neighbor’s trees were full of Cedar Waxwings! We have learned that they visit us on their way south and then again northwards. The interesting thing, according to our family’s records, we usually see the big flock come through during the GBCC in February. We did not see them this year at all until now. What does that mean? Not sure but it will be interesting to see what happens next year.

Would you like to see our Cedar Waxwings?

They filled three trees and were munching on the “nuts” from the pistache tree that have lasted all winter…just waiting for them to come and polish them off before the next growing season. What a wonderful provider they have!

Yes, we had very gray skies this morning but it wasn’t very cold. They sat resting and eating for quite some time and I was able to get up close to take a few colorful photos of them as they sat in the tree. Don’t you just love their yellow-tipped tails? I could really hear them making their very unique buzzing sound. Do you want to hear? Here is a link to AllAboutBirds and you can click over and hear what I heard…click the “high pitched hissy whistle” and that is exactly it.

Then in a blink of an eye, they were off again. I was amazed at just how fast they flew away in a flock. What a great experience we had this morning! I am forever grateful for the Outdoor Hour Challenges. I know that if I had not started this adventure with all of you that I would have missed out on so many deeply memorable times with my family.

It spurs me on to get outside and this month I have enjoyed joining in with Debi at Go Explore Nature and her #GetOutside project…a photo scavenger hunt. This simple project has already brought such joy to our family. It has encouraged us to think about how we can incorporate outdoor time each day in the month of April. I hope you will consider jumping in with us and take a few minutes to read more about the way it works on her blog. You can see all my entries in my Flickr Set: April GetOutside Project.

Another great week of nature study with my teenage sons.

Don’t forget to share your April Outdoor Hour Challenge blog entries with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.You can submit entries directly to me if needed: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Barb — 5 Comments

Early Spring Flowers – Nature Study and Art Project

Our Pansy Study and Early Spring Flowers Challenge

What a splendid time to be out in the garden! Our neighborhood is coming alive with spring blossoms and the birds are flocking to our feeders in record numbers. We have an abundance of house finches this year and they vary in color from light pink to purple to almost orange. Amazing display of creation!

The early spring bulbs are all up and many are blooming. The daffodils and the grape hyacinth are blazing with color. The forsythia is starting to blossom and the lavender has new flowers for our bees to buzz in. The tulips and iris are all up but just showing lots of green leaves so far.

We arranged dozens of flowers in the house and our kitchen table is so cheerful and happy. I got out all my vases and dusted them off for the season. I seem to collect pretty vases and I love it even more when they don’t match exactly. Even my hubby had a smile on his face when he spied the colorful flowers on the table.

So our pansy study consisted mostly of admiring them and recreating them in artwork since we have studied them closely in the past. Mr. B and I had pansy art time on a rainy afternoon. There really is no better way to make yourself examine a subject better than to apply your attention to an art project. Slowing down to discover the shapes, form, and patterns makes a big impression.

Mr. B always chooses to work with markers if given the choice but I am still working on feeling comfortable with acrylics. I think these pansy creations are going to be framed and hung in my bathroom vanity area. I have a small collection of floral artwork done by children there already so it will be a perfect fit.

I played around with the acrylics and a small canvas panel I had from Michaels. I tried not to take myself too seriously and just have fun. Art therapy….even for moms.

So now we are officially finished with the More Nature Study Book 2 – Winter 2012 challenges and we will be going over a few of the suggested Charlotte Mason Exam Questions that are included in the ebook. The thing about Charlotte Mason style questions is that they ask the child to tell back in some way what they know about a topic and never to find out what they don’t know. I do not grade these assignments and look at them as a way for Mr. B to review what we learned and enjoy a little more time together discussing things that are fresh in our minds. I recommend you give it a try if you have the More Nature Study ebook and see how it goes.

Don’t forget to send me your Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival entries directly since the carnival website is not working.
harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

As a reminder, we will be starting the new More Nature Study Book 3 – Spring Splendor series on March 23, 2012. Just in time for the first days of spring! I look forward to another season of nature study with all of you.

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Barb — 2 Comments

Our Winter Weeds – A Continuing Nature Study

Mullein and Winter Weeds

Winter weeds have become an on-going study for our family. Our winter hikes always seem to include some sort of weed observation.

Our March 2009 entry showing the beauty of looking at weeds up close: Even More Lovely Than I Imagined.
Our January 2010 entry shows some of the beautiful silhouettes of winter weeds: Winter Hike to The River.
In February 2011, we again blogged our Winter Weeds Along Our Walking Trail.

So what did we do to study weeds a little more in depth this year?

We have been collecting weeds on just about every walk. They have made into bouquets, looked at under the microscope, and drawn in our nature journals.

We looked for weeds on our last snowshoe hike and made quite a few observations while adventuring in the snow.
We have been observing our “laboratory” of mullein in the garden as it has changed over the past six months. It isn’t very pretty at this point but we are going to leave it until the spring greening. There are still parts of the plant that are greenish so we figure some creature in the yard might find a use for it.
Mr. B did the additional mullein research suggested in the More Nature Study Book 2 challenge and then he completed a notebook page.

Weeds and seeds of all shapes and sizes.

I decided to sketch and record my weed observations in my nature journal. I am trying to get better at identifying winter weeds

My mullein entry in progress

There is just so much to learn about winter weeds….it is like a whole new world to explore once you get started and train your eyes to see beyond the brownness of them. I spent two afternoons just looking closely, sketching, and researching in my field guide.

My journal included some details of the weed seeds.

“The farmer and the gardener owe quite a debt of thanks to the birds that eat weed seeds. Of course there are still bountiful crops of weeds each year; but there would be even more weeds if it were not for the army of such seed-eating birds as sparrows, bobwhites, and doves.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 45

I was thinking about this link between weeds, seeds, and birds this week after reading this in the Handbook of Nature Study. The design in the food web is such an awesome thing that we could very well overlook the fingerprint of the Creator if we don’t take the time to learn more about it.

There is always something new to think about and learn from our nature study…even if we have been at it for many years.

Thanks for taking the journey with me.

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Barb — 3 Comments

Winter Twigs – Noticing the Details, Training Our Eyes

Notebook Page from More Nature Study Book #2

This was the study I was most interested in when I wrote the new More Nature Study ebook. It truly is something we have never studied before and I was interested to see what we would learn.

We chose three of our backyard trees to collect twigs from: sweet gum, white birch, and pear. Later we added a twig from our silver maple and a few branches from our forsythia bushes. All week I have been enjoying just looking at them in the vases…still not taking the time to do the study.

Well, the time finally came to actually do the formal study after we had done lots of casual observations. We pulled out the new ebook, printed off the notebook pages, gathered our tree field guide, and fired up the internet. I love doing nature study with older kids since they can ask and then answer many of their own questions with the tools we have at our disposal.

Here are some of our observations:

1. Mr. A cut the twigs with his knife so we could observe the shape of the pith inside. They were all round inside.
2. Each of the twigs had different shaped terminal buds, with completely different colors.
3. We have never noticed the leaf scars before and now we know what to look for.
4. The lenticels on each twig were very different. Now we can use this observation to identify a tree since we know what we are looking for.

Stay Tuned for a Bud Study in the new Spring Ebook 3/5/12

This study has brought into focus once again the design of each living thing around us. Who would have thought that you could identify a tree by looking at its twigs and buds? I enjoyed getting to know how to use a new tool with the Winter Tree Finder guide. All of us are going to look at twigs with a new eye now and some new vocabulary as well. This study would be a perfect supplement to a high school biology course.

If you are looking for more winter tree study ideas, you can click over to Winter Series Challenge #2.

We were sitting outside in the warm afternoon sunshine and noticed that the silver maple has burst open its buds. We then noticed that there were probably a hundred bees buzzing in the top of the tree. Is it early for the bees to be so busy in the trees? I’m not sure. This is where a nature journal record is valuable. Stay tuned next week for a free printable to keep track of your seasonal “firsts”.

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Barb — 8 Comments

Silent Nature Walk – Winter Nature Study with the OHC

Assignment:

Take a Winter Weather Walk and observe as many things in your neighborhood as possible that are special about the winter season.
Advanced study: Challenge yourself to take a walk keeping completely silent. Go as a family or all alone.

After checking our weather for the next few weeks, we realized that a winter weather nature walk was not going to happen any time soon. Our Winter Wonder Walk became our Silent Nature Walk instead. This was part of the advanced study suggested for the first challenge from the More Nature Study Book 2 ebook plans.

We loaded up the Kona dog and headed to our favorite local trail. Mr. B started off ahead of me so we wouldn’t be tempted to talk. This was a good plan since it also separated us a little as we walked and it seemed that we were all alone which allowed the sounds of the woods to be easily heard.

A few of the things I observed on our Silent Nature Walk:
1. Greenness of the ferns growing alongside the trail on the hillside.
2. Dry trail with acorns..crunching leaves.
3. Birds singing in the woods. The only one I recognized is the Northern Flicker. I also heard some wing flutters coming from the bushes lining the path.
4. The buzz of an insect which I couldn’t see.
5. I noticed a pile of feathers where some forest animal had made a meal.

Mr. B wrote his observations on a notebook page when we got home and I was impressed with the different things he noted that I missed as noted below:
1. He heard five birds.
2. He noticed the river’s rushing sound and how it changed as we walked down the canyon.
3. Scrunch of the needles and the pat of the dirt.

He brought home an acorn to sketch into his journal and I brought home a few samples of ferns, an acorn, a weed, and a feather.

I was fascinated by the spores on the back of the ferns. I won’t detail here all I learned from the Handbook of Nature Study on ferns but we will in the future have a challenge featuring ferns. I found a wealth of information in Lesson 195 on the fruiting of the fern. There is always something new and interesting to learn.

I identified my ferns as the Wood Fern, the Western Sword Fern, and California Maidenhair Fern.

Silence. It is a great way to glean a little more from a walk if you can give it a try. I have to admit that several times on the walk when I couldn’t see Mr. B or the Kona dog that I was a little uneasy. It can be too quiet sometimes. I think we become accustomed to having background noise in our life from the computers, the clocks, music, traffic, and each other. Seeking out the quiet is something I think we should do on a regular basis and I will be adding this to future challenges, at least for the advanced study option. I encourage you to grow your children into the habit of spending a least a few minutes of every outdoor nature study time being silent and really listening.

It is not too late to join us for this new series of nature study challenges using the Handbook of Nature Study. All of the challenges for this series are gathered into an ebook format along with custom made notebook pages. Click over and see the details and join us this week for a new posted challenge on Friday.

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Barb — Leave a comment

OHC More Nature Study Book 2: Winter Wonder Walk Challenge

More Nature Study Book 2
Winter Weather Walk

Inside Preparation Work:

Read the “How to Use This Book” section in Part I of the Handbook of Nature Study (pages 23-24). This information will apply to every challenge in this ebook. If this is your first time reading this section, use a highlighter or pen to underline thoughts you can implement with your family.
Ebook Users Only: Before beginning this series of challenges, use the Winter Wonder? Notebook Page to create enthusiasm for this season’s nature study. Print a page for each member of the family and complete it together. Refer to this page as you work your way through the challenges and spend time outdoors this winter. Keep the page in the front of your nature journal as a reminder of the three questions you hope to answer and the three activities you hope to accomplish.

Outdoor Hour Time:

Take a Winter Weather Walk and observe as many things in your neighborhood as possible that are special about the winter season. These can be man-made or natural items. If you downloaded my January 2012 Newsletter you can also use the Study Grid ideas as part of this challenge (newsletter in the archives for Members). More Nature Study Winter Ebook Users: You can take along the notebook page and record your thoughts as you walk outdoors or wait until you return home to complete the page.
Advanced study: Challenge yourself to take a walk keeping completely silent. Go as a family or all alone. Ebook Users: You can take the Silent Winter Walk Challenge notebook page along with you and record your observations as you walk or wait until you go back inside to record your findings. Collect a small item to bring inside to sketch in your nature journal or onto your notebook page.

Three notebook pages are included in the ebook for this challenge.

Follow-Up Activity:

Record your Winter Weather Walk experiences in your nature journal. Ebook users can complete any or all of the notebook pages associated with this challenge as a follow up to your winter weather walk. You may wish to complete another walk later in the season just to compare your weather and surroundings. File your notebook pages in your nature journal.
Advanced study: Keep track of the weather in your nature journal. Design and sketch out your own weather chart. (Handbook of Nature Study, page 807, Lesson 222 has an example.) Suggested topics of study: Rain and snow amounts in inches, temperatures (highs and lows), wind speed and direction, cloud types, anything else weather related that you can think of to include. You can use the free weather chart I posted in this entry: Dry December Leads to a Dry January.

You can view our Winter Silent Nature Walk here on my blog.

Save

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Barb — 5 Comments

Perfect Winter Hike – Looking for Color

Just another day of perfect December hiking and taking in the challenge to find some color. Our winter nature study is shaping up to look more like fall….warm temperatures and dry, dry, dry. We looked at each other after lunch today and everyone was in agreement. We needed to be outside.

I quickly filled the backpack with water, snacks, and camera then we were out the door. The parking lot at the trailhead was about half full of vehicles and most of those were trucks with horse trailers, a few with bike racks. We opted to hike since the Kona dog wanted to take a swim at the river. It was that warm.

The trail starts off on a downward slope and if you look in the distance you can see our landmark “lollipop” tree (farthest hill with a single tree). We aim for that tree and know that the river is somewhere over there. It is an easy hike with several trail options. We took the Long Valley Trail down to the river and the South Fork Trail back up.

Along one section of the trail we observed lots and lots of goldfinches having a seed feast. Amazing yellow color in real life…our first real color of the hike. We also stopped to observe another little bird who sat on the cattails in the ditch. It was a new bird and we took the time to really look with the binoculars, noting shape, size, color, eye-stripe, beak shape, tail shape, and song. (We identified back at home as a Bewick’s Wren=new to our life list!)

The river was running high and we had the place to ourselves, except for some barn swallows swooping overhead and a couple of fellow travelers on horses. This is a gorgeous section of the river all lined with oaks in the winter sunshine.

Kona took a swim right off the bat and I decided to rest on the rock overlooking the river. She splashed and retrieved sticks for the next half hour. One man in a canoe and one woman in a kayak went past. I was happy to be dry up on my rock but I waved a friendly wave as they floated past.

I soaked in the sun, watching the water rush by, and contemplated the beauty.

I was grateful. My heart felt refreshed or maybe just cleansed of the everyday.

The view from my rock spot was enjoyable and it is easy to get lost in your thoughts as the water rushes by you. So much power and so much potential…wondering where the water will end up at the end of its river journey. I even thought for a few minutes about the rocks just under the surface of the water, the rocks the kayaker succeeded in navigating around on her trip down the river. We all need to know where the rocks are.

Here is my favorite image of the day showing the winter color of my world. The shore of the river is always changing but these multi-colored rocks keep the river from eroding the banks away except in the highest storm waters. What are your favorite colors found in the rocks? The green? The pinkish orange? The speckled? The white? I put one in my pocket and now it is sitting on my shelf as a reminder of my winter color walk afternoon to the river.

We had to drag Kona away from her beloved stick fetching and started back up the hill towards home. Along the way we watched two birds in flight over the rolling hills…stopping to hover over some prey. We used the binoculars but were unable to really identify this second new bird of the day. We noted behavior, wing shape, size, color. At home we identified this new bird as the White Tailed Kite. How exciting is that?

It was a very good day.

My December nature journal entry in progress…notes and things I want to remember about this month….to be continued as the month rolls along.

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Barb — 5 Comments

November Nature Study – Autumn Hiking Delights

The mountains and forest had been calling for us to come and explore the season before the winter sets in any time now. The forecast was for partly cloudy skies and perhaps a few snow flurries so we didn’t plan too long of a hike just in case we needed to move quickly to shelter. The sun actually poked through the clouds a few times and that was a welcome treat.

Right near where we parked the car and started on the trail we noticed that a beaver had gnawed this tree down…can you believe how strong that beaver must be? We weren’t sure if he was going to come back for the log but we marveled at his ability to bring down a rather large tree.

We hiked through the mixed conifer and deciduous forest, noting that the aspens were all bare but still very beautiful. We listened to the bird sounds and a squirrel chattering too. We saw and heard Steller’s jays, common ravens, California gulls, mallard ducks, white-headed woodpeckers, Canada geese, and an osprey. It was a great day for birds.

We stopped along the trail to view the meadow and marsh. This spot is known to be an eagle habitat so I had my eyes open wide hoping to see one this day. And…..I was not disappointed. A bald eagle flew very majestically above the meadow from the pine forest and then out over the lake. I was very excited to see this graceful bird as he flew right overhead and then disappeared. It was a moment.

In the photo above you can see how it was snowing up on the mountain peak and we even at one point had soft flakes of snow coming down on us but it didn’t last long or stick to the ground at all. It was a perfect day for a hike.

Journal tip: It can be overwhelming when you have so many subjects to write about in your journal. It helps to focus on just one of the highlights like our encounter with the eagle and a list of birds. I don’t like to draw birds so I used a photo and then answered the three main questions: when, where, what.

When I take my creative daughter with me, we always find a way to do something fun. This time we settled on making an Andy Goldworthy style art piece using natural items. There were loads of pinecones on the ground so we decided to feature those in our sculpture.

While we were busy with our sculpture, my husband added this line of pinecones leading down the stairway to our artwork. It made me smile and feel appreciative of the support of a great guy for his nature-loving wife.

On the hike back we found a patch of thistles to admire. After studying them this autumn I have a new found appreciation for their features. So pretty even now.

We also saw where the beaver is attempting to build a dam across the creek. The creek is flooding part of the trail right now because of the water backed up behind the dam. We had to circle around to avoid needing to wade through the creek. This is exactly where we saw the mama and two baby bear cubs earlier this fall…no signs of them now.

As always, we were rewarded for our efforts to get outdoors and do some exploring. The informal nature study opportunities were everywhere and I made some mental notes on topics we were curious about as we hiked along. Some afternoon on a cold winter day I will pull out some field guides and we will research a few of the answers to our questions. Nature study truly is a life project.

Tag: Nature journal example