Handbook of Nature Study Lesson #128 – Milkweed – In which we found – there isn’t any milkweed in our area – unless it has been planted in a private garden – which we couldn’t find. I do know of one place, The Butterfly Pavilion in Elkton, Oregon – they have milkweed and sell the seeds, but they are too far away.

So – we set out in our own yard – to find wildflowers. We were looking for Goldenrod, Asters, Stems with multiple or clusters of flowers/pods/seeds.

We found the saying to be true – A Weed is just a Flower planted where a person does not want it to be. Here is our Display of Wildflowers.

The boys choose the little yellow flowers to identify and learn about. Nate got to drawing.

Bird’s Foot Trefoil, Fabacea Family, Lotus Corniculatus – Similar to the Pea Family, Mentioned in the Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast on page 198 – with the Pea type flowers – so we read through pages 588 –598 of the Handbook of Nature Study regarding Peas, Pods, and Clovers.

Jon completed a coloring page and Notebook page.

Nate completed the Notebooking Page intended for Middle School and High School Nature Notebooking. I changed the “Milkweed” to Bird’s Foot Trefoil on the page provided by Handbook of Nature Study in their e-book this week.

We thought the tiny lil peas were really cute! We learned that this crop is planted to help overcome wind and rain erosion, is good for stock, and puts nitrogen back into the soil. It likes areas that have over 20” of rain, is under 3,500 feet in elevation, likes good soil, and can be in both wet and well draining soil. Which we found – as it grows on the beach at the lake and also on the road. We didn’t find if it was used for food or medicine.

We didn’t have these plants last year, or didn’t notice. We had quite a bit of Queen Anne’s Lace last year, but only 3 plants this year. Nathan also made the observation of the plant swap.

We used the following sites to make our observations and fill out our Notebooking Pages.

http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_loco6.pdf

http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Wildflower/plant-Trefoil-Birds-Foot.html

Join us at The Outdoor Hour – as we Study Nature Close to Home!

I downloaded the “More Nature Study with The Outdoor Hour Challenge for Autumn 2011” that includes the Middle/High School Pages – and as always – I was not disappointed. You can download your e-book or join us each Friday on Barb’s Site.

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