2011 Spring Series - Spring Wildflower Study - Dandelions

Our last official Outdoor Hour Challenge for the 2011 Spring Series has arrived. I can hardly believe it but we are going into the month of May next week! With May will come some changes to the Outdoor Hour Challenge, exciting changes for us all! I will be sharing my new ideas and directions for the Outdoor Hour Challenge on May 1, 2011.


In the meantime, take this week to enjoy hunting up some spring wildflowers and/or dandelions. This was one of the most popular challenges last spring and I look forward to seeing all of your current year dandelion studies in Mr. Linky.

Here is a link to the Spring Wildflower Study- Dandelions.
Please make sure to click over and read all about how your family can study this common plant and be educated on the many things we can learn from this weed/wildflower. 

Please come back and post your link on Mr. Linky after completing this challenge and writing your blog entry. You can also submit it to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival!

Schedule for Spring 2011

• March 18, 2011: Signs of Spring (Bonus challenge with notebook page.)
• March 25, 2011: Spring Cattail Observations
• April 1, 2011: Spring Queen Anne's Lace Observations (with free notebook page)
• April 8, 2011: Spring Weather Observations
• April 15, 2011: Spring Tree Observations
• April 22, 2011: Spring Bird Study
• April 29, 2011: Spring Wildflower/Dandelion Study

Spring Robin and Wildflower Hikes - Robin Nature Study

We took a walk to look for birds as part of the Spring Bird Observation Challenge from last week. It had been raining earlier in the day but we took off for our hike as soon as the clouds parted a little. The walking trail had lots of earthworms wiggling across which is why we saw A LOT of robins. The robins were singing and then hopping along side the trail as we hiked.



I think I was too distracted to capture a good photo but you can see him up there on the branch of the pine.



He did make it into our nature journals though....big fat red belly and all. There is lots of information in the Handbook of Nature Study for the robin. I encourage you to use this information as the basis of a great spring study of birds. There is an official Outdoor Hour Challenge for robins: Red Birds.

Here is an additional printable brochure on American Robins that is excellent: American Robins.



We were lucky to catch this wildflower blooming...



Yellow star tulip.



Part of the trail is lined with Scotch broom....yellow boughs make a beautiful setting. I know it is considered a "noxious" weed and invasive but I will enjoy it as I walk the trail this spring. 



On another section of the trail the Sierra peas are in bloom giving the grass dots of purple and pink.



The California poppies are really blooming now and this section of the trail full of them.I am working on a new blog entry featuring poppies that I will post soon.



We recognized this flower from last year...Blue eyed grass which isn't a grass at all but it is in the iris family.

We spent additional time this week reviewing our spring bird list and updating it for Tweet and See over on Heather's blog, Kingdom Arrows.

Here is our list for April:

1. Canada goose -on the move, although we have some that stay year-round in a marshy area at the edge of town
2. Mourning doves (always a pair)
3. Anna's hummingbirds
4. White-crowned sparrows
5. White-breasted nuthatch
6. Acorn woodpecker
7. California towhee
8. House sparrows
9. Brewer's blackbirds
10. American crow
11. Turkey vultures
12. Red-wing blackbirds
13. Western scrub jays
14. Common ravens
15. Cedar waxwings (saw these yesterday) - heard their high pitch whistle
16. Oak titmouse
17. American robins -counted 47 one day
18. California quail - flock of them
19. Yellow billed magpie - on a day trip, distinctive sound
20. Blue heron - on another day trip
21. Steller's jays
22. Cooper's hawk - we hear this sound a lot in our yard (nest call/alarm call)
23. Red-tail hawk
24. Rock pigeons

I think the most interesting thing about our list is the absence of some of our "regular" feeder birds. It appears that some of them have moved on: House finches, Lesser goldfinches, Spotted towhees, Dark eyed juncos.

Wildflowers - Sierra Spring 2011 (Part 1)

Blue dicks are the purplest purple of the spring in our world. I am thinking that the wildflowers on our usual trail are almost a full month behind their usual bloom schedule. I love knowing the rhythm of the growing things in our part of the world and being able to anticipate the blooming sequence.



There are meadows and trail edges filled with Blue dicks along with orange California poppies. Those two colors together are a feast for the eyes.



The other amazing purple flowers blooming right now are the Purple Chinese Houses. They are just starting to bloom and in the next few weeks they will bring the trailsides alive with color.



These are Indian Pinks....not very pink but rather a deep reddish orange. There are more of these blooming than usual.



The fennel is not as striking as some of the other wildlfowers but it has a really nice shape.



Here is another kind of Miner's Lettuce. You can really see how it grows in a rosette shape and then has delicate flowers at the ends.



Here is the first of the Pretty Faces. They are a really soft yellow and I like the way they look as they begin to open up. Maybe this one should go into my nature journal...



I almost missed this one! This is Hairy Fringepod and it makes me happy. There is just something about this plant that seems so special and unique. It will eventually bloom.



Here is a new wildflower for our list. I think it is a Woodland Star. It is in the saxifrage family which I am beginning to be able to pick out when I am identifying flowers.



This is certainly not a lovely wildflower but a really interesting insect that I learned about a few years ago....it is a Green Stigma Hangingfly. You can click on the image and go over to Flickr to see the largest size to really get a good look at this amazing insect.

I took quite a few more photos but this entry is getting really long so I will save some for another entry later this week. Hope you enjoyed seeing some of the colorful flowers from our part of the country (Northern California).

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

If you are interested in seeing more of my wildflower studies...you can click over to my Yosemite Wildflower blog and see some from past years.

2011 Spring Series - Spring Bird Observations

"The springtime belongs to the birds and me.....The birds and I get acquainted all over again every spring. They have seen strange lands in the winter, and all the brooks and woods have been covered with snow. So we run and romp together, and find all the nooks and crannies which we had half forgotten since October."
Liberty Hyde Bailey. The Birds and I, 1898

There has been a definite change in our yard's bird population since our bird count in February and our winter observations of birds. Our feeders are not so crowded and I hear different birds in the early morning hours. This is a time for spring birds like robins and geese flying overhead, making their return to our part of the world. I sincerely hope that this bird challenge encourages your family to spend a little time outside this week to look for some birds in your world. It will be a great excuse to get outside and have a reason to look around for some feathered friends. 

For this week's challenge we will be making our Spring 2011 Bird Observations - Click over to read more about the spring bird challenge. The focus can be on bird song or any other aspect of birds that your family is interested in learning about. Check the Handbook of Nature Study for more information. 

Don't miss this website!
Songs, Calls, Bird Identification

Here are specific challenges from the Handbook of Nature Study for different bird topics if you are interested in learning more:

Feet

Flight

Eyes and Ears

Beaks

Feathers

Wing and Tail Shape

Follow up your outdoor bird observing with some looking at field guides and perhaps a nature journal or notebook page. The notebook page is included in the Spring Series ebook.

If you are really interested in learning more about birds, you can work through my bird series of Outdoor Hour Challenges that are listed on the sidebar of my blog.

Please make sure to come back and post your link on Mr. Linky after completing this challenge and writing your blog entry. I love seeing your birds!

Schedule for Spring 2011

• March 18, 2011: Signs of Spring (Bonus challenge with notebook page.)
• March 25, 2011: Spring Cattail Observations
• April 1, 2011: Spring Queen Anne's Lace Observations (with free notebook page)
• April 8, 2011: Spring Weather Observations
• April 15, 2011: Spring Tree Observations
• April 22, 2011: Spring Bird Study
• April 29, 2011: Spring Wildflower/Dandelion Study

Our Spring Tree Has Leaves: White Birch Limbs and Leaves

This post is part of our on-going series of Year-Long Tree Studies, Spring Challenge. You can see our previous studies here: Autumn and Winter.  If you haven't started your own family's Year-Long Tree Study, I encourage you to jump in now and start with a spring observation. I guarantee you will learn a lot!

"A person who has not had an intimate, friendly acquaintance with some special tree has missed something from life.”
Anna Botsford Comstock, A Study of a Tree

It has been with eagerness that we watched our white birch tree for signs of new leaves. This past week they seemed to appear overnight, gracefully blowing in the breezes that have come in the afternoon hours. Here is a video (you may need to click over to the blog to view it) that shows how the limbs are so fluid and dance in the wind. It isn't very long...about half a minute.

We decided to focus on the limbs of the tree and see how they make that movement in the wind. It might have something to do with the shape and arrangement of the limbs. The limbs bend down towards the ground and are not stiff like the oak tree growing just a few feet away.



They sort of spiral up the trunk....isn't it pretty?



It could have something to do with the leaves as well so we took a look at the arrangement and shape as part of our spring study. The leaves point down and the petiole is long and slender. The leaves catch the slightest breeze just like the sail on a sailboat. They shake and sway and remind me of Robert Frost's poem, Birches. We decided to include a part of the poem in our nature journal.

I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,

And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk

Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,

But dipped its top and set me down again.

That would be good both going and coming back.

One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.

(Excerpt)

"Catkins form on the trees in summer, remaining tight, smooth, and closed throughout the winter. They begin to expand in early spring, with most flowering before the leaves appear, or at least before the leaves get too large. As catkins rely on wind to spread their pollen, this arrangement prevents the leaves from interfering with fertilization. After the female flowers are fertilized, the male catkins wither and drop."
Read more at Suite101: Catkins in Spring.



So another season is beginning for our tree and we will look forward to observing it closely as the days tick by. There is always something new to learn and think about in this great nature study project.

2011 Spring Series - Spring Tree Observations

Here's the challenge for this week:  
Spring Tree Observations.
(click over to read the specifics) 

 
This is the post from last year and in it you will find the pages in the Handbook of Nature Study to read in preparation and then some ideas for learning more about your tree that you picked to observe last autumn or winter.

We have been watching our tree get its leaves over the last few weeks. What a transformation! I hope you are able to revisit your family's tree and get to see its spring beauty.  If you are new to the Outdoor Hour Challenge, please feel free to jump in with this season's observations and get started on your own Year-Long Tree Study!

Here are the suggestions for a general tree study:

1. Pick a tree in your yard or on your street and look for its new leaves and blossoms if appropriate.
2. Is it just beginning to show leaves? Can you tell if your tree has all of its leaves yet?
3. Can you see any insects or birds in your tree?
4. Collect a few leaves to use for leaf rubbings in your nature journal. You could also make a leaf bouquet.
5. Compare two leaves from the same tree. Are they exactly alike?
6. Use your nature journal to record a sketch of the leaf and any blossoms.
7. How has the tree changed since autumn? Winter?

Free Resources and Helpful Links for Trees:

OHC Spring Maple Tree Notebook Page

OHC Seasonal Tree Notebook Page

Tree Study Lapbook 

What Tree Is It?

  
Please make sure to come back and post your link on Mr. Linky after completing this challenge and writing your blog entry.I have enjoyed all the entries so far and would love to come read your spring entries on your blog.

Schedule for Spring 2011

• March 18, 2011: Signs of Spring (Bonus challenge with notebook page.)
• March 25, 2011: Spring Cattail Observations
• April 1, 2011: Spring Queen Anne's Lace Observations (with free notebook page)
• April 8, 2011: Spring Weather Observations
• April 15, 2011: Spring Tree Observations
• April 22, 2011: Spring Bird Study
• April 29, 2011: Spring Wildflower/Dandelion Study

Today is the last day to take advantage of NotebookPages.com's discounted prices on their nature study notebook sets.
Nature Study Notebook Pages  Discount code=nature 11 (save $5)
Wildflowers, Weeds and Garden Flowers Set Discount code=flowers11 (save $5)
Complete Set of Bird Notebooking Pages Discount code=birds11 (save $5)
 
These notebook pages are a perfect way to keep a beautiful record of your nature study activities.

Don't forget that if you already have a Treasury Membership that you have access to all these pages at any time!

Spring Weather Observations 2011: Clouds and Sky and Green

The sky has been amazingly beautiful this past week. Although the temperatures are still a little cold, we have enjoyed bright sunshine every day except for last Friday when it snowed! Just a little. Today it hit 60 degrees on the thermometer with breezes from the south....just enough to stir up the pollen and drive me indoors. I really needed to get this Spring Weather Observation Challenge posted anyway.



We were able to do a little hiking this week in the afternoons where we noticed the buttercups are in full bloom. The hounds tongue and the shooting stars are still going strong as well.

Other things we noticed this week:

• First mosquito
• First hummingbird at the feeder
• Dandelions!
• Apple tree blossoming
• Tulips blooming
• Dew in the mornings and not frost
• Longer daylight hours after dinner
• Robins singing

Look at the color of that apple blossom bud! This is on our tree that we planted last year so I am excited to see it growing. I need to research whether it is better to let the apples form on a new tree or if I should take the blossoms off for a year or two to allow the tree to grow. I am new to apple trees.

So is anyone else already suffering from spring allergies? It has hit me fast and hard this year so whatever is pollinating right now is killing me. With sniffling nose and itchy eyes, I spent three days in the yard working on clean-up, pruning, and getting garden boxes ready.


They are looking better than they did when I shared our garden progess a couple of weeks ago. We are adding pea gravel around the boxes as a way to keep the weeds down. We have a stockpile of gravel in another area of the garden so we are just moving it by wheelbarrow from one side of the yard to the other. More on the garden next week when I have my plans done and a few more things to share.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom 



Jami's Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

2011 Spring Series - Spring Weather Observations and a Giveaway!

Spring Weather is a welcome change for many of us around the world. The longer days and warmer temperatures give more time for outdoor activities. We have seen a variety of weather conditions in our neighborhood including more snow, hail, and then back to sunny days again.

This week you can click over the the Spring Weather Challenge for the specifics of this challenge.

Here are some suggestions:

• Have your children describe any clouds they see in the sky.
• Notice how hard the wind is blowing by how things are moving: leaves rustling, trees bending, etc.
• Notice the wind’s direction. Where is it coming from?
• Describe the temperature of the air and/or look it up on a thermometer.
• Notice any precipitation that you may have this week: sprinkles, rain, mist, sleet, snow, fog, hail.

Follow up can include the notebook page from the Spring Ebook, the free Seasonal Weather PDF, or an entry in your own  nature journal.  You can also print out this activity and use it to identify clouds that you observe in your nature study: Cloud Key.

Hearts and Trees Weather Lapbook

Special Giveaway!

I would love for you to leave a comment on this entry letting me know what spring looks like in your area. For instance, we always know it is truly spring here when the dogwood blooms. Does your area have a particular indicator of official spring? I will enter your name in a drawing for a free Weather Lapbook from Hearts and Trees if you leave a comment with your spring time thoughts. I will be adding some of your quotes on my Spring Squidoo Lens. Deadline for giveaway comments will be April 13, 2011. I will announce the winner on Thursday, April 14, 2011.

Also if you have not clicked over to my Spring Squidoo lens, I would love for you to pop over there and vote in my poll indicating which month is the month you start to see signs of spring. So far the month of March is in the lead.

Please make sure to come back and post your link on Mr. Linky after completing this challenge and writing your blog entry.I have enjoyed all the entries so far and would love to come read your spring entries on your blog.

Schedule for Spring 2011

• March 18, 2011: Signs of Spring (Bonus challenge with notebook page.)
• March 25, 2011: Spring Cattail Observations
• April 1, 2011: Spring Queen Anne's Lace Observations (with free notebook page)
• April 8, 2011: Spring Weather Observations
• April 15, 2011: Spring Tree Observations
• April 22, 2011: Spring Bird Study
• April 29, 2011: Spring Wildflower/Dandelion Study

Didn't Find Queen Anne's Lace? Were You Still Successful?

After much observation, we think that these are Queen Anne's Lace leaves growing in the other grasses.

The theme of this last week's Outdoor Hour Challenge was a real challenge for many of you. Even in our family we had to think hard about where we might see some Queen Anne's Lace growing at this time of the year. We looked in two different spots and although we found the brown, dried, hard stalks from last year, we were never sure we were looking at new Queen Anne's Lace sprouts.

Were we still successful?

The real question should be.... Did we enjoy ourselves and did we learn something?

Absolutely.

Mule's Ears and Blue Dicks are starting to bloom!

First of all the goal of  *any* Outdoor Hour Challenge is to get outside and we did that with flying colors. The afternoon turned warm and we decided to take a long walk to look for our target plant.

The first California poppies we have seen this year!

Second, we had to really look closely to find our patch and then to look around to see if we could identify the Queen Anne's Lace by its leaves. They were rather hard to spot but in the process of trying to correctly identify the Queen Anne's Lace we were able to compare the leaves to several other near-by plants. This close observation would have never happened if we were not trying to complete the challenge. In fact, we had to take two walks to double check the leaves since after a little initial research we decided the first time we were looking at California poppy leaves and not Queen Anne's Lace. We will still not be totally sure that what we photographed is Queen Anne's Lace until we go back when it is blooming....something to look forward to in a few months.

Finally, this was the last of the year-long studies of this plant and it was satisfying to know that we had followed this plant through a complete calendar year, four seasons. We learned also that this plant is a biennial which gave us a little more understanding of it's life cycle. It gave us a more full picture of the natural history of this wildflower and a better understanding of its place in our habitat. See last summer's entry HERE.

We are looking forward to seeing the happy white clusters of flowers with their red spot in the center soon. Last summer we nicknamed the season the "Season of the Queen Anne's Lace" because there was a bumper crop. It will be interesting to see how it fairs this year after such wild winter and now spring weather.

My best advice to any of you who don't think you have Queen Anne's Lace to observe this season, find something else to focus on this week and I would welcome your link in Mr. Linky. Here is a wonderful look at a family that did just that: Kristen at Broom and Crown.

Today we had more snow...hard to believe but it was just a dusting and now the sun is out and it is melting. My poor garden doesn't know what to think!

2011 Spring Series - Queen Anne's Lace Spring Observations/Spring Wildflower

Queen Anne's Lace from last summer.....along with my favorite sweet peas.

I wanted to just briefly mention that the order of the 2011 Spring Challenges is different than the order of the challenges in the Spring 2010 Ebook. You will find the order and topic for each of the 2011 Spring Challenges at the bottom of this post.

Last year we studied dandelions as part of the spring series but this year I wanted to make sure that we are all on the look-out for our Queen Anne's Lace. This is a plant that we started observing last summer and then continued through autumn and then winter.

Here are the links to those challenges:
Summer Study: Queen Anne's Lace 

Autumn Study: Queen Anne's Lace

Winter Study: Queen Anne's Lace (free bonus notebook page)

Inside Preparation Work:

• If you studied Queen Anne's Lace in the past, you may wish to pull out the completed notebook pages to remind yourself of the appearance and location of your Queen Anne's Lace.
• Read pages 542-545 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 148). Glean some new points about this interesting plant that is considered a weed by many people.
• Remind yourself what Queen Anne's Lace looks like by using the accompanying notebook page or the Handbook of Nature Study. More information can be found here: eNature or the USDA.

Outdoor Hour Time:
For this challenge go back to your Queen Anne's Lace patch and make some springtime observations. If this is your first season of observing Queen Anne's Lace, you may need to wait until the flowers bloom before finding your own patch. Still take your 15 minutes outdoors and find any wildflower that you can observe in your yard or neighborhood. 

Follow-Up Activity:
Spend a few minutes talking about your outdoor time. Did you see some Queen Anne's Lace? Did your child have any questions about things that they found interesting during your outdoor time? Use this time to complete a nature journal entry or you can use the Spring Queen Anne's Lace Notebook Page available HERE.

Please make sure to come back and post your link on Mr. Linky after completing this challenge and writing your blog entry. I always love to come by and see what you are up to!

Planning Ahead!
Here is a link to a Squidoo page that shows exactly how to color your Queen Anne's Lace with food coloring. I love this idea and we will be doing this over the summer. You may wish to add it to your seasonal activities: Queen Anne' Lace

Schedule for Spring 2011

• March 18, 2011: Signs of Spring (Bonus challenge with notebook page.)
• March 25, 2011: Spring Cattail Observations
• April 1, 2011: Spring Queen Anne's Lace Observations
• April 8, 2011: Spring Weather Observations
• April 15, 2011: Spring Tree Observations
• April 22, 2011: Spring Bird Study
• April 29, 2011: Spring Wildflower/Dandelion Study

Spring Cattail Nature Study and Voles...Oh My!

Our Cattail Adventure- Spring Cattail Outdoor Hour Challenge

I already hinted about our cattail spot....the one that was cut down and cleaned out. We were a little disappointed but not discouraged. We have two others places to check but one has so much water right now because we have had heavy rains. Eight inches from Thursday to this morning....crazy wet! The boys were upset about the cattails being cut down but there is hope if you look at the photo below.



We are going to watch this spot to see if those little baby cattails will fill in the creek area like they were before. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to have another batch of cattails to observe. If you haven't seen Creation Wiki yet, give this LINK a try to read more about cattails.

Watercolor pencils, background semi-moist watercolor, Prismacolor Pen

On another note...

We came across something that was interesting. Our retaining wall had started to fall over and Mr. A helped me fix it but in the process we realized the problem was caused by a system of vole tunnels directly underneath the cement blocks. The wall is right near the birdfeeder (find the green in the photo and then you will see the post) and the voles are tunneling up underneath...in fact there was a hole earlier in the year that came up directly under the hanging feeder and the spilled seed just went down the hole, a very convenient set-up for the vole. Not sure how to solve the problem but we got the wall back up and we will see how long it lasts.

How about a couple pretty images to end this entry?



We have had quite a variety of birds at our feeders during the month of March...lots of Lesser goldfinches, even in the cold snowy weather we had last week.I am keeping a list of our birds observed for the month to post on Heather's Tweet and See.



They are one of my favorite feeder birds right now and I cannot stop taking photos of them.

We are going to have an on-going study of cattails again this year because I think we can glean some new information for our nature journals.One thing we will research is how they reproduce and how the seeds are spread.....which we sort of know a little about already but we want to have some concrete facts to include in a future journal entry.

Hope you have a chance to check out your cattails soon!

Barb-Harmony Art Mom