Nature Study

Overgrown road to the creek.

Catching butterflies. Gulf Frittilaries.

During the fall, this sign in very visible.

Huge Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

Deer track.

If you have followed this blog for any length of time, you have seen pictures from our Nature Study that we do, at a local creek, during school. I usually post the pictures and write a little something and then print off each post to put in the kids Science Notebook.

We had taken a little bit of a break during the summer. It was way too hot for us (me) to go out and observe nature. So, I think it has been at least two months since we have been out there. As we drove in, I asked the kids to look at what had changed since we last were there. And, boy, it was not hard to miss.

The creek was over grown with green! The dirt road was narrow. We could hardly see the yellow bridge sign. The little creek was rushing (one of my favorite sounds.) And it was just teaming with wild life! And one of the things the kids noticed is that there were way more birds this time.

Not only were there birds, there were butterflies, bugs and obviously deer based on the prints we found. It was alive with life! When we pulled in the deer flies kept following the car. The butterflies swirled around us and the greenery was reaching out to grab us. It was summer nature at its finest!

The kids saw caterpillars and wild summer flowers blooming. The noticed the places that they were able to walk before, but couldn't now because it was so over grown. The noticed the bees gathering pollen. And the many Gulf Frittilaries (which can be mistaken for Monarchs) who didn't seem at all afraid of humans. They kids even got to see a big yellow swallowtail.

It was kind of hot, but glad we were able to see nature in it summer finest. . . .