Stockholm and London

I recently returned from a fabulous trip to Stockholm and London. I created a blog for my photos of each city. The Stockholm photos are done, the London photos are still under construction. Click on the pictures to go to the blogs.

Hepaticas

Today’s nature calendar task:

Search for opening buds of hepaticas.

This task was easy since I have a sharp-lobed hepatica in my garden. The buds are almost open. I think they would be very difficult to find in the wild if they had not opened yet.

A handful of Chickadees and Nuthatches

We returned to the conservation area where we had fed the chickadees two weeks ago. The kids were eager to explore every small side trail leading off the main path. At one point we could hear lots of chirping and singing in the trees. I took out my ziploc bag of birdseed and almost immediately they were on our hands, one after the other in rapid succession.

"But bird-stalking is only to be done upon certain conditions. You must not only be 'most mousy-quiet,' but you must not even let a thought whisper, for if you let yourself think about anything else, the entirely delightful play of bird-life passes by you unobserved; nay, the very bird notes are unheard."

Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1 pg. 90

It is very difficult (impossible) for my children to be 'most mousy-quiet'. The birds were brave and did not seem to mind their constant chatter.

Last time we fed the chickadees. This time we were greatly surprised to have red-breasted nuthatches come on our hands as well!

"He (the nuthatch) was walking head first down the trunk of that tree, picking tiny eggs of insects from the bark and seemingly quite as much at home and quite as unconcerned in that position as if he were right side up."

Burgess Bird Book for children, pg. 220

We had read the chapter on nuthatches from the Burgess Bird Book, but the birds in real life left a greater impression. The kids could really see them crawling down the bark head-first, hiding their seeds in little holes in the trunk.

My 2 1/2 year old was adamant that she did not want a bird to land on her hand. She eventually fell asleep in her stroller and I placed a little bit of birdseed on her knee.

"The chickadees appear in small flocks in the winter and often in company with the nuthatches. The chickadees work on the twigs and ends of branches, while the nuthatches usually mine the bark of the trunk and larger branches, the former hunting insect eggs and the latter, insects tucked away in winter quarters."

Handbook of Nature Study, pg. 68

The nuthatches were more aggressive than the chickadees. We even had two nuthatches on our hand at once occasionally. They were landing on top of my camera and looking at me while I was taking pictures! They ended up with most of the seed, as they would take it and stash it in a crevice in a tree and be right back again. The chickadees, however, would take their seed and eat it immediately.

I suspect that in a few weeks the bugs will be out and the birds will no longer be interested in the food that we have, and we will not be interested in standing around being eaten by blackflies!

For our April nature calendar, we have had some fun tasks in the past few weeks. We have been enjoying the blossoming branches on our kitchen table, we hunted for the elusive skunk cabbage, and I finally managed to make a 'toy windmill'.

This is our second month working on this nature calendar. I am starting to notice that while there is a great variety of activities, there are also some ongoing themes. In March we had a number of days where we looked at how the days were getting longer. April has a collection of activities related to the weather.

I try to post daily on our experiences with this nature calendar, come check out what we are up to!

First bees

Today’s nature calendar task:

Watch for the first bees in search of nectar.

We have seen a few insects on warmer days, and we saw bees on our visit to the garden centre. Our crocuses are out, I should take a closer look to see if there are any bees.

Snakes

Today’s nature calendar task:

Snakes will soon venture from their winter crevices.

We had an April snowstorm at the beginning of this week. I bet the snakes are thinking twice about whether or not they will come out.

We did see a chipmunk the other day. They could make a tasty post-hibernation snack for a large snake.

Transplant seedlings

Today’s nature calendar task:

Transplant indoor seedlings when the second leaves appear.

I think they mean to transplant them into a larger pot, since it is still too cold here to put them outside.

milkweed seedlings awaiting transplant

Our milkweed seeds and our mystery seeds are coming along nicely. Only a few have their second leaves. I am afraid to transplant my seedlings, I'm pretty sure they will die. I'm glad I still have some milkweed seeds left so I can sow them directly in the ground when it is warmer.

Updates on past nature tasks:

April 4th: Build a toy windmill.

After my first disastrous attempt with wood and nails I came up with this much simpler version using a plastic bag. Instead of a windmill or weathervane I decided upon a windsock. I cut out a lid from a plastic container to make a ring. Then I cut a large piece of plastic in a triangle and taped the whole thing together. I tied on a piece of string and put it out on the tree. It works great!

Spring birds

Today’s nature calendar task:

Birds to look for this week or soon: Tree swallow, winter wren, sapsucker, ruby crowned kinglet.

On our hikes I have seen the golden-crowned kinglet, and some unidentified swallows and an unidentified woodpecker (probably a downy).

It has snowed here the last three days and there has been a frenzy at our feeders. We have had a flock of at least 30 goldfinches, plus some house finches, mourning doves, house sparrows, a few chickadees, some juncos, a pair of cardinals and the song sparrow. The red-winged blackbird has also made an appearance.

I am especially enjoying the transformation the goldfinches are making, as they lose their drab winter coats and replace them with the gorgeous bright yellow feathers and the saucy black cap.

Some of the female birds are tricky to identify. Your backyard feeders are a good place to really take a close look. The female house finch is a good example, she's all brown with some stripes on her breast. There are a lot of sparrows that have striped breasts, it is easy to get confused. Slightly larger, but looking an awful lot like the female house finch, is the female red-winged blackbird. She has not a speck of red or black and again, is all brown with a striped breast. The female house sparrow does not have the tell-tale black throat that her mate has, she is all brown but without the striped breast. With a little time, these more difficult birds to identify will also become familiar.

Big dipper

Today’s nature calendar task:

Which way is the big dipper facing at 8 pm?

We have had snow here this week, and the skies have been cloudy. When we have a clear night, we'll go take a look. I found a good book about the big dipper from the Let's Read and Find Out Science series. It is called 'The Big Dipper' by Franklyn M. Branley. It is a good book for younger children, ages 3 to 5, although my 6 1/2 year old enjoyed it too. I also highly recommend the books by H.A. Rey, The Stars, and Find the Constellations. They are very good for older children, perhaps ages 6 and up.

Updates on past nature tasks:

April 4: Build a toy windmill

I attempted this yesterday, and since it involved hammers, nails and a handsaw, it was a project for me, not the kids. After getting very frustrated making a rather pathetic looking weathervane (I am too embarrased to post a photo) I decided I either need to develop some woodworking skills or I should leave all such projects to my husband. He suggested that he teach me how to use power tools. The jury is still out on this nature task.

March 10th: The song sparrow is due.

It often takes a little while for the birds that have arrived to find my backyard. I had heard the song sparrow much earlier, and I saw one on a hike, but yesterday he showed up in my backyard.

I was delighted to see that he had chosen the 'feeder' that I had put out just for him. In the book 'Projects for a Birder's Garden', they suggested putting out a shallow rock, and filling it with birdseed containing millet. They also suggested having a shrub for cover nearby. (Page 3, if you happen to have this book).

I put my rock with the millet next to my scruffy brushpile by a shrub. That's exactly where the song sparrow was!

The photo isn't particularly good. You can see the snowfall we had this week. The song sparrow has a stripey breast with a little 'bow-tie' and the black spot in the middle of his chest.

Wren birdhouse

Today’s nature calendar task:

Build a wren's home for your backyard.

We enjoyed building our bluebird house. I think it took my husband an hour to build. It should be easy to convince him to build us a wren house. He is currently working on a bird bath fountain design using the water pump from our pond.

I have noticed the birds taking dust baths on our deck in the mud the kids left behind from making mud pies. Maybe I'll set up a dust bath station too!

The book Molly suggested has a wren birdhouse design, as well as tons of other backyard bird ideas. It is called 'Projects for the Birder's Garden'. I found a copy at my local library. You can also do a google search on wren birdhouse plans and lots of free designs will come up.

Shrub branches

Today’s nature calendar task:

Place more shrub branches in water in the classroom.

We are on our second set of flowering branches. The first set we tried were some forsythia branches from our backyard. They bloomed a beautiful yellow. We noted that the flowers came out first, and then the leaves.

Currently we have two different shrubs in our vase on the table. The first is from a decorative crab apple. The leaves came out first, and the flowers are just about ready to bloom. The second is a decorative plum. It has small white flowers first, and then the leaves appear.

crabapple blossoms on our kitchen table

My kids have taken a liking to the Red Osier Dogwood shrubs that we see everywhere while we are hiking. The bark is a striking red colour. That will be our next shrub branch cutting. I'll just have to remember to bring my pruning shears on our next hike.

Toy windmill

Today’s nature calendar task:

Make a toy windmill.

I haven't quite figured out how I will do this yet. The picture on the calendar looked like a small weathervane.

Here's an interesting link that has instructions for making your own weather station. It has a straightforward weathervane design. It also has instructions for a rain gauge, which was April 2nd's nature task. I think I'll try that tomorrow.

Update: windsock successfully made, April 9th.

Willow tree cuttings

Today’s nature calendar task:

You may start new willow trees by placing cutting in water.

We happened to do this last fall. Willow branches root very easily in water. We will go and visit the willow at our park and do it again. We didn't plant our willow in our yard, since it would take up the entire space in a few years. I love the long, drooping branches of the willow.

Click here to read about our experience in October growing the willow roots.

Rain gauge

Today’s nature calendar task:

Set up a rain gauge to measure April's rainfall.

We didn't manage to make our rain gauge today. I think I will use a canning jar and put a ruler on the side. I'll need to find a spot in the backyard where the branches from the trees won't be over top of it. It doesn't matter so much just yet since the leaves aren't out, but later on it will. Perhaps we can record our rainfall on the calendar.

Updates from past nature tasks:

March 28th, the skunk cabbage

I have been searching high and low for this flower. I knew it would probably grow somewhere swampy. On our first hike we did not find it at a conservation area we like to visit that had some nice swampy areas.

Then I went online and searched my area for known places that this flower exists. I found two sites, and off we went.

The first place we tried we could not find it. We hiked the trail twice (it was short). We did see a Golden-crowned kinglet though. They are a very tiny bird, they arrive early in the migration season.

Finally, at the second place we found it!

It really is an unusual plant. It is supposed to smell bad, but I did not smell anything. The leaves are just starting to come out. There was a cluster of about four of them in this spot. It might be easier to find them earlier in March, if there was still snow on the ground. They are able to raise the temperature of their surroundings and melt the snow around them.

They are a good size flower. With all the brown leaf litter they were not easy to spot.

Of course, once I had seen one of them I started to realize that they were all over the place. Later in the summer this section will be covered with tall grasses.

There are probably at least 10 plants in this photo. Look for the dark red triangles.

April birds

Today's nature calendar task:

Birds to look for this week or soon: Kingfisher, Loon, Flicker, Vesper Sparrow.

We have heard the flicker calling in the small woods near our house a week or so ago. He has a beautiful laughing call.

Last week we saw a kingfisher swooping over the water at the marsh we visited. He has a very loud and interesting call. The kingfisher dives into the water to catch fish. The one we saw did not dive, but he certainly was looking for fish. It was a delight to see him, he is not a bird I see very often.

I just looked at a photo of the Vesper Sparrow. He looks an awful lot like a female House Finch. I'll have to take a closer look at my field guide to find out how to tell the difference.

The links on the birds listed above will take you to the species accounts at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All about Birds pages. They have lots of information about each bird, good photos, distribution maps, habitat and behavior descriptions. Click on their link to hear the songs of each bird.

Spring birds

Today's nature calendar task:

Look for robin, killdeer, grackle, cowbird, heron, brown creeper, phoebe.

We have seen the robin, killdeer, and grackle so far. On March 1st the nature task was to start a 'bird friends return' calendar. We have the calendar up on our fridge, and whenever we see a new arrival we jot it down. I need to print off a new calendar page for April.

Water your seedlings

Today's nature calendar task:

Be sure that you water your garden seedlings thoroughly as soon as they are dry looking.

We have two sets of seedlings growing right now.

Our milkweed seeds have just sprouted.

Our mystery seedlings have been growing for a week.

I have the seedlings set on the kitchen table. They are taking up valuable space, but if I put them anywhere else I will forget to water them.

March nature calendar highlights

We have been enjoying the activities from the March nature calendar immensely. If you are just beginning to study nature and you don't know where to start, this calendar is very handy. It doesn't take very long to do. It touches on a wide range of subjects, everything from constellations to insects to garden shrubs. It makes you aware of the changes that are happening seasonally. One warning, soon your kitchen will be full of little 'nature projects' that you have on the go!

Here is a sampling of some of the activities we have done this month:

March 2nd: Grow a clump of moss in a soup plate.

We've grown quite fond of our moss. I'm thinking of trying to find it a more permanent home, something more sophisticated than the soup plate. It will probably be around for a while. I am wondering if it will send up spore capsules.

March 5th: Garden shrubs will bloom quickly indoors in water now.

We have enjoyed the forsythia blooms on our kitchen table for weeks now.

March 8th: Get books on attracting birds and birdhouses.

Molly from The Birding Family left a comment about a fabulous book on this subject. It is called "Projects for the Birder's Garden" by Fern Marshall Bradley. It has many great ideas for attracting backyard birds. I have already started a few of them!

March 14th: Observe how the water in a stream wears, carries and deposits soil.

We had a lovely hike to a nearby stream to learn about erosion and the actions of water.

March 20th: From maple sap to maple sugar.

We made our annual trip to the sugar bush and the sap was flowing.

March 22nd: Chart the sunrise, sunset and length of day

We have been recording this information all month and learning about how the length of the day changes in springtime. There has been lots of great learning about this topic, we are certainly enjoying the longer days. It is great to just be aware of how fast the days are getting longer.

There are a number of things that I have had my eyes out for on our nature hikes but have yet to find: tent caterpillar eggs, moth cocoons, frogs eggs, a meadowlark, the song sparrow, the mourning cloak butterfly, and chipmunks. Even though we haven't seen them, it is nice having them in mind so that we keep our eyes out for them.

On our last hike we had a few special treats:

We saw a few fresh trees the local beavers had been working on.

And then the beaver himself swam by!

The chickadees were very friendly that day. We had a day like this in the fall, where they came to eat out of our hands. Of course I did not have my camera then.

All winter we have been calling them but they have not done this again until our hike last week. I pulled out the baggie of black oil sunflower seeds that I had been carrying around in my coat pocket all winter for just such an occasion (yes, I am a crazy nature girl, emphasis on crazy).

This chickadee is looking skeptically at my 2 year old. They would not come to her, which is wise, I think she would probably have shrieked with delight and given the poor bird a panic attack.

If you'd like to join us on our nature calendar adventures, here is a sneak peak at the month of April. I post daily about our experiences with each task. After all the fun that we had in March, I can't wait to see what is in store for us in April!

For today's nature task, click here.

Charting day length

Today's nature calendar task:

Complete the chart started March 15th. What conclusions can you make?

Sunrise: 7:06
Sunset: 7:40
Length of day: 12 hours, 33 minutes

We have been tracking this information for a few weeks now. So far we have only looked at the daily records, I need to put it all together so we can see the changes better. I have a book from the library called "Sunshine makes the seasons" by Franklyn M Branley from the Let's-Read-and-Find-out Science series. It has a great experiment in the back using an orange, a pencil and a flashlight. Franklyn M. Branley has many excellent books about science for kids.

We have learned that the length of the day changes fastest at the spring and fall equinoxes, and slowest at the winter and summer solstices. Since we have passed the spring equinox, the change in the length of day should be starting to slow down until the end of June, where the day length will stay approximately the same for almost 2 weeks.

April sneak peek

Here is a link to the April Nature calendar. These activities have all come from a book called "Natural Science through the Seasons: 100 easy teaching units" by J. A. Partridge. You can always just follow along with me, I post the nature task daily. I will create links as soon as the pages are posted.

April

1st: Birds to look for this week or soon: Kingfisher, Loon, Flicker, Vesper Sparrow.

2nd: Set up a rain gauge to measure April’s rainfall.

3rd: You may start new willow trees by placing cutting in water.

4th: Make a toy windmill.

5th: Place more shrub branches in water in the classroom.

6th:Build a wren’s home for your backyard.

7th: Which way is the big dipper facing at 8 pm?

8th: Birds to look for this week or soon: Tree Swallow, Winter wren, Sapsucker, Ruby crowned kinglet.

9th: Transplant indoor seedlings when the second leaves appear.

10th: Snakes will soon venture from their winter crevices.

11th: Watch for the first bees in search of nectar.

12th: Watch for new, bright green growth on evergreens.

13th: Search for opening buds of hepaticas.

14th: Visit your garden to discover which shrubs leaf out first.

15th: Start a seedling race by planting such seeds as beans, peas, wheat.

16th: Learn to write the music for a chickadee’s song.

17th: Start a diary of a tree to show its rate of blossoming.

18th: What trees and shrubs have been in blossom already?

19th: Collect and plant seeds of maple, oak and other trees.

20th: Visit a creek to look for yellow marsh marigolds.

21st: A stroll in the woods will show you which trees become active first.

22nd: Why do bulbs on the southern slope of a bulb bed grow fastest?

23rd: What lawn weeds have started growth?

24th: Plant a carrot from the cellar to the garden and observe its second year’s growth.

25th: Collect poplar buds. You will enjoy their odor.

26th: Do scales of lilac, horse chestnut and maple become leaves, or are they shed?

27th: Collect snails, dragonfly nymphs, and other water animals for a pond aquarium for your classroom.

28th: Walk again in the woods, what changes since last week?

29th: Start a diary of a pair of birds from nest building time.

30th: Make and set up a bird bath using a garbage pail cover.

Skunk cabbage

Today's nature calendar task:

The first wildflower - the skunk cabbage - a cousin of the calla lily.

The skunk cabbage likes to grow in wet, swampy places. I haven't seen them around here, but that's not to say they aren't there! They are a very unusual looking plant. They are able to raise the temperature of their surroundings. Apparently they smell bad, releasing a scent to attract flies and other bugs that would be attracted to carrion.

Chipmunks

Today's nature calendar task:

The chipmunk comes forth from his burrow.

We don't usually see chipmunks in our area. We tend to see them on camping trips. I have vague recollections of seeing them at the zoo (just running around, not in cages). We will keep our eyes out when we are there next.

Update: first chipmunk seen on April 9th.

Frog's eggs

Today's nature calendar task:

Look for frog's eggs. Watch a few develop in a jar of pond water.

We are heading to a marsh for a nature walk today. We'll take a look for the frog's eggs. It seems like the snow and ice have just melted.

I found a fabulous website with detailed instructions on how to find and care for frog's eggs and the tadpoles they turn into. Click here.

Mourning cloak butterfly

Today's nature calendar task:

Have you seen the mourning cloak butterfly?

I have seen this butterfly on warm spring days in the forest near our house in past years. Today is going to be rainy, so we will look for them on a different day. We'll probably plant our tomatosphere seeds today, from the March 21st nature task.

The mourning cloak is a neat butterfly, because it overwinters as an adult. It has some type of antifreeze in its body. It crawls behind a piece of bark for the winter. Since it is already an adult, it is one of the first butterflies you can see in the spring.

Tree branches in water

Today's nature calendar task:

Place twigs of cherry, apple or plum in water.

I've been enjoying the forsythia that we put in water from March 5th's nature task. I think I'll have to find a new container for the apple and plum, we're not done watching the forsythia yet!

I've found it very interesting how the flowers and leaves are coming out. First the flowers, then the new branches are forming. Not just one leaf has come out, but a series of leaves along the new branch. I suspect that when the flowers die the leaves will come out along the old growth.

We have a nice litte crab apple tree in the backyard, and some ornamental plums. I'll trim a bit of both and put them in water.

Pruning roses

Today's nature calendar task:

Prune back your roses 6 to 8 inches from the ground.

I have only one rose bush, and it is a climbing rose. The rules for pruning climbing roses are different from normal roses, and are a bit confusing, as it depends on which kind of climbing rose you have, and how often it blooms.

I think this year I will build a trellis for this rose, until now I have been tying it to the railing of our porch.

I pruned my climbing rose. The kids watched and pointed out all the thorns. I took off any smaller side branches, and then trimmed 6 inches off the ends of the remaining branches. It looks good.

Day length chart

Today's nature calendar task:

Add to the table started March 15th. What changes? Sun rises? Sun sets? Length of day? Difference?

Sunrise: 7:17
Sunset: 7:33
Length of day: 12 hours, 15 minutes

I discovered that the day we had exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness was not March 20th, the first day of spring, but March 17th. I don't know why that is. It would be neat to graph the changes in day length.

I also looked at June to see how long the longest day would be. It was 15 hours, 26 minutes. At that time, the day length changes very slowly. From June 16th to the 25th, the day length is the same. Right now the day length is increasing by about 3 minutes a day.

Starting garden seeds

Today's nature calendar task:

Start garden seeds indoors.

We started a few seeds this week.

Last week we went to a gardening show. We picked up some free mystery seeds. I had the dish covered with plastic wrap to keep the soil moist and a bit of white mold started to grow. If you've experienced the white mold, and know what to do about it, please leave me a comment!

We also picked up some free milkweed seeds. I had wanted more milkweed in my garden.

We will plant our tomatosphere seeds this week. There are two packages. One package contains regular tomato seeds, and the other package has seeds that have been exposed to a simulated Mars atmosphere.

I'm still planning what to do with my garden this year. I tried some vegetables last year, but my garden is too small and shady. This year I think I'll try a bog garden. I also want to put in a water feature to attract the birds.

Maple syrup

Today's nature calendar task:

From maple sap to maple sugar.

On Monday we visited a local conservation area that runs a sugar bush. We had a lovely day in the forest, and the sap was running! The kids saw some old ways of making maple syrup, as well as the more modern methods.

Last year it was too cold for the sap to be running on the day we went. Not so this year!

They were heating the maple sap in a log using rocks heated in a fire. You had to use the right type of rock or they could explode! They used sticks to lift the rocks out of the fire and drop them into the sap.

The Chickadee had a sample of maple syrup. She savoured every drop. She licked the bottom of the tiny paper cup. I think she contemplated eating the paper cup, but thought better of it.

Winter sleepers

Today's nature calendar task:

List the winter sleepers that have come out. Raccoon? Chipmunk? Bear? Skunk? Groundhog? Bat?

We think we may have seen a racoon up in the fork of a tree, but it also might have been a cat, it was difficult to get a good look. We thought that the bats were probably still sleeping, since there weren't very many bugs around to eat yet.

The Nuthatch felt that the chipmunk, bear, skunk and groundhog were all still asleep based on the fact that he hasn't seen any of them yet. Those bears will be sleeping a long time if that is how the deduces their hibernation patterns.

Raccoons mate in February, so they are probably awake.

Chipmunks are coming out of their hibernation in March.

Bears come out of their dens in March or April. Apparently they are not true hibernators because they can move around when they are dormant.

Skunks are also not true hibernators. They mate in February and March.

Groundhogs emerge in March. They are one of Canada's largest true hibernators.

Bats hibernate until April or early May.

Bluebird

Today's nature calendar task:

Our orchard friend, the bluebird, settles in the new home.

Our bluebird house has been available for occupation for 5 whole days. No one has moved in yet. Our postage-stamp size backyard is also missing an orchard.

I suspect that a starling will probably move in this spring. We have had starlings nest in several unwanted locations in our house. It will be a lot of fun to watch if any bird moves in to our bird house.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today's nature calendar task:

Learn of the shamrock and St. Patrick.

Not too long ago we read about St. Patrick in Trial and Triumph. The Nuthatch liked the part where his enemies tried to kill him twelve times. We haven't learned about the shamrock yet.

Updates on past nature tasks:

The task for March 14th was to observe how a stream carries and deposits soil. Today we finally got out for a hike to the stream.

When we got to the stream it was easy to show the kids how one side had been eroded, and the other side is where the stream had deposited the dirt from further upstream. The could see where the dirt had been taken away from around the roots of the trees.

We threw some sticks in the water to see how the stream was moving faster on the far side, and slower where we were standing.

Then they threw rocks in the water. A lot of rocks. For a long time.

Then they tried to make a dam, my little beavers.

We found some fossils.

And a hawk.

And the hole from a pileated woodpecker in a cedar tree. It was a lovely day.

Meadowlark

We have been following a calendar of daily nature activities that I found at the blog Holy Experience. For my introductory post please click here.

Today's nature calendar task:

It's time for the Meadowlark.

We looked up the Meadowlark in our bird field guide and talked briefly about the fact that they probably live in a meadow. The next time we read the Burgess Bird book I will pick the chapter that has the Meadowlark. I'm not familiar with this bird, it's not one I have seen often.

Updates on past nature tasks:

Feb 28th: Who will see the first robin? We saw our first robin on March 4th. The kids are still very excited every time we see one. This shot is from our walk today.

March 2nd: Grow a clump of moss in a soup plate. Our moss is growing happily. I knew moss would need a lot of water. I watered it and watered it, but it didn't seem any happier than the moss that was still on the ground in the backyard. Finally it dawned on me that what the moss wanted was humidity. So I covered it with a glass bowl, and now it is starting to grow better. A mini terrarium on my table. I suspect that soon we will have lots of these "projects" around our house.

March 5th: Garden shrubs will bloom quickly indoors in water now. Here are our forsythia branches. Aren't they beautiful! The kids were surprised when the buds opened and yellow flowers appeared. They were expecting leaves. Our 'signs of spring' board from March 3rd is in the background.

March 8th: Get books on attracting birds. We did an internet search. One idea we found was to create a brush pile. All I had on hand was the dead stalks from my flowers that I hadn't trimmed over the winter. It looks a bit like a sloppy beaver or muskrat has moved into our yard. When I start pruning our shrubs I'll build a better brush pile. I suspect the gardening magazines will not be knocking on my door any time soon.

March 13th: Make a home for a bluebird. My husband built me a fabulous bird home and mounted it on the tree in our backyard. Now we just have to wait for a bluebird to move in.

As you can see, we have been having lots of nature fun. This nature calendar has been a wonderful tool. Most of the tasks do not take much time to complete, and it has generated a lot of excitement. We have been doing the tasks for a month now, and we are starting to develop quite a collection of projects to observe. I hope you'll join us in our nature calendar adventure!