Creating Anticipation in Nature Study

As your family gains more confidence in nature study, you might think about preparing them for some nature study adventures in different habitats.

I find it interesting that each of us starts off thinking that our own local habitat is not all that interesting. But, with focus and energy, we begin to see how even what seems commonplace to us, is exciting and fresh to others from different areas of the world.

I live in a mixed oak and conifer habitat and it feels like "home" to me. Years ago when we began a more serious approach to learning about our particular trees, flowers, birds, and other animals, I started to feel like I knew this home better. It is as if we are building a storehouse of knowledge about the natural history of our home.

As much as there is to learn about here in our own neck of the woods, the boys love to learn about different places and habitats. I think their favorite has to be the Sonoran desert habitat that we visited on vacation. Perhaps we would have had a great experience without it, but I think our pre-study of the desert was a valuable and exciting way to build anticipation for what we were going to experience.

We borrowed books from the library, watched some online videos, and spent some time learning about the unique and fascinating mammals, reptiles, birds, flowers, and shrubs of this rather unique place. As we learned a little bit about what to expect, we began to form questions about the desert which we hoped we could answer once we were there. (If you are interested in seeing more of our pre-study materials, here is a LINK.)

I collected two field guides for the area and we browsed through them in the weeks before the trip.

Once there, we spent some time at the Visitor's Center at Saguaro National Park learning more in particular what was in bloom at that time, what birds were present during that season, and where we could go for some great outdoor adventures. We tend to travel in the off season so usually the rangers are available for long conversations and insider tips.

Just a little bit of preparation helped us have a more meaningful time in the desert.

The principle remains the same whether you are headed to the ocean, a coniferous forest, or any other special habitat.

One suggestion I have is to use the One Small Square Books by Donald Silver. He does a great job of creating a sense of wonder for each book's habitat.

We used One Small Square-Seashore to prepare us for our Oregon Coast trip last year. I also really like the series, "A Walk in the..." We used the desert book in preparation for our trip to Arizona. We also did a pre-study of the Hawaiian Islands several years ago and I decided that nature study was a great way to extend a trip to include before and after the actual travel time. We can build up anticipation, increase our knowledge when we are there, and then follow up with things we are curious about once we travel back home.

Just a note about the One Small Square books. Even though these look on the surface like books for young children, don't be fooled. These books are crammed with loads of information about each habitat. I find the ideas for study to be practical and simple enough to remember to do when you are traveling.

Think about it. Where are you headed in the next few months that could provide a unique opportunity for nature study?

If you need some ideas, feel free to email me anytime. I more than likely have something to suggest. :)

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Desert Nature Study-Joshua Tree National Park and More

I wanted to share some more of the photos from our trip to the desert that we took a few weeks ago. The photo above is from Joshua Tree National Park. The scene is typical of what you will find as you hike along the trails of the park. It has taken me three trips to the desert to begin to develop a love for the animals and plants that live here. In this strange and wonderful landscape, you can find the most beautiful of things if you look carefully enough.


There really are blooming plants here and if you get the chance to get up close, you realize that there are bees and other insects as well as birds that are attracted to the color and fragrance.


I will admit that there are sections of the park that are more rock than anything else. My two boys couldn't resist a good climb when they saw it.


When you get up close you see all the intricate patterns and designs of the desert plants. I believe this is some kind of cholla cactus.


Now here was something that surprised me and I examined it carefully for some time. Can you see all the different colors of lichen on this rock? There is a moss green, a grey-green, an orange and a soft yellow-green all living right here on the side of this rock. Beautiful.


Many times as we hike along we name the rock formations we see. The boys named this one "Whale Head".

Not to be confused with "Whale's Mouth".


They keep me smiling.....and thinking.



We came across a wash on our hike and the wildflowers were already blooming. There are three different flowers blooming in this photo...two white and the desert sand verbena.

How about a video? (Why does it take so looooong for the videos to load onto Blogger anyway?)
This squirrel was entertaining us with his acrobatics...trying to get that certain pod to eat.






Here is what the squirrel was gathering to eat. This is a palo verde tree.

I took a lot of photos at the Living Desert Museum and I shared a lot of the butterfly and hummingbird photos already but here are a few more of the larger animals we saw that the boys spent a lot of time observing.

The giraffes...there were four of them.


The cheetahs..there were two of them. I love this photo....look at that face!


For some reason I threw our nature journals in my backpack and we took the opportunity in the afternoon to slow down and do some sketching at the museum. It was a great way to remember our time there.


What a great memory.


It was great way to end our stay at the museum. The desert holds so many interesting and surprising creations for us to learn about....a life time of learning just one plant and one bird and one animal at a time.

So whether you venture out in the national park or you stay in town and visit the Living Desert Museum....there is so much to enjoy as a family. Pick your adventure.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Desert Walking Again....Just a Glimpse

I can always tell when I am ready for a road trip. It is a very good thing that we live in a place in the world that with some driving we can totally change our environment. From snow to the desert sunshine...I feel so much better.


The desert is getting really close to bursting out in blossoms. This is a cholla cactus putting out its buds.


Here is what the cactus looks like as we hike along in the desert.


I added this photo for those that know how much my husband is into alternative energy. He was amazed at the wind turbines out here in the desert.


A little rock climbing went on. Well, maybe A LOT of rock climbing. How about this natural arch?


Here is one critter that we saw while we were out hiking in the desert...he sat still for a very long time while I took a few photos. If you click on the photo you should be able to see his blue spots.


My husband spotted the desert cottontails in this area of the trail. Very, very cute little mammals to observe!

One last photo....here is the star of our desert hike. The Joshua tree is a unique plant that we are just now starting to get to know.


Winter will soon change to spring. Sigh.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Marine Biology-New Resource

I just finished putting together a Squidoo lens on marine biology especially for homeschoolers. I have been gathering information as our school year has progressed and now it is all organized together in one place on Squidoo. I included some information on the page that is specific to those that live on the Pacific coast but most of the lens applies to a study of marine life everywhere.

Here is the link:
Marine Biology for Homeschoolers

If you haven't been to my Squidoo site before you may want to pop over and check out my other lenses. My Squidoo Lenses

There is one for a unit study of the Sonoran Desert: Sonoran Desert for Families

There is another one about drawing in your nature journal: Drawing with Children-Nature Journal Style

I have more pages there that you also may be interested in that relate to art and music appreciation and homeschooling in general.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the fall weather.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

More Reptiles to Identify: Arizona Style

I am still struggling with my disgust of reptiles. Lizards are becoming a bit more palatable but as far as snakes go, I'm still struggling.

Good thing for me that we saw mostly lizards on our trip to Arizona.

On pages 210 to 213 of the Handbook of Nature Study there are many lizards and their descriptions listed. I think on page 213 that number 7 looks surprisingly like the lizards we saw in the photo below.


I did recognize this reptile but only was able to capture his hind end as he scurried under a rock. He was definitely some kind of iguana.


These two photos were taken while we were at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum. They had an enclosure where they used to have a bear but the bear has since been retired to a more comfortable place on the grounds. The enclosure did have these interesting, if not rather large, reptiles inhabiting it.


Climbing up the rocks


This guy was also at the museum and was making his way across the riparian habitat.


Now for something pretty to look at. I can only take reptiles for so long and then I need something colorful and beautiful to enjoy.


Close up of the spines


Are you proud of me? We are still working on identifying the reptiles for their nature journals but we are learning a lot along the way.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Sonoran Desert: Turkey Vulture Video

Handbook of Nature Study, page 45
"There are even garbage gatherers among the birds; vultures, gulls, and crows serve in this capacity. The vultures are commonly found in the warmer parts of the country and serve a most useful purpose by their habit of devouring the unburied bodies of dead animals."

We saw so many turkey vultures on our trip to Saguaro National Park that they became common place. This video was taken when we saw the turkey vulture land right next to our van and we stopped to see what it was going to do. He treated us to a little "air show" with a couple of his friends. I have more encounters with birds to share in the days to come.

The Sonoran Desert is full of bird life and if you ever get a chance to visit this part of the world, you must spend some time birdwatching.

Enjoy,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

April Showers of Photos: April 12

This was an outstanding find on our desert walk, a blue flower! I identified it as chia and it has some interesting background.

Here is another interesting find....desert marigold.

So pretty and colorful in this desert landscape.

We are home from our trip now but I have so many interesting things to share with you from our trip in the weeks to come. I will continue to post a photo a day for the April Showers of Photos challenge but I will also dig into the Handbook of Nature Study to see how we can supplement our study of this awesome habitat.

Thanks to Jennifer for hosting an April Showers of Photos challenge on her blog S/V Mari Hal-O-Jen.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Desert Study: Outdoor Hour Challenge #8

We just returned from our week long adventure in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. It was so surprising to find so much life and color and activity in this part of our world. If anyone says there is nothing to do for nature study in the desert, I can now whole-heartedly disagree. We spent every waking minute in the great outdoors exploring the fascinating world of the desert, even in a sudden desert rainstorm and at sunrise. We were hiking in Saguaro National Park just about everyday and found that we grew to love this place.

If you have been reading my nature blog this week, you will have seen some of the more interesting plants and birds that we have encountered. I will be posting more over there in the weeks to come.

Before we left for our adventure, the boys and I read several books to prepare us for what we would be seeing up close and personal. The most interesting and recognizable plant in the Sonoran Desert is the saguaro cactus. (pronounced sa wah ro) This cactus is a whole ecosystem in itself and we were able to observe the many phases of its growth while on our trip.

Here is a landscape with the saguaro sticking up prominently.
The saguaro grows very tall and provides shade for itself with its spines and grooves.

It also provides homes for birds like the cactus wren and the gila woodpecker. They make their nests inside the saguaro. Here is a photo where you can see the nest holes.

Here is a gila woodpecker sitting on the saguaro and if you look closely, you will see a sparrow in a nest hole near the top of the saguaro.

Here is a close up of the cactus itself.

We enjoyed a sunrise walk in the desert and the colors and sounds are not soon to be forgotten.

There are so many things to tell you about from this trip but I will narrow this entry down to the saguaro cactus. Maybe later this week I will share all the many other birds that we encountered. I have some awesome hummingbird photos to share and some others that will surprise you that we found in our desert wanderings.

We did some close up work last week at home for this challenge with our hand lens. The most interesting thing we found was looking at the bark of our cedar tree.....there is so many interesting things in there like spider webs and egg sacs. If you didn't get a chance to use your hand lens last week, I encourage you to take a few minutes this week to give it a try.

I will post challenge our square challenge later in the week.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

April Showers of Photos: April 11

Today's photo is of a very red insect that we saw on our hike. It was really big...probably about three inches long. It was a flying insect and when it flew its back legs dangled down. The body is a bluish black. I have not been able to identify it yet. We were so entertained by how it flew around it us so we could really get a good look at it.

Edit: Tamara helped me out with the ID on this insect. Tarantula hawk wasp. I had read about this insect in a book but didn't make the connection. This is a prime example of how in the desert, life is a delicate balance. Thanks Tamara.

Now for those that asked me about the barrel cactus fruit. I have no idea if you can eat it like the prickly pear. Here is a photo of what the insides look like. The birds were having a feast with the fruits and seeds.

There were many, many black seeds inside the fruit on the barrel cactus.

Thanks to Jennifer for hosting an April Showers of Photos challenge on her blog S/V Mari Hal-O-Jen.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

April Showers of Photos: April 10

Paper flower

We will just make this "yellow" day. :)


Barrel cactus fruit


Unidentified yellow wildflower...still working on this one.


Thanks to Jennifer for hosting an April Showers of Photos challenge on her blog S/V Mari Hal-O-Jen.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

April Showers of Photos: April 8

Just three photos from the ones I took today.....look at those spines. But even with all that ferocious looking exterior, this cactus actually has a beautiful bloom. The buds will open up to look like this.

And I can't resist my favorite photo of the day....this little hummingbird posing so nicely while I took his photo. Thanks little guy. (You just have to click this one to enlarge it to see this precious creature.)

Thanks to Jennifer for hosting an April Showers of Photos challenge on her blog S/V Mari Hal-O-Jen.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

April Showers of Photos: April 7

This photo is from yesterday's hike. I took over a hundred photos yesterday put this one is one of my favorites. Love the pink and it is surprising to find in the desert that there are so many colors this time of year.


Thanks to Jennifer for hosting an April Showers of Photos challenge on her blog S/V Mari Hal-O-Jen. I am trying to keep to my theme of "colors".

Barb-Harmony Art Mom