Summer at a Northern California Beach

Summer days at the California beach. This is typical Northern California beach weather for July/August....foggy mornings with the fog lifting later in the afternoon for an hour or two.

My daughter and I had planned a day trip to go hiking at Yosemite but the weather was way too  hot to enjoy a day on the trail up in the Sierras so we went the opposite direction and headed for the coast instead. The cool weather was a welcome relief!



We got out our California map and scanned for a new place to explore.

Point Reyes National Seashore! We packed a lunch and zipped down the highway. Two and a half hours later we were at the Pacific Ocean with our toes in the sand.

Point Reyes is much larger than we imagined but after a quick stop at the Visitor's Center at Bear Valley, we had a map and a plan. It wasn't far to North Beach where we ate our lunch surrounded by the sound of roaring waves. The fog was lifting but you still couldn't see very far up or down the beach.



Next stop was the Point Reyes Lighthouse.....we walked the 4/10 of a mile from the parking lot to the Visitor's Center and then descended the 308 stairs down to the lighthouse on the point. It was windy! It was cold and misty!

But, that was the price to pay for a fabulous viewpoint of this part of the California coast.



See? I made it the 308 steps. Going down was the easy part though and huffing back up the stairs reminded me that I need to do more hills in my weekly workouts.

Amanda was like a gazelle with her super long legs and she made it up with little effort. Ahhh...to be young again.



The rocks alongside the stairs have a bright orange lichen on them. What a pop of color on a rather gray day!




Tucked in the nooks and crannies were wildflowers where they were fairly protected from the strong wind that was blowing.

We had one more stop for the day.


At last the sun came shining through and the fog lifted, allowing a wider view of the coast. The wide sand beach at Drake's Beach was perfect for a long walk before we started the car ride back home again.

What a great day with Amanda! We both enjoyed the adventure of a new place, exploring the facets of a Northern California beach in the summer.

Recollections from a Visit to Anna Botsford Comstock's Lake Cottage

Anna and Henry Comstock

Every reader of the Handbook of Nature Study (the book) knows who Anna Botsford Comstock is....the esteemed author of our nature study guide and lessons. She wrote the words that have touched my personal life in such a profound way, changing how we view the world in our own backyard. She may have touched your life in a similar way through the pages of the Handbook of Nature Study as you worked through the Outdoor Hour Challenges.


When the opportunity was offered to me a few years ago to visit and actually stay at her cottage in New York outside Ithaca, I wasn't able to make the trip at that time. It was on my mind a lot through the years so when a last minute trip involved traveling in New York came up last month, I immediately contacted the family that now owns the cottage to see if it was available during our visit. It was! We made arrangements to stay for three days in the cottage that Anna and Henry Comstock built on the shore of Lake Cayuga.

" During the fall of 1906, we were making habitable The Hermitage, our summer cottage on Cayuga Lake. We put a large window in the living room which gave us a wide view of the lake. This room was given a hardwood floor and was ceiled, to make it warm. Here we set up the wood stove that had been in my mother's parlor when I was a child. It had a grate and in the evenings we opened up its front doors; this made it as cheerful as a fireplace." Anna Botsford Comstock

It was just like I imagined it...set in the woods, right near the water's edge. The birds, flowers, and trees were those that Anna wrote about in her books. It was warm and cozy and somehow familiar.



We sat on the porch and enjoyed the sounds of the woods. The lake glistened as the sunset on that first day. I climbed into bed and thought how it must have been there over a hundred years ago when the Comstocks first built the cottage.

Sunrise Walk in the Woods

"Harry and I spent weekends there, and on each trip he would walk the mile and a half from Taughannock Station to The Hermitage, carrying on his back a basket filled with materials for fixing the house.The labor my husband performed in and about this place was remarkable." Anna Botsford Comstock

The next morning I was up early for a walk in the woods. I ventured out alone for the first hike and as I stepped off the porch I heard birdsong and glimpsed a young deer sneaking across the road into a thicket of bushes. The woods woke up as I hiked up the trail and my eyes were trying hard to take in all the sights.



The green of the new spring leaves, the thin trunks of the trees, the rustlings of birds and the cry of the mourning doves. These were Anna's woods. This was the place that helped inspire her to share her love of nature with teachers and children, bringing them into a relationship with common everyday things in their world.


There was teasel by the trail...new to me in person but familiar through the pages of the Handbook of Nature Study.  Advanced preparation does work...I recognized it right away and remember that she had called it " a plant in armor".

Sunrise Paddle

"He added paths and built a fine wharf and a double-decked boat house, in the upper part of which we swung our hammocks, and from which we enjoyed the glory of many sunsets. The Hermitage was always a place where work was play; we dumped our cares at the Ithaca station when we left, but they were always waiting to jump at us on our return." Anna Botsford Comstock

I made my way back to the cottage and by this time the boys were up and ready for the day. My husband and Mr. A took out the canoe onto the morning smooth water of the lake. Exploring a new place by water...leaving their cares behind as they paddled across the surface of the lake in the early morning sunrise.


Mr. B and I decided to take another hike through the woods and this time we noticed the wildflowers. These were the wildflowers of Anna's books...the ones we don't have in California.

The whole weekend was filled with the opening of eyes and hearts to a magical place, gently teaching us the way of the New York woods in which we found ourselves. One day it rained and we watched the drops fall from our dry spot on the porch. The fragrance of the wet woods was delightful...different than our Northern California woods. The rain stopped and we grilled dinner on the stone fire pit down by the water. We skipped rocks, sat and watched the fisherman go by on their little boats, and we shed our cares, refreshed.



At the end of the weekend, we had made many entries into our nature journals, took lots of photos, and made some memories of our own at this lakeside cottage.

We will always remember our weekend spent on Lake Cayuga at the Comstock's beloved Hermitage Cottage. Special thanks to Christiana and Alison who graciously opened up their family cottage to our family, making this trip to New York even more special.

I hope my readers enjoyed glimpsing our weekend....we all need to remember to build in our families a rich heritage of outdoor experiences. Who knows who it will touch in the future?

Here is the original webpage that Christiana posted on the Cornell website, Celebrate Urban Birds, that sparked our friendship:
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
Next time I will share our day at Cornell's Lab of Ornithology and Sapsucker Woods! More connections were made to the Handbook of Nature Study.

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 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.

Spring Wildflowers- California Poppy Nature Study

"One of the most interesting performances to watch that I know is the way this poppy takes off its cap before it bows to the world. Like magic the cap loosens around the base; it is then pushed off by the swelling, expanding petals until completely loosened, and finally drops off."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 563

Way back when I was planning the challenges for the More Nature Study Book #3, I had no way of knowing what perfect timing I would have with this particular Poppies and Buttercups Challenge. We were treated to two events this week in connection with our poppy study.



1. We took a day trip to Yosemite National Park and even though parts of the park still have quite a bit of snow, when we left the park through the southern El Portal entrance and out Hwy 140 there were millions of poppies blooming along the hills that run alongside the Merced River. It was breathtaking! I have lived in California all my life and I have never seen such a display of poppies...miles and miles of poppies in bloom.



2. The California Poppies in our front yard garden decided to start blooming on Monday. I am serious....Monday, right on cue! We took some time to closely observe the way the caps tip to reveal the petals (see the top photo in this entry). We marveled at the light shining through the bright orange petals. We peered into the inside flower parts and remembered Anna Botsford Comstock's remarks about sleeping inside a poppy. We observed the lacy leaves and decided to do some sketches and rubbings of the leaves in our nature journals. You can view a previous more thorough study of poppies in this blog entry: CA Poppies-Using the Handbook of Nature Study.

"The insects in California take advantage of the closing petals and often get a night's lodging within them, where they are cozily housed with plenty of pollen for supper and breakfast.."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 564

As part of the advanced study suggestions for this challenge, we are keeping a spring list of wildflowers in our nature journals.

Advanced Study Notebook Page - More Nature Study Book #3 Spring

Mr. B also completed an additional notebook page for the Hound's Tongue wildflower that we saw blooming this week on our hiking trail. This is one of the early wildflowers that we see in our local area. It's distinctive leaves make it an easy flower to identify. The flowers are almost blue which is unusual and beautiful.


I enjoyed the lupine on the way home from our Yosemite trip. We had a wonderful week of focusing on wildflowers, increasing our desire for spring to really come and stay in our part of the world.




Don't forget to share your Spring Nature Study blog entries with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.You can submit any entries from April to the carnival or directly to me if needed: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

OHC More Nature Study Book 3 - Spring Wildflowers: Poppies and Buttercups

More Nature Study Book 3
Spring Wildflowers - Poppies and Buttercups


Inside Preparation Work:

• Read the Handbook of Nature Study pages 516-518 (Lesson 136) on the buttercup. Also, read pages 560-565 in the Handbook about the poppy and the California poppy (Lessons 154 and 155). Use the information to identify and then observe these flowers when you get the opportunity. If you don’t have these flowers in your area, use this challenge to find and view closely any flower in your spring world.
• View this page for some amazing images of buttercups: Close-Up View of 3 Buttercups. Ebook users: View poppy images on page 29. 
• Use this challenge to introduce the parts of a flower with the proper names. You can find information online HERE and HERE. There is a diagram in the Handbook of Nature Study on page 456. You can also refer to Garden Challenge #2. I encourage you to start using the flower part names as you observe flowers. 

Outdoor Hour Time:

• This week you can spend some of your outdoor time looking for spring flowers or flowering weeds. Part of this challenge is to start using the correct flower part names and that can be done with any flower you find. 
• Collect one or two flowers to bring inside to draw in your nature journal. 
• Advanced students: Complete your nature journal in the field. List as many of the flowers you observed as you can (Free printable list notebook page HERE). Use your field guide to identify any flowers you don’t know. Pick one to research later in the week.

Follow-Up Activity:

• Sketch or watercolor the flower you collected during your outdoor time. Make sure to add a date, flower name, and the location you collected the flower to your entry.
• Press your flower. You can refer to the Garden Flowers Challenge #3 for more information (which includes my YouTube video with instructions for a making a press: How to Make a Flower Press. 
• Advanced students: If you did not do so in the field, complete a nature journal entry for your flower, complete with flower parts labeled. Use a field guide or the internet to learn more about your flower. 
• Advanced students: Research more information on one of the flowers you observed during your outdoor time. 

Additional Links:
Slideshow for poppies (child friendly)

Buttercup coloring pages 

You can see our Spring Wildflower Study by clicking over to my follow-up blog entry:
Spring Wildflowers - CA Poppy Nature Study (and an additional wildflower too).

Don't forget to share your Spring Splendor Walk blog entries with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. All entries done in April are eligible for the next edition. The deadline for entries is 4/29/12 and you can send them directly to me: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com.

 

First Hike of Spring - Mount Diablo Adventure

Spring Splendor Walk Challenge from More Nature Study Book #3

Friday came and we were planning a snowshoeing day, but recent rains had washed all the snow away. It isn't much fun to snowshoe in one inch of snow. We regrouped and the boys decided that hiking was definitely their choice for the day so we packed up our lunches, camera, binoculars, and map to head to somewhere new for some springtime exploring.

Mt. Diablo is not the highest or most spectacular mountain in California but it is a landmark that many of us have grown up seeing even from a distance. On a clear day it is visible to many who live in Northern California and most definitely those that live in the San Francisco Bay Area. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge and perhaps see all the way back up to Sacramento as well. We were not disappointed.


What a treat to see so many early spring wildflowers as we climbed the winding mountain road up to the summit. We shared the road with bicyclists of all shapes and sizes. We visited the information center and observation spots at the summit before heading out to do our hiking.



We chose to hike the short interpretive trail first that circles the summit. This was a wonderful way to view the different habitats, geology, and plants of this interesting place. Hiking is such a great activity with teenage boys. They enjoyed spotting different landmarks from the trail and with the binoculars they viewed quite a few birds too.


Nature study takes the blinders off and makes you see so much more about the wonder we have right in our own part of the world. We enjoyed seeing the different rocks along the trail...this one especially was interesting. We read in the trail guide that it is called chert which was a new rock to us.


The spring wildflowers were so colorful. Mr. A captured this Western Wallflower along the summit trail on the sunny side of the mountain. Glorious.


The next trail we took was in the Rock City area of the state park. This is a place we are going to enjoy exploring in the future because we didn't have nearly enough time to do all the hikes and climbs we would have liked to on this one afternoon.


There are caves and rocks to climb on....my boys loved it! What is it with boys and rocks? I am guessing the challenge and the adventure have something to do with the attraction. I was content to see them from the bottom and take some photos.


The boys also climbed Sentinel Rock while I took a rest on a warm sunny corner of the trail. There are steps and a chain rail to assist the climb and the boys spent some time at the top just enjoying the view. While I rested, I was treated to bird song and soft breezes.

We took one last hike out the Fossil Ridge Trail. We didn't have a good enough idea of where we were going and what to expect when we got there so we ended up hiking to the top of the ridge and then turning around. Next time we will be better prepared and actually see the fossils.


We did observe some beautiful wildflowers and a spectacular view of the San Francisco Bay Area from the trail which made it worth the effort. The flower above is Baby Blue Eyes.



So ends our hiking trip this first week of Spring 2012. What a great way to get ourselves going with the new series of Outdoor Hour Challenges. I feel like making things new and fresh for teens is worth the effort and I want to keep it going in our family. This is the time of their life when they can find interests that will extend into their adult years.

So back to our part of the world... about a three hour drive across the Sacramento River Delta, across the San Joaquin Valley, and up into the Sierra Foothills.

You can still join the More Nature Study Book #3 challenges. We just got started with the very first one this week: Spring Splendor Walk.  You can take your walk in your very own backyard if you would like or perhaps at a near-by park. I encourage everyone to get outside this week for just a few minutes with your children to start this season of nature study with some fun outdoor time.


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

What Camera Do I Use? Updated December 2011

What kind of camera do I use for the photos on my blog?

First posted on May 1, 2008 and updated on December 29, 2011

I get asked this question a lot in comments and email. I have shared before that I really don't use a fancy camera but one that I can take with me everywhere in my pocket or in my backpack with no worries.

So what do I use? 
For most of my everyday shots I use the Nikon CoolPix S3300 (Point and Shoot). I also take some of my bird photos with my son's really old Canon Rebel with a zoom lens. I would say 90% of the photos on my blog are with the inexpensive point and shoot Nikon. Purple of course!






My point is that you don't need a fancy, expensive camera to take a good photo. If you learn a few tricks and practice taking photos, you will have more success.

Honestly, I use this camera for all my regular and macro photos with minimal cropping on the computer. I rarely, if ever, mess with anything other than that. If I do make any adjustments to a photo, they are done on Picnik (through my Flickr account).

Here are my tips for taking a good photo.
1. Take lots of photos. If I am trying to get a good photo of something for the blog, I will sometimes take ten photos of the same thing. I'm not kidding...with digital it doesn't really matter how many you take since you can delete the ones you don't like once you get home.

2. Learn to use your camera. I know those manuals are intimidating but you can skim through to find things that will help you take a better photo. What I did to take better photos was to learn what all those little symbols on the back of the camera meant and that immediately helped me take a better photo. I love the little flower setting....better known as macro. I can take close-ups of flowers or bugs now and they are truly in focus. I decided at the beginning of 2011 to read one page in my camera manual everyday and then practice what I learned. This was an easy way to work through the ins and outs of the camera and show me what it could do. 


(This photo I took many years ago. On this day, I think I took 50 photos to get this one keeper.)
 
3. Pay attention to composition. Take that extra second to see if there is something weird in the background, to make sure your subject is framed in a pleasant way, and that you are not taking the photo directly into the sun.
 
4. Watch shadows on faces if you are outside.
 
5. Remember your flash typically doesn't work farther than about 5 or 6 feet.
 
6. Take flower shots early in the morning or later in the afternoon and not during the glare of mid-day.
 
7. Take photos from different angles. Get low and look up. Get high and look down. Go child level. Sometimes an interesting photo is just one that comes from a different perspective than normal.

 
8. If you are taking a close-up photo, steady your arm or hand on something solid like a table or a fence post. Before pressing the shutter, breathe in and hold your breathe so you are as still as possible. This has made a huge difference in the quality of my close-up photos.

Taking a good photo is sometimes just a matter of being in the right place at the right time with your camera in your hand so take it everywhere you go.


You can see my Favorite Photos on Flickr:
Favorite Photos from 2005
Favorite Photos 2006 - this was a big year
Favorite Photos 2007
Favorite Photos 2009
Favorite Photos 2010 - my favorite slideshow
Don't know what happened in 2008....didn't tag my photos for some reason.