Goldfinches in spring

American Goldfinch Carduelis tristis

Today I was looking at my backyard birds and I noticed that the goldfinches were changing their winter plumage for their spring and summer look. In the winter their feathers are a drab yellow-green colour, as you can see on the back of this goldfinch in the picture. In the summer they are a bright yellow, and you can see these feathers starting to appear near the bird's face. On the top of its head the black cap feathers are just starting to appear. Soon this goldfinch will have a black cap that is as dark as the black on its wings. Here's a picture of a goldfinch in their full summer plumage. Note that the female and the juvenile do not have the bright yellow and black colouring of the males.

This picture is not as sharp as I would like. I did not use a flash (I think it would have scared the bird away), and I didn't get out my tripod. The shutter speed was just a little too slow to take a hand held photo. When I take a photo I always try to get the shutter speed up to at least 1/90th of a second, otherwise the picture usually turns out a bit blurry from camera shake. I think this one was around 1/50th of a second.

House finch Carpodacus mexicanus

My husband built me this new bird feeder this weekend. He was so pleased when the birds finally started visiting it. One day I'll do a post on the different types of bird feeders that I have in my yard.

After he built the feeder he became more interested in the birds and squirrels in our yard. Unfortunately, he is starting to become involved in the Squirrel Wars. It is a slippery slope to madness.

Why should I identify?

In my brief and rather unsuccessful study of lichens this winter, I started to wonder if it was important to be able to correctly name a particular organism. Even if I managed to figure out that this grey, flaky lichen was Peltigera malacea (since many lichens don't have common names), what difference does it make? Maybe I could just call it 'The Grey, Flaky Lichen', so I could tell it apart from 'The Orange Speckled Lichen'.

Identification is the first step in nature study, perhaps in all fields of learning. Our brains need to attach a name to what we are looking at in order to store details about that particular object.

Last spring I took a 2 week trip to Japan. I could not read any Japanese, but even during that short time period I started to notice some symbols appearing regularly and began to deduce their meaning in the context they were placed. It didn't take too long to figure out that the following symbol meant 'exit'.

Tokyo National Museum Gardens, Japan, March 2007

I think that identifying a species in nature study has a similar effect. Once you are able to give a name to a particular bird or tree, all of a sudden you start to see it everywhere. It doesn't seem to happen the same way if you have not learned the name of the object. I don't find myself thinking "Oh look, there is another one of those trees that I saw in my neighbour's front yard with the pink flowers". Even if I did, my brain has still given that tree a name (The Tree In My Neighbour's Front Yard With the Pink Flowers) in order for me to be able to think about it. Once I identify that tree as a Redbud tree, I can then mentally start to attach more information to that label. I can also look online or in books to learn more about the Redbud tree.

Even common names can get confusing. In one area this plant is called the Trout Lily, but elsewhere it is known as the Dog-Toothed Violet. That is why we have the latin, scientific name for an organism. The scientific name for that plant is always Erythronium americanum, no matter where you are in the world.

Trout Lily Erythronium americanum
Photo taken May 2005

One of my weaknesses in nature study has been that I would identify an organism and leave it at that. Birdwatchers are particularly susceptible to this. We see our bird and check it off the list and go on to look for a new bird we have not seen before. I could identify many birds, but I couldn't tell you very much about them because I had not stopped long enough to observe and learn about them.

My original question to myself was 'Can I skip the identification stage? Can I observe and learn the habits, behaviors and characteristics of an organism without knowing its name?' I think the answer is no, I can't. If it is difficult to identify, such as the lichens, I can make up a name for it, but I cannot learn and think about a species without a name.

Spring flowers

Crocus

My yard is still half covered with snow, but I have spring flowers! This crocus is growing in a sheltered, sunny spot next to the house. The warmth of the sun reflecting off the brick melts the snow first in this corner of the yard. This tiny patch is always the first to bloom.

I hung a piece of black velvet behind the crocus to achieve the smooth black background. I used my macro lens and laid down on the half frozen ground to take the shot. I had to wait until the flower was in the shade to avoid shadows and bright highlights.

Snow drops, Galanthus nivalus

The snowdrops are in a more exposed area. The snow melted just this week, and there they were, already grown and ready to flower. The white background is the snow still surrounding the plants.

When the last of the snow finally melts (which doesn't look like it will be soon according to the weather forecast) it will feel like a long winter has abruptly ended and spring is in full swing.

On the writing of books

-and, after all, it isn't very difficult to write books. Especially if you either write a rotten story in good English or a good story in rotten English, which is as far as most people seem to get nowadays. Don't you agree?

as said by Lord Peter Wimsey, in Dorothy L. Sayers' mystery novel,

Unnatural Death, 1927

Art Lessons for Mommy

The Bluejay, age 2 1/2, photo taken Feb 2007

My four year old son, the Nuthatch, doesn’t paint very often. We haven’t done a lot of art at home. Paint is messy. It takes too much time to clean up. It will get all over his clothes. Excuses, excuses.

A sense of mild panic takes hold of me as I realize the inadequacies of my child’s artistic abilities. I’ll sign him up for art lessons! Problem solved. With a cup of coffee in hand I contentedly flip through the spring issue of the community calendar looking for the perfect program.

I’ve signed him up for his fair share of classes in his short life. First there were the drop in playgroups, then swimming for babies. They were followed by a program to teach your 3 or 4 year old to play soccer, hockey, basketball and tennis in only 9 weeks (yes, all of those sports at the same time). That one was scheduled at 7 o’clock at night. Needless to say it didn’t go very well. The Nuthatch preferred running along the lines on the gym floor to the organized game of floor hockey and there were a few times where he just lay down and refused to get up.

I know I’m not alone in my quest to enroll my child in a variety of programs designed to increase his intelligence, athletic prowess or musical genius. A certain amount of acrobatics are required to get into some of these programs. You must outwit, outplay and outlast all the other savvy mothers. Phone lines are busy, websites slow down, and applications pile up for the under 5 crowd. The line up outside the local Early Years Centre would make you think they had the last ‘Tickle-Me Elmo’ on the planet.

The Nuthatch, September 2007

All these lessons take their toll on our family life. Trying to get the children (we now have three) into the car is often like herding ferrets. Somehow, a 15 minute swimming lesson can take over an hour once you have wrestled the wiggly captives into boots and snowsuits, driven to the pool, changed them into their swimsuits, given the "I’ll be right over there" pep talk and finally performed the entire scenario in reverse after the lesson has finished.

Where did my obsession with these programs come from? It might have started in infancy, when I was bombarded with products for my little ‘genius’ or ‘Einstein’. There were videos, flashcards and cd’s, not to mention the books, toys and computer games. The organized classes were just a natural extension of this developmental mania.

Part of the wonder of childhood is watching your kid take a few simple objects and create a whole world out of them. I’ve watched the Nuthatch create a piping hot gourmet meal using only a pot, a wooden spoon and some potatoes. Then there is the endless joy provided by a large, empty cardboard box. You can sense the possibilities as he circles the box, debating whether this particular box is a pirate ship, a cave full of bats, a desert island or perhaps a medieval castle, complete with imaginary moat and drawbridge.

Perhaps painting with a 4 year old isn’t so complicated. I could just give the Nuthatch some paint and paper and watch what happens. Does his picture have to look like a Renoir to post on the fridge? (I’ve seen some of Picasso’s sculptures, and frankly, I think the Nuthatch could do something similar.) Maybe I could join him, somedays I think painting a copy of ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch might be therapeutic.

The Scream, Edvard Munch, 1893

I often overanalyze this whole parenting thing. The simple things are the best part of childhood, splashing in puddles in the backyard, a pile of broken crayons and some blank paper,building forts with blankets and the dining room chairs. Simplicity is so elusive in our busy lives. I think I’ll skip the art class this time. Pass me the tempera paint please, I can figure it out, all by myself.

I originally wrote this piece about a year ago. Since then, I have realized that your average parent really wants to sign their children up for umpteen programs, and they look at me blankly when I explain how our children are not signed up for anything at all at the moment. We have enjoyed a relaxing year. We have not rushed around to swimming, karate, playgroups or skating lessons. And we have finally had time to play with paint at our own kitchen table.

Squirrel tracks

My driveway seems to be the best place for photographing animal tracks. We had another fresh dusting of snow and I found these tracks this afternoon. This set belongs to a neighbourhood squirrel (most likely a grey squirrel). I have two types of squirrels in my yard, and I don't know how to tell the difference between their tracks.

This squirrel was heading towards the left of the photo. As squirrels run they place their back feet on the ground just in front of where their front feet have been. Rabbits do this as well. If you are trying to differentiate between squirrel and rabbit tracks, you can follow them to see if they lead to the base of a tree and disappear!

You can tell how fast an animal was going by how far apart the sets of tracks are. Close together, the animal was going slowly, farther apart and the animal was running. There is only one set in the photo, the other set was far enough away. I think the squirrel did not want to hang around on my driveway for too long.

Sunny or Overcast?

An excellent photograph depends very much on the quality of light. You can take a great photo whether it is sunny or overcast, what will be different is what you choose as your subject.

Eiffel Tower, Paris, May 2006

Bright sunny days are great for photos that have the sky as the background. Days like these are great for photographing buildings, trees, landscapes. Think big. If there are some interesting clouds in the sky, even better. Photograph the clouds, include them in your composition. If you happen to be at the Eiffel Tower and it is overcast, you can still take the picture to prove you were there, but chances are it won't be the one you send out with your next Christmas card.

Bright days are not very good for taking pictures of flowers or anything else that you want to capture a lot of detail. The bright sun washes out the colours and will make your photo too harsh. Sometimes shadows can be distracting as well. The shadow of the truck does not add anything to this picture. Notice the fresh snow in the background, this picture was taken this afternoon in my backyard. Spring is on its way around here, but it hasn't quite arrived yet.


Cloudy and overcast days provide you with even lighting. On overcast days the sky is dull, grey and boring, so don't put it in your picture. Think small. It is a good day for close ups (bring your tripod). Notice the difference in the colours of the truck. I moved the truck two feet to the left so it was in the shade.

Taking portraits of people is worth its own separate blog post. However, in general it is a good idea to keep people's faces out of the bright sun. I'll write more on that later.

Knowing the weather helps me choose what equipment I should bring when I'm heading out. If it's sunny, I'll want a wide angle lens. On overcast days I'll bring my telephoto lens and my tripod. If it's raining (or still snowing!) I'll bring a large ziploc bag to put my camera in.

Happy Birthday Bach!

Johann Sebastian Bach, March 21st, 1685 - July 28th, 1750

Portrait by Haussman, 1748

We have been enjoying the music of Johann Sebastian Bach for a few months now. Today is his birthday. I informed the Nuthatch of this interesting trivia and he replied quizzically "Isn't he dead?" and went off to figure out how someone who was dead could still have a birthday.

The first thing I did when we started learning about Bach was to play Mr. Bach Comes to Call by Classical Kids whenever we went anywhere in the car. It has a story about a 9 year old girl who is practicing her piano lessons when Mr. Bach appears and tells her about his life. It is interspered with snippets of his music. The CD starts with a countdown to a rocket launch, my boys were hooked after "T-minus 10, 9, 8, . . ."

The next thing I did was choose some of their favorite snippets from the CD and try to find the longer complete pieces. I was particularly enjoying the Gigue from the French Suite No. 5 in G major, so I found a recording of all of them by Glenn Gould. We also listened to some of the Brandenburg Concertos.

I also found a book by Opal Wheeler called 'Sebastian Bach, the Boy from Thuringia'. The Nuthatch enjoyed it, but the Bluejay inevitably fell asleep every time we read it. I think it would be better for slightly older children.

I love Bach's music. There is something mathematical about it that appeals to me. We've been learning about Bach for a few months now, and I suppose it's about time we moved on to Mozart, but I am enjoying Bach so much I can't bring myself to let go and move on. The kids seem just as entranced. I often hear the Bluejay wandering around the house humming the Minuet in G to himself.

If you're not a fan of classical music, one thing to remember is that it takes time to get to know a piece of classical music. When you listen to other types of music, you know right away whether you like a song or not. In pop or rock, the songs are fairly simple and repetitive. With classical music the pieces are complex and your brain will need to listen to it a number of times before you can internalize the song. It grows on you. Before you know it you will be humming the Minuet in G to yourself too.

Squirrel wars

Eastern Grey Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensus

American Red Squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus

There's a battle going on, and it's in my backyard. Fortunately, I'm only involved as a spectator. I hear of those who attempt to outwit the squirrels that feast on their birdfeeders, but I'm not one of them. That is a certain path to frustration, one I'm not willing to take. Around here the squirrels are as welcome to the backyard birdseed as the birds are. I didn't even bat an eyelash when the red squirrel chewed through the lid to the plastic birdseed storage container in the shed, I merely applauded his determination and ingenuity (and plotted to store the seeds in a metal bin).

The squirrel drama involves the Red Squirrel versus the Grey Squirrel (ours are actually black in colour). The red squirrel is only about 2/3 the size of the grey squirrel, but is much more aggressive and routinely chases the black squirrels out of the yard.

The Handbook of Nature Study has a section on squirrels, pgs 233 to 238.

"A squirrel always establishes certain roads to and from his abiding place and almost invariably follows them. Such a path may be entirely in the tree tops,with air bridges from a certain branch of one tree to a certain branch of another, or it may be partially on the ground between trees. I have made notes of these paths in the vicinity of my own home, and have noted that if a squirrel leaves them for exploring, he goes warily; while, when following them, he is quite reckless in his haste." pg. 234

I have noticed that the Red Squirrel always enters my yard by walking along the same part of the fence. I want to observe their paths and see if I can figure out where their 'roads' are through my yard. Apparently the red squirrel's fur colour changes between winter and summer, I'll be watching for that as well this spring.

There are at least 3 Grey squirrels that visit my yard but only one Red squirrel. Now that I know where the Red Squirrel comes into the yard, I noticed that one of the Grey squirrels was standing on the fence along the path the Red squirrel follows. I wondered if he was on sentry duty while the other grey squirrels had a chance to eat. The coats on two of the grey squirrels also have some bare patches and are looking quite ragged, perhaps they are war wounds?

We shall see if the two squirrel species will come to a sort of truce and share my yard, or if one species will win out in the end. We shall also see if the 3 Grey Squirrels will continue to coexist happily or if they will start battling each other for backyard supremacy.

Making Suet for the Birdfeeder

Today we tried making suet for the cage birdfeeder. It was very easy and did not take long. The boys enjoyed helping, they did everything but melt the peanut butter and suet.

I searched around on the internet and found a no melt recipe. I was looking for something that wouldn't melt when the weather gets warmer. It's still cold here, I'll let you know if our concoction melts when the weather warms up. I've always put the cage feeder away in the spring. I'm looking forward to see who visits it later in the season.

I didn't do the math, but I think it was probably a lot cheaper than purchasing the suet cakes. I've placed the tray in the freezer to harden it, and then I'll cut it into 4 cakes and store in the freezer between wax paper until needed. The squirrels are sometimes interested in the suet feeder, so I added some cayenne pepper to the mix to deter them. We'll see how well that works.

I've been stocking up on all my different birdseeds so I will have lots of food available as more birds begin to arrive this spring. We have had a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers visiting our suet feeder recently, and I wanted to have some extra suet cakes on hand for them.

Hairy woodpeckers

Female Hairy Woodpecker, Picoides villosus

Male Hairy Woodpecker, Picoides villosus

This morning there was a great deal of activity in our backyard, and amongst all the visitors was this female Hairy Woodpecker. The male showed up later in the afternoon.

The male has a vivid red patch on the back of the head, but his wife shows no such giddiness; plain black and white are good enough for her. The Handbook of Nature Study pg. 70

I haven't done a good job of keeping my suet feeder full this winter. Just this week I refilled it and was almost instantly treated to visits from the woodpeckers. I purchase the suet refills, but they would be easy to make and I'm sure the kids would enjoy helping me. I could make a batch, freeze them and pull them out as needed. I wonder if I can make a suet mixture that's less likely to melt as the weather gets warmer.

I hadn't figured out how to tell the difference between the Hairy and the Downy woodpecker before today. I searched through my field guides and the internet a bit and discovered that the outer tail feathers of the Downy are white with black spots, and these same feathers on the Hairy are plain white (although apparently this depends which side of North America you are on). If you look closely at the photos above you'll see the white outer tail feathers. I had learned before that the Hairy woodpecker is larger than the Downy, but unless they just happen to be sitting still right next to one another on a tree, I have never found this to be helpful in differentiating between them.

You can also see in the photos how they were using their stiff tails for support. When they are on trees they start at the bottom and work their way up to the top. They don't usually climb back down the tree headfirst, unlike the nuthatch and brown creeper.

They visited the feeder separately today, as we enter the breeding season and they start to build their nest I wonder if they will stay closer together.

Perhaps they have been feasting all winter on the Emerald Ash Borer infestation in our nearby forest.

And who chose the names for these birds anyways? I can't see how the one woodpecker is any 'hairier' than the other, fluffy downy one. I found a fun article on this topic.

Ominous signs

This morning we were walking in the small forest near our house, looking for signs of spring (we didn't find any, they are all covered with snow). The kids found another hollow tree and called me over to take a look.

To a child, a hollow tree is fascinating. It looks like a great place for animals and insects to hide, for birds to build nests. It has lots of possibilities. All of these things are true, however, I am starting to see a different story unfold.

All forests have trees in various stages of growth, some are brand new saplings, others are dead stumps rotting back to the earth. You expect to see some dead trees in a forest. What is becoming worrisome though is the number of trees like the one in the above photo. They have been eaten from the inside out by insects.

There are two main culprits that come to mind, the Asian Longhorn Beetle and the Emerald Ash Borer. Last summer when I was walking through this forest I noticed some unusual contraptions hanging in the trees. When I looked closer, they had a note attached to them stating they were insect traps for a scientific study. I suspect it is the Emerald Ash Borer. I haven't identified the trees we are finding, next time I'm out I'll look a little closer to see if they are ash trees. It's hard without the leaves.

I am wondering what the little forest will look like this spring. If it is the Emerald Ash Borer, they will come in and remove the dead trees. The forest will look very different this year if that is the case.

Homemade Sundial

Materials required: A stick, a cup, and a bright sunny day.

Actually, I didn't even need the stick, the shadow of the tree would have worked just fine. I was soaking up the sun in my window and it dawned on me that the snow would make a great backdrop for a sundial. At noon I placed the cup on the line made by the shadow of the stick. This photo was taken at about 12:30.

The kids have been enjoying checking up on it every now and then. We did a similar activity in the summer when we traced their shadows on the deck using chalk. It was fun to see the shadows lengthening as the day went on.

I'm really searching for any last reasons to enjoy winter before all the snow melts. I prefer having the fresh snow on the ground. When all this beautiful clean white melts we will be left with mud and garbage and brown for a little while before the green new growth of spring arrives.

This second photo was taken at about 2:30 pm. We'll keep tracking it for the rest of the day. It would have been better to have started first thing in the morning. It also would have been better if the snow hadn't been trampled. Both photos were taken with the Canon G7.

Tobogganing

I'm just trying out the video upload feature of blogger. The first video is my 3 yr old enjoying tobogganing on a small hill near our house and the second is my five year old (he was fine at the end where he fell off). Click on the video to select it, and then click on play to watch.

This week I realized we had been tobogganing only once this winter. Considering we have had at least twice as much snow as we usually do for this part of the country, I thought this was terrible. The problem has been what to do with Baby Cookie while the boys are sledding. It was difficult to get her stroller near enough to the toboggan hill. It was also challenging helping the boys drag their sleds to the hill while pushing Cookie in the stroller at the same time.

Also, figuring out which sled works best with which kid has been tricky. We have many many sleds. At the moment, the favorite is the red disc. It is light and fast. On the downside, it has no steering. The old fashioned toboggan is not as fast and is heavy to pull up the hill. We also have a black one that you can steer, but it is tough for these little guys to pull it back up the hill again. We have a plastic carpet that we haven't tried yet, I think the kids will find it frustrating trying to unroll it and sit on it at the same time. Lastly we have a large old fashioned toboggan, also untried this year.

Well, the video uploads worked, but they took a long time. Maybe there's a better, faster way? Perhaps I need to make my videos smaller somehow. The video was taken with my Canon G7.

The Perpetual Cackle

They must be let alone, left to themselves a great deal, to take in what they can of the beauty of earth and heavens; for of the evils of modern education few are worse than this––that the perpetual cackle of his elders leaves the poor child not a moment of time, nor an inch of space, wherein to wonder––and grow.

by Charlotte Mason, Home Education, Vol 1, p. 44

I find it very difficult to avoid constantly cackling at my poor children when we go on our nature walks. Did you see the needles on this tree? They are so soft. Here are some tracks in the snow! Listen, there's a bird calling, did you hear it? Oh, holes in a dead log, maybe some bugs are at work here!

Surely their little minds are crying out to be filled with the knowledge I possess?

No. It does not work that way. They are not cups to be filled, not paper to be written on. Even if they were, the cup eventually overflows when you try to pour more into it, and the original contents are lost. The paper becomes illegible after you've written on it so many times, garbled and confused with words upon words.

So, I must learn not to speak, but to listen. I must learn to wait for when they say "Mom! Come look at this!" And when that moment occurs, shall I jump in with all my facts and information?

No. This is the time for more questions. Why is that interesting? Why do you think it grows there, and not over here? Are there more around, or only one? What does it eat? Why is it that colour, and not a different colour? Not the sort of questions I necessarily know the answer to, perhaps we will find out later, then again, maybe not. Rather, the sort of questions that make us look closer, think about what we have found.

It might not even be the time for questions, but just shared interest and delight in what they have found. Are these questions just more cackling in disguise?

"Education is not the filling of a pail... but the lighting of a fire."

William Butler Yeats

I try to limit myself to sharing only one of my discoveries with them per walk (I can't seem to give up cackling completely). I'm usually received with a blank stare, a disinterested glance, and then they move on to find their own treasures.

However, that little bit of kindling works in their brains until the next nature walk, when they hunt out for themselves the treasure I had pointed out last time. If I had pointed out twenty interesting things on the walk, the discoveries would have been smothered, there would be no air, no space for the ideas to catch fire. They would have remained words, lost as easily as they are found, and they would not have made the magical transformation into ideas.

The above photo was taken on March 3rd, 2008. My five year old has his arm inside a hollow tree, trying to see how far he can reach.

Backyard birds

Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis

We were hit with another winter storm last night. I have three feeders in my backyard, and there is a crowd of birds every time it snows. This morning I had 6 or 7 different species, including this beautiful pair of cardinals. The female is on the left, with more brown than the brightly coloured male on the right.

The kids are interested in trying to tell the difference between the 'red' birds in our backyard. We have house finches, cardinals, and eventually we will have robins later on in the spring. When we were dating, my husband tried to convince me that the ability to identify a robin was not 'common knowledge'. He was so determined he actually took a poll at work! I am certain that my young children will be able to identify robins better than their dad. To his credit, he has come a long way in the past few years and even owns his own pair of binoculars.

My three-year old likes the mourning doves we can see out our sliding glass doors. This one has its feathers fluffed up to keep warm. I don't think I've ever seen a puffier mourning dove.

Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura

Doves are closely related to pigeons, they are both part of the order columbiformes. My inlaws, who live on the other side of the city, get pigeons in their yard. We don't, and I'm not sure why. Apparently, doves build very messy nests. We usually have a pair around, I'd like to find their nest this year and take a look.

A lichen tree!

A number of weeks ago I pointed out some lichen growing on a tree to my three year old. Ever since, he has been very enthusiastic about lichen, running from tree to tree in the forest yelling "A lichen tree! And another lichen tree!" and so on, since nearly every other tree has a least a little bit of lichen growing on it.

I've never tried to identify lichens before, so I thought I would give it a shot. First of all, there are very few field guides to lichens. I managed to find a guide in my library by Mason Hale called "How to Know the Lichens".

The lichen on the tree above is a foliose lichen, which means it is flattened and leaf-like. There are 3 types of lichens, the other two are fructose (shrubby or hair-like) and crustose (crusty). I didn't bring my field guide with me, and I didn't collect any lichen to bring home, so that is as far as I'm going to get today in my identification attempts. Even if I did manage to find out that it was called Parmelia crinita, what does that mean to me? Maybe we will just make up our own names.

The kids don't really need (or care) to be able to identify the lichens. All the brilliant colours they come in have been amazing, we've seen orange, yellow, blue, black and grey lichens. They might be best enjoyed in a nameless, mysterious way.