Fall Insects and A Pear Tree Update

Cooler weather means more time spent outside during the day....we went from really hot weather to cool weather in the span of a day or two. I am so pleased with these late blooming sunflowers and I am going to plant more of them next year. The insects have been visiting them every day and when I went out to snip a few flowers for the kitchen table, I saw this big guy!




This praying mantis decided to hang out on my stove one morning. It must have been pretty funny watching me try to scoop him up while he was hopping from side to side. I would try to scoop him up and he would hop just out of my reach. I would try again and he would hop too fast. Finally I got a bowl and set it over him and then slid a piece of paper under the bowl. Success! I transplanted him outside to my potted plants and he was happy to pose for a few minutes on the allysum.




Our butterfly bushes are still blooming, in white, lavender, and deep purple. I see the hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies all buzzing in and around in the morning sunshine. Makes me happy to see such a busy community right in my flowerbeds. We have spotted a few monarchs lately...none captured with the camera yet. They are fast!



We were out for a drive and took a back road only to find a pear orchard within about two miles of my house! It is tucked away off the beaten path and as we slowly drove down the lane I tried to snap a few images.....glorious fall pears to enjoy!

We are going out and about tomorrow so stay tuned for some more back roads loveliness.

Our Pear Study Using the Outdoor Hour Challenge

Our study has been actually on-going since the spring when we first noticed that our pear tree was loaded with blossoms. We have been eagerly watching the progress since then and it culminated this week with actually eating the pears...but not until after we had closely observed them and dissected them as part of the more advanced suggestions in More Nature Study #3.


We took a quick trip outdoors to snap a few images of the leaves and bark but the highlight was to come inside and actually take a close look at the fruit. 


Mr. B was willing to complete the dissection lab with the pears from our backyard tree and he did a great job recording his results on the notebook page. I think taking the Outdoor Hour Challenges up a notch with the more advanced ideas is a great way to keep them interested in nature study. We actually talked about seeds as they relate to what he studied in biology and we also talked about how growing fruit can be so very satisfying. Tend the tree, pick the fruit, enjoy the labor. What a great lesson in life.

Notebook Page from my More Nature Study ebook

I love watching him sketch. Makes me glad that we made nature study a part of our high school plans.

Nature study that ends in eating your subject is always a good thing when you have a teenage boy around.



We will look forward to seeing this sight again in the spring!

I look forward to seeing your results and hearing how your observations went.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

If you are interested in more Crop Plants study, I have a series of Outdoor Hour Challenges listed here on the blog. You can find them listed HERE. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the list.

OHC - More Nature Study #3 Pear Study

Things are really rolling now with the new series of Outdoor Hour Challenges. I have been receiving some *wonderful* entries for the milkweed and leaf-roller challenges with fantastic images and nature journal pages. You are really going to love this edition of the blog carnival! You can post your blog entries at any time and then send me the link for the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival entry that will post on the last day of the month.




More Nature Study #3
Pears/Fall Tree Study

Inside Preparation Work:

• For the pear challenge there is no lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study. You can read about pears online: Pear Varieties and Pear Fact Printable (http://www.cfaitc.org/factsheets/pdf/Pears.pdf)
• As an alternate or supplemental activity, you can read the section, “How to Begin Tree Study” in the Handbook of Nature Study on pages 622-624. Pay attention to Lesson 72—Autumn Work (#1-#5). Take note of some observations you can make during autumn.

Outdoor Hour Time:

• If you have access to a pear tree in your yard, neighborhood, or near-by orchard, spend your Outdoor Hour time observing the tree: tree shape, arrangement of the branches, trunk, leaves, fruit/seeds.
• If you don’t have access to a pear tree, use the information from the Autumn tree work section in the Handbook of Nature Study to observe any tree you have in your yard or neighborhood. You can use this tree as the subject of a year-long tree study if you wish. You may wish to read the information from the Autumn Tree Observation Challenge 2009.

Follow-Up Activity:

• Have on hand a pear and an apple for each child to observe up-close. Use the suggestions on the notebook page (ebook users only) to compare these two fruits.
• For Pear Study: Give the opportunity to make a nature journal entry recording any observations made about pears. Suggestions for discussion: shape of the pear, size, color, smell, markings on the skin, and the stem. Cut the pear in half and draw the inside of the pear in your nature journal.
• For Autumn Tree Study: You can use the Autumn Tree Study notebook page linked above. You may use it for any tree you observed during your nature study.
• Advanced follow-up: Complete the Dissection Lab notebook page with a pear (ebook users only).
• Advanced follow-up: Make a dry brush watercolor of the pear and either its vertical or cross section.

If you do the dry brush project, please send me an image for the newsletter. I would love to see any of your art projects that you do in connection with the Outdoor Hour Challenge.  Don't forget my Autumn Squidoo Lens for additional ideas across the curriculum.

Pear Blossom Time with Strawberries Too

Today I found two new plants blooming with beautiful white flowers. The first is our pear tree with the delicate white and pink blossoms. (click on the photos to enlarge them)

Look at this close-up of the pear blossom, so delicate.

Then in my son's garden box, I found that the strawberries are beginning to blossom and fruit...we may be able to enjoy these if the birds do not get to them first. :)

See the little berries forming?


From the Handbook of Nature Study, page 610,
"The strawberry plant has two methods of perpetuating itself, one by the akenes which are growing on the outside of the strawberry fruits, and one by means of runners which start new plants wherever they find place to take root."

Pages 608-611 cover the strawberry plant, including 12 suggestions for observation.

I love the spring.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom