100 Days of Science #24-- Signs of Spring

-

 It was really starting to feel like spring was never going to arrive in New England.  We had snow and snow flurries into the middle of April this year and our temperatures were so cold that we weren't even seeing any signs of spring.

It warmed up a day or two here and there but my boys and I were beginning to think that we were going to miss spring altogether this year.  That's when I challenged my boys to find some signs of spring; any signs of spring!


We brainstormed what kinds of things we might see:

  • birds; especially new species we didn't see in winter
  • green sprouts and buds coming up through the ground or on the trees
  • possible flowers we might see
  • sounds of the birds, peep toads, and other things waking up
  • we've been hearing a lot of woodpeckers knocking on the trees
  • pollen collecting on the water or blowing through the air

Then we used the camera to record what we saw and while I took most of these pictures some of the birding ones are all thanks to Evan and his ability to creep up on our bird feeder without scaring the birds away.

A black capped chickadee 

A bird's nest we found in the woods

A pile of frog's eggs

Snakes; a sure sign that warmer weather is arriving (just not a sign I like!)
The sun turtles are back

A busy beaver heading home

A sparrow

We saw two swans on the lake

The first flowers poking up out of the ground!

We have watched male and female cardinal prepare a nest and sneak food from our feeder

The trees are budding!
Brown headed cowbird 

We watched this cardinal and his mate most of the morning one day last week.  He came to the feeder, got food in his beak, and brought it back to her.  We could actually see her take the food out of his beak.  

Red winged blackbird; one of my favorite birds! 

A baby snapping turtle 

Flowers sprouting in the garden

Flowering blooms

Bleeding heart flowers 


We've also seen yellow finches at our feeder too and are hopeful that we can put up our hummingbird feeder real soon.

We're hearing lots of bird calls and peep toads.

We've seen swarms of may flies and noticed a lot of bugs (even ticks) out and about while hiking.

I guess spring is on it's way after all.


Others in this series:

1.  Bernoulli's Principle
2.  Field Trip to the Ecotarium 
3.  Learning About Air Molecules
“Mrs.AOK,

by Angie Ouellette-Tower for http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/ photo YoureTheStarHopLarge_zpsjbrldhcx.jpg






Comments

  1. daisy gurlApril 30, 2018 at 8:09 AM

    We've been enjoying more birds over the last two weeks and our hummer feeder has been quite busy!
    Enjoy the season!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3April 30, 2018 at 4:39 PM

      We just put up our hummingbird feeder yesterday and I'm hoping to see some real soon.

      Delete
  2. Brenda @ Chatting Over ChocolateApril 30, 2018 at 5:34 PM

    So much beauty in this post! We've been really enjoying all the fine feathered friends around this spring too! :) Hope this week is off to a great start for you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sheltie TimesMay 1, 2018 at 8:04 AM

    Our perennial garden is finally feeling brave enough to show itself. No sign of the asparagus yet and that is a bad sign as it only flourishes in the Spring it doesn't like the heat of summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3May 1, 2018 at 4:02 PM

      Yeah we have so many things that would normally be blooming already that I am not even seeing buds on; not sure if we'll have to replant a few things or if I just need to be patient since spring has been so late in getting here. I am afraid that we're going to skip spring altogether and get right into those hot days of summer though.

      Delete
  4. Pieni LintuMay 2, 2018 at 2:48 PM

    Cute nest!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3May 2, 2018 at 4:26 PM

      It was so small! It sparked a great discussion as to what kind of bird might have used it though.

      Delete
  5. Kelleyn RothaermelMay 3, 2018 at 3:11 AM

    Great idea! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3May 3, 2018 at 6:28 AM

      Thanks! I love taking nature photos and I'm trying to pass that on to my boys.

      Delete
  6. Two Tiny HandsMay 6, 2018 at 4:55 AM

    Yay for spring! It's finally arrived and we can enjoy a bit of warmer outside fun. Love that your birds are very different to ours over here in the UK!! ‪Thank you for linking up to the #familyfunlinky‬

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3May 6, 2018 at 10:03 AM

      We have had some really pretty birds around this year; I almost got a picture of a Baltimore Oriole yesterday but he flew away so fast. They're all bright orange and black and really pretty.

      Delete
  7. Helena TheQueenofCollageMay 6, 2018 at 6:33 AM

    It's lovely to see the signs of spring in your country #FamilyFunLinky.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Marilyn LesniakMay 8, 2018 at 11:34 AM

    Congratulations! Your post was my feature pick at #WWBlogHop this week. Visit me at https://www.marilynstreats.com on Tuesday evening to see your feature! All hosts choose their own features from the comments left on their blog so be sure to stop by and see your feaure. I invite you to leave more links to be shared and commented upon. Please be sure to leave your link number or post title so we can be sure to visit!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christmas Crafts for Middle School Students

-
Image
We typically spend the month of December baking lots of holiday treats, trying out some new craft projects (and hopefully turning a few into gifts), watching lots of Christmas movies and reading books about the holiday.

 It's a fun time but as my boys have gotten older it's been a bit harder to find craft projects that are at just the right skill level; not so easy and babyish they shy away from them but not so adult and hard that they struggle.  So I've been looking and trying to find crafts that would meet with the approval of my middle schooler (as well as my younger kids).  Here's a list of crafts we've compiled:


1.  Tin Can Luminaries--These cans from My Happy Crafts are just what I was picturing when I thought of doing this project with the boys.  Festive, easy and fun and they're sure to love any project that requires a hammer!



2.  Decorating Gingerbread Houses-- We decorate a house (or more) each year and it's our annual tradition.  We typically bu…
Read more

Unschooling Ideas for all subjects

-
Image
The boys all piled into my bed for some snuggling and cuddling.  We talked and just enjoyed hanging out with one another for quite a bit.  Once they all started tickling one another, feet were flying and wrestling ensued I decided to sneak out and spend some time on the computer coming up with a plan of activities.



It seems our weeks go best when I have activity ideas already in my mind when the week begins. 

 If we don't get around to them it's not a big deal, but it seems to work best if I have suggestions for some fun learning games and projects.

Typically I only plan enough activities to last us until lunch and then they're on their own for actual unschooling.

I don't force anyone to participate in any lesson or activity;  I suggest things to do that I hope they'll be interested in.

Lately, I've made the mistake of not having ideas at the ready and it seems like we're all floundering for things to do.  I started out trying to make a list of 5 activitie…
Read more

November Pinterest Challenge-- Zero Point WW Taco Soup

-
Image
It's the third Tuesday of the month and time for another Pinterest Challenge!  I love a nice hot soup on a cold day and when I saw this pin for Taco Soup on Pinterest (that was also Weight Watchers friendly!) I just knew I had to give it a try.  All three of my boys actually eat tacos so I thought they might be open to trying the soup as well.



I changed the recipe a bit to fit our tastes and what I had in our pantry.

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground turkey
2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix (I make my own but one store bought packet would work)
2 cups reduced fat beef broth
2 cups water
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with the juice
14.5 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 package frozen corn kernels

I browned the turkey in a skillet and then added all the ingredients to the crock pot and set it on low for the day.  Within just an hour, you could already smell the taco seasoning.


Since the soup was zero points we could have made corn bread or any sort of homemade bread to serv…
Read more

Friday Favorites: Amazon Tour Week

-
Image
We had a pretty good week despite 4 days of rain!  We managed to squeeze in some hiking, a fun field trip, and my husband and I also had a COUPLE of dates-- as in more than one!  How was your week?



Alec and I were out of the house nice and early on Friday for his annual physical.  As soon as we finished up at the doctor's office we headed home, picked up his brothers and headed out to meet up with our friends for a hike.  We had beautiful weather and a wonderful day catching up with friends we only get to see a few times a year. Funny enough we hiked this exact same trail last year on Halloween. We found the squirrels and chipmunks were so cute and playful while storing up nuts for the winter.  The boys played Bears Vs. Babies (a card game from the makers of Exploding Kittens) and had a ball!









I ran a bunch of errands Saturday morning and Alec began a baking marathon.  Making cupcakes, piping chocolate "legs" (explained later in the post I promise!), and candy corn blon…
Read more

Prime Purchases in October

-
Image
Every month when I go to put together this list I head on over to Amazon to remind myself what I've been priming and I'm always a little stunned at the sheer number of orders and items we purchase each month.  Even on months I think I didn't buy much we usually have a lot of orders.  Partly because Amazon is my go to place for shopping for everything and partly because 2 day shipping often sounds better to me than getting in my car and driving to an actual store.  Can you relate?



Here is what we've been buying this month

For the home:

We needed new piping bags-- with all the baking and cake decorating Alec does we go through a lot of them.  We decided to try this brand this time.


Alec lost his retainer case (thankfully not the retainers!) so we bought him a new one. I'm hoping these bright colors will help him keep track of it.

We bought a new puzzle to work on as a family.  I wanted a pretty fall scene and finally settled on this one.

I needed some new lotion as m…
Read more