Project FeederWatch

This last weekend, Chase and I officially became citizen scientists! In an effort to give purpose to the time we spend staring out our kitchen window, we signed up for a program called Project Feederwatch through Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This program requires us to identify and count the different species of birds that visit the feeders in our yard. We then send this information to (official) Cornell ornithologists who use it to keep track of winter bird populations across the country.

Chase excitedly points out birds and squirrels to Ian.

We began watching birds this last summer after I received a bird feeder for my birthday. With the purchase of a large bag of sunflower seeds and a small bird identification book, we began our 'birding' adventure. By the beginning the fall, we found ourselves to be fairly proficient at identifying the birds who visited. We moved our tube feeder and suet basket so that it could be monitored from our kitchen and dining room during the colder months. The Hubs was kind enough to use his skill and muscle to construct a windowsill platform feeder, to attract the birds closer to the house.

Our first 'counting day' was rather boring. We were visited by only two kinds of birds, albeit our favorites: a downy woodpecker and five dark-eyed juncos. The second counting day was marvelous. Around lunchtime, while we were sitting by the windows anxiously waiting for winged visitors, they came! The woodpecker returned and the juncos brought four of their friends. In addition we were charmed with the arrival of nuthatches, chickadees, a northern cardinal, two (gluttonous) blue jays, a house sparrow, four mourning doves, a house finch and a lovely red-bellied woodpecker.

The little chickadee that visits our window feeder.

The feeding frenzy made it hard to keep track of numbers, but Chase did a great job taking down the information. The blue jays and the chickadees were brave enough to perch on our window platform and allow us to admire them up close. For about 45 minutes, the birds came and went in quick swoops and flutters. And then they were all gone. Either birds have very strict lunch schedules or a stray cats wandered into our yard, but just like that, it was all over. Today we entered the data we gathered, including temperature and precipitation information, into Cornell's website.

Chase's tally sheet for our first two count days.

We will wait five days before we count again but the excitement of watching birds continues. I have heard Chase say things like, "Wow, God is so creative!" or "I love God; He made such great birds!" I am thrilled to hear the praises burst so sincerely from his heart and have had no choice but to join in.

So God created... every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Gen. 1:21

I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. - Psalm 50:11

Praise the Lord, O my soul;all my inmost being praise His holy name. - Psalm 103:1

Flower Dissection

Being unhappy with our first grade study of plants, we set out this summer to (re)conquer grammar-stage botany. Our new text, Exploring Creation with Botany by Jeannie K. Fulbright has been challenging. I was aware that my knowledge of plant life was not extensive, but I had no idea there was so much I didn't know. There are endless Greek and Latin root words, unfamiliar botanical references, and anatomical jargon. More than once Chase and I have shared a sigh of woe and scratched our heads. But we're pressing forward and enjoying every minute.

In addition to our regular seed collecting, this week Chase tackled two projects with a big smile. The first was a collection of drawings of carnivorous plants. Some of these bizarre plants he was already familiar with, but the sundew caught his attention. He thought it was the scariest of the bunch. His second project was flower dissection. We carefully tore apart a rose and a day lily and identified the flowers' anatomy. Below you'll see our notebook entries. Chase loved peeling away the rose petals. I was struck by the delicate beauty of the lily. Its parts were simply gorgeous.

Gary the Snail

This is our friend Gary the snail. We found him a few weeks ago on a lily in our side garden. He was pretty shy at first, but eventually his curiosity overcame him. Slowly his little eye stalks and feelers peeked out from under the shell and he slimed his way across a leaf as we observed. He was very fascinating. We read about garden snails in The Handbook of Nature Study and Chase drew and labeled a picture of him in his nature journal.


Chase and I built a 'snailery' in a large jar using some soil, moss, and a small dish of water. We placed a piece of plum inside for dinner and slid Gary into his temporary home. For a couple of days, Gary would move from place to place in his snailery and we would sometimes catch him eating his fruit (see picture below). The author of The Handbook of Nature Study calls him "a hopeless slobberer".


By the third day, Gary tired of his strange home and stubbornly refused to come out of his shell. He built a small pane of mucus around himself and determined to hold out for better times. After two days of this behavior, I placed him gingerly on the front porch rail and dumped a cup of water on him. He slowly emerged from his shell and looked around. Later that night he slimed away.

Discoveries

Nature study is a big (unofficial) deal to us. We don't have much structure to our study, but whenever we're out for a walk or sitting on our front porch we are on the lookout for any kind of creature or plant that we can learn more about. A couple of recent trips to Nana and Papa's up north have scored us some big finds. My favorite is this robin's nest we found under the deck. I had to hold my camera above the nest to snap this photo; there's not enough head room to actually look. I'd like to go back again soon and see if I can get a shot of the hatchlings.



Fishing is something we like to do when visiting up north. Honestly, I enjoy just tossing my worm off the end of the dock and watching the little bluegills eye it suspiciously. Often they'll take a taste, but the fish are so little, it's difficult to get them on the hook. The fishing this year has been lousy so far, but Jim caught this bass in the photo (as evidenced by the tear in his mouth).



While driving down Nana and Papa's dirt road, we nearly ran over this little painted turtle. Jim carefully picked him up and he rode shotgun the rest of the way to the house. We put him in a bucket for about three minutes so that Chase and Ian could have a close look at him. He was hissing with all his might. We set him down near the lake and he took off as fast as his little turtle legs could go.

By nature, I am an observer. I'm happy to sit and watch, to study and contemplate the things that I see or read. My boys don't have huge attention spans and they're not interested in long explanations and descriptions, but when we're outside I often hear, "Mama, come look at this!" or "I gotta show you something!" I know that they are interested in God's creation and that creation itself is magnifying the Lord. Nature study is a curriculum that costs nothing and has an infinite number of pages. We just need to be willing to observe and learn (and not squirm too much when the subject is an insect). Hopefully my boys will learn to always be willing.

Our Spring: Abundance

We have filled our spring with porch-sitting, walks, birdwatching, plant study, and insect observing. We have seen a great number of remarkable things and I often wonder why people don't spend more time discussing nature. In one half-hour on the porch we are witness to more grand and mysterious events than we could ever recall. I'm beginning to believe that time in nature could possibly be a remedy for every ill known to man. I know it's been good for me. Among the plants and bugs and dirt and water I have better perspective. Being outside gives me a healthy dose of humility as I consider the smallness of my life and the limits of my knowledge.

On Friday, our apple tree blossomed.

Some myrtle in our side garden.


One of my favorite of our plants: Bloodroot.

Ian discovers plush grass and dandelions.

Chase gains some perspective by a huge tree at the park.

We are shown that no suffering, no self-examination, however honest, however stern, no searching-out of the heart by its own bitterness, is enough to convince man of his nothingness before God; but that the sight of God's creation will do it. -John Ruskin

Nature Field Trip

Last week, Chase and I were lucky enough to go on an extended field trip with a group of homeschooling friends. Our day included a nature hike, pond skimming, soil study, and some lessons on simple machines. Though it was windy, we enjoyed ourselves and learned a lot of interesting things. We heard and saw a number of creatures including a turkey vulture, geese, a mallard, a house swallow, and a few different frog species. We put some of our pond friends under the microscope and were amazed. Chase wasn't terribly thrilled with the large leech that he discovered, but he got along nicely with the smaller critters. The soil study was interesting; I've never done anything like that before. We were tired when we arrived in the barn to learn about simple machines, but we had a nice time experimenting with the tools and toys.

Here Chase is holding a praying mantis egg sac.

Pond skimming!

Studying a soil sample.

Using a lever to weigh something.

The Gulf of Mexico: Extravagant

I mean extravagant as in: absurd, bizarre, crazy, exaggerated, excessive, extreme, fanciful, fantastic, flamboyant, gradiose, immoderate, implausible, inordinate, lavish, ludicrous, nonsensical, preposterous, unreasonable and unrestrained.

These are the thoughts that I had during our out-of-the-way jaunt to the Gulf of Mexico on our drive home from Texas last week.

First, we drove through 30 miles of bayou. Having never been in a bayou, I found the landscape fascinating and just a little scary. There was nothing around the dry strip of road except water and quaggy vegetation. There was one way in and one way out.

Then suddenly, we had arrived; the Gulf was right in front of us. We were in Holly Beach, Louisiana. Population: 17, judging by the 'neighborhood' of posh heightened houses and RV's. The water was muddy and the tide was coming in. We had to carefully navigate tide pools and muck to make it to the water's edge. I was naturally speechless in regard to the perspective. Oceans (and the gulfs that are attached to them) are so huge. It's quite humbling.

There were seashells of all shapes and sizes on the beach. This is where the extravagance knocked me over. At our feet were countless tiny shells and they covered the beach around us. They crunched under our feet with every step. How can that many sea critters have thrown off their homes? How could there be that many shells in one place? I was astounded.

Such wonders force me to praise my Lord. The excessive majesty and unrestrained creativity of God are characteristics that we can experience. What a gift.

THE heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.

Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

-Psalm 19:1-4

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

-Romans 1:20

Falling in love with nature (again)

Last fall, Chase attended some classes at Chippewa Nature Center near Midland. As I walked the grounds waiting for his class to finish, I was inspired to explore the idea of nature study more and see if it was something that might fit with our educational philosophy. I loved it! Even before I studied the topic, Chase and I had both been keeping a nature journal. The new information (specifically in Last Child in the Woods) motivated me to keep contact with nature at the top of our educational priority list. We didn't do much nature study during winter (I need to get over my aversion to the cold), but already this spring we have found a great number of things to observe and record. I also ordered The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock to use as a reference. What a lovely book!

This last week, we were delighted to watch the antics of three squirrels in our side yard. One of them came quite close to the window that we watching from so we were able to see him closely. The creatures in our side yard, which is viewable from our kitchen windows, are like little friends to us. On a side note, this winter, we were sad to see that an animal control agent had trapped the scraggly-tailed little fox squirrel who always entertained us with his skittishness. We were quite convinced that he was slightly crazy. He lived up in the roof of our neighbor's house and each day he squeaked his little heart out with such a sincere passion. He was cute. We noticed during our observation that a new, healthier-looking fox squirrel has taken up residence somewhere nearby. I hope that he's a better singer.



We were also visited by One Very Large daddy-longlegs spider while we were eating lunch. I caught him in a jar so that Chase could get a good look at his jointed legs and the eyes on the top of his head. We held him in captivity long enough to make our drawing and then we set him free outside. I'll be honest, I am not that thrilled with insects, bugs, and spiders. I don't wish them all ill, I just wish they'd keep their distance from me and my small children. If Ian had found that spider before I had, he likely would have picked it up and tasted it or brought it to me, both of which would have been Outrageously Gross Scenarios.

Little Ian went on his first Exploration of the outdoors today. He crawled all over the back yard, unmindful of dirt and debris. He took a couple of faceplants into the soft grass, examined walnuts, leaves and sticks, and practiced his walking technique on the uneven ground. I was really impressed with his nature study skills until he tasted a walnut husk. That was a No-No. Judging by the 'blahyy' sound that he made, I'm guessing he wasn't real impressed either.

Things are growing out there!

While doing some yard work today, I discovered lots of green things growing in our flower garden. Sadly, I know hardly anything about the beautiful plants that are peeking above the ground out there because I didn't plant the flowers and I've never learned much about botany. Even without knowing their names, I'm still thrilled to see them each spring!