Lake Tahoe Retreat: Coyotes and More

This weekend I had the privilege of spending some time at Lake Tahoe. It was a picture postcard perfect weekend, sunny and relatively warm, as warm as four feet of snow will allow.

One of the nights we heard the howling of coyotes near-by and I was able to catch this creature taking a walk in the snow early yesterday morning. He was sniffing around looking for something to eat, I assume. Make sure to click the photo so you can see him better.

Then there are the usual visitors to the lake-side retreat. The mallards,



the magpies,



and the Canada goose. Look at that perfect goose shadow.



All in all, a perfect nature watching weekend.

The Handbook of Nature Study has lots of information on mallards and Canada geese.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Just Some Happy California Cows

We are really wrapping up our focus on mammals and I had to include these happy cows that we saw the other day. They live right across from this willow tree that is just starting to show its leaves.

Isn't it gorgeous?

The Handbook of Nature Study, starting on page 651, has a whole section on willows.

Here is another photo of the cows taking a little rest.

"The cattle graze mornings and evenings, swallowing the food as fast as cropped, and storing it in their ruminating stomachs. During the heat of the day, they move to the shade, preferably to the shady banks of streams, and there in quiet the food is brought up, a small portion at a time, and chewed with a peculiar side wise movement of the jaws and again swallowed. There is probably no more perfect picture of utter contentment than a herd of cows chewing their cuds in the shade, or standing knee-deep in the cool stream on a summer's day."
The Handbook of Nature Study, page 281

There is a long section on cattle in the Handbook of Nature Study. I learned all kinds of interesting things about these gentle creatures.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Signs of Mammals: Deer Scat

This really needs no explanation.

We are used to this sign of a mammal being in our yard and area by the tell-tale sign of his scat. The Mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus, is a familiar sight but still makes me stop and take notice. They are such gentle creatures and usually very shy.

A deer hit my car last year and made a dent in the driver's door and messed up my rear view mirror. He survived and I think he was a little mad at me. I was doing everything I could to avoid hitting him but he was actually trying to run up along side me and butt me with his head. It was a strange event and very memorable.

I can tell you from personal experience that Mule deer love rose blossoms and everything they can get their teeth on from my garden. We have put up a fence to keep them out of the garden but they still find things to munch on in our yard when they get hungry enough in the late summer.

I could not find any information in the Handbook of Nature Study but I do have a mammal field guide that shows an illustration, the scat, the tracks, and the look of the deer in various times of the season.

I love deer, just not in my garden or running alongside my car.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Evening Grosbeak in My Feeder and How We Identify a Bird

Very little compares to identifying a new bird in your feeder. This one was so unusual that we just couldn't stop looking at it.

The photo does not do it justice. It is bright yellow, with distinct markings of black and white. It was fairly good size so we got a pretty good look at it.

Although the photo didn't turn out well, the memory will be forever with us.

We identified this bird as an Evening Grosbeak.
(click photo for larger photo)

Yesterday we saw a bunch of blue birds that we had never seen before. We were out driving in the car when we saw nesting boxes all along a fence. We saw flashes of blue and realized that they were birds fighting, not only in the air but on the ground. The birds were very aggressive. When we got home we pulled out our field guide and identified the birds as Western bluebirds.

I shared the following information with a friend about how I identify a bird by explaining how I identified the Evening grosbeak. I personally like using the Audubon Society's Field Guide to Birds.

1. When I am trying to identify a bird, I rely heavily on color. The bird we saw in our feeder was a bright yellow so that narrowed it down as far as identifying it. The Audubon guide that I suggested for birds is organized by type of bird (clinging, perching, duck-like, etc) and then by predominant color. This makes it fast to skim through a lot of birds visually.
2. After I look at color and general type, I look at size. (sparrow-size, robin-sized, goose-size, etc) The Aububon guide does group from smallest to largest.
3. After color, type, and size, I look at beaks. This is really easy in the Aububon guide because on the photo pages there are three bird photos on a page so there are less pages to look through.
4. If I hit on the right bird by doing that method, I usually do a Google image search on the internet to confirm my findings. If I missed and didn't get the right bird but I am in the right ball park, I go to whatbird.com and do a search there.

That pretty much sums it up. I know that others have different methods for identifying birds with a field guide but this works for our family.

It was a big bird weekend around here. I love it.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Counting Birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count

We have been counting birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count. It started on Friday and will continue through today. We have had all the usual customers at the feeders and a few surprises too!

The white-crowned sparrow usually feeds in our front yard in the forsythia bush which has a blackberry vine tangled in it with some of last summers berries all dried up and ready for eating.
(you can click the photos to make them larger)


The dark-eyed juncos are a frequent visitor to our feeders and they enjoy both the platform feeder and eating from the ground beneath it.

The hanging feeders were filled with sparrows, finches, and the occasional nuthatch.

Here is our official bird count for Friday:

• 5 Western scrub jays
• 2 titmouses
• 1 red-breasted nuthatch
• 1 spotted towhee
• 2 California towhees
• 6 white-crowned sparrows
• 12 dark-eyed juncos
• 1 house finch....probably more we just didn't catch them when we were counting
• 7 house sparrows

Those were in the feeders but we also saw in our yard:
1 American crow
2 American robins

In our travels yesterday, we saw:
3 turkey vultures
40+ Canadian geese
6 wild turkeys

This is a great family project that we have participated in for the past three years. If you miss it this year, mark your calendars for next February so you won't forget!

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Early Daffodils and the Handbook of Nature Study

"When the flowerstalk first appears, it comes up like a sheathed sword, pointing toward the zenith, green, veined lengthwise, and with a noticeable thickening at each edge."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 550

"As the petals grow, the sheath begins to round out; the stiff stem at the base of the sheath bends at right angles. This brings a strain upon the sheath which bursts it, usually along the upper side, although sometimes it tears it off completely at the base."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 550

"The stalk is a strong green tube; the leaves are fleshy and are grooved on the inner side. At the base the groove extends part way around the flowerstalk."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 550

"The daffodil, jonquil, and narcissus are very closely related, and quite similar. They all come from bulbs which should be planted in September; but after the first planting, they will flower on year after year, bringing much brightness to the gardens in the early spring."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 551

On pages 549-552 of the Handbook of Nature Study, you will find the introduction to daffodils and a complete lesson to study daffodils. Anna Botsford Comstock lists 15 ways to observe and learn about these common garden flowers.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Western Scrub Jays

(you can click on any of the photos to make them larger)

During this morning's outdoor walk I had fun watching a pair of Western scrub jays in our backyard. The first one was making a big squawking scene in the top of the liquid amber tree. In the photo above he is posing for me in the sunlight.

Here is the other jay in the pine tree just waiting for the first jay to stop making such a big fuss. They both wanted to get to the birdfeeders but my cat was roaming the yard in search of a good place to take a bath in the sun. Here is where she settled on....the roof of our bbq.
She didn't stay there long with the birds swooping around her. The jays are not in the least bit afraid of her...they are rather large aggressive birds and can defend themselves very well. I'm not sure why all of a sudden she thinks that she needs to be up high but we are enjoying her climbing adventures.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Of Dandelions and Paperwhites

Today was a warm, sunny day in my neck of the woods. I went out with my camera to capture the paperwhites that started blooming this week and look what was waiting to greet me......a dandelion in the grass.

It made me smile and feel so much better after a week of being sick with a cold and the flu. Isn't it amazing how a little yellow flower can lift your spirits?

The paperwhites are starting to bloom by the mailbox so now as the days tick on I will have a steady bloom of paperwhites, daffodils, and then day lilies.
The delicate fragrance is so wonderful as these bloom in the warm sun.


Here is what the Handbook of Nature Study says on page 534 about the dandelion:
"The following are the tactics by which the dandelion conquers us and takes possession of our lands: a: It blossoms early in the spring and until snow falls, producing seed for a long season. b: It is broadminded as to its location, and flourishes on all sorts of soils. c: It thrusts its long taproots down into the soil, and thus gets moisture and food not reached by other plants. d: its leaves spread out from the base, and crowd and shade many neighboring plants out of existence. e: many insects visit it, and so it has plenty of pollen carriers to insure strong seeds; it can also develop seeds from its own pollen, or it even can develop seeds without any pollen. f: It develops almost numberless akenes, and the wind scatters them far and wide and they thus take possession of new territory. g: It forms vigorous leaf-rosettes in the fall, and thus is able to begin growth early in the spring. "


The Handbook of Nature Study has a whole section on dandelions including activities from pages 531-535.


(click to make the photo larger)
Doesn't this make you laugh? This is the same cat that thought she could "hide" in the birdfeeder. She really isn't very good at this hiding game. I imagine she is enjoying the view anyway.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Skunks at Night

We are having a night time visit from our friendly skunk *again*. We have not seen him yet this time but we can smell his 'calling card' in the morning hours. Two summers ago we were plagued with skunks living under our house and we learned a lot about skunks and their habits.

The Handbook of Nature Study on pages 245-247 has information about skunks. Here is what the author says about skunks that I found interesting.

Page 245:
"It is a night prowler, although it is not averse to a daytime promenade. The white upon its fur gives warning at night that here is an animal which had best be left alone. This immunity from attack makes the skunk careless in learning wisdom from experience; it never learns to avoid a trap, or the dangers of a railway or trolley track. It plods deliberately across highways, leaving its protection to the motorist."

I would rather they didn't live in my backyard or under my house or porch but when I don't have a choice I know how to give them their space. :)

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Winter Nature Walk-Boy's View

I was sick with the flu this weekend so my boys decided yesterday afternoon to talk a walk without me....the afternoon was bright and sunny in between a cloudy morning and a snowy evening.

Here are some photos they took on their walk to share with me when they returned home.

Love the sky in this one!

Here is a view coming down the walking trail with a beautiful perspective of someone's house with a horse in the yard. (click to make the photo larger and you will see the black horse by the house)

That fits our mammal study. We haven't ever really learned about horses but we can now in the Handbook of Nature Study on pages 274-280.

Anna Botsford Comstock says:
"Begin this study of the horse with stories of wild horses."

I have the whole collection of Marguerite Henry books on my shelf and I don't think my boys have ever read them. I know we read Brighty of the Grand Canyon on a road trip to the Grand Canyon but other than that, they have not tasted the delights of King of the Wind, Misty-Stormy's Foal, Justin Morgan Had a Horse, or any of the other wonderful books about horses that I read as a child. I need to dust those off and encourage the boys to read them. You can see my sidebar to find some of these wonderful horse stories that you can use along with your nature study with your children.

One last photo from their walk. Here is the llama that I have shared before but this time he was way down by the fence so the boys could take a photo of his head peeking out from the bushes.

Even though I didn't get to go with boys on their walk, I did get to enjoy the stories and the photos.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Silly Mammal or Cat in the What?

You have heard of Cat in the Hat. How about Cat in the Birdfeeder? Do you think she really thought they wouldn't notice her *in* the feeder?

Silly mammal tricks.

On page 266 of the Handbook of Nature Study, the author gives us a list of writing assignments relating to cats we can suggest to our children. The one that I think fits this photo is, "The Things Which My Pet Cat Does".

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Continuing Our Mammal Study

So the sun was out and I took advantage of the time to take an spin around the yard with the boys. It is still pretty cold and wet but it was nice to have a chance to see if we could find any signs of mammals in the yard.

First stop, we found a hole under the birdfeeder that we are thinking is probably a mole or it could be another vole....we are not sure.

(be sure to click any photos you want to see enlarged)

Next we spotted some fresh dirt here at the edge of the lawn and mounded up in between the river rocks.

How about this little hole? This one is at the far end of the yard under the pine tree and the pine needles are neatly pushed out from around the hole.

It is amazing what you can find in your own backyard with close scrutiny.

I also wanted to share our robins that were in the tree outside our window. I counted six at one point.

Well that is our mammal study for the week. Even with the bitter, cold weather we are trying to be good about getting out of doors.

Until next time,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Winter Wildflower Identified: California Wild Radish

Thanks to my blog reader, Shelly, I have now been able to identify my winter wildflower as California Wild radish. (see my original entry) I appreciate all her efforts to help me figure out what my find was. When I had originally observed this plant from 60 mph along the freeway, I did think it was mustard. It wasn't until I got out of the car and looked up close at it that I realized that it wasn't just yellow like mustard and that the flowers were very different and a variety of colors. The article that I linked to above explains that many times it is mistaken for mustard.

California Wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum)

More interesting reading on the California Wild Radish. This will fit in with our current study of biology very nicely. I love it when we can make connections like that.

Thanks again Shelly,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Snowshoe Adventure: Tahoe Snowshoe Hare

This was an outdoor weekend spent in the Sierras. We spent an afternoon taking a hike on snowshoes. It looks really cold and dreary in this photo but it was really not all that cold...above freezing by a few degrees. I could have done with a few less layers. :) I took off my gloves for awhile and that helped. Most people we saw on the trail were on cross country skis but we enjoyed the crunch, crunch , crunch of snowshoes. I was on the lookout for mammal tracks.


(as usual, click to make the photos larger)

We saw lots of canine tracks beside the trail but as we worked our way up from the lake into the conifers, we were rewarded with these tracks.


In this area there were many little "rabbit trails" giving us a clue as to what sort of mammal was in the area. I came home and discovered that they are more than likely Tahoe Snowshoe Hare tracks. (Lepus americanus tahoensis) See snowshoe hare.

We are new to identifying tracks so if anyone thinks they are from a different animal, please leave me a comment.

Not only did we see some mammal tracks but we were treated to a "new to us" bird. The red-breasted nuthatch. He was seen clinging to the side of this pine, sticking his head into little holes looking for some bark insects. He moved easily in all directions while clinging to the bark. Amazing.

Red-breasted nuthatch

I was busy taking photos when a bunch of ducks flew into view. We saw them later eating some seeds that a fellow hiker had left along the shore. They were later joined by a few Canadian geese.



So I think we had a successful outing....we did manage to find some mammal tracks in the snow and that was our aim.

From the Handbook of Nature Study, page 217,
" An interesting relative of the cottontail is the varying hare or snow-show rabbit that lives in the wooded regions of north-eastern North America. Of all animals he is one of the most defenseless; foxes, mink, and other flesh-eating inhabitants of the woods find him an easy prey. He has not even a burrow to flee to when pursued by his enemies.....He has one important advantage over his enemies: twice each year his heavy coat of fur is shed. In the summer the coat is a reddish brown that so blends with his surroundings that he is hardly noticeable; in the winter it is perfectly white so that against a background of snow he is nearly invisible."

Anna Botsford Comstock has included pages 215-219 with information on the cotton-tailed rabbit. I found these pages very useful in coming up with a way to study our snowshoe hare. Even though the information doesn't completely apply to our hare, we can adapt her activities to our study.

Winter nature study at its best.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Winter Wildflowers: I Can't Believe It

(You can click on any photo to make it larger.)

Wildflower Morning is sponsoring a winter wildflower blog-a-thon and this week we were challenged to find a wildflower that blooms in winter. I thought this was a pretty daunting task considering it has been snowing off and on for a few weeks here in our area of northern California.

But I was so surprised on Monday when my husband and I were driving down the mountain and I actually saw some areas with wildflowers blooming right along the road. I had to go back with my camera and take some photos for you all to see. It actually started hailing on me while I was shooting these photos and my husband thought I was a little crazy for sticking it out.

I think I was a little wildflower starved because I took a lot of photos. I want to thank Elizabeth Joy for sponsoring this event. If I hadn't had the challenge on my mind, I might have missed noticing these beautiful wildflowers. I had my eyes open and alert the last few days searching for something to photograph. I was rewarded for my diligence. Scroll down after the wildflower photos, you will see the added gift I was given while I was photographing the flowers.

I have yet to identify the flowers so I will come back and edit if I come up with something. I tried for about an hour with my field guide and the internet and didn't come up with a name. I am sure someone knows what they are.....pretty much the same, just different colors.




















As I got out of the car, my husband motioned for me to look up. There was a hawk circling around right above us! He performed just for us as I scrambled back into the car to grab my new Flip Video camera. This little camera is so awesome and this was just what I purchased it for...all those little impromptu moments you want to capture on video. Here is a treat for you to watch. Our own personal performance from a very happy hawk. It is only about two minutes of video but you will get the idea of how he was soaring on the air just before the big hail and snow. If you wait until about 1:45 into the video, you will see a good view of the hawk.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I look forward to seeing everyone's winter wildflowers.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Winter Photo Walk: Insects, Trees, and Sky

(click to make photos larger)

Today was such a sunny day in our area and I needed a little "photo therapy". I went out in the garden and took about 50 photos. This little winged insect was sitting so still on the lavender blossom. There were actually a few blossoms with such beautiful colors in the brilliant sunshine.

I don't know what kind of insect this is but I will keep on trying to identify who he is. I think it is okay to not actually identify each and every insect we find but keep it as a work in progress.

How about this sky?

From page 624 in the Handbook of Nature Study regarding tree study, winter work:
"1. Make a sketch of the tree in your notebook, showing its shape as it stands bare." or "3. Take a twig of a tree in February and look carefully at the buds. What is their color? Are they shiny, rough, sticky, or downy?" or "4. What birds do you find visiting your tree during winter."

Check out all the ideas in your copy of the book.

Look at this silhouette!

One last photo.
Could that be my bulbs sprouting already?

Have a great afternoon,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom