Wordless Wednesday - Outdoor Education

A big Wordless Wednesday welcome.  If this is your first time here, thanks so much for stopping by.  Have a look around.  I write about life, homeschooling and take lots of pictures.  If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, whether it be word-full or wordless, please link up using the linky below.  I like to link up with other Wordless Wednesday blogs too.  Here are a few:
Project Alicia, Five Minutes for Mom, Create with Joy

Baby It Is Cold Outside

5 Reasons to still go out to do a nature study.

When coats and earmuffs are a must, when many animals are hidden away from the cold, when the trees stand barren and the flowers long dead, is it worth going outside to study nature?  I say a hale and hearty Yes!  And here are 5 reasons why:

1. Clearer Vision This is probably my favorite reason.  Things that obscured by foliage and undergrowth become the star on the barren stage of winter.  Things like bird's nests, squirrel's nests, hornets' nests are some examples of those things easily seen in winter that are hidden during the other seasons.
2. Winter Sounds Winter is a different scene to our ears. The enormous quiet of the the snow covered field (or back yard), the blowing of a winter wind, and the creak of frozen tree limbs are all sounds that happen only in the deep cold of winter. 
3. Winter Weather I think winter weather is a wonder.  One could spend a whole month just observing snow. Not to mention all the other ways that precipitation falls from the sky. The freezing and melting that is precipitated (no pun...really) by the changing temperatures. 
4. Snow I know I already mentioned snow under winter weather, but snow in the air and snow on the ground can be two different creatures.  Snow covers and reveals like nothing else.  There is nothing more exciting than coming across foot prints in snow, whether they are squirrel, bird, or just plain old cats, dogs or people. 
5.  A clear head.  You know, sometimes it is good to get outside, even if it is just for a few minutes.  A walk around the block or a frolic in the back yard sometimes is just what it takes to blow out all the cobwebs.  

A Little Disclaimer

As I look out my door this morning at the freezing rain pelting down on the ground cover of snow, I am forced to admit that sometimes the weather is just too bad. (Although I will tell you that we did go stand on the porch for a couple minutes to admire what the freezing rain was doing to my bushes and the trees.)

Remember:

• Use common sense when going outside in cold weather. 
• Dress warmly in layers, keeping exposed skin to a minimum.
• Know the symptoms and how to treat frostbite and hypothermia 

What is your favorite reason to venture outside in the winter for nature study?

Happy Valentine's Day

Morning Moon - 10 -

Tree - 7 -

The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky. 

{Antoine de Saint-Exupéry}

Thistle - 4 -

Yes it is Wordless Wednesday {if you use words that is ok too}.  Link up using the handy linky tools below.

For even more Wordless excitement check out these other WW:

Berry - 3 -

Overcome the notion that you must be regular.  It robs you of the chance to be extraordinary.

{Uta Hagen}

Wordish Wednesday - butterfly

Zippy was collecting leaves for her leaf collection.  She is doing one as a school project.  On the edge of the arboretum there is this field of prairie plants.  I saw this butterfly just as it landed on the flower, a moment later it was fluttering off again. I just love the yellow against the purple flower.

Did you take a great photo this week?  Link up!  Use the handy linky below.  Your photo can have words...or not.

For even more Wordless excitement check out these other WW:

Wordish Wednesday - Great Lakes

Great Lakes Sunset

The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man. 

~Author Unknown