June Nature Discoveries in Pictures ~ Flowers, Flyers, & More

     As I reflect back over this month, I realize we've seen some "new" things that we'd not noticed before on God's beautiful creation.  Having not previously been much of an outdoor person (I don't like dirt, sweating, or bugs), I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I have enjoyed spending time with the kiddos and my husband outdoors.  With a little effort on our parts, we can see so many things God has put on this earth that will bless our souls.  As the weather has warmed up over the past month or so and due to my allergy to heat (ha ha), it has put a damper on our outdoor adventures.  But I still wanted to share with you the incredible blessings in nature that we have enjoyed during the month of June.

     Previously I had posted  photos here, but they disappeared.  So I will share what we saw - 2 little land snails, a U.C.C. (my own acronym for an Unidentified Creepy Crawly), a swiftly moving green lizard, the little scoundrel that is known as the local cat food eating raccoon, a typically carefree butterfly stuck inside our screened-in porch, a dragonfly, two birds' nests (both discovered by my husband), a stunning periwinkle iris bloom, a variety of daisy blooming, another daisy or daisy-look-alike, a Happy Returns Daylily (this variety happily returns all summer), more gorgeous daylilies, breathtaking blooms of our Crepe Myrtle tree, and a Blue Hydrangea in bloom.

     I really wanted to capture each moment that we discovered something "new."  For me, it was truly a blessing to take notice of God's beautiful creation and know that He loves me enough to share these wonderful creations of His with me.  For God's Word tell us in Romans 1:18-20, "Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." (NIV)  What confirmation that verse should be for all of us of the depth of God's love for all mankind!  Ah.....more of God's little kisses.

Blessings to you!

Unexpected Discoveries

Recently, I heard Barb from http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/ speak on a podcast about expecting the unexpected during nature study. Although our nature study focus right now is flowers of any kind, during one of our most recent outings, we found some unexpected things to research.  Of course, we also found things we expected to find as well, but it was neat to see the unexpected among the expected.  Once we got home, I began a quest in my field guide and on the internet to see if we could identify what we had stumbled upon.

     As you can see, this is a cluster of mushrooms that was probably about 10-12 inches across.  I have no idea how to identify mushrooms so I won't even pretend to be able to.  That is something I've tried to do in the past and found myself frustrated and with no answer.  So if anyone out there knows of a good website where I might find answers to my mushroom questions, please share!  At any rate, it was neat to see this specimen of mushrooms.

     Here is another find.  I assume it is some sort of large mushroom.  It was around a foot in diameter.  You can get an idea of how large it was by comparing it to the shoe seen at the bottom of the photo.  Seeing this intrigued me as I didn't expect to see such a large specimen growing just off the beaten path.  We couldn't miss it!

     We have seen Daisy Fleabane (or Common Fleabane) before and posted a photo recently but this was different.  I'm pretty sure it's an Oxeye Daisy.

     I think this was the most unexpected creature we found.  It's an Oil Beetle (Meloe Impressus), a member of the Blister Beetle family, and we even discovered from our research that it was a male.  The male has a crimp in the antennae which we were able to see when zooming in.  The female lacks that characteristic.  Although it may appear black, it has a dark blue tint to it.  It was a good thing we didn't touch it because it emits a skin-blistering chemical when agitated.  

     I am amazed at God's handiwork in creation.  And as I engage in nature study and really search for things that I've never looked for before, I'm becoming more interested and fascinated with all the different things God placed on this earth that should cause us to praise His name.  Not only are we learning to enjoy God's beautiful creation, especially some things we've never really taken notice of before, we are also getting a little hiking in for exercise along the way.  Ah...more little kisses from God!

Many Blessings!

Life Lessons from the Beaver

     We took another trip to our local state park this week which was especially enjoyable because my husband was able to join us.  That was a special treat!  Almost everywhere we turned we saw the work of a beaver.  It was amazing to see how much work they do to get a dam made.  What perseverance and determination they have - a concept many of us, even adults, don't completely get nowadays!  The bashful beaver or beavers, who remained hidden, must have worked long and hard on this dam.  Their hard work is proof of their tenacity.

  
Further proof of their resolve can be seen in the photos of these trees.

And these are only a couple of examples of the trees that the beaver(s) had worked on.  Here is another example.

     The tree on the right was lodged against limbs of another tree but was only hanging on by a thread at the point of destruction.  At any rate, we can learn much from the beaver and his work ethics.  God must have had much for me to learn over this past year about perseverance.
     What we really went to the park for was a refreshing hike in the woods and to see if we could spot a few more wildflowers.  We saw very few but here are some photos of what we did see.

This is Fire Pink.

These are pictures of the flower of a Tulip Tree (Yellow Poplar).  It is a member of the Magnolia family.  It was quite colorful.

This looked like a miniature iris bloom, possibly Southern Blue Flag.

An Eastern Tent Caterpillar (moth).

Here's my family racing ahead to see what else they could discover and Rae-Rae balancing on one of the beaver's trees.  Our experience in nature, God's beautiful creation, over the past few weeks has been so much more enjoyable than I had expected.  If we look for things to enjoy that God gave us, we can certainly find them!

Enjoying little kisses from God,

We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  Romans 5:3-5 

Appreciating God's Creation

     Today we went to a local state park attempting to find something in nature that interested my kiddos enough to study.  I think more than anything they just wanted to play and explore on their own.  

     What we decided would be a fun study for all of us is flowers of any type, whether in a garden or growing wild.  What ended up being the most fun was searching for the flowers.  Then we'd take snapshots of them and try to see if we could identify them.  So here's what we saw and our stabs at identification.

We think this is a Potato Dandelion (wildflower), a member of the Aster family, but if anyone else knows exactly, please feel free to share.

We are pretty sure these are Wild Blue Phlox (they also grow wild), a member of the Phlox family.  But again, I'm new at this.

   

Rae-Rae is holding a Common Dandelion.

I'm not positive but I think this is Common Fleabane (wildflowers), also a member of the Aster family.

I couldn't find anything that looked enough like these wildflowers to even guess.  Yet they are still beautiful. 

Periwinkle (or Vinca)

This is another annual, like the Periwinkle above, but I don't know what it is.  It was a beautiful, vibrant red.

     I was amazed myself at how many wildflowers we caught a glimpse of when I've never paid much attention to them before.  I guess it goes to show me that we can always see beauty amongst the "weeds"  when we're looking for it which is especially true of everyday life.  Even my 8-yr. old daughter got that from today's nature walk.  As we were driving out of the park, she said, "Thank you Lord for the beautiful flowers!"  Amen to that!

I hope you are also catching glimpses of God's little kisses today!

    

Little Kisses at the Beach

     Last week, my daughters and I made a trip to the beach with my mom and my brother and his family.  It was a last-minute opportunity to enjoy a beach we haven't seen in a while.  And since my hubby said he thought it would be a nice change of scenery for us, we gladly accepted the invitation.

     It was so pleasant at the beach - not too hot and not to cool.  For me, it was just right.  The girls, my two nieces and nephew splashed around in the ocean - the younger four riding on River Rats most of the time we spent at the beach.  There was no end to their energy level.  When they weren't doing that, they were playing in the sand or swimming at the pool.  While digging in the sand, one of my daughters, accidentally I might add, picked up a sand crab without realizing it until after she'd done it.  Another one got stung several times by the jellyfish that seemed so abundant where we were.  We also saw a Blue Heron and some beautiful yellow Hibiscus blooms.  I just sat back and enjoyed spending time with family that I don't see often enough along with the ocean view that God made.  All of these, from spending time with family to enjoying God's beautiful creation, were little kisses from God and I enjoyed them all.

      
I was about ten feet away from this incredible bird when I snapped the camera.

Blessings to you!

More Time Spent in Nature Study

     Today we spent some more time outdoors.  These are the beautiful things we saw.

Blooming Camellia

Kids flying kites & just being kids

Our 2 cats,
Scout & Winchester

and a Tulip Tree bloom (Japanese Magnolia).

     Hope you also experienced little kisses from God today too!

Spring is Here - We Embark Upon Nature Study!

     For some time now, actually for the past couple of years or so, I've really wanted to do outdoor nature study with my children but have never really had that final boost of motivation to actually do it.  Somehow, I recently found a nature study blog, Handbook of Nature Study (see link on the right side of my blog), that finally gave me the push to do it.  Today, we went outside and just walked around.  It wasn't for very long but it was nice to just get out for no other reason than to just observe nature.  God has shared His beautiful world with us - we should enjoy it!  I've been missing out and so have my children.  Not that we never get out of the house - we do - but we don't typically get out solely for that purpose.

     We observed several things today and thought we'd share some photos of what we saw.  Here are the beautiful blooms that caught our eyes:

Burgundy Loropetalums

a cherry tree in full bloom

 a Bradford Pear tree, and a bright Forsythia Yellow/Golden Bell Bush.

     After discussing our beautiful scenery, we've decided to study the blooming cherry tree and acorns over the next few days.  Nature study #1 - here we come!