There were some great surfing photos from Seal Beach that in the Long Beach Press-Telegram and then even more were on the newspaper website. Here’s the photo gallery. Enjoy!
Grandma Sue also writes about activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com – She is the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂
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Nature Activities, Places to Explore, Sport Activity | Tagged: fun, Seal Beach, surf, surfing | 
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Posted by mygrandmasue
If you are in the San Francisco area with your family, a fun adventure awaiting you is the Presidio Habitats exhibition at the Presidio of San Francisco, a 1,491-acre National Historic Landmark and national park site. The FOR-SITE Foundation is partnering with the Presidio Trust to sponsor the exhibit through May 2011, Wed-Sun. See the Walking Map to find the eleven artworks scattered in the northwestern corner of the park. The pdf brochure can be downloaded here. The July 2010 Sunset Magazine had a nice article about it but I could not find it on-line. Here is another Sunset Magazine article about rediscovering the Presidio.
Check out other ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com
by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂
Leave a Comment » | Nature Activities, Places to Explore | Tagged: child, children, family, fun, grandchildren, grandma, grandpa, grandparent, grandson, Green Hour, hiking, National Historic Landmark, National Parks, nature, Presidio, Presidio Habitats, San Francisco | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
Just as Grandpa Ron and I were firing up our computers for a little office work around 8 pm this evening, we had a Quail Alert! Mama Quail was quickly leading about 20 baby quail across the vast expanse of our back patio while Papa Quail waited in the rear of the family to make sure that all were safe. We never saw so many babies with only 2 adults! I ran for my camera!
I quickly got two frenzied clips of the babies. Some stayed huddled on the warm patio facing the setting sun while most darted back and forth between the bird feeder and the huddled group on the patio. Then Mama seemed to look at me and said it was time to go! You will see her briefly toward the end of the clip. Then the babies started darting toward her. So I stopped filming. Then I caught them as they fled away!
Can you do a better job of counting them? How many babies are there?
This is the second video of the baby quail visiting the bird feeder with two adult quail at 8 pm on July 2, 2010 in Reno, NV. They scurried across the patio as fast as their little feet could move! They are so cute! RUN! Babies! RUN!!
More of my blogs mentioning and photographing quails and their babies are here.
Check out ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂
1 Comment | Backyard Activities, Nature Activities, Places to Explore | Tagged: baby quail, bird watching, birdwatching, California Quail, quail, quail babies, quail baby, Reno | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
Last night we caught two new blossoms opening up on our Cactus Orchid – also called Queen of the Night. We missed the first one the night before because we were in San Diego. These two blossoms were hanging way over the balcony, but I got a good shot of them. Here is the picture: 
Here is another informational page by Glenn Rice in Missouri.
Check out my other cactus orchid blog notes on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com 🙂
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Posted by mygrandmasue
The National Wildlife Federation President Larry Schweiger had a great email I want to share with you regarding enjoying nature with the kids (The following is copied directly from the email.):
As a father and a grandfather, I’m always looking for inspiration on how to do more for my family. And so often, I find it in nature.
It’s not always easy to know how to get children outside in nature, or even find the time to do so. Sometimes the weather gets in the way, sometimes competing schedules.
But outside play is so important, even in some ways you might not know. Studies show outdoor time helps children grow lean and strong, ignites imaginations, improves attention spans, decreases aggression and even boosts classroom performance.
That’s why I thought you might appreciate hearing some helpful tips from a few “real life” dads on how to connect with your family in the great outdoors.
* Visit your local garden center. Let your kids pick out their favorite flowers, plan their dream garden or be an imaginary explorer.
* Fly a kite and take advantage of a windy day.
* Start a collection. Help your kids find leaves, rocks, flowers or other artifacts.
* Put on some boots and go splash in the mud on a rainy day.
* Mark out your own backyard nature trail using stones and branches. Have fun identifying the flora, fauna and bugs that inhabit it.
Want even more ideas? Sign the Be Out There Pledge today and you’ll get a lot more tips, information and support for making outdoor play a priority.
Whether you’re a dad yourself or simply have one in your life, take some time out this weekend to experience nature, make some memories and “grow” wild with your family – take the Be Out There Pledge today!
Sincerely,
Larry Schweiger
President and CEO
National Wildlife Federation
Austi and Grandpa Ron Out in the Walker River
Leave a Comment » | Nature Activities, Places to Explore | Tagged: child, children, family, fun, grandchild, grandchildren, grandma, grandpa, grandparent, grandson, Green Hour, kids, nature, Nevada, Places to Go, Sierra Nevada, Walker River | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
Here are some gorgeous tulips in Pella, Iowa! These were all in the Scholte Gardens.
Check out my other blogs at https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com 🙂
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Posted by mygrandmasue
It is so important these days to try to conserve water and one way to do this is to minimize the amount of green lawn you have on your property. The Long Beach Press-Telegraph had a great article with super suggestions by Sandra Barrera, Staff Writer. Check it out! Drought tolerant landscaping and Xeriscape Landscaping help to minimize watering… Here are thoughts from many gardeners throughout America about their favorite drought tolerant plants. High Country Gardens has a whole spectrum of water-wise choices. Here are drought tolerant trees.
Check out more photos and info on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com 🙂
Leave a Comment » | Backyard Activities, Nature Activities | Tagged: desert landscape garden, drought tolerant, Drought Tolerant Gardens, garden, Sandra Barrera | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
Today I discovered this interesting article from National Wildlife Federation magazine called Top Spring Birding Spots. Yes, Spring has sprung –even if Reno is expecting snow tomorrow! Closer to home — We had fun this weekend watching the quail and house finches at the bird feeders. The cottontail bunny family was active, too. The baby is so cute! Kids love to look for birds. They learn so quickly what to look for, too! I have other blogs on this subject. Check here.
Check out more ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂
Leave a Comment » | Nature Activities, Places to Explore | Tagged: birding, birdwatching, child, children, family, fun, grandchild, grandchildren, granddaughter, grandpa, grandparent, grandson, Green Hour, kids, nature, Spring Bird Watching | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
This blog is for Sharon! I found a big leathery cactus leaf in the courtyard of our condo building several years ago and stuck it in some dirt to see if it would grow. It did! It is almost as tall as I am. It is just amazing with it’s huge night-only blossoms though! I never knew its name, though, until Sharon identified it for me. Here are some of my July 2009 photos:
That’s a quarter being held next to the blossom!
Here are 3 of them together.
Here’s how the blossoms twist shut:
Here is a list of videos on youtube of this amazing flower.
I’m always game to stick various (live, not dead) leaves and twigs into dirt to see if they’ll grow. I’ve been lucky to start many of my plants that way! It would be a fun “long-term” experiment to involve kids with – it is certainly a lesson in patience and nurturing, too!
Check out my other blog notes on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com 🙂
1 Comment | Nature Activities | Tagged: cactus flowers, Orchid Cactus, Queen of the Night | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
The Orange County Register has the first articles that I’ve seen this year on the Grunion Run! Samantha Gowan’s blog article was posted on March 11th. Laylan Connelly’s blog article was posted March 29th. Here is a list of California Beaches where you might find the little spawning fish! You can also check out my other blogs for more Grunion information or the http://www.grunion.org site. Play this cute video of 5 year old Emily explaining what a grunion run is! The page has both windows and apple versions.
Explore more at mygrandmasue.wordpress.com 🙂
Leave a Comment » | Nature Activities, Places to Explore | Tagged: child, children, family, fish, fun, grandchild, grandchildren, granddaughter, grandpa, grandparent, grandson, Grunion, Grunion Run, kids, Laylan Connelly, nature, Places to Go, Samantha Gowan, seashore park | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
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