Hummingbird Moth or White-Lined Sphinx Moth

Another gift this morning....a hummingbird moth or a white-lined sphinx moth. (click this link for a better look at what we saw this morning)

I heard this guy in the skylight of the kitchen last night but I couldn't get him to come down so I could see what sort of moth he was. This morning as I was sipping my morning cup of coffee, he buzzed right over to collect some nectar from the vase of flowers on my kitchen table. Can you believe that? We all watched as he hovered around the flowers and then up over the table. This was our first experience with a hummingbird moth and it was fantastic.

He flew up to the ceiling and landed in the corner. Please excuse the really ugly background for this beautiful moth. We re in the middle remodeling our living room and he landed right in the dusty corner where we are sheetrocking....of course.

I pulled out my Handbook of Nature Study and I was surprised to find that there is a complete section on hummingbird and sphinx moths, pages 320-325.

"The have long, rather narrow, strong wings which enable them to fly with extraordinary rapidity. ...Their colors show most harmonious combinations and most exquisite contrasts; the pattern, although often complex, shows perfect refinement.....Most of the sphinx moths have remarkably long tongues, which are sometimes twice the length of the body."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 321

This was a very interesting insect to read about and I will be on the look out now for more of them. I read in the Handbook that they especially like petunias, morning glories, and nasturtiums which are all planted in my new garden from the spring!

Another gift....thank you.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Outdoor Hour Challenge #27 Bees

“During many years naturalists have been studying the habits and adaptations of the honeybees, and, as yet, the story of their wonderful ways is not half told. Although we know fairly well what the bees do, yet we have no inkling of the processes which lead to a perfect government and management of the bee community; and even the beginner may discover things never known before about these fascinating little workers.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 391

We have lots of honeybees and bumblebees in our area of California. I love to watch them on my lavender plants and on my other garden flowers. I love to sit and let them buzz up right next to me so I can see them clearly. I have had a sting or two in my life but usually because I stepped on a bee in the grass with bare feet.

“The structure of honeycomb has been for ages admired by mathematicians, who have measured the angles of the cells and demonstrated the accurate manner in which the rhomb-shaped cell changes at its base to a three-faced pyramid; and have proved that, considering the material of construction, honeycomb exemplifies the strongest and most economic structure possible for the storing of liquid contents.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 395

I am fascinated with the geometry of the honeycomb and read with interest the section in the Handbook on honeycombs starting on page 395. Maybe it has something to do with my love for eating honey.

Outdoor Hour Challenge #27
Focus on Insects-Bees
(You may also like to look at the Yellow Jacket and Mud Dauber Challenge.)

1. This week read about bees in the Handbook of Nature Study, pages 384-400. There are sections on leaf-cutter bees, carpenter bees, bumblebees, and honeybees in the Handbook of Nature Study. You may not have every kind of bee in your location but I found the information very interesting and maybe someday I will have the opportunity to observe all the different kinds of bees discussed in the book. Remember our focus right now is on insects so if you don’t find a bee to observe, you can always look for other insects to study.

2. Your 15-20 minutes of outdoor time this week can be spent looking for insects. Make your goal just to get outside in your own backyard and find something to observe with your child. If during that time you find an insect, take as long as you can to describe what it looks like, what it is doing, and then try to come up with some questions to answer later with your Handbook of Nature Study or a field guide. If you find a bee to observe during your nature time or at another time during the week, use the opportunity to relate some facts from your reading in the Handbook of Nature Study.



3. Give the opportunity for a nature journal entry. It might be hard to draw a bee from your outdoor time but it would be a great idea to find a photo of a bee online or use the diagram on page 391 to make an entry about bees in your journal. Another idea is to use a notebooking page and fill it in with your thoughts and observations from your Outdoor Hour time.

4. If you are keeping a running list of insects you have observed during this focus period, add the insect’s name to the list.

 
Post an entry on your blog sharing your experiences. You can link up by clicking the carnival button or you can send them directly to me: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com.

Houseflies Around our House: Outdoor Challenge #25

Since posting my challenge on houseflies, I have been on the lookout for a subject of our study. My opportunity came the other day as I was making dinner and I noticed that there was a lone fly buzzing around. He was so annoying as he tried to land on my hamburger patties and my freshly cut garden tomato and some onion. I went to get my fly swatter and then as I was poised to swat him a good one, I stopped to remember and reflect on all that I learned this week by reading in the Handbook of Nature Study.

Houseflies as a topic of a challenge. What was I thinking? Someone called me a nature nerd the other day and I think it has stuck with me.....anyone else a nature nerd?

On another note, we also saw these insects crawling all over the garden box. I have no idea what they were but there were literally hundreds of them climbing up the green bean vines and the sunflowers. If you are interested, click the photos to enlarge them....beware, they get really big when you click.


We also enjoyed another insect in the yard this week, the Red Skimmer dragonfly. I never did get a photo of these beautiful dragonflies but I did draw him in my nature journal. He really is this reddish-orange with beautiful wings. This one is much more colorful than the Black Saddlebag dragonfly that I saw last week. Unlike the Black Saddlebag, this Red Skimmer does not sit still for even a second.

Now if you are tired of looking at my insects, feast your eyes on this photo of my red delicious tomato, fresh from the garden on my lettuce salad. With rewards like this, gardening is a great hobby to pursue. Hopefully the beautiful photo of the salad will erase any unpleasantness of the fly and black bug photos from your mind. :)

Enjoy,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

So Beautiful It Makes Me Cry: Dragonfly Morning

"It is while we, ourselves, are dreaming in the sun by the margin of some pond, that these swift children of the air seem but a natural part of the dream. Yet if we waken to note them more closely, we find many things very real to interest us."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 404

I don't know if you have ever had this experience but it has happened to me a few times that I can remember: Something that you see in our natural world is so beautiful that it makes you cry. It could be a sunset, an autumn tree in full color, or in this most recent case, a dragonfly.

I know. You all think that I have lots my marbles over that one but I am going to post some photos that will only give you a hint of how beautiful this dragonfly is in real life.

Here's the story. I have been putting together an Outdoor Hour Challenge about dragonflies over the last few weeks. I have had my camera at the ready many times because I have several kinds of dragonflies in my backyard and I hoped to get a photo for the blog entry. Will those dragonflies sit still for just one photo? Not usually.

This morning I was up and out on the back deck early, around 6 AM. I was just out of the shower and I usually go out and come my hair as I survey the morning's happenings outside. It is my routine. Well, as I was standing there looking out over the yard, I tried to focus on something that was on a beach towel on the deck railing. I knew it was an insect but without my glasses on it looked like a blur. I went into the house and grabbed my glasses and camera.

I couldn't really get a good photo at first because it was still pretty dark out. Then he flew away and I was so sad to see him go. But, he landed on my lemon tree and he has been there ever since. This gave me lots of time to take a good photo of him. I think that this was a gift to me this morning and now I will share my gift with you.

Black saddlebag dragonfly

See the coloration on the wings that look like "saddlebags"?

You have to click the photo to make it larger so you can see the colors of the wing in this photo. It was like lace with all its fine detail. I actually was able to measure his wing span, 4 inches!

His head is so big and I know he was looking at me too. Click this one for a better view of him up close....you may never get this close to a dragonfly so here is your chance. :)

Look at the pattern and colors in the wing...iridescent in one light and spun from gold in another. It looks just like stained glass.

I know my original intention was to share a photo with you when I posted the challenge but this was so special that it gets its own post. The beauty in creation is such a testament to our Creator. Only He could think to spin this dragonfly's wings out of gold, to make his coloration so distinct, and to give his face a dash of brilliant blue. I am amazed at the beauty and it truly did make me cry.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom
PS There is a big section in the Handbook of Nature Study on dragonflies if you would like to read more this week. I will be giving an assignment in Outdoor Hour Challenge #28 to read about dragonflies and damselflies.

Outdoor Hour Challenge #24 Crickets

Edit to Add: There is now another Cricket Challenge in the Summer 2010 ebook and here on the blog:
OHC Summer Series #10: Crickets, Grasshoppers, and Katydids.

Let’s take a look at crickets this week in our mini-focus on insects using the Handbook of Nature Study. Summertime is the perfect time to go outdoors in the cool evenings, listening and tracking these creatures close to home.

“The haunts of the cricket are usually sunny; it digs a little cave beneath a stone or clod in some field, where it can have the whole benefit of all the sunshine when it issues from its door.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 344

If at all possible, try to spend some of your outdoor hour time outside during the evening hours to see if you can hear some crickets chirping in the twilight and evening.



Outdoor Hour Challenge #24
Focus on Insects-Crickets

1. This week read about crickets in the Handbook of Nature Study, pages 344-349. Most of us have heard crickets in the evenings and children will be very interested to learn more about these insects that play music with their legs for us to enjoy.


2. Try to spend some of your outdoor time in the evening air. Our family likes to sit on our deck and watch as the stars come out after sunset. This is a perfect activity to couple with listening for crickets because it is just about at the same time that you will begin to hear crickets singing their evening songs.

3. After you have your outdoor time, provide an opportunity for working on a nature journal entry. Use the Handbook of Nature Study or a library book to find an illustration or photo of an actual cricket to draw in your journal. Have your child label the entry with a title, the date, and the place that you made your observation. Parents can always help the child with this part if needed. This is a good time to work on using descriptive words as described in Outdoor Hour Challenge #2. The more you use the proper names for subjects you see during your nature study, the sooner your children will learn and remember them for themselves.

4. If you observed some other kinds of insects during the week, give the option for making a nature journal for those too. Make sure to pull out the Handbook of Nature Study to see if the insect you found is listed and you can read more about it there. If you are keeping a running list of insects you have observed during this focus period, add the insect’s name to the list.


 
Post an entry on your blog sharing your experiences. You can link up by clicking the carnival button or you can send them directly to me: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com.

Just a Silly Turkey Kind of Day

These turkeys were waddling across the road this morning. I personally don't think turkeys are very smart. Many times they wander down the road in front of the car instead of trying to get off the road to safety. This little flock was not moving very fast but they did at least make way for the car to go by.

They make a silly sort of noise as they walk. Did you know that turkeys sit in trees? Sometimes a whole flock will be in a tree and you won't notice until they get spooked and they all sort of fall to the ground and waddle away.

I also think that these turkeys are not very handsome birds. Interesting but not much to look at.

The Handbook of Nature Study has a section on wild turkeys starting on page 138.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Is Nature Study Old-Fashioned?

This is another recycled post from my old Heart of Harmony blog that I thought you might enjoy reading.

Why are we spending time in nature study? Is it old-fashioned? Do we really need to expose our children to this type of learning in our modern age, where everything is at our fingertips as far as finding answers to anything we want to know in books or on the internet?

I think outdoor time and nature study are as fundamental to good learning as you can find. Charlotte Mason agrees.

“And this is exactly what a child should be doing for the first few years. He should be getting familiar with the real things in his own environment. Some day he will read about things he can’t see; how will he conceive of them without the knowledge of common objects in his experience to relate them to? Some day he will reflect contemplate, reason. What will he have to think about without a file of knowledge collected and stored in his memory?”
Charlotte Mason, volume 1 page 66

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Yosemite Birds: Photos and Notebook Page

Lest you think that all I took photos of on my Yosemite trip were wildflowers, here are some bird photos. You will also note that these are not my typical "pretty" photos....birds are hard to photograph and they just don't come close enough for my little camera.


I love to watch for birds in the early morning. The meadow near our campsite was a perfect birding site and I was up early each morning to see what I could find. The first photo is of a white-headed woodpecker and the second photo is a brown creeper. These are both new birds to add to my life list of birds seen and identified. That is always exciting. Make sure to click the photos to make them larger so you can see how pretty the birds are in real life.

There is a section in the Handbook of Nature Study on different woodpeckers on pages 70-77. You might enjoy reading about the woodpecker in preparation of your next encounter.

Something else interesting is that I found a feather from a Steller's jay and when I compared it to my Scrub jay feather that is already in my collection, I found out how different the feathers are colored. Both birds are very similar in color and shape but the patterns of color are very different. Here you can see it clearly. The Scrub Jay is on the left and the Steller's Jay is on the right. There is a section in the Handbook of Nature Study specifically on bird feathers starting on page 29. We found it very interesting to read about the various purposes of feathers and the various kinds of feathers.

Here is a scan of one of my bird nature journal pages that I made during our trip. Nothing fancy but still a really good reminder in my nature journal of the day we saw this woodpecker. (This blank notebooking page from Tina will be part of the new Outdoor Hour Challenge E-book that I am putting together.)


Hope you enjoyed a little bird stuff today. I still have insects to share and a really big entry with wildflowers. I am trying to decide whether to make a slideshow of the flowers or just share a few of the over forty flowers I took photos of. :)

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Black-Eyed Susan, Daisies, Tomatoes, Lemons, More

This week's garden update is full of colors and surprises. My daily watering routine is always rewarded with something new or interesting to look at and think about as I spend a few minutes enjoying the growing things in my yard. This is the time of year that gardening is at its best....all those hours spend cultivating and sowing seeds, pampering the delicate plants as the summer progressed, and then feeling the surge of joy as you peek under a leaf and see something delicious to eat or something to raise your spirits with its colors and textures.

Here are your garden treats this week.

Morning glories in all their glory. This is the color that they are in real life...a sort of radiant pink and the camera just enhances that rich color.


My Black-eyed Susans are just starting to bloom along the fence and they make me smile.

"These beautiful, showy flowers have rich contrasts in their color scheme. The ten to twenty ray flowers wave rich, orange banners around the cone of purple-brown disc flowers."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 523 (Black-eyed Susan)

This is a hover fly inside a wildflower. He is the perfect size for this trumpet shaped flower. I have been on the lookout for insects in the garden since that is the focus of the Outdoor Hour Challenges right now. This one I recognize from our fall study of insects.


This creature is my constant companion as I spend time in our backyard. She is always curious about what I am looking at and many times I have to shoo her away in order to get a good photo of something in the garden box. In this photo she is watching my middle son fly his RC helicopter on the lawn. She isn't afraid of it but I don't think she exactly knows what to think of it either. Always curious....


This beauty just started to bloom today. It is in a pot on the back deck and it came up from a plant that I had last year. Gerber Daisy...what a color it is!


Now we are to the edible update for the week. My patio tomatoes growing on the back deck are really starting to produce. Can you just taste the yummy sunshiney taste of these beauties? Next year I think I will grow two of these plants so we have enough tomatoes for everyone.


Last year my hubby bought me a lemon tree for the deck. He put it in a beautiful pot and it was loaded with lemons. We harvested those and then over the winter we pampered this tree through rain, wind, snow, and ice. Come springtime it blossomed like crazy and it smelled so delicious. Then the cold weather came back and I worried that we wouldn't get any lemons at all since the blooms fell off. Well, hiding under the bottom leaves there were some that made it through and now we have some fairly good sized lemons on the tree again. I think there are eight lemons which is better than nothing. :)


Hope you enjoyed the garden update for this week....so many things to share. I wanted to mention that I usually look up everything in the Handbook of Nature Study as we go throughout our week. Many times I am surprised to see something listed in there and then we take the time to read and discuss the information. It just seems so natural to find something we are interested in and then learn more about it when it is fresh in our mind. Even though the focus this week is on insects for the Outdoor Hour Challenge, many other subjects come up and we take that opportunity to learn about them too.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Beautiful Butterflies and Some Nature Journal Ideas

Showy Milkweed in Stoneman's Meadow, Yosemite Valley.

We did see some Monarchs fluttering and flying around the milkweed but there was never a chance to photograph one, maybe next time. :)

We were on the lookout for butterflies on our recent camping trip to Yosemite. Many were too fast or would not sit still long enough for a photo but here are a few that I can share. All these were butterflies that I saw as we went on various hikes in a variety of terrain and habitat. My daughter decided that she would rather take photos of flowers than insects because flowers stay in one place. :)

We know this is some sort of Fritillary but which exact one, we are not so confident. If I had to make a best guess, I think it is a Pacific Fritillary or a Western Meadow Fritillary.


Okay, there are two butterflies in this photo. It was taken in a marshy meadow area near Lukens Lake. There is one distinctly blue and one distinctly brown butterfly but I have no idea what particular ones they are even after examining the field guide for a long time. I'm not very good at identifying butterflies....yet.


Here is another blue butterfly sitting on some bird droppings. My best guess on this one is a Lupine Blue.


Now this one I think is a Woodland Skipper. I know it is a skipper for sure and it looks just like the one in my field guide.


You can see why I was able to take some good photos of these beauties, they were otherwise occupied with more important activities at that particular moment. I still haven't been able to identify this particular butterfly. Any ideas???

Here is one of my nature journal pages that I used to record one of my experiences with butterflies. I was testing out Tina's new notebooking pages that she is creating for an upcoming Outdoor Hour Challenge E-book that we are putting together to share with everyone. This page shows my attempt to record a bit about our butterfly study this past week.

Someone was asking recently about how I keep a running list in my nature journal. This is so easy to do and it doesn't need to be fancy. Tina has created an easy to use version of a running list that will also be in the upcoming E-book.

As you can see, I really just list the butterfly name if I know it and the date and place that I observed it. If I am not sure, I make a note and then use my photographs to identify it later when I have time to use the field guide and the internet.

So those are some of the butterflies that I was able to capture with my camera. We saw many, many Tiger swallowtails and a particular yellow butterfly that we have yet to identify. I look at this project as a life-long endeavor and if I don't catch the butterfly this time, maybe I will the next time.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Edit to add: Heather asked about my nature journal and how I plan on using the notebooking pages if I am using a spiral bound sketch diary as my nature journal. I made a decision to change to a bigger size nature journal, still spiral bound since I find that easiest to work in. I only have three pages left in my smaller spiral bound nature journal so I will be starting over in a 9" by 12" spiral bound artist's sketchbook that I purchased from Miller Pads and Paper. I will be attaching the pages into the sketchbook with double-backed tape; running lists will be in the back and the other sheets will go in order starting in the front. This will give me the flexibility to use the notebooking pages or to just freehand my entries in as I feel the need. I love to have options. This sketchbooks use heavy enough paper that I feel comfortable using watercolors in them as well as pencils and markers. Hope that explains it!

Conservation Hall of Fame: Anna Botsford Comstock

I just found this on the National Wildlife Federation today!

Conservation Hall of Fame: Anna Botsford Comstock

I love the artwork on this page....wish I could get it for my blog. :)

Here is a short quote from the page:

"By encouraging instructors to take their students outside to learn, and then helping them see the relationship between people and the natural world, Anna Botsford Comstock left her mark on countless generations."

I think Miss Comstock would be proud of all the families that are reading and applying her wisdom through the Outdoor Hour Challenges.

Enjoy,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Just a Note About the Outdoor Hour Challenge and a Contest

Just about every day now I get an email from someone who wants to just get started with the Outdoor Hour Challenges but they don't know where to start. There are several strategies for starting but I think the most important thing to remember is that one of the purposes in starting the challenges in the first place was to help parents learn to do a simple nature study using the Handbook of Nature Study.

So my best suggestion for newcomers is to make sure to complete the first five challenges and then join us in challenge #20 with the year long tree study. This is my suggestion for newcomers as well as those that have gotten behind in the challenges.

The first five challenges contain such important information from the Handbook of Nature Study that I don't think you should miss reading it. Those challenges set the stage for all further nature study and will give you a great overview of how to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time.

If you have sort of stumbled along the way and need to get started again with the challenges, pick a challenge you can excited about. Take 15-20 minutes for nature study in your own backyard. Keep it simple and let your child enjoy the time outdoors. If the challenge is completed or if you just have a great adventure outdoors, either way you are successful.

We have slowed down a bit in the last few weeks in our family. Outdoor time has been severely limited because of the extreme heat and the air quality. But, we get out early for just a few minutes as much as possible. This week's Outdoor Hour Challenge is one you will not want to miss reading. I will have it posted tomorrow morning.

Leave me a comment on this blog entry and I will enter your name into a random drawing for a Outdoor Hour Challenge refrigerator magnet. These are a great way to remind yourself to get out and spend a few minutes each week with your children in the outdoors. I will draw a name next Thursday evening and announce the winner on Friday, July 18th.

Please feel free to email me anytime if you have any questions about the Outdoor Hour Challenges. harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Weather Forecast: HOT!

Bad news: Temperatures to be at near record highs of near 106 degrees today, possibly up to 115 degrees. Air quality is extremely unhealthy because of all the wildfires still burning in our area. The smoke seems to come and go with the heat and breeze but it is just amazing how much smoke has settled in our area of the world.

Good news: My garden loves the heat!!!

"A child who makes a garden, and then becomes intimate with the plants he cultivates, and comes to understand the interrelation of the various forms of life which he finds in his garden, has progressed far in the fundamental knowledge of nature's ways as well as in a practical knowledge of agriculture."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 20 in the section "Gardening and Nature Study"

Here is our progress:

Pumpkin blossom


Sunflower ready to burst open

Look at the height on these sunflowers...no matter that they were supposed to be a dwarf size so they wouldn't cover my window. I have enjoyed viewing them through the window as I work at my desk.

Coneflowers blooming all over the garden.

My precious kitty who is too HOT in this weather and lounges around anywhere it is cool and damp which this morning was in the shade on the grass.

Tomatoes getting bigger by the day.

Green beans that are climbing as high as possible.

Day lilies blooming in a variety of colors and shapes. I love the pollen on this flower.


More strawberries to come!


So much more but I will finish there for today. I wholeheartedly agree with the quote from the Handbook that I shared at the beginning of this blog entry. Children gain so much from gardening...adults too. I think it not only teaches them many practical skills but it contributes to their emotional well-being. Besides, all those fresh veggies make our bodies healthy too!

Barb-Harmony Art Mom