Reviews Archives

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Barb — Leave a comment

NotebookingPages.Com Cyber Sale

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Posted on November 25, 2015 by Barb — Leave a comment

California Forests and Woodlands – Nature Book Review

The last book in my nature book project for 2015 is California Forests and Woodlands by Verna R. Johnston. I have had this book on my shelf for a few years but have never dedicated much time to actually reading it. I have skimmed through it and looked at the photos many times but to take time to sit and read with a pencil in my hand didn’t happen until this month. Amazing what a little effort will bring as far as rewards of new understanding and connections with places and trees that I have visited hundreds of times.

Here is the book ISBN if you want to look for it on Amazon or at your local retailer: California Forests and Woodlands– ISBN 978-0520202481 (Note this is an affiliate link to Amazon.com)

The first chapter spends some in-depth time showing how to recognize the different conifer trees found in California. I needed this simple explanation along with the detailed drawings to help me sort out in my mind the best way to distinguish one conifer from another by patterns of growth and numbers of needles, size and shape of the cones, and the placement of the cones on the branches.

After this chapter, the book jumps right into its first forest type, the redwoods! Then it continues with each of the other nine types of forests found in California with descriptions, facts, maps, and illustrations.

Included in each forest description are the animals that coexist in each habitat. I found this aspect of the book very informative and helpful as an amateur naturalist. Making these connections between habitat and inhabitant has given me a new respect for the interdependence of the plants and animals that thrive here in California.

222 pages
This is not a field guide but rather a more narrative style book with mostly pen illustrations.
There are 16 full color photograph plates (or pages) in this book that give a sampling of what you will see when visiting each type of forest. I found these very well done and helpful.
Forests included: redwood, north coast, Douglas Fir/Mixed Evergreen, closed cone pine and cypress, foothill woodland, midmountain forest, Giant sequoia, red fir and lodgepole pine, subalpine forest, pinyon pine-juniper.
This book is a little expensive (around $29) but it looks like you can order more reasonably priced used copies on Amazon (approximately $3 plus shipping).
I am planning on using this book as I travel to different parts of my state as a way to introduce my thoughts ahead of time to what I might see during a hike or camping trip. Although this book is not a field guide, it has a section color plates with images of living things that can be seen in a particular forest habitat.
I highly recommend this book to families who live in California and would like a supplement to the Handbook of Nature Study and a field guide.
This book would make an excellent advanced study resource for older and more experienced nature study students.

Previous Month’s Books and Reviews

This is the last book for 2015! I am currently working on a new idea for 2016 that you can use to create your own book list (think printable for your planner). I will post my 2016 Nature Book Project list soon.

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Barb — Leave a comment

National Audubon Society – First Field Guide Reptiles Review

There is a book that I have found very helpful in my study of reptiles. Yes, it is a children’s book but it is just what I need. There are so many helpful aspects to this particular book that I wanted to recommend it to you and your family. It is available on Amazon.com only as a used book from third parties but I don’t think it will disappoint you even in used condition.

Here is my affiliate link: National Audubon Society First Field Guide Reptiles

A few things I like about this book:

For advanced students: Naming reptiles with order, family, genus, and species. Talks about scientific names and many common names for same thing.
Clear images for each reptile in the book, with look alikes and related species noted right on the side of the page.
Maps are clear and understandable.
Simple explanations about where reptiles live. (pages 38-39)
Specific ideas for how to find reptiles in llate spring, summer, early fall. Helpful tips are including like keep sun at your back and look for reptiles basking on sunny parts. (pages 44-45)
There is a helpful index.

If you would like to have a wonderful reptile reference book for your nature study shelf and library, this is one that I highly recommend.

Still time to join us this month with our newsletter focus on reptiles.

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Mom’s Journal – Early Fall Thoughts

“But he learns naturally at his own pace, never tiring, and slowly learning just what he needs to know about the world around him. And this is exactly what a child should be doing for the first few years. He should be getting familiar with the real things in his own environment. Some day he will read about things he can’t see; how will he conceive of them without the knowledge of common objects in his experience to relate them to? Some day he will reflect, contemplate, reason. What will he have to think about without a file of knowledge collected and stored in his memory?”

Charlotte Mason in Modern English, volume 1 page 66

Renee’s Garden Seeds – Just Look at My Garden!

If you have been following the blog in the past few years, you are aware that Renee’s Garden Seeds has been a sponsor and valued part of my summer gardening experience. Not only have I enjoyed her seeds in my garden, but I have shared seeds with my dad. He has a beautiful garden and each year he tenderly nurtures his vegetables through the hot California summer. This year his pond went dry but he still kept his garden green with his well water.

Here in town I did not have that option…we are on city water and have been restricted not only in the number of days we can water but we were asked to reduce our usage by using less than last year. I took the challenge and created a container garden on my back deck and watered using only a drip system and water that I caught from our shower warm up time that I collected in a five gallon bucket. This garden has brought such joy to me over the summer. I could look out and see the insects buzzing around the blossoms and the hummingbirds stopping by for some nectar.

Hello Mr. Sunflower! So glad you joined us….the bees have spent many hours hovering and gathering at my container sunflowers.

Each morning I would check my plants for something to harvest. It could be a handful of cherry tomatoes, a zucchini to pick, or some herbs to include in my dinner plans.

I would talk to my morning glory vines and coach them to stop growing so tall and to start blooming. The first morning that I looked out my window and saw these gorgeous flowers made all the waiting worth it. They now greet me every morning with a few blue flowers…happy, happy, happy.

The zucchini at the beginning of the season were small but more of a traditional shape. As the summer has worn on, they have started to change into this interesting shape, still tasty and summery on the table at dinner.

Apple Time!

We are looking forward to apple time in the coming weeks. Not only our local orchard but our very own apple tree in our backyard! This is the first year we really have an apple “harvest” on our young tree and it surprises me that even in our drought that we have apples to eat from our own tree. We will be visiting our local apple farm to purchase apples for various treats including applesauce. The taste of autumn around here is apple!

You can do your own apple study using the Outdoor Hour Challenge: Autumn Apples Nature Study.

Join Jami over on An Oregon Cottage for her Tuesday Garden Party!

August was a great month of being outdoors for this nature loving mama. I accomplished one of my nature study goals for the year by visiting a new state park, Sugar Pine Point State Park! I will share that in an up-coming post here on the Handbook of Nature Study. The season is about to change here and that means even more time outside hiking with the cooler temperatures.

Outdoor Mom’s Journal

Whether your family spends a few minutes a week outside or hours at a time, share what is going on in your world. I hope you have enjoyed your August.

How Do You Join?

Answer all or just one of the prompts in a blog entry on your own blog or right here on my blog in a comment. If you answer on your blog, make sure to leave me a link in a comment so that I can pop over and read your responses.

During our outdoor time this week we went….
The most inspiring thing we experienced was…
Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about)…
In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting….
I added nature journal pages about….
I am reading…
I am dreaming about…
A photo I would like to share…

I will be posting my Outdoor Mom’s Journal entry once a month. Look for it during the first week of the month each month.

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Barb — Leave a comment

Bird Watching Answer Book – Book Review

This month’s book in my Nature Book Project 2015 is The Bird Watching Answer Book (my affiliate link). As a bird lover and birdwatcher, I found this book to be easy to read and full of interesting and valuable information. The chapters are arranged by broad topics but then provide the information in question and answer style. I rarely have big blocks of time to read books so having the ability to read a shorter section and then pick up where I left off when the next opportunity comes along is very efficient. I actually enjoyed asking my family members questions to see if they knew the answers before I read them. What a great way to learn!

Interspersed in the chapters are pages with tips and practical ideas that relate to bird watching. Information about feeding, creating bird friendly environments, nests, songs, and migration. I wrote recently about my problem with birds flying into my windows. On pages 87-91 there are many ideas for preventing or reducing bird strikes which gave me some fresh ideas to try.

On page 7 it has this advice, “Birds are especially drawn to the sound of dripping or flowing water, so setting up a plastic bottle with a small hole in the bottom above your birdbath to provide a slow, steady drip will bring in more individuals and more species than a birdbath alone.” I’m going to try that one!
Ever wondered how long certain species of birds live? The book shares many common birds and their life spans on pages 302-304. Fascinating! Did you know a cardinal can live up to 15 years?
Then there are lots of questions that I had never even thought to ask. For instance, “Why is it birds can sit on electrical wires and not get zapped?” Hmmmm….good question!
Did you know four presidents had mockingbirds as pets? See page 191 for their names.
You can see the complete table of contents by clicking the Amazon.com link above.

I give this book a big thumbs up and it will be sitting on my living room table for awhile before it finds its home on my nature library reference shelf. I know that visitors to my home will pick this book up and thumb through it, finding something of interest to catch their eye!

Some Quick Thoughts

I love the size of the book and that the spine is actual cloth binding. The pages have a nice weight and it is just a pleasure to hold and read.
The author Laura Erickson is the science editor at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
I think this would make a wonderful reference book in your nature library. Middle school aged children and up could read the book on their own but you could read aloud a few pages a day even to your youngest children and they would be interested. Charlotte Mason homeschoolers could read aloud a section at a time and have their children narrate back what they learned either in words or a nature journal page.
388 pages, indexed by topic and bird name for easy reference
This book would be a great resource for more advanced nature study students. It includes topics such as invasive species, birds that are endangered, and climate change.

Previous Month’s Books and Reviews

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Barb — 7 Comments

Bird’s Eye View Window Decals-Saving Birds

I had such high hopes for the Bird’S Eye View Window Film. I will rewind to give you my story.

I have a subscription to Birds and Blooms and in the June/July issue there was a full page advertisement for a product that caught my attention, Bird’s Eye View Window Film. This product was developed to help protect wild birds from flying into windows by making shiny clean windows more visible. I thought they looked beautiful with the geometric designs and a touch of color.

Let me tell you that I have had a problem with birds smacking into my front and back windows. I happen to have a lot of windows in my house…love the natural light. But, it does make for a lot of window strikes.

I received two packages of the Bird’s Eye view product to try and share a review with you. These are more like square window clings, they went up easily and have stayed adhered to the window. You can actually peel them off and reposition them if you need to with no problem. I am totally happy with that aspect.

The problem is that I have had numerous birds fly right into the very windows with the product on them. Have they reduced the number of birds colliding with my shiny windows? It is hard to say. I went back and reread the application instruction and realized it does say that there needs to be 2 6″ pieces or 4 4″ pieces near the center of the window about 4″ apart. I moved my pieces around but put them right over where I could see the feathers from the bird strike on the outside of the window. We are still hearing birds hit the window.

Birds Eye view (5) — That’s my finger pointing at feathers from a bird who hit the window just to the side of the window film.

I am going to leave them up all summer and try to pay attention to see if we seem to have less collisions…partly because it seems proactive on my part and partly because they are pretty. And, I think I am actually going to get some more and see if placing more of the Bird’s Eye View product on my windows will help eliminate the bird strikes over time. I will keep you posted.

On this very day, a scrub jay hit my back door window and I found him dead on the back mat even though I have a decal on that particular door. It breaks my heart when this happens.

If you have a problem with birds hitting your windows, you can try this product and see if you have success. You can purchase this product online or on Amazon.com: Bird’s Eye View window film.

So, although this product hasn’t completely eliminated my problem with birds flying into my windows, I think it is a step towards solving a worrisome problem.

Additional Links

10 Things to do to Prevent Window Strikes – I might consider adding a few of these ideas to see if they help in my particular case.
Keeping Birds Safe Around Windows – from the much respected people at All About Birds.
Birds and Windows – from the Portland Audubon Society

Please note that the Amazon link is an affiliate link.

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Barb — Leave a comment

NotebookingPages.com Back to School Sale

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Entries about notebooking for your nature journal you may want to read:

Nature Journal or Nature Notebook?

Notebook Pages in Your Nature Journal

How to Organize Your Nature Notebook Pages

Want to see what they look like from our nature journals? Here are a couple of examples.

Please note I am a sponsor and affiliate for NotebookingPages.com. I love this product and I have used with my family and in my personal nature journal for many years.

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Barb — 1 Comment

NotebookingPages.com Giveaway – Today Only!

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You can read how I used notebooking pages in our nature journals in this entry: NotebookingPages.com in Your Nature Journal.

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Barb — Leave a comment

Almost Somewhere – Nature Book Project 2015

This month’s book was Almost Somewhere: Twenty-Eight Days on the John Muir Trail by Suzanne Roberts (my affiliate link). This was a really fast read for me…something about the story just compelled me to keep on reading. In a nutshell, it is the account of the author and two girlfriends who decided to hike the John Muir Trail right after graduating from college. They meet and hike with various other people during their trail time and each person brings a little something to the story.

The hike took place back in 1993, a time when girls hiking the JMT alone was still a novelty. The author shares the story from notes in a journal she kept during the hike and each day is described as it unfolded and features mileage, weather, and association they have with other hikers and each other. Each girl brings a different personality and life experience to the hike and I ended up seeing a little of myself in each of them.

Although I may never hike the complete John Muir Trail, this book gave me another perspective on just how rigorous but doable it could be with planning and people who have a goal to achieve something great.

Some Quick Thoughts

This book creates a good sense of the struggles and triumphs associated with hiking the JMT. The author has a nice storytelling style and she includes just enough detail in the plants, animals, scenery, and weather to make it interesting to the reader (at least this nature loving reader).
There are lots of quotes from John Muir in the book that really add such a nice seasoning to the accounts shared in each chapter.
I loved the way the book ends with a positive note and reflects on how the hiking experience had changed each person.
This is definitely not for children or teens, but women twenty years and up will probably glean something from reading this book.
There are adult themes like anorexia, bulimia, drug use, nudity, and unmarried sex discussed. The language is a little on the foul side at times but not overpowering. I usually don’t tolerate bad language but in this book it wasn’t a glaring annoyance. Evolution is referred to in several spots if that is an issue for you…it wasn’t for me.

Previous Month’s Books and Reviews

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Barb — 2 Comments

Growing Herbs

I finally got all my herbs planted in pots on my back deck. I decided to stick to the basics, ones that I use regularly in cooking during the summer. I knew I was limited in pot space and in watering ability because of the drought.

Those factors forced me to pick carefully and choose herbs I use all the time.

Here is my short list!

Cilantro- These are growing from seed I received from Renee’s Garden. They are looking great and I paired them up in a pot with the thyme and oregano. I know I will need to keep the other two herbs pinched back or they will take over the pot but that shouldn’t be a problem if I get into the habit of harvesting a bit of fresh herbs every few days.

Basil – The basil is also from seeds that came from Renee’s Garden. I am anxious for my first harvest of basil later in the summer! I picked a variety that is meant for containers…perfect!

Lemon Thyme and Oregano – These two herbs I cheated and purchased them from Home Depot. I just wanted to have a little green spot in my containers and was too impatient to wait for seeds to grow this time.

Chives – I have some garlic chives in my regular garden that have survived the drought. But, I wanted to try growing some regular chives up on the deck to see how well they grow. I planted seeds and they just started to sprout and grow….too small for a good photo, maybe in the next garden update I will be able to show their progress.

So that is it! Nothing too fancy or unique for our container garden up on the deck. Simple is sometimes better. With the third year of drought and heavy watering restrictions here in my county I am needing to look at our garden in a whole different way. Now that all my children are living outside the home, the demand for fresh veggies has declined to where I may be able to get by with the zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and little peppers that I have growing in pots. 2015 is the year of a new start in gardening and I am always up for a challenge.

Tag: Reviews

NotebookingPages.Com Cyber Sale

One of my favorite all-time products is having a massive Cyber Weekend Sale on their Lifetime Membership!

California Forests and Woodlands – Nature Book Review

National Audubon Society – First Field Guide Reptiles Review

Still time to join us this month with our newsletter focus on reptiles.

Outdoor Mom’s Journal – Early Fall Thoughts

Outdoor Mom’s Journal

Bird Watching Answer Book – Book Review

Bird’s Eye View Window Decals-Saving Birds

NotebookingPages.com Back to School Sale

NotebookingPages.com Giveaway – Today Only!

Almost Somewhere – Nature Book Project 2015

Growing Herbs

How is your garden growing? Did you plant any herbs?

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!