Hummingbirds

Earlier this week, I determined that we were going to get outside and learn some more things about God's creation especially since we were having nice weather coming up. A couple months ago my mom had bought John some thing to attract hummingbirds and since it was winter time, we just saved them back. When I was trying to come up with something to do I remembered our hummingbird things. John found these things in his workboxes yesterday morning. So we started studying the hummingbird yesterday and then to my surprise in my e-mail today I got a post from Barb saying the next bird she was studying was the hummingbird.



Here John is looking at our Birds of Ohio book and listening to the accompanying CD. We learned the hummingbird doesn't have a call, but they mainly chat at each other.

Gracie bought this book with her own money about birds. We love it! We could hear the humming of their wings on this recording.

Above Gracie is trying to open the feeder and below John is adding water to the hummingbird mixture. When we're out of this, we'll try making out own. Some friends have told us that it's really easy.

Below John has scissors and yarn because the feeder wouldn't hang on our hook so we had to add yarn to it.

LINKS

*Here is a page with facts about a hummingbird honoring the Lord as Creator

*You can find activities and puzzles about hummingbirds here

*We really liked these coloring pages. Just scroll down a bit until you see hummingbird.

*Here's some fun online coloring.

*Beautiful photos of all kinds of hummingbirds

*Here's a yummy looking recipe for a hummingbird cake. We haven't got to make it yet, but we will.

We are really hoping we'll see some hummingbirds at our feeder soon. Don't forget to head to Barb's blog for some other links. The children and I really enjoyed the video of the hummingbirds that she posted plus she'll give you ideas of other things to read to find out more about hummingbirds.

99 Outdoor Things to Do

I saw this on Candace's blog, followed a comment to Debbie's blog, but it all originated with Barb and her hubby. I thought it would be fun to do. I have put a star by the ones that I have done.

1. Make maple syrup.
2. Stand under a redwood/sequoia.
3. Ski down a mountain. (I've skiied down a hill, does that count?)
4. See a saguaro cactus.
5. See an alligator in the wild.
6. Find a shell on a beach. *
7. Skip a rock on a lake. *
8. See a sunrise. *
9. Pick an apple from a tree.
10. Grow a sunflower. (We tried this year, but they didn't come up.)
11. Sleep under the stars in a sleeping bag.*
12. Find the Big Dipper.*
13. Climb a sand dune.
14. Walk in the rain with or without an umbrella. *
15. Find a fossil.
16. Take a photo of the Grand Canyon. (That's my ultimate trip.)
17. Go to the lowest point of North America-Badwater, CA
18. See a raptor fly.
19. Be able to identify ten birds. (I'm workin' on it.)
20. See a mushroom. *
21. Visit a tide pool.
22. Visit a volcano.
23. Feel an earthquake.
24. See a tornado.
25. Experience a hurricane.

26. Catch snow on your tongue. *

27. See a deer in the wild. *

28. Touch a dolphin.

29. Go ice skating on a pond.

30. Go fishing. *

31. Go snorkeling.

32. Whittle a stick.

33. Gather chicken eggs. *

34. Milk a cow or a goat.*

35. Ride a horse. *

36. See a moose.

37. Gather acorns.*

38. Pick berries and eat some.*

39. Watch a lightning storm. *

40. Build a campfire.*

41 Press a flower.*

42. Use binoculars to spot a bird. *

43. Identify five wildflowers. (No, and I'm sorry to say that.)

44. Take a photo of Half Dome.

45. Find a piece of obsidian.

46. See a tumbleweed.

47. See a wild snake.*

48. Watch a spider spin a web. *

49. Climb a tree. (No, I'm too chicken.)

50. Get lost on a hike. *(Yes, and that was on my honeymoon)

51. Watch ants in a colony. *

52. Hatch a butterfly. *

53. Climb a rock. *

54. See the Continental Divide.

55. See the Northern Lights.

56. See a bear in the wild.

57. Dig for worms. *

58. Grow a vegetable and then eat it. *

59. See a bat flying. *

60. Feel a sea star.

61. Swim in the ocean.*

62. See a geyser erupt.

63. Walk in the fog. *

64. Observe a bee.*

65. Find a bird’s nest. *

66. See a beaver’s den.

67. Go whale watching.

68. See a banana slug.

69. Stand on the edge of a cliff.*

70. Blow a dandelion. *

71. Throw a snowball and build a snowman.*

72. Cook an egg on the sidewalk...can you actually do that?

73. See a lightning bug. Or do you call it a firefly?*

74. Visit a cave. *

75. Make a sandcastle. *

76. Hear a cricket. *

77. Catch a frog.

78. Watch for the first star in the evening.*

79. Smell a skunk. *

80. Feel pine sap. *

81. Feed a duck. *

82. Learn to use a compass or GPS.*

83. See a buffalo.

84. Get wet in a waterfall. *

85. Swim in a lake. *

86. Walk on a log. *

87. Feel moss.*

88. Jump in a pile of leaves. *

89. Fly a kite. *

90. Walk barefoot in the mud. *

91. Hear a sea lion bark. *

92. Hear a coyote. *

93. Pan for gold.

94. Crack open a nut. *

95. Go snowshoeing.

96. Feel a cattail. *

97. Smell a pine forest. *

98. Sit under a palm tree.*

99. Walk across a stream on rocks.*