Here are our posts on fun nature study ideas and topics, as well as our random wildlife encounters and how we like to turn those into nature study units on the fly! Every moment around here is a chance to learn something new!
Helping Kids LOVE the Outdoors
It’s no secret that we spend a lot of time outside and love the outdoors. Peruse our Facebook page, Instagram account, or even here at the blog, and almost all our pictures are outside. In the fields, in the woods, at the tree farm…even without structured activities our days are split about 60/40 outside time to inside time, other than school hours. Maybe even 70/30…if the weather is nice on the weekends even 90/10! (Yes, my housework suffers for it!) Here are some of the ways we lever the kiddos … Continue Reading…
Bald Eagle Encounters…Bald Eagle Study Resources
I’m out the door in the morning the same time the boys head to the end of the driveway to catch the school bus. When they get picked up, I head to work. So we’re all heading out the other day and the Cowboy comes racing back in, “Mom, where’s your phone?!” Between my laptop, purse, lunch bag, and coat, I had no idea. He stormed through the house, grabbed it and headed back out. We had a Bald Eagle. In the driveway. I dropped my pile of junk by … Continue Reading…
Being Outside at the Tree Farm All Day…the Daily Farm Adventures {120}
We were outside all day on Saturday, doing some extended yard clean up at the tree farm and taking a family hike. Mr. Fix-It’s father, sister, and family were visiting for the day as well. It surprised me how much the kiddos have grown. I didn’t pack a ton of snacks, no changes of clothes, no extra hat and gloves…of course, we were right around the corner from home! But it’s amazing to think how far along this parenting continuum we’ve come. They each had a bottle of water, an apple, and … Continue Reading…
On the Trail of the Beaver, Part 2…the Daily Farm Adventures {112}
So on Monday I started to share how we spent all of last weekend scrounging through the woods on the tree farm looking for beavers. They’re damaging and flooding out young pine trees–which is the main product on the tree farm. {smile} But our adventure stopped just short of finding the new beaver hut… Well, here’s what we found–not just a den, but an entire new ecosystem! There are three different dams built to create a two-tier pond system. Of course, Coal the Cattle Dog had to immediately jump … Continue Reading…
On the Trail of the Beaver, Part 1…the Daily Farm Adventures {111}
You might think that tree farming is about the easiest farming there is. I did at first. I mean, you’re growing pine trees, and surely they don’t need much supervising…right? Wrong. For crying out loud, sometimes it feels like growing those trees takes more work than raising our human children! {smile} You have to cut, mow, burn, plant, pray for rain…mow, cut, thin, spray…and then the predators…rabbits, mice, rats, voles, disease…apparently everything that doesn’t eat meat loves to eat trees! And now beavers. I wrote before that we’ve found some beaver damage … Continue Reading…
Sign of the Beaver…the Daily Farm Adventures {103}
No, not the book by Elizabeth George Speare (although we like that too!). I’m talking about the real thing. Brown. Wet. Big flat tail. He was here… And here… We’ve got beaver problems at the tree farm. We’re not immediately ones to campaign against the local wildlife. We try to have a live-and-let-live philosophy. We only target wildlife that is specifically damaging our resources. For example, we know there’s coyotes around here–but none have ever bothered our stock, so we don’t mind sharing space with them right now. We’ve also lost chickens, … Continue Reading…
Digging Dogs, Biting Mice…the Daily Farm Adventures {98}
I see the early side of 5:30am a lot during the week. It’s not my favorite time of day. And I firmly believe that if you have to get up while it’s still dark outside that coffee is mandatory. No one else around here–2- or 4-footed–feels the same. So when the Ladybug burst into the house from chores in tears the other day at 6:30 in the morning, my first thought was “Dear Lord, there’s not enough coffee in the world for this job, but could I please get just. … Continue Reading…
Dogs, Bugs, and Muddy Ponds…the Daily Farm Adventures {91}
How do farm kids and farm dogs spend the hot, dirty Virginia summers? Playing outside getting hotter and dirtier! {smile} When I finally got tired of this… And this… And this… We headed out for a walk. I needed a break by then anyway. Cleaning floors in our house is almost more futile than doing laundry or dishes. I don’t even get a one day reprieve. {sigh} So I took a break to get some fresh air with the dogs. Along the way we made sure to get pictures of this… And … Continue Reading…
Farm Dogs, Turkeys, and Snakes…the Daily Farm Adventures {80}
Friends, this blog occasionally suffers from a thing called LIFE, and I’m sorry for that. But I’m back to share some of that LIFE with you, because ya just can’t make this stuff up and I hate for you to miss it if you don’t follow us on Facebook! {smile} Because sometimes we need DIY help. And sometimes we need recipe help. And sometimes we need organizing help. And sometimes we just need a dose of CRAZY to make our own life look normal again. {grin} The munchkins had a … Continue Reading…
Always A Bird Thing Going On…the Daily Farm Adventures {67}
I’m not sure what it is about our kiddos, but they seem to be a magnet for hard-luck cases. Remember the Ladybug’s little bird adventure over the summer? And then there’s the case of the crazy, snuggling chicken (who is still living hale and hearty in the backyard). Well, now the Cowboy (who’s been inside most of the weekend struggling on and off with stomach issues) comes out of the house for ONE MINUTE Saturday evening to check on me working sheep alone–apparently the’re not sure I can handle anything … Continue Reading…
The Night-Stalker…the Daily Farm Adventures {66}
Well, I posted on Monday asking how everyone felt about pictures here on the blog–do you mind my sometimes blurry, sometimes grainy, sometimes shady pictures? Or would you prefer for me to find only good photography to share (which would probably not be my own!!). All the comments and emails I got were “yes, we like your pictures!” so here’s some more! {smile} I mentioned on Monday that we’ve got an owl in the neighborhood that seems to have made himself quite comfortable and is settling in. Well, he’s taken … Continue Reading…
Canadian Visitors…the Daily Farm Adventures {64}
We have some new visitors in the neighborhood. A flock of Canadian geese has taken up residence in our big front field every morning for the last two weeks or so. I’m a little frustrated that most of my pictures are either far away or of them moving away. They don’t get “scared” when we’re around, they just turn and mosey off across the field and all I get are pictures of their tails. It sounds very Fall-ish as they honk on their fly-overs. As usual, everyone else on the farm … Continue Reading…
Wild Turkey Nursery…the Daily Farm Adventures {60}
W have a lot of wild turkey in our area, and managing our field and wood edges carefully encourages them to stick around. We have a local flock that raises two batches of poults a year on the farm. You’ll see a couple hens out there with a passel of babies wandering through the tall grass every morning and evening. The fences and equipment don’t make them nervous. The sheep don’t make them nervous. The cows don’t bother them. The chickens don’t bother them. They just come and go as … Continue Reading…
Farm Dogs and Egg-Eating Skunks…the Daily Farm Adventures {56}
The Cowboy and I were up doing the chores a few weeks ago with the slowly fading odor of skunk whiffing on the humid morning breeze in the feed shed. Other than a quick look around, I didn’t think much of it. We know they’re around. Every month or so, some woodland creature gets too bold or some brave four-footed soul things he can take on a car and the stink will drift around the fields for a few days. {shrug} On to the work at hand. A few days later we’re … Continue Reading…
In Which God Shows Me a Tiny Glimpse…
I had the next post about summer learning plans all planned out…in my head…and ready to be typed up last night. Football practice was even cancelled by the rain, so I had extra time to get the kiddos in bed on time! Then the homework war commenced with the Ladybug. Tears, tantrums, torn papers, broken pencils…40 minutes into a 20 minute assignment she walks up to me and says, “I need to talk to you about something in your bedroom.” Um…ok. How about we talk about it here, in the … Continue Reading…