Week 17

Winter can be a challenging time for nature study. You may be experiencing deep snow, biting cold, or heavy rains. This week’s nature study activity is a focused winter sky study.

All or just part of the study can be enjoyed from the warmth and comfort of your home.

With the winter solstice behind us, the days are getting longer and we are moving toward spring. This week we will be studying the sky in greater detail.

In your nature journals, allow a page or two each day to record the following information:

• Date, time, and place.

• Temperature

• Time of sunrise

• Time of sunset

• Precipitation (depth of snowfall can be measured with a ruler, rainfall with a rain gage)

• Weather conditions - write a short description of the weather you are experiencing. Include a sketch of the winter sky and weather. The winter skies feature beautiful subtleties of colour and some quite dramatic sunsets. Do your best to capture the colours you see. Remember, the goal of nature journaling is to capture what we see, to record scientific information, rather than making pleasing and pretty pictures.

READING LIST:

Handbook Of Nature Study:

Rain - 804, 808-14

Snow - 809

Crystals (snowflakes) pages 744, 746, 751, 781, 784, 785, 786, 799, 800, 809, 810, 813

Weather and climate - pages 780-807

The Secret Life Of A Snowflake by Kenneth George Lebbrecht

ISBN-13: 978-0760336762

Eric Sloane’s Weather Book

ISBN-13: 978-0486443577

Weather Forecasting: The Country Way

ISBN-13: 978-0241953068