'Making History' at the Wellcome Library

This week's edition of BBC Radio 4's series Making History, features an exploration of the Victorian 'fern craze'. 

In a sequence recorded in the Wellcome Library, historian Helen Castor and researcher Pia Ostlund, look at this growth in amateur botany in the context of Henry Bradbury: a businessman, who with the aid of the new technique of 'nature printing', produced intricate images of ferns many of which illustrate the volume The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland (1857).

This episode of Making History will be available on the BBC website listeners in the UK for the next seven days.

Image: A fern frond, possibly of the male fern (Dryopteris filix-mas). Colour nature print, c. 1860 (Wellcome Library no. 23663i)

Our Spring Fern Nature Study

Taken May 3, 2012

We actually started our fern nature study way back in January during our Silent Nature Winter Walk.

This week we walked the same trail to view our ferns. We tried to remember how many ferns there were back in January and there seems to be more ferns now and they are larger. Comparing photos I think we are correct.

Magnificent ferns on our hiking trail.

I was interested in the Western sword fern but Mr. B was interested in the California Maidenhair fern. Both are plants that we have looked at closely before. The Maidenhair fern is interesting because it has a black stem and looks like lace...sometimes you have to look twice because you think the green parts are floating in air but really they are attached with delicate black stems.

More Nature Study Book #3 Fern Study Notebook Page

We had a field guide to consult and to glean a few new facts from. Mr. B did a nature journal page for the California Maidenhair fern from our hiking trail. He thought the stalk was a purple/black...I will have to look closer the next time we hike down the trail.

California Maidenhair Fern - March 2010 (Best photo I have that shows the stalk.)

Now do you want to see some of our California wildflowers from further up the trail? We were busy this time stopping and noting all the colorful flowers there are right now.

This is a colorful time of year in our part of the world.

I am keeping a running list of wildflowers seen on this particular trail for the whole year of 2012.

Keeping a list...nothing fancy about this page in my journal.

I just add to my list in my nature journal when we get back from our hike. It is interesting to see the patterns and successions of blooms.

Making fern prints with ink. See link below.

We will be revisiting ferns again this summer as we visit several spots in California that have ferns. I think it will be fun to add to our collection of fern prints that we started back in January.

It is not too late to join in with your own fern nature study..... If you own the More Nature Study Book #3 for spring, there are plenty of simple ideas to glean more information about your local ferns or prepare for the future when you may encounter ferns during your travels.




I am linking up to a new to me monthly meme at The Homeschool Scientist. Click over and join in.

OHC More Nature Study Book 3 - Ferns

More Nature Study Book 3
Fern Study 

Inside Preparation Work:

• Read pages 693-706 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lessons 192-195)). Highlight information on ferns that you would like to share with your children. After reading through the information, pick one aspect of the fern to focus on during your outdoor time (unfolding, fruiting, learning parts of the fern).
• View this animation: The Life Cycle of the Fern. This one is also interesting: YouTube: Time Lapse Fern Unfurling.
• Advanced preparation: YouTube: Fern Life Cycle (Give this one a chance. It starts off a little rough but covers the information very well for this challenge.) Fern Cycle—Animated (For Fun). For students who have a background with high school biology: Fern Life Cycle. 

Outdoor Hour Time:
Note:Take a hand lens and a way to carry a fern frond with you during your outdoor time.

• Ferns are in the section of the Handbook of Nature Study that covers Flowerless Plants. Use your outdoor time this week to go on a fern hunt or as an alternative, look for moss which is in the same section in the Handbook (Lesson 197). Make observations using a hand lens if you have one. Take photos of the location of your ferns or other subjects.
• Collect one frond of your fern (if appropriate). 

Follow-Up Activities:

• Allow time for a nature journal (notebook page provided in the ebook). If you would like to make this study into a year-long project, record your spring fern observations and mark your calendar to return in summer, autumn, and winter to view your fern’s changes.
• Use careful observation to view the sori on the back of your fern.
• Make ink prints of your fern frond in your nature journal. Step by step instructions are on my blog: Making Leaf Prints With Ink.
• Advanced study: Record the story of the fern in your nature journal. Ebook users: Optional: Fern coloring page. 

Additional Links:
Biology of a Swordfern (references to evolution)
Guide to Ferns (for Georgia but information that can apply anywhere)

Printable Parts of a Fern

Fern vocabulary

Backyard Ferns 

Don't forget to share your Outdoor Hour Challenge blog entries with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. All entries done in May are eligible for the next edition. The deadline for entries is 5/30/12 and you can send them directly to me: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com.

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.

In Expectation: Finding Joy in Your Own Neighborhood

I always go outside with the expectation that there will be something interesting.

Sometimes you have to look harder to find it than other times.

Nature study has made me more of a positive person...I expect to find something outdoors to make me joyful. I expect that there will be something that we can observe and notice.

There is just so much to see and learn about, but we need to train our eyes and hearts to be open to the opportunities that arise.

The simple truth is that everyone has something special and unique to explore in their own backyard or neighborhood.

Here are a few things from our hikes this week.


Wow! Look at the color of this fungi? We think it is called Witches Butter.


I am amazed by these seeds. As many times as we have hiked down this same path, by this same plant, I have never noticed these really great seeds but there they are.


There were lots of fresh critter holes along the trail this week. This one was especially large. We see signs of lots of mammals as we walk and holes are some of the most intriguing signs that we are not alone.


The ferns are growing right now like crazy. Every day there are more and more to enjoy.

Keep your senses open to any opportunities and you may be surprised what you find to be interested in along with your children.

I got to thinking about all of the simple things we have in our own backyard that we have noticed over the years.

Trees: leaves, bark, twigs, roots, flowers, cones, needles, seeds, pods, nests, birds
Patch of weeds: leaves, roots, bugs, flowers perhaps
Dirt: worms, gravel, stones, seeds, mud
Sky: clouds, sun, moon, stars
Air: temperature, wind, smells, breath on a cold morning
Birds: flying, pecking, eating, chirping, hopping, shapes and colors, beaks, wings, tails, feet
Sounds: wind, frogs, rain, leaves, crickets, bees, fly buzzing, mosquitoes
Weather: rain, clouds, temperature, snow, ice, dew, wind
Flowers (garden or in a pot): petals, pollen, roots, leaves, stem, fragrance, shapes, colors, seeds

What can you put on your list?

Above all, have fun and be joyful!
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Winter Break Walks-Time That Speeds By

American mistletoe-Phoradendron leucarpum

"The teacher may judge as to her own progress in nature-study by the length of time she is glad to spend in reading from nature's book what is therein written. As she progresses, she finds those hours spent in studying nature speed faster, until a day thus spent seems but an hour."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 7

She is not a little pup anymore. She is only six months old but she is a good size dog already. She loves to walk with us on our rambles in the woods. She loves to explore and sniff and encourage us to go a little further each time. My son affectionately calls her the Lovable Labrador but her real name is Kona.

Even though we have been on a break from our regular school studies, we are still making time for lots of nature walks. It is the perfect time to enjoy each other's company and to share some adventures.

Today on our walk we had the unmistakable scent of a skunk just about the whole trip down the canyon and back up again. We didn't see the skunk at any time but he was very close by. We have been seeing signs of other animals along the trail....some holes scratched in the trail's bank and lots of mole holes in the little clearing. The buckeye fruits are starting to be nibbled on and left by the side of the path. The trails off into the woods are becoming more distinct as the ground become wet and the animals follow the same path every time....muddy trails up the banks and off to the deep part of the wood.

There are plenty of interesting things to look at as we walk along. This winter weed is pretty all brown and full of velcro-like stickers.


The ferns are really growing now and the shades of green found in the different varieties are showing very clearly.


With all the leaves gone from this oak, you can see clearly the mistletoe growing up on the branches.


Here is a try at a close-up of the mistletoe hanging up high in the tree. I could not find any information on mistletoe in the Handbook of Nature Study which surprised me.

I am testing out a new book (see below) for my boys to use in their nature study....something with a little more depth than the Handbook. I am looking for a book that will supplement the Handbook of Nature Study when it does not cover particular subjects that we have in our area of the world. I am beginning to think it is totally unreasonable to expect any one book to cover all the bases and that is why I am going to be checking out a few other resources for our family to use. I will keep you posted how this book works out for us over the next few months.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Learning Something New: Our Family's Outdoor Hour Challenge #42 Moss and Lichen

In our part of the world it is the perfect time to be looking for and observing closely the mosses and lichens in our yard. Last week I posted a video showing one of our favorite local hikes that has literally come alive with mosses.

After reading the Handbook of Nature Study, we were on the lookout for some haircap moss. I looked it up in our field guide and it showed that we have it here in California so we were determined to find some to look at in person.

The video I took last week showed the "little parts that stick up" and those are actually the spore capsules as shown in the diagram on page 710. Here is a photo of them as well.

These are about three inches high.


This is a close-up of the moss and lichen we saw growing on so many of the trees. In the top photo of this blog entry, you can see how it grows all the way up the tree trunks in this part of the forest. The greens of the mosses and ferns really show up in the forest as you walk along at this time of year when most of the green leaves have fallen from the deciduous trees.


We found some fungus growing on this fallen tree branch...new to us.


It had such a vivid color and look at the green growing on the branch as well....not sure what it is but it is pretty.


Then as we looked closely, we saw this part of a wasp's nest on the ground right next to us. It was very delicate and soft.

We found this pretty fern growing all along the trail's edge on the little embankment. It has a black stem and pretty bright green leaves. I think it is a California Maidenhair fern. I realize now that there are really three different kinds of ferns in the photo...I'm not sure what kind they are but I will update when I find out.


Another photo of the spore capsules and moss.

Can you tell we have enjoyed our week of exploring and looking for moss and lichen? We have been out three times on the trail and each time we have found something new to learn about. No nature journals this week yet but I am hoping to add at least an entry showing the parts of the haircap moss or something showing the life cycle. I know that we covered this in biology last year but I want to make it more real for the boys by viewing these things in real life and then making a nature journal entry to show what we learned.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Moss Walk

This entry more or less shows you what I subject my children to on a nature walk. They are always telling me that I get excited about the funniest things. Well here you go, proof that they are right.

This trail is the one we take all the time and is about three miles from my front door. I view it as my own little nature study laboratory. We have started taking our pup on this hike with us and she is happy that we love nature study since it gives her time to explore a little out in the woods.

This is the view at this time of year with no leaves on the deciduous trees. You can hike all the way down to the bottom of the canyon and be at the American River if you have a couple hours to spare. We have done it before and it is a great hike....just about straight up all the way back though.

We stayed a little later than normal on this particular hike and once again we saw the moon on the horizon as we hiked back up to the car. The cold brisk air in the canyon reminded us that it really is December even though everything is very dry. The mushrooms that we had seen last week on this part of the trail had been rooted out by some animal. Now I want to know who eats that particular mushroom....research to do.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Fungus and Fern Hikes: Our Outdoor Hour Challenge #41

We have been on the lookout for mushrooms and ferns for the last few weeks in anticipation of this challenge. I am overwhelmed with how much I don't know about mushrooms at this point but I am determined to document the mushrooms and other fungus that we see so that when I have a cold winter day and I want to spend some time with a field guide, I will be able to flip through the photos and hopefully come up with names for them.

I decided that there are so many photos that I would make a slideshow on Flickr.com to share with you. The fungi are from three different places but the majority are from my own yard or from a hike within three miles of my house. The others are from the Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

Mushroom Slideshow

As we hiked yesterday, I noticed that the boys were catching sight of more and more varieties of mushrooms than ever before. They even spotted some that I didn't see and directed me to go back to the spot and take a photo. :)

This particular hike they were having a good time in the cool fresh air together.

If you look carefully up over the trail where the boys are hiking, you will notice a tree that broke off and is just barely hanging in place. The boys thought they should try to throw rocks at it to see if they could get it to come down but my dh explained that he didn't think that was a really great idea. :)

I noticed that I was getting into quite a few sticker type seeds as we walked along.


We hiked back to the top and noticed that the moon was up over the oaks. What a great blue sky, don't you think?


So I am still getting used to my new little camera but I think I will like it in the long run. It has a better zoom and the viewing screen is much bigger. (Costco coupon sale!)

Here are the last of the photos for today.

Backside of a fern

Big ferns along the path.

Ferns along the side of a gully that will have a creek running in it once it rains again around here. :)

Here is my son's mushroom diagram for his nature journal. We copied this out of the Handbook of Nature Study, page 719.


This was a great challenge for our family and we never dreamed we would find so many different kinds of mushrooms and other fungi to study.

I encourage you all to give the challenge a try either now or when your weather is cooperating.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Outdoor Hour Challenge #41 Flowerless Plants Overview

I found a video to watch to prepare you for your study of mushrooms. This video is very well done and will help your children understand how a mushroom grows.

Planet Earth: Mushroom Madness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvTvaxVySlE
You will need to click over to YouTube.com to view this video. Please note: Turn down the sound if the music is too much for you. As always, please preview the video on YouTube and I do not endorse any other video that may come up after this one. There are some questionable videos about mushrooms.




Outdoor Hour Challenge #41
Flowerless plants-General Overview

1. This week you need to familiarize yourself with the section in the Handbook of Nature Study that discusses flowerless plants. Turn to the table of contents and in Part III, go to the list of flowerless plants and skim down the list of topics covered. The suggested readings for this challenge will be in the following categories:
Ferns-read the overview on page 693 and then turn to page 695 to see the parts of a fern labeled. Pages 704 and 705 show photos of several kinds of ferns.
Mushrooms and Other Fungi-read the overview starting on page 714 and continuing to page 719. Page 719 shows the parts of a mushroom with labels.

For more information and photos of flowerless plants, please see this blog entry:
http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2008/12/what-are-flowerless-plants.html

2. The ideal study of ferns, mushrooms, and fungi would be to experience them outdoors in their natural habitat. Use your 15 to 20 minutes of outdoor time this week to enjoy a search for a fern or some kind of mushroom. Your particular area may not have these subjects readily at hand but let your friends, family, and neighbors know that you are studying ferns and mushrooms and with more pairs of eyes looking you may be able to find something to study up close. Enjoy your time outdoors whether you can find this week’s subject or not. Remember to look at the sky and comment on the weather. Take time to notice your tree from your year long tree study. Collect a few items to take inside to sketch into your nature journal. Just because the topic of this challenge is flowerless plants, you do not have to limit yourself to that narrow focus during your 15 to 20 minutes of outdoor time.

3. Spend a few minutes once inside to discuss your experiences you had on your nature walk. Are there questions that need to be answered or items that need to be identified? Make a note of any topics that come up that you can research further in the Handbook of Nature Study or at your local library.

4. Make an opportunity for a nature journal entry. Start a list of flowerless plants in your nature journal. The diagrams on pages 695 and 719 could be sketched into the nature journal as well.

“Since mushrooms are especially good subjects for watercolor and pencil studies, it would add much to the interest of the work if each pupil, or the school as a whole, should make a portfolio of sketches of all the species found. With each drawing there should be made on a supplementary sheet a spore print of the species.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 718

5. Use Mr. Linky to share your blog entry for this challenge. All the challenges are listed on the sidebar of the Handbook of Nature Study blog.

If you want to print this challenge out, see the free downloads section of my blog.