First Queen Anne's Lace of 2012

I have so MUCH to share with you!

We just returned from a wonderful trip to New York which included a visit to Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Sapsucker Woods (hosted by Heather from Blog She Wrote).

We stayed two days on Lake Cayuga in Anna Botsford Comstock's early 1900's cottage...so much to tell about that experience!

I promise to write about these events soon. In the meantime, enjoy my first Queen Anne's Lace of 2012. We saw a small patch along our walking trail today and it means that summer weather will just be around the corner.

Don't forget to send in your Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival entries....you can find the link on the sidebar of my blog or you can email them to me directly if you would like.

Our Nature Study Week - The Familiar and the Surprising

Want to know what I love about walking a familiar trail? I love knowing where things grow, the landmarks to notice, the way you can tell that something is different. Usually this is the changing of the season, seeing the plants grow, blossom, and then die down in the fall. Sometimes it is a man-made change and it is shocking!



This is where our star thistles, Queen Anne's lace, and sweet peas grow in mass every spring and summer. We haven't been on this section of the trail in a few months and were were surprised to see that they had cleared it off, inserted a culvert and pipe, and then recovered it with this material. We are wondering what they reseeded it with. I can guarantee it is not star thistle, Queen Anne's Lace, and sweet peas.

I dug up a photo from a previous season.



Our family used this spot as a landmark. I could say to the boys as they ran on ahead, "Stop at the thistle spot." Now we shall have to see what grows and make a new landmark. I know I will miss my Queen Anne's lace.



Another change we see is in our bird feeder attendees. This year we are seeing Anna's hummingbirds everyday in our feeder. They are coming and going all day long. Several of you have noted the hummingbirds on my monthly bird list. This species (Calypte anna) is an iridescent green and gray below...the male has an iridescent red head and throat. If you catch a glimpse of them in the sunshine, you are amazed at their dazzling color. They stay all winter even in the sub-freezing temperatures. I go out to check their feeder each day to make sure it isn't frozen.




We took a walk around our yard last week as part of the Preparation for Winter-Plants challenge. This challenge had us looking for ways that plants get ready to survive the cold winter temperatures. We noticed that several of our plants are putting out a new bloom. This Moonshine yarrow is very pretty..especially up close.



One plant that is surprising us is our yellow rose. It is still blooming...not the prettiest of blooms but still treating us to some rose-goodness for the kitchen table. For all you Redwall readers out there, we have named this the Winter of the Rose.



As part of my research and preparation for the new More Nature Study #2 ebook, we are having fun studying rocks up close with our magnifying lens. I set up a spot on our nature table with some interesting rocks and I noticed that just about everyone has stopped by to take a peek. (Quartz will be a topic in the new ebook.)We have lots of examples of quartz in our rock collection so pulling them out and putting them in one place has brought them back out of the shoeboxes and into the spotlight.

We are headed into another week of dry sunny days so we will be outdoors walking quite a bit. I know at some point the rain and snow will come but for now we are breathing deep the warm (50's) afternoons together. Hope you get the chance to be outdoors this week.


Scheduled Publish Date: 12/28/11

By popular demand, here is the link to the SE Folding Magnifier, Glass Lens 2 1/2" Dia., Power 5X
we have in the photo above.

Nature Study on an Ordinary Day - Autumn

Sometimes it is nice to head out the door and see what comes your way, no assignments. My neighborhood is rather ordinary - no parks, very little sidewalk, lots of empty lots with weeds/wildflowers, and a busy street. I take my lovable Labrador for a walk every morning and in the late afternoon, sometimes with my camera and sometimes without. We head down our side street, around the corner and onto the sidewalk to walk alongside two open lots. Right now if you don't stop to look closely you would think there wasn't much there to be interested in. But wait! Don't judge too soon because you might miss a few interesting things.


Queen Anne's Lace....in bloom....in November! Can you believe that? This is the latest I have ever seen with fresh blossoms in our neighborhood. I would have missed that if I did not slow down to look closely.


My neighbor has a fresh crop of chickory blooming as well and it is surprising to see it as late as this.


Now if my boys were younger we would take time to investigate this sign. Where does the water from our gutter go? The river is really far away and the creek is more of a trickle...is that where this water goes to? We will have to wait until the rains come again and try to figure it out. The gutter and sewer drain were put in last summer so this is something new to our neighborhood.



We have been on the look out for thistles and the lot has a whole field of star thistle. I was hoping to spot a purple thistle but no luck here in the neighborhood. We do know a spot along our walking trail that had thistles so we will need to hope over there one day this week to check it out. (Thistles will be this Friday's Outdoor Hour Challenge.)


I love a good mystery and this flower is a mystery! There is a little patch of these growing on the hillside around the bend from the end of the sidewalk. Kona went four wheeling off the path and I stumbled onto these beauties. I really need to look them up in our field guide. See? It isn't such an ordinary walk after all!

Heading back home I slipped the camera back into my pocket and we just enjoyed the sunshine and the time outdoors together.

Rounding the corner and into our drive, I smile at our front yard. Yes, it makes me smile every time I see it.


If you have been reading my blog for the last year you know we pulled up our grass in the Summer of 2010 and added drought resistant plants for a whole new look. Here is what our yard looks like today.


The star performers right now are the sage, the purple fountain grass, and the dogwood. Color! I love the feel and movement in this yard now that the grass is gone and the birds, butterflies, and bees have all moved in.

From ordinary to extraordinary in fifteen minutes! I challenge you to find something interesting on your next neighborhood walk. Comment and let me know what it is once you find it!

The Benefits of Nature Study

First of the Season!

"From constantly using them, all of his senses are keen-such as his eyesight, his hearing, and the rest. His powers of observation have been cultivated to a high degree of refinement; and let me tell you right here that a good observer holds, in any course of life, the reins of success in his hands-as compared with the one who is lacking in it-in a proportion that is truly remarkable. With good powers of observation comes good judgment and the ability to render correct decisions in many matters vital to success, together with the ability to assist others."
The Nature Study Review

With our powers of observation, we noticed our first Queen Anne's Lace blossom of the year! Success!

Queen Anne's Lace: A Mid-Spring Update

We have had our eyes out for it. We have been anticipating it. It arrived almost overnight!



The Queen Anne's Lace! Right alongside our walking trail where it was so beautiful last summer we found it sprouting up in large numbers. Look at the bright spring-green color!

Now I feel like we have completed our Queen Anne's Lace cycle for the four seasons. All that is left now is to enjoy watching it grow and grow and grow.

Thanks Anna Botsford Comstock for inspiring us to watch this plant for a complete year. If you want to get started with your own Year-Long Queen Anne's Lace Study, here are the links for spring and summer.

Queen Anne's Lace Spring 
Queen Anne's Lace Summer

This might be a good time to look for it growing in your neighborhood too.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

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

Bonus Challenge: Winter Study of Queen Anne's Lace

Queen Anne's Lace August 2010 Summer Study

I woke up this morning and realized that I did not schedule a winter study for our year-long Queen Anne's Lace activity. So guess what? I will make it a bonus challenge with a free notebook page for all of you who are participating in this year-long activity.

We started way back last summer finding our own little patches of Queen Anne's Lace to watch for a complete year. You can read about that challenge HERE.

Then in the autumn many of us returned to our patch of Queen Anne's Lace and did some observations and nature journal entries. You can read about that challenge HERE.

Now it is the middle of winter and time to return to our Queen Anne's Lace to make some new observations.

1. Read the section in the Handbook of Nature Study on Queen Anne's Lace if you have not done so before. This is found starting on page 542 or it is the last subject in the "weeds" section if you have a different version that I do.
2. Return to your patch of Queen Anne's Lace to make some wintery observations. Look at the shape of the plant, the feel of the stem, the look of the flower clusters and observe the seeds. We have some Queen Anne's Lace plants that we want to remove so we will be pulling it up by the roots. We will take the opportunity to observe the tap root. (Please do not remove any plant by its roots unless you have permission from the property owner or it is in your own garden.)
3. Complete a nature journal entry with a sketch or watercolor of your Queen Anne's Lace. You can also use the provided notebook page.

Queen Anne's Lace - Winter Notebook Page

I will add Mr. Linky to this post in case any of you would like to share your challenge entry for this winter study.

Queen Anne's Lace Study-Autumn Season Comparisons

We finally completed our autumn observations for the Queen Anne's Lace in our neighborhood. The challenge asked us to go back to our patch of this flower and compare the changes since our summer observations. Most of the Queen Anne's Lace looks like this right now...dry, brittle, brown, and stiff. We cut a stem or two to take inside to observe closely and compare to our summer observations.


We had a great time observing closely the flower heads we brought in and were able to observe some interesting things. The challenge suggested using a hand lens to look more closely at the seeds of the Queen Anne's Lace.

• Each dried cluster was made up of many dried flower clusters.
• The large cluster was made up of more than 70 small clusters.
• Each small cluster had over 20 seeds in it.

We drew a flower cluster and a seed after viewing it with our loupe. The little seeds were sticky and I found them in the carpet and the hem of my skirt after we had finished. We thought about our dandelion seeds (akenes) and how they are blown away in the wind and compared them to the Queen Anne's Lace seeds that are definitely spread by adhesion or attachment. Our dog regularly helps disperse the seeds of the Queen Anne's Lace as she romps through the weeds on our walks.


On today's walk with the dog, we found a patch of Queen Anne's Lace that is not quite dried up yet. There is still a little greenness to the stem, leaves, and flower head. We are experiencing some unseasonably warm weather with the afternoons in the 70's. I actually took a walk without a sweatshirt and we worked up a thirst by the time we reached home again. We will be trying to get out in the warm temperatures again tomorrow....who knows how long they will last.

The season of abundant Queen Anne's Lace is over but we shall be watching as we enter the winter season to see if the plants make much of a change.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Autumn 2010 OHC #6: Queen Anne's Lace or Other Autumn Weed

Autumn Series #6
Queen Anne's Lace Year-Long Study
Autumn Observations

“The object of this lesson should be to show the pupils how this weed survives the winter and how it is able to grow where it is not wanted. The weed is very common along most country roadsides, and in many pastures and meadows. It blossoms very late in the autumn, and is available for lessons often as late as November.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 544

Inside Preparation Work:
Read pages 542-545 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 148). If you started your year-long study of Queen Anne’s Lace in the summer, these pages will be a review, but read with an eye to looking for changes between this season and the last. Pick out a few points from the lesson to use in your outdoor time observations. One thing that can be pointed out before going outdoors is the difference between Queen Anne’s Lace and Poison Hemlock.

Compare Queen Anne’s Lace and Another Weed in Your Yard

• Where are the seeds located? How many seeds are there? What color and shape?
• Look at the flower and/or seeds and decide how the seeds are dispersed. (wind, water, attachment, etc.)

Outdoor Hour Time:
Option 1: The challenge is to go back to your patch of Queen Anne’s Lace and make some autumn observations. There should be some dramatic changes from your last study. This plant is also called a Bird’s Nest or Wild Carrot and you might ask your children why they think this plant has so many names. Use the suggestions above to compare the Queen Anne’s Lace with another weed that you observe. Observe closely with a hand lens the seeds since they will be the most predominant feature of the plant at this time.

Option 2: Since I know there will be some families that do not have Queen Anne’s Lace to observe, you can substitute outdoor time in your own backyard instead. Find a different plant to observe if you can, any weed that is still present in your backyard will be a good subject for study. Use the suggestions above to compare any two weeds you find. Remember the most important aspect of any challenge is to find something of interest to your child...even weeds can be interesting if you take the time to look closely.

In Addition to Options 1 and 2:
Collect a few autumn weeds to bring inside to observe. Look at the leaves, the dried flowers (if any), and any seeds or pods. Make note of the colors and textures.

Collect a variety of seeds from weeds in your yard or neighborhood, perhaps placing each different kind of seed in a separate plastic sandwich bag. Sketch a few of the seeds in your journal and label the drawing with the plant’s name (if you know it), the date, the location you collected the seed from, and how you think the seed is dispersed.

Follow-Up Activity:
If you didn’t have the opportunity to talk about Queen Anne’s Lace or weeds during your outdoor time, take a few minutes to discuss your discoveries. Complete the Queen Anne’s Lace notebook page in the ebook or make an entry in your own blank journal. If you haven’t done so already, complete a Venn Diagram comparing two plants you observed during your outdoor time. Display your weeds in a vase.

Another Cricket and Some Queen Anne's Lace

So we were out for a walk and I decided to take a photo of the Queen Anne's Lace with all its seeds and the clusters. It is so pretty even now that it is drying up in the September drought.


I was excited to see an insect on the top of one of the seed clusters! It looks like a cricket to me. Just look at those really long antennae!

A wonderful surprise to add even more joy to our walk.

OHC Summer Series #11: Queen Anne's Lace-Year-Long Study

Summer Series #11
Year-Long Study: Queen Anne’s Lace

“If we look straight into the large flower-cluster, we can see that each component cluster, or umbellet, seems to have its own share in making the larger pattern; the outside blossoms of the outside clusters have the outside petals larger, thus forming a beautiful border.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 543.

Train Your Senses

• Sight: How are the blossoms arranged? What is its shape? Are there insects on the flower?
• Smell: Does the flower have a scent? How about the leaves?
• Touch: Is the stem smooth or rough? How does the flower umbel feel?

Inside Preparation Work:
Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 542 to 545 (Lesson 148). Pay special attention to the suggestions in Lesson 148, perhaps choosing a few of the observations to complete when observing your Queen Anne’s Lace. Keep track of the location of your Queen Anne’s Lace so you can revisit it during the seasons to come, observing the changes in this plant over a year’s time.

Outdoor Hour Time:
Spend 15 minutes outdoors this week in your own backyard or a near-by park. The subject of this challenge is Queen Anne’s Lace but keep your eye out for any wildflowers you may observe during your outdoor time. Keep in mind your suggested observation ideas as you enjoy your time outside together. Remember to use your senses to observe your wildflowers.

Follow-Up Activities:
Discuss what you observed during your outdoor time. Try to help your children remember what they discovered using all their senses. This can be just a few words or a complete account of their thoughts. Use the notebook page included with the Summer Series ebook to record a sketch and your observations or use a blank notebook of your own. As part of a year-long study of Queen Anne’s Lace, make sure to file your notebook page away for future reference.

Here is also a notebook page that Jimmie made that you may like to use: Queen Anne’s Lace Notebook page. Here is a link to an entry on my blog that I made in the past about Queen Anne’s Lace: Queen Anne’s Lace.

Suggested Nature Journal Activities:

• Wildflowers are wonderful subjects for a watercolor drawing. Try using watercolor colored pencils to sketch some Queen Anne’s Lace or any wildflower into your nature journal.
• Using the notebook page in the Summer Series ebook record any observations your child has from their outdoor time.
• Take a photograph of your wildflower and include it in your nature journal.
• You can also use any notebook pages from the sidebar of my blog.

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

In Between Rain Storms

We braved a few raindrops and took to the walking trail this afternoon. The weather held out so we could enjoy the abundance of wildflowers.


Although this is an invasive plant in our area, it is just amazing right now. This Scotch broom or Common broom is bursting with color.


Just look at that color in this close-up. Does it look like a "noxious weed" to you? I know that it disturbs the ecosystem but it very pretty to look at...sigh.


And here is the first of the season....usually a long season in our area. Our Queen Anne's Lace is in its usual spot right on the side of a particular spot on the trail.


From NotebookingPages.com Wildflower Set

As I type this there is a downpour of rain right outside my window. I am really glad we were able to take a walk in between rain storms.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom