Canada Goose

We have a "swamp" right behind our pasture, which is actually becoming more of a substantial wetland since the beavers built a dam. We have seen egrets, ducks, geese, and other wildlife. We actually can see the water line through the trees from our dinner table. Doug has seen the trees chopped down by beavers. (Don't fall on them!) He also was showing me the size of the goose nests, which he unfortunately has only seen in the winter, because you can't get in there in the summer, too wet.

Well, we have had a visitor come all the way into our pasture and hay field. I've never seen the geese come so close for so long. This goose has literally been hanging out in our backyard, when normally we would only see them fly over.

I adore Canada Geese, ever since watching them fly in a V over my house when I was young. Watching this one every day might just be the motivator I need to finish the bird color and copywork book I am working on lol.

The Outdoor Hour - Challenge #2

This week's challenge was to focus on what we could hear, see, and feel.  Thanks to Daddy coming along and acting as photographer, we have a few extra photos this week.  :-)

Overall, it was very quiet during our nature hike, but we definitely could hear lots of snapping branches.  There is lots of deadwood where we took our walk.

We saw something very interesting, goldenrod in three different stages, all within a few feet of each other.

goldenrod in full bloom

goldenrod forming seed heads

goldenrod seeds ready to take off

We also felt some things, one of which was very cold wind on our faces lol!

We also felt some spongy, fuzzy moss.



We hope you enjoy each of your hikes into creation.  There's always something new to learn, because our Creator has infinite creative juices flowing!

To enjoy The Outdoor Hour in your family, go here.

The Outdoor Hour - Challenge #1

I know I'm a bit late in the game, but I was pleased to discover The Outdoor Hour last week.  I have the book "Handbook of Nature Study," but it had been sitting on a shelf.  We are not new to the idea of nature study however.  I have been teaching my children flower names and looking for spider webs, etc. for years.  I have fond memories of walking the yard with my Dad, while he checked on all the trees he had planted.  He loved to show me the new growth on the pine trees and name the wildflowers that he knew.  I used to joke that any tree that was shorter than me was only a stick in the ground.  Perhaps this fed his desire to check for growth literally every day.  At any rate, he gave me a love for nature and walking around looking for details.  Thanks, Dad!

So we got back in the habit this week, and went for a nature hike along one of our property lines.  My kids were very excited to go for a walk with mommy, but were a bit skeptical when I told them to try to find something new and special.  Holly told me, "Mom, there is no way we are going to find something new.  We've seen everything out here."  At first, I was tempted to believe her.  We have seen these trees, and grass, even the remains from squirrels eating up in the tree.  But YHVH is not limited by trees and grass.  He gave us some wonderful new things to see.

First, they noticed that the grass and weeds were changing color, just like the leaves on the trees.  We found red strawberry leaves, and orange fern.  Some seagulls flew overhead.  Then, as the kids ran ahead a little, I looked down and saw a rather surprising thing, a piece of birch bark.  I didn't know we had any birch trees.  So I showed the kids the unique bark and challenged them to find the tree it came from.  A search commenced, and soon we found a lone birch tree that even I couldn't get my arms around.  What a delight, especially since this is one of my favorite trees.  We talked about birch bark canoes, and how I used to write notes on the pieces of bark. 

We also discovered some lovely green moss on the ground.  The kids enjoyed feeling the fuzzy texture.  We, of course had to see if we could find some on the trees.  We found about three varieties.  By the way, moss does not just grow on the north side of trees, as I had always heard.  So, if you're expecting to use moss to get you out of the woods, think again!

Our other very cool discovery was a fallen tree branch that was bigger than the tree it snapped from.  It must have come down in our recent nasty wind storm.  I was able to nonchalantly point out that the wood turns gray as it is exposed to the weather.

An old bottle, a wayward corn husk, and the always essential pinecones made their way into our collection.

What did we learn from challenge #1?

Even my seven year old tree climbing genius has not discovered everything in YHVH's wonderful world!