Our new favorite nature outing is to take a walk together with our cameras. Provide a child with a camera, and he’ll see the world in a different way. Every day while in Yosemite National Park last week, my son begged us to take him outside to photograph the flowers. Obviously, Yosemite naturally calls to be photographed, but we have just as much fun walking … Continue reading Nature Fun for Kids: Take a Photo Walk
Originally posted on Chronicles of a Suburban Nature Mom:
I’ve been entered in the Circle of Mom’s Top 25 Photographer Moms contest. In order to be placed in the top 25, I need your help. Please take a moment to vote.. it will truly only take a few seconds of your time! Click on this link… http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/Top-25-Photographer-Moms-2012 Scroll down to find “A Nature Mom” Click… Continue reading
Our first day in Yosemite, my five-year-old and I took a walk to check out the wildflowers. I was impressed with his enthusiasm. First, he exclaimed, ” Look! Milkweed!!!” Then a bit later, “And Indian Paintbrush!!” These little blue butterflies were fluttering about everywhere. Magical… Continue reading Yosemite… Flowers Everywhere
We’ve been in Yosemite for the past week without Internet access. We’re home now, and I’ll catch up with you all as soon as I can! Hope you had a great week!! This is the view from the top of Sentinel Dome… a great hike to do with kids! Continue reading Ah… Yosemite
We enjoyed a lovely visit with my mom this weekend. A few photos from our walks around the yard… Continue reading Plums, Pomegranates, Play, and More!
Luckily, my son is observant. I would’ve missed this if it weren’t for him. While at my parent’s house over the weekend, my son and I were sent down to the garden to pick a fresh zucchini. I asked my son to look in the plant to see if he could find the best one to pick. While searching, he found a bee. Very cool… … Continue reading The Bee in the Zucchini
The California Towhee family has been hanging out in our backyard for months and months, but I’ve been struggling to capture a photograph of the little guys. They like to hop around on the ground, eating the seeds the other birds have knocked out of the feeder. This is also the bird who ate all the flowers off of our rosemary bush (which is why … Continue reading The California Towhee
Camping out tonight in my parent’s backyard… super fun! Continue reading Good Night…
After spending the morning at the beach (Celebrating the Summer Solstice, Part 1, Shorebird Park, Berkeley ), we headed into the Oakland Hills for an afternoon bike ride at Redwood Regional Park. One of my favorite ways to escape the heat on a hot summer day is to escape into the redwoods! The paved trail here is perfect for kids on bikes, as it’s only … Continue reading Celebrating the Summer Solstice, Part 2, Riding Bikes at Redwood Regional Park
I’ve been entered in the Circle of Mom’s Top 25 Photographer Moms contest. In order to be placed in the top 25, I need your help. Please take a moment to vote.. it will truly only take a few seconds of your time! Click on this link… http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/Top-25-Photographer-Moms-2012 Scroll down to find “A Nature Mom” Click the “thumbs up” symbol next to my blog That’s … Continue reading Please Vote for Me! Top 25 Photographer Moms 2012
We celebrated the Summer Solstice yesterday with two awesome nature outings. The first? Beach play with friends at Shorebird Park in Berkeley. I’ve been wanting to visit this park for a while now, as this is where the famous Adventure Playground (considered by National Geographic to be one of the top ten playgrounds in the U.S.) is located. We didn’t make it to that playground … Continue reading Celebrating the Summer Solstice, Part 1, Shorebird Park, Berkeley
As an alternative to the local park or nature area, one of our favorite places for some quality outdoor playtime is the Oakland Zoo. The weather today was much cooler than expected (in the 70s instead of the 100s, as it was a few days ago in the Bay Area). Perfect weather for a late afternoon visit to the zoo. We like to park in … Continue reading Playtime at the Oakland Zoo
Early yesterday morning, while waiting for the water for my tea to boil, my son brought me to wakefulness by loudly exclaiming… “THE COYOTE! THE COYOTE! MOMMY! GET THE CAMERA! IT’S THE COYOTE!” I had to move fast… Here are my pre-caffeine photos of the coyote hunting for his breakfast on the hill behind our home… You may also enjoy… The Baby Deer Backyard Wildlife… … Continue reading Another Favorite… The Coyote
Butano State Park… I love this place! It’s a short drive from our home in the San Francisco East Bay, as it takes us little over an hour to reach Pescadero. The campground is small, quiet, tucked away in a canyon filled with redwoods. Camping here is an annual tradition for us, and is usually something we like to do early in the summer. It’s … Continue reading Camping in the Redwoods, Butano State Park
As part of our annual summer camping trip to Butano State Park, our tradition is to go strawberry picking at our favorite organic u-pik farm, Swanton Berry Farm, located just south of Pescadero (or north of Santa Cruz). This is an easy day trip from the Bay Area, and great to incorporate into a visit to Ano Nuevo State Park or Pigeon Point Lighthouse. What’s … Continue reading Strawberry Picking Fun! Swanton Berry Farm U-Pik
On our way back to the car from the San Francisco Botanical Garden (see post from yesterday), we took a little detour to visit Stow Lake. We first discovered the lake on a visit to Golden Gate Park a few weeks ago. Now, how did we “discover” a lake that’s been there since 1893? Let alone Golden Gate Park’s largest body of water? We simply … Continue reading Stow Lake, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
My husband, a 5th grade teacher, is now on vacation for the summer. We celebrated the beginning of the season with a family trip to the San Francisco Botanical Garden, located in Golden Gate Park. Neither my husband nor I had been here before, so we were excited to explore. The second Tuesday of each month is free, so that’s when we went! Note that … Continue reading San Francisco Botanical Garden, Golden Gate Park
Originally posted on LEARN FROM NATURE:
Cover via Amazon Three times more children and youth getting outdoors in nature from 2009 to 2011—some good from Children & Nature Network (C&NN) survey! The 2011 Children & Nature Network (C&NN) survey of grassroots leaders of regional, statewide and provincial campaigns shows a three-fold increase in the number of children and youth getting outdoors in nature from 2009… Continue reading Children and Nature USA : Campaigns to Get Children Outdoors Make Progress
I just realized my post yesterday (My Childhood Play… My Love of Nature) was my 100th! I remember only a few months ago, being on post number two, wondering what I’d write about to get me to ten. Now I can’t seem to stop… I’ve been blessed with a wonderful group of readers, and today I’d like to thank those of you who have given … Continue reading Dandelions and Sunshine, Versatility and Love
This is the backyard of my childhood home. These are the places I played as a child, building forts, climbing trees, scaling mountains, running from dinosaurs, becoming a world explorer, digging like an archaeologist, wading in the creek, catching crawdads, watching frogs lay eggs, and observing the development of pollywogs. This was the play of a child falling in love with nature. Are you a … Continue reading My Childhood Play… My Love of Nature
My five-year-old son has a new hobby. Bird watching. About a week or so ago, once a day, he began telling me, “I’m going into the backyard to watch the birds.” Then he’ll proceed to sit quietly, completely still for 20-30 minutes, waiting for birds to appear. Well, a few days ago, he excitedly ran into the house screaming, “Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy… there’s a … Continue reading My Little Birder… Loving the Chickadee!
This morning we attended the 13th Annual Butterfly and Bird Festival, held at Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont. We’ve attended this event the past two years, too, and this just may be my son’s favorite festival. It’s kind of funny, since my son isn’t usually into doing crafty type activities, but he absolutely LOVES the ones offered at this festival. Maybe it’s the theme? … Continue reading Monarchs! Butterfly & Bird Festival, Coyote Hills, Fremont
My mom’s birthday was this week, and this is for her. Happy 81st, Mom! Happy Saturday to everyone else! Continue reading A Saturday Morning
Another great Outdoor Discoveries outing! Today, the naturalist took the kids up the Ringtail Cat Trail into Las Trampas Regional Park for a “beanstalk lunch hike” to learn about vines. This is another of my favorite trails in the area, especially on a hot summer day, as the trail winds above a creek through a beautiful shade-covered canyon. Here are a few of the cool … Continue reading Exploring the Ringtail Cat Trail, Las Trampas, Alamo
Yesterday afternoon, we attended a festival held by the East Bay Regional Park District at Shadow Cliffs in celebration of the Transit 0f Venus. While checking out the sun through the telescopes was pretty cool, the highlight for my son (other than playing in the trees with his friends) was making s’mores in a pizza box solar oven. These ovens can heat up to 200 … Continue reading Solar Oven S’Mores
A favorite rainy day activity… head outside to look for snails! My son calls them his “snail buddies”. What we found yesterday during a rare June rain shower…. Continue reading Search for Snails
The Martin Canyon Creek Trail is my favorite spot to hike in Dublin. It’s even better now that the trail has been cut through to connect with the Dublin Hills Regional Park. Dublin gets pretty hot in the summer, and this is the only place to hike in the city that has shade. The trail used to only be maintained to the city’s edge, making … Continue reading Hiking the Martin Canyon Creek Trail, Dublin, California
It’s been more than a week since we’ve seen our resident turkeys. I don’t know where they go over the summer, but I know they’ll return in the fall! They always do. A pair, on the hill… The one who visits us on our fence each day in the spring and fall… My son and I will look forward to seeing them again in October! Continue reading Farewell, Turkeys!
Yesterday we had the opportunity to see Tony Hawk and other professional skateboarders perform, as part of the opening festivities of the new Tony Hawk Rad Science exhibit at the Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS). All I can say is… it was awesome. Here’s the event description from the LHS website… “Watch Tony Hawk, along with other professional skateboarders, perform an exciting demonstration on a … Continue reading Tony Hawk Event, Rad Science Exhibit, Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley
Did you know boys enjoy tea parties, too? Friday afternoon, my son walked downstairs carrying his tea set and suggested we have a tea party in the backyard. Well, why not? We cleaned up the dishes, I made us some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and he set the table outside. Believe it or not, we spent the next TWO HOURS sitting in the yard, … Continue reading Tea Party!
