There is a time for listening to the quiet sounds of nature, letting it wash over us, clearing our heads. The little voices of thought can be heard without the constant hum of inside life.
Then after we have bathed ourselves in the sounds of the outdoors we somehow bring that back with us and share it with others, having refreshed our own spirits.
I found a few moments this morning in between sprinkles of rain to watch a few birds, take a few photos, and have a quiet time away from the busy morning routine.
Enjoy a few images from my listening time….
Western scrub jays are frequent visitors to our feeders and this week they have been chasing the smaller birds away so they can gobble up all the sunflower seeds.These birds are not even afraid of the squirrels that are competing with them for food. The birds will squawk and the squirrels will chatter and it is quite the scene.
The goldfinches don’t mess with the jays and they hang out in the sweet gum tree, hanging upside down to snatch the seeds from the sticker balls.
Here you can see the goldfinch’s color as he reaches over to his snack.
Our December World still has a fragrance. I stepped out the front door and down the steps and out of habit I reached to touch the lavender next to the stairway. Running my hand along the leaves and then placing my hand up to my face, I smell a summer smell. The leaves this time of year are a silvery-gray-green but they hold a sweet lavender smell that I adore.
Rosemary
My eyes started looking for other things that might have fragrance and I spotted my new rosemary plants up by the birdfeeder. They still have a few purple blossoms on the ends and as I kneel to take a photo or two I spot a bee buzzing near-by! I am surprised.
Violet
Around the corner and back to the back steps I spot my favorite cold weather fragrant flower…the violet. There are just a few starting to bloom but each flower holds a potent gift of violet goodness. Besides….who can resist a purple flower?
Oregano-Still a few leaves to pluck and bring up to the kitchen.
My garden is pretty much sleeping for the winter but tucked into Mr. B’s box are a few herbs and these give a fragrance to winter as well. He has thyme, oregano, and chives all hanging in there despite our cold temperatures.
Peas late in the season
I notice that the peas we tucked in the box a few months ago have woke up and are growing. It will be interesting to see if they continue to grow.
Garden box and my leaf pile.
The rest of the garden is pretty much done and the pile of leaves there in the background will soon be spread over the remaining boxes as a nice winter blanket. The smell of the leaves as they decay is rich and potent, ever promising to protect the few plants that are left for the winter and then to enrich the soil when we till them under in the spring.
So there you have our fragrant December World….perhaps you have some smell that reminds of the coming winter. I encourage you to open your sense of smell this month and see if you can discover some odor to enjoy. Wood smoke? Pine boughs?
Thanks to Palmy from Mens Sana who sent me a link to her fragrance entry….you will need to translate if you don’t speak Italian.
Sight: Look for grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets in your yard. Observe them with a hand lens. Look at a grasshopper jump.
Hearing: Listen for the chirping of a cricket or katydids and see if you can follow the direction.
Inside Preparation Work:
1.Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 338-350 (Lessons 80-82). This a lot of information so you might want to break this challenge up over several weeks so you can read, choose some of the suggestions for observation, spend your time outdoors, and then move onto the next insect.
Most of us have heard crickets in the evenings and children will be very interested to learn more about these insects that play music with their legs for us to enjoy. Here is a link to a YouTube.com video that shows what a cricket looks like when he is singing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E6q9W8Ur2k
2. Read in Discover Nature at Sundown pages 174-188. There are many suggestions for exploring the hopper’s world and you may wish to choose one or two to try with your family. You can collect a grasshopper and keep it for a few hours to observe it up close. Use your hand lens to complete the “Closer Look” activity on page 183.
Outdoor Hour Time:
Try to spend some of your outdoor time in the evening air. Our family likes to sit on our deck and watch as the stars come out after sunset. This is a perfect activity to couple with listening for crickets because it is just about at the same time that you will begin to hear crickets singing their evening songs. You can also spend fifteen minutes looking for grasshoppers or crickets in your yard or a near-by park. This challenge can be split up into two weeks if you want to really study each insect.
Follow-Up Activity:
After your observations and outdoor time, have your child tell you some of the things he remembers about the nature study. After you have your outdoor time, provide an opportunity for working on a nature journal entry. Use the Handbook of Nature Study or a library book to find an illustration or photo of an actual cricket to draw in your journal. Have your child label the entry with a title, the date, and the place that you made your observation. Parents can always help the child with this part if needed.
There are also coloring pages included in the Summer Series ebook for the cricket, the grasshopper, and the katydid.
If you would like all the Summer Series Challenges in one place, I have an ebook gathered for you to purchase for your convenience. Here is a link to a complete description: Summer Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges
Summer Series #9
Evening Primrose or Other Night Blooming Plant
Train Your Senses
Sight: Observe an evening primrose opening. Look for night flying insects on the primrose. Observe the difference between the leaves at the base and those at the top of the plant. Look for other night blooming plants.
Smell: In the evening, see if you can smell the sweet fragrance of a blooming evening primrose.
Taste: See this LINK for more information. See #6 of Lesson 127 in the Handbook of Nature Study (tasting the nectar).
Inside Preparation Work:
“Then some warm evening, usually about sunset, but varying from four o’clock in the afternoon to nine or ten in the evening, the petals begin to unfurl…..Three or four of these flowers may open on a plant the same evening and they, with their fellows on the neighboring plants, form constellations of starry bloom that invite attention, and night flying insects are often seen on them.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 488
Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 488-491 (Lesson 127). There are garden species of this plant available and many areas of the United States have the evening primrose as a wildflower. Other night blooming plants include 4 o’clocks, Moonflowers, and Night Blooming Cereus. Here is a link that has a list of night blooming flowers.
Outdoor Hour Time:
Spend fifteen minutes outdoors in the evening to observe an evening primrose. If you do not have an evening primrose, try to see if you can find any other night blooming flowers in your area. Use the suggestions from the Handbook of Nature Study to closely examine the parts of this flower, perhaps watching long enough to see the petals unfold. The Handbook of Nature Study also recommends observing a flower blossom indoors so you many wish to collect a specimen to have on hand for your follow-up activity.
Follow-Up Activities:
Make sure to discuss the reason for night blooming flowers during your follow-up activity. Have the child guess what sort of tongue the insect would need in order to gather nectar from the evening primrose. Make time for a nature journal entry using the notebook page from the Summer Series ebook or in your own blank nature journal.
Suggested Nature Journal Activities:
Wildflowers are wonderful subjects for a watercolor drawing. Try using watercolor colored pencils to sketch an evening primrose or any wildflower into your nature journal.
Using the notebook page and/or the coloring page included in the Summer Series ebook, record any observations your child has from their outdoor time.
Press a blossom for your nature journal. Simple instructions can be found HERE.
If you would like all the Summer Series Challenges in one place, I have an ebook gathered for you to purchase for your convenience. Here is a link to a complete description: Summer Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges
Sight: Observe the cattail’s habitat. Look for birds, insects, and animals living or resting in or on the cattails. Look for nests. See if you can find the cattail flowers.
Smell: Sit or squat near your cattails and close your eyes. Breathe deeply and see if you smell anything.
Touch: Feel the leaves, edges, and spikes of the cattails.
Hearing: Take a minute to listen as you stand or sit near your cattails. Can you hear any birds or insects? Water running?
Inside Preparation Work:
Read pages 500-502 in the Handbook of Nature Study if you have not done so before (starting on page 551 if you have the free download version) . It might also be beneficial to read it again this season and highlight the parts that contain information about the leaves of the cattail plant.
Outdoor Hour Time:
Enjoy your outdoor time this week at your cattail spot. If you have been participating in the year-long cattail study since last autumn, you will know just where to look for cattails. Use the suggestions from the Handbook of Nature Study to talk a little about the habitat where your cattails are growing.
Is your cattail still growing in water or has it dried up?
What does the “cattail” parts of the plant look like now?
What color and shape are the leaves?
Do you see the cattails seeds or balloons?
Can you pull some of the fuzz from the cattail and observe it more closely?
How do you think the seeds spread, by wind or water?
How crowded are the cattails growing together?
Please note: If you do not have any cattails to observe in your area, you may wish to choose another local plant to observe in each season throughout the next year.
Follow-Up Activity:
Make sure to allow some time after your outdoor hour to discuss any subjects that your child finds interesting. Encourage the completion of a nature journal entry recording your observation of your cattails. You can use the notebook page and coloring page created for the Summer Series ebook, the notebook page from Autumn, a blank page, or any other general notebook page listed on the sidebar of my blog. You may wish to pull out your other cattail entries and compare the year-long changes in your cattails.
If you would like all the Summer Series Challenges in one place, I have an ebook gathered for you to purchase for your convenience. Here is a link to a complete description: Summer Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges
Our family has been spending just about every evening outdoors enjoying the sunset and evening air. Our neighbor had a tree fall last winter and then he cut another one down that was precarious. We now have a beautiful view of the western sky and many a beautiful sunset.
Our list of summer smells is growing and the most predominant evening smell of note is the smell of skunks. The second fragrance that we detect in the evenings is the smell of star jasmine along the fence. This year the flowers are abundant and after a long hot summer day, the sweet spicy smell of the jasmine is intoxicating. The boys always say they smell woodsmoke and grass when I ask. If you asked us during the daylight hours, the most frequent smell in the air is hot oak leaves. There is something about that particular fragrance that is calming to me and it always signals to me that it is summer. This is a wonderful exercise for older children since they can usually detect and identify many smells that we adults perhaps don’t notice anymore. 🙂
Our mosquito study has been limited this year. We did try to find some wigglers to observe but so far we have not been successful. We have collected some water but with no results. This will continue to be something we look for the opportunity to do all summer. We did have some direct observations of mosquitoes though and the most fascinating thing to me is the way mosquitoes seem to choose certain people out of the group to target. I have one son that attracts them like a magnet. I can be sitting right next to him and they will buzz around me but not land on me. They will bite him multiple times and he is then miserable with itching hot bites.
We looked up the information on mosquitoes and learned a little bit more about how the mosquito fits into our local web of life. We have bats in our yard in the evenings and now we realize that the mosquitoes are actually part of their food web. I think our Creator has made such a wonderful world that is in balance and is just right if man does not interfere.
This is from one evening on our camping trip to Oregon…look at that moon.
The section on in Discover Nature at Sundown was also interesting and we learned more about categories of smells. We know have some new vocabulary to use when we describe a smell. Our summer has been full of informal nature study so far in addition to the official Outdoor Hour Challenges and it warms my heart when the boys bring something up and we can research it to learn more.
Outdoor Hour Challenges Summer Series #1 Mosquitoes and World of Smell
Train Your Senses
Sight: Begin to learn how long it takes for your eyes to adjust as the evening gets darker. Use your sense of sight to observe mosquitoes or mosquito larvae. Can you observe any birds or bats eating mosquitoes?
Smell: Sit quietly in your yard, perhaps at different times of day, observing any smells of summer that you can recognize. Can you smell more at night when your other senses are not as useful? Can you smell more on a damp night or a dry night? Does a certain smell bring back a memory?
Hearing: Can you hear any mosquitoes or other insects buzzing?
Inside Preparation Work:
1. Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 411-415 on mosquitoes. Pay special attention to page 414 where there is a list of places that mosquito larvae can be found. Read through Lesson 105 to equip yourself for your mosquito study.
2. Read in Discover Nature at Sundown pages 14-26. This section will give you some general information about how humans and other living creatures use their sense of smell. We will study several of these living things as part of this series of challenge: moths, evening primroses, mosquitoes, frogs, and bats.
Outdoor Hour Time:
1. This week spend your 15 minutes outdoors at sundown. As you start your Summer Series of Challenges, try to establish a routine of going outdoors in the evening to spend some time observing your backyard or neighborhood as the light fades. Use the suggests above to use your senses during your outdoor time. After reading in Discover Nature At Sundown, you will have some ideas for night-blooming flowers to look for and to smell. Also the book suggests observing sounds on a damp night and a dry night and comparing your results.
2. Also, as part of this challenge, you can try to collect some live mosquito larvae. Here are some instructions:
Look in a pond, along a stream, in a rain barrel or any where else you can find some standing water.
Collect a jar full of water to bring home to observe. Scoop the water rapidly and hopefully you will get some larvae or pupae.
The Handbook of Nature Study suggests putting the jar on your desk to observe the “wigglers”. Use the suggestions from Lesson 105 to study your mosquitoes. Here is a link to a webpage that has more information about mosquitoes: How Stuff Works: Mosquitoes
Follow-Up Activity:
1. There is a notebook activity included with this challenge is to keep track of all the smells of summer that you find over the next few weeks. As a new smell comes to your attention, make sure to write it down in your journal. There is set of free mosquito notebook pages available over on NotebookingFairy.com.
2. If you were successful in collecting and then observing mosquito larvae, record your thoughts in your nature journal or on the notebook page provided in the Summer Series ebook. If you did not find any mosquito larvae, you can record the things you learned about mosquitoes instead.
If you would like all the Summer Series Challenges in one place, I have an ebook gathered for you to purchase for your convenience. Here is a link to a complete description: Summer Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges
