Suburban Nature Explorations

Silent Saturday: Lake Chabot

Photos taken April 16th, 2013 Lake Chabot Regional Park

Anyone know what kind of bird this is? I was sitting on a picnic table, waiting for my friend to arrive for our hike, when this beautiful yellow-breasted bird landed on a branch right above me. I wasn’t able to see what the bird looked like from the side or from above, so I don’tContinue reading “Weekly Photo Challenge: Up”

Weekly Photo Challenge: Change (Seed Update)

Some of you requested that I post updates about the growth of the seeds we planted in our root viewer. Here’s what we saw on day eight! Interested in making your own root viewer? Check out the directions here… Kid Science: Make a Seed Viewer. *** Weekly Photo Challenge: Change

Fun! Rope Swing

Photo taken April 13th, 2013

Weekly Photo Challenge: Change

On Friday morning, I noticed a tiny green caterpillar crawling up the stem of a plant in our back yard. Saturday afternoon, my son and I went outside to see what the caterpillar was up to and found it spinning around on a thread, building some kind of nest. Sunday morning, when we went outContinue reading “Weekly Photo Challenge: Change”

Butterfly: Western Tiger Swallowtail

My brother and his wife celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary this weekend with a lovely party in their backyard. This gorgeous butterfly blessed the occasion with a fly through and settled on a flower just long enough to allow me to capture a photograph. Western Tiger Swallowtail Photo taken April 13th, 2013 Pleasanton, California

Observe: Insect Activity

What cool insect, arachnid (spider), or mollusk (snail) activity can you find around your yard? Has your child watched a spider spin a web? How about ants marching along on a mission? What about a snail eating a plant? Give your child the time and space to observe these small creatures in their natural environment…Continue reading “Observe: Insect Activity”

Silent Saturday: Fuzzy

Photo taken April 12th, 2013

Silent Saturday: Busy Bees

Photos taken April 12th, 2013 You may also enjoy: The Bee in the Zucchini

Milkweed: Caterpillar

It this actually a caterpillar crawling up the stem of a milkweed I planted in our backyard? It’s only about a half a centimeter long. But is it a butterfly or a moth? We planted the milkweeds to attract butterflies…. Photos taken April 11th, 2013

Kid Science: Make a Seed Viewer

Seeds… how incredible that plants of all sizes can grow from such a tiny thing. If you’ve gardened with a young child, you’ve witnessed their fascination and wonder at the mystery of plants. To give your child the opportunity to actually witness the growth of a plant from the first roots shooting out of theContinue reading “Kid Science: Make a Seed Viewer”

Weekly Photo Challenge: Color (Purple)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Color. Take two… this time with a focus on purple. Photos taken April 5th, 2013, Blake Garden, Kensington, California Related articles Play! Blake Garden (anaturemom.com) Weekly Photo Challenge: Color (anaturemom.com) Silent Saturday: Blake Garden (anaturemom.com)

Play! Blake Garden

Blake Garden in Kensington may be the best botanic garden in the Bay Area for nature play. A favorite feature for my son is the Create-with-Nature Zone, which is stocked with sticks, rocks, flowers, and other nature items for kids to play and build with. The second best feature here is the bamboo tunnel sculpture. Continue reading “Play! Blake Garden”

Weekly Photo Challenge: Color

Photos taken April 5th, 2013 Blake Garden, Kensington, California *** WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Color

Silent Saturday: Blake Garden

Photos taken April 5th, 2013 Blake Garden, Kensington, California

Play: Lawrence Hall of Science

No visit to the Lawrence Hall of Science is complete without a bit of playtime on the massive DNA Sculpture and on Pheena, the life-size model of a fin whale. Photos taken April 2nd, 2013 Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, California

Llamas: Redwood Regional Park

Ever wanted to learn how to groom, feed, lead, and interact with llamas?? You can take a class through East Bay Regional Parks and take a walk through the redwoods. During our bike ride earlier this week (Kid Bike Ride: Redwood Regional Park), the kids stopped to watch this, a line of people walking withContinue reading “Llamas: Redwood Regional Park”