Dancing With Dandelions

Pictures...

2008-05-27T07:08:00.008-05:00

My Bug Guy

Thane by the Stones River at Barfield Crescent Park

Magnus at the Fiery Gizzard

"Leaves of three...let them be"

Couchville Lake

'Boro Wild...Water Habitats

2008-04-17T16:01:00.008-05:00

Our local nature center's program today was about different things you can find in different types of water habitats (ie, ponds, rivers, lakes, ect.).

We hiked down to the Stones River, which also runs about 30 yards from our front door, to see what we could find.
We saw lots of minnows. The kids enjoyed trying to catch them.

We saw lots of snails.

We saw a craw fish.

I hope there are programs like these in the area we are moving to. They have been a great resource for us.

Fall Creek Falls, TN

2008-04-13T08:08:00.008-05:00

This past week we went camping with some friends in their 32 ft. motor home. You can read about it here on my other blog. I took a lot of great pictures and wanted to share some more of them here.

Bird Habitat

2008-04-04T13:22:00.005-05:00

I have been wanting to create a bird habitat in our yard for quite some time. It's no secret that I love birds and enjoy watching them and listening to them. We have had bird feeders stocked with seed and get many visitors. It's hard to set it up the way I would like since we live in an apartment and don't have an outdoor space to call our own. However, I have tried and this is what we have...

We've staged it outside the boy's window so we could view them without disturbing them. The feeders hanging from the fence are ones the boys made. We stock our feeder with sunflower seeds to attract my favorite bird, the Cardinal. The blue tray on the ground is our bird bath. The red bag full of stuff hanging from the feeder is full of material birds can use in the construction of their nests. Barb at Heart of Harmony posted this idea on her site. I would like to set up some bird houses, but since we are moving, I would have to take them with me and I would hate to do that to the birds.

Oh, and I have to share a success story with you. As I mentioned, we get a lot of visitors to our feeder. For the past week, I have been trying to photograph two house finches, a male and a female, who feast together every morning. I finally got them!

Family Hike

2008-04-04T12:31:00.013-05:00

Last Sunday, after it had rained, we slipped on our hiking boots, pack some snacks, and headed to the local park. We had the trail all to ourselves, with the exception of many millipedes.

No hike is complete without Dad telling a story of some sort. The boys requested a retelling of one of Frodo and Sam's adventures from The Lord of The Rings. Complete with voices, I might add...and he is good at them!

Once we came near the river we had to stop and take a break.

Here is my real life Indiana Jones...

And here is me...

Oh, and we found a Gnome Home and what appears to be a Gnome Cathedral!

If you look closely, and use your imagination, you will notice the arched doorway they entered through. Unfortunately, due to the roof collapsing, it is no longer used.

'Boro Wild...Attracting Wildlife to Your Yard

2008-04-04T12:03:00.008-05:00

Our local nature center's 'Boro Wild program last Thursday was about attracting wildlife to your yard. This topic is of great interest to me because I enjoy watching wildlife and particularly enjoy having it in my own comfortable surroundings. Someday when I have a yard to call my own, I hope to have several different "habitats" to attract animals.

This week they talked about attracting toads. Toads are great to have around especially if you have a garden. They eat bugs that are harmful to your plants. They need to have a shady spot to hang out during the day to keep them cool, as well as a source of water they are able to soak in. So, the boys (and their friends) made "toad abodes".

During our hike, the instructor shared some really good advice that I wanted to pass on. We like to turn over rocks and look under logs for insects and animals. She mentioned that when rolling over a log to check for living things, to always roll it towards you and make sure that no one is on the other side. That way if there is a snake or another harmful animal, it will have a way to escape and not attack you out of fear. I had never thought of that and am very glad to have that advice. As much as I love snakes, I still want to keep my distance just in case.

Once we got home we set to work establishing our toad habitat. We found a nice shady spot under a bush, propped one side of the abodes on a rock so the toads could get in, and set out a large enough source of water so they could soak.

We don't have any residents yet, but we are hopeful.

Nature Detectives

2008-03-27T10:53:00.004-05:00

Let me just say that I am glad we did not pay for the program today. It was a complete waste of time and energy. Very disappointing. We basically did Ms. Anne's work for her. The paved trail has markers along the side that lists and points to different trees in the woods. They have two sets of "cards"...one for Autumn and one showing the characteristics of that tree for summer. We walked along the paved trail and switched out the signs. No lesson. No nothin'. I did, however get some good pictures, the boys did get outside, and they got to put into practice: "Righty tighty, lefty loosey", so I guess it wasn't a total waste of time.

We'll just have to wait and see what the program, 'Boro Wild, is like today...

Nature Detectives

2008-03-18T19:11:00.003-05:00

The boys participated in a program at our local nature center today. This program is set up to teach the kids how to look for things in nature. The instructor took to kids on an hour long hike playing "I Spy". She would say, "I spy something Mother Nature's fury created." Magnus found it right away...

(This log was struck by lightening)

Or, "I Spy something that looks like a dull green sponge."

She called this "Reindeer Moss".

She gave other clues to things that made to kids think about where to look. She is trying to get them to become familiar with their surroundings. These programs are invaluable. Here are some more pictures of our hike...

The "Boro Wild

2008-03-14T13:31:00.001-05:00

We have some great nature programs organized and taught by the local nature center where we live. On Thursdays we attend a program for homeschoolers called The 'Boro Wild. This program is concentrating on habitats. The class is 1 1/2 hours long and includes teaching (not done by me!), an activity, and a hike to put our new knowledge to use. This past Thursday we discussed the four things needed within every habitat...shelter, food, water, and space...and how those pertained to backyard habitats. For our hike and activity, we walked around the Nature Center and looked for those things. Here are some pictures...

We are very fortunate to have programs like these offered in our area. We do not take them for granted yet take advantage of them when we can. There is also a Nature Detectives program meeting on Tuesdays that we will attend when swim lessons don't coincide and on Wednesdays we may go help out with the butterfly garden. I encourage you to try and locate programs like these where you live. The kids enjoy them and you get a break from teaching!

Loving Nature Our Way

2008-03-05T14:03:00.000-06:00

The last few weeks our house has been buzzing with talk of nature. This, however, is not too out of the ordinary for us since we like to hike, feed the birds, throw rocks in the water, look for signs of wildlife, ect. What makes this different is it has been constant. A constant stream of questions. A constant pull to be outside observing and experiencing God's creation. A constant desire to learn more. It's fantastic! I talked more in detail about this on my other blog, King Alfred Academy, if you would like to read about it.

I am going to continue blogging our Green Hour Challenges and other nature things at King Alfred Academy and use this for all the "over flow". The purpose of this blog is to show more pictures from our nature walks and to go into more detail about things we encounter. So be sure to check both places to read about our adventures!

So without further ado, enjoy these pictures taken during a hike at Radnor Lake in Nashville.

There are lots of deer in this park and since there are so many people who visit, they are pretty tame. These guys didn't hesitate walking across our path.

The boys found a large vine and pretended to be Tarzan.

This is the lake. It's full of ducks, geese, beavers, turtles, and even otters!