Nature Study Outing :: Color!

We're doing nature study in our yard this week so that we don't spread our cold to our friends, but I'm dreaming about last week's outing, which was sunny and full of color.  We tried a new park in the foothills outside of town. There was an oak-lined trail and a creek, but the real draw was a meadow full of wildflowers...

lupines everywhere!

We did a tick check when we got home because although we don't have many in our area, the kids certainly put that to the test with all their romping in the grasses!  (And is it just me, or does it look like they tried to get as far away from us as they possibly could while still remaining in eyesight? Yep, sounds about right. ;))

We took home a little nosegay...

from left to right: blow-wives, some kind of yellow clover, q-tips, owl's clover, dove lupine, yellow tarweed, yarrow

...and made some comparisons...

both kinds of goosegrass?

...which got laid out for our weekly tray.

I'd like to introduce you to a couple "friends" this week:

Clarkia was a new find for us! Bright magenta with four delicately toothed petals and narrow leaves.

And owl's clover, one of my very favorites.  (It's that flower below on the left, and you can also see it on a previous post.)  It is lovely and complicated--bits of yellow and polka dots and such. I took a closer look at it this week with our new loupe....and realized it is even more complicated up close!

look at those feathery petals!

But although my favorite part was the wildflowers (it always is!), the kids' favorite might have been the insects we encountered. Lines of ants everywhere carrying dozens of these curly bits below back to their holes along the trail.

anyone know what they are? the leftovers of some kind of seed pod?

One boy caught a cricket with his bug sucker (seriously--it's a thing, and it works!), which is a treat around here.  Everyone wanted a peek.

And we saw this gorgeous tiger moth on the way out.  He stayed perfectly still for us for a long while.

Then there were these two, who spend a large part of the day running circles around the house but as soon as we get into big open spaces, walk around holding hands and then plop down to "nature journal."

And the most lovely thing about this outing? All the moms. It's a pleasure to study nature alongside other moms who get it--who are as engaged and enthusiastic as the kids are, who keep nature journals, who aren't afraid to get (a little) dirty.  More about that another time--I have some chatting I want to do here on the blog about Mother Culture and nature study is a big part of that.

Wishing you a bright and colorful weekend!