Mama Ann’s dogwood
Watching dogwoods turn from white and pink… into their full summer dress…
Visiting Mama Ann a couple of weeks ago when all was in full bloom…
Exclaiming over Queen Anne’s lace on the side of the road on the way to church…
Stopping to take a photo of a thistle…
Making mud puddles. Noticing new blossoms on the oak leaf hydrangea. Spotting wildflowers, creatures, insects, bees!
Irises all around – grand and in their full glory. Watching videos from links in our Spring More Nature Study ebook and studying up close the intricate design.
Wildflowers and everything outside on Easter. A poppy and bachelor’s button.
Spring birds. Robins, as if on on cue, start to frequent our yard the week of the American robin outdoor hour challenge. They bathe in the mud puddles from our spring break plastic pool. They pull worms diligently.
The children and I sketch with pastels. The orange and reds make almost a perfect match of his red breast. Others have noticed a wren, towhees and brown-headed cowbirds. We listen long to the sweet call of a Carolina wren.
We get down close and notice some ants. We stand tall and soak up the sun and brilliant blue skies.
Even when the sun sets we can’t help but notice. Moon and Venus.
It’s a delight. Spring has definitely sprung.
Many thanks to Barb-Harmony Art Mom and her Handbook of Nature Study Outdoor Hour Challenges. For the prompts, the tools – and for helping us build the growing excitement to learn more.
Angie Wright says
April 12, 2012 at 7:19 PMGreat Nature Observations! We also did the pastel Robin Creations yesterday. Looks like alot of great outdoor time!
Barb-Harmony Art Mom says
April 13, 2012 at 9:01 AMThis is like four nature studies in one big entry: robin, iris, poppy, and dogwood. What says spring more than that?
I love the image with the butterfly and bees on the flowers…wow! We are just dreaming of that scene right now here in our part of the world….I will enjoy an early spring preview through your blog. It is cheering me up on this rather cold and very rainy day.
We do not have any irises in our yard but our neighbor has about a thousand. I should ask if I can divide some out and put them along my border like yours…pretty. Thanks for sharing your spring.
Hodgepodgemom says
April 13, 2012 at 9:05 AMYou should definitely ask your neighbor for some irises! And, yes, one pretty red poppy over at my aunt and uncle’s house on Easter! Those bees and the butterfly were right out our family room window. The bees are loving those little daisies. We had to move a patch of them out of the way of the mower but Littlest Girl also created a border and made it her own garden. Thrilled with the bees!
Heather says
April 30, 2012 at 7:51 PMI loved these photos, esp. your robin study. I see a book laying open in the background, would you be able to share the title of that book? Thank you for sharing your life with us.
Hodgepodgemom says
April 30, 2012 at 8:47 PMHeather, thank you! Yes, that is our Backyard Birdsong Guide for the Eastern U.S. It looks like it is currently out of print. I found it on Amazon but it is expensive! http://www.amazon.com/The-Backyard-Birdsong-Guide-Eastern/dp/B003B3NVX6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335836622&sr=1-1 It is our favorite because you can press a button and listen to the bird calls too. But you could use another bird field guide and then listen online to bird calls at Cornell: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Page.aspx?pid=1478
Heather says
May 2, 2012 at 5:50 AMThank you! It looks wonderful! We do use the Cornell bird calls too. Will be tracking down a copy for us. Thanks again for responding!
Bethany says
May 2, 2012 at 11:48 PMOh, I simply love the purple of those irises and we are definitely doing robin pastels soon.
Zonnah says
May 10, 2012 at 12:44 AM“It’s beautiful in my back yard” – That is so sweet 🙂