I am finally able to spend the time required to work on this part of your instruction. The teaching and especially the videos are very informative and I am enjoying it tremendously. I am currently spending a week at our condo in Breckenridge, CO and it is very cold and snowy, so I chose my sit spot indoors, sitting on the arm of the sofa just inside the sliding door to the deck. My drawing is what I viewed. I noticed the uniqueness of the ice cycles which had become very smooth and thick at the top as many individual cycles were joined just under the overhang. The light coming through them at 3:00 p.m. was subtle and I was unable to capture the sparkle of the edges which caught the light. The lodge pole pines behind were tall and bare with the high branches behind the ice cycles tufted with fresh snow. It is really breathtakingly beautiful. It is very still since the wind is not blowing, and the sun has recently come out highlighting the fresh snow. Concentrating on the cycles, I think I would have noticed if there had been any birds passing, but it seemed quiet to me from my position.  I tried to use some of the drawing techniques which you presented at the beginning of these lessons, but I realize this is a very difficult subject to draw. I wished that I had used masque and watercolor instead.

I chose just to sit at the window in my den, which looks out onto my back yard. It is only -5°C here today - which is very warm; last week it was in the -20 to 25°C range most days. It is also completely overcast, and there is virtually no wind. I had low hopes for what I would be able to observe.  I had seen a red squirrel earlier in the day, as well as the rabbit that lives under our deck; but, no wildlife at all for the 1/2 h or so that I sat at the window. This dearth of activity forced me to really look. I observed two interesting things: 1) the dead crab apples that are still hanging on my tree are relatively evenly distributed; although, perhaps less densely on the north side of the tree. Possibly because the wind in this area blows predominantly from the NW most times of the year?? Contrarily, the few remaining bunches of seeds still hanging on my Manitoba Maple are only located on the north side of the tree. I couldn't think of an explanation for this one, except that I think the seeds have predominantly been stripped off the tree by said local red squirrel. Perhaps she left more on the north side because it is windier and makes foraging on those branches more precarious?? No clue. Interesting to try to reason through it though!

We have south facing windows which overlook a bird feeder and a place where we feed deer. At noon a deer approached the apples so I stayed inside and used this as my "sit spot". Later another deer came out and joined it. I was able to note their different appearance and behaviour. In the afternoon I moved outside (snow covered ground, 0 degrees and overcast)where I could observe both the feeder and the apples. Outside you could use your senses so much more fully. The chickadees where particularly chatty. I thought that writing up observations would take all the time, but somehow time slowed and I was able to sketch some trees and a bits of a bird. The trees I wanted to identify because I had wondered what the deer were eating besides the apples. Several blue jays came to the feeder and as I started to sketch their outstanding features as I noticed that not all were the same. Observing the shape of the birds' tails and the markings was the "outside of the box" for me. For example, it was hard to identify the colours of one bird because the overcast weather made colours indistinct. Instead I noted its size, bars on the wings and distance it kept from me. Observations certainly do lead to more questions!

Here is my youngest son's sit spot...not very much there but he's still learning to enjoy adding to his notebook as he much rather just play in nature. Then my older son's sit spot journal entry, I love the these he's noticing! Finally, mine. I am looking forward to using this technique more when the weather starts warming and we can see more animals then right now in the winter.

I am in Florida for a couple of months.  The back of our condo is quite small and there are few  birds that come  by though they are regular. There are a couple dozen different species around the neighborhood retention ponds and I get to see them every day. I do have a sit spot at home in Indiana where I have a couple of dozen bird feeders year round and thus lots of birds every day.  The tree in the first picture is directly out back here - on the other side of the retaining wall.  When the local Gnat-catchers and Palm Warblers come by, this is where they forage for insects.  They don't stay long though and they certainly don't stay still.  But I enjoy listening to them and to all the others that I can hear but not see.

I'm new to this course, having just begun on January 6, 2020. I'm enjoying the course work and also the work of others. I can tell how involved everyone is in what they're doing by the great results. I see something worth noting in all of these posts! Thank you!

Sketching from a sit spot was so much fun! Prior to this course, I often wished I could sketch and draw my field observations, but lacked the confidence to try. Though I need a lot of practice, sketching really enhanced the experience for me; it was my “ outside of the box”.  Counting and tallying species comes easily, but interpreting behaviors is more difficult for me.    

I went on an early morning first day hike. I used my photos to record what I observed and later at home recorded these in my journal. I could hear the black capped chickadees and saw several in the forest.

I recorded some observations and findings from a local walk around some ponds, local nature trail. I just used pencil and pen for these drawings. I was trying out some different styles to record where I found things, measurement, taxonomy, etc. I am not completely pleased with the result but I think it was a good experiment for me. I am excited to keep trying in this direction. The walk I was on is in Colorado front range, Fort Collins to be exact. The trail goes through a prarie/field habitat with ponds. You see prairie dog colonies, rabbits, blue herons, Canadian Geese, hawks - evidence of nocturnal animals like racoons, owls, etc. On this walk I found a prairie dog skull, dried plants like thistles and tracks preserved in the mud which I attempted to draw. the observations that were easy were the tracks in the mud, the various plants and finding things like the skull. What wasn't easy for me was thinking about it scientifically - I tend to go to beauty factor and awe first before breaking it down to taxonomy and measurement. I played with some journal techniques - I thought it was fun - lots to learn. I am trying to figure out how to organize the page so that it doesn't look so messy and how to organize my writing.  

Today I walked out of my house toward the pond in the center of our complex and spent about 20 minutes from leaving the house to getting to a sit spot to observe. I must say I enjoyed this activity more than I imagined I would. I have taken time to do this before but without a journal. I started seeing, hearing and observing things as soon as I left the house. I was very surprised to have a small insect land on my sketch book in these first weeks of January in the Northeast. As I sat I was treated to see a bird who perched on top of a dormant sapling and got a good look at it as it sat vert quietly, fully turned in my direction. I think it was a Blue Bird because I saw two circular rust colored circles on each side of the breast. I have seen both Blue Birds and Barn Swallows here but I could not find a picture with a Barn Swallow having markings like this. (With this being winter, bird colors will be muted.) But I was so happy to see all that I saw and it spurred me on to wanting to find out more about this particular bird. I would have sat longer but I got cold!! I use this technique with my AP Enviro Sci class. I am having them read and reproduce a nature journal along the lines of Sand County Almanac since out campus is very green and we always come back with a refreshed and re-energized attitude. My question; I find that my sketches are very rudimentary in the outdoors but when I bring things back to look at more closely, my sketches are more realistic. Some of these nature journals I have viewed here are works of art.........I find it hard to think some of these more elegant journals are all done in the field....is this possible???? Or do people set up the outline and then go back to add the color later??? I just find it awesome if this is something they do in a sit spot.

I found visual details easiest to note.  It was early morning, and I was recording observations from inside.  Birds and animals I  noted were mostly quiet.

We are camping beside a marsh and as I walked to look at the water I spotted a decomposing tree with beautiful pale shelf fungi growing on it.  As I sketched I could hear the birds in the area and unfortunately, the cars on a road in the distance.  I am definitely challenged by trying to draw nature in an accurate way. It was great to see the new growth on the dead tree! Nature never quits!

I chose my dining room as my sit spot. It was interesting to observe familiar objects more closely. Drawing the reflections in my salt grinder was a new experience and so was drawing a leafy plant. I thought I might get bored but the time flew by. Both the drawing challenges and the discovery of new shapes were quite captivating.

I thought I went out too late at dusk but I did get to watch 2 hummingbirds trade dinner time at the feeder. Dark fell quickly so I used photos I took of them last year. I was excited to use some texturing tools I recently learned. They move so fast that it took a camera to capture the details I didn’t see otherwise like tiny yellow feathers & pollen coating a long black beak. Chris Jonientz

Observation by MGB from inside home looking  through large south window. _3C today ,light S wind ...white spruce trees swaying in the breeze . Sky partly cloudy with clear blue background . 3 Black capped chickadees at feeder ..grab a sunflower chip and fly to mountain ash the feed ...seed held in claw and pecked at to devour . All trees in "my forest"  covered with hoar frost . Black billed Magpie looking for seed spillage below feeder ...skitsy ..flies away . Red Squirrel perches on art sculpture  surveying his territory ..( constantly driving bird from feeders !) ..a balmy day in Yukon.

Because of the cold weather, I sat at my desk inside. It was fun to have inside sensations while I observed outside scenery. I recorded whatever occurred to me in columns ...each listed with a different sense. When I was done, it was great to realize that my music was accompanying the spitting snow. There were no birds at my feeder or at any level in my scenery. I wonder if they naturally take shelter when the snow starts or if they are resting at this time of day? When I do a sit spot....wherever it is, I will remember to ask questions about what I am sensing.

A sit spot in southeastern Arizona, sacaton grass, mesquite scrub a visiting harrier hawk with the Huachuca mountains in the distance.  It was a beautiful day to draw.  I added the color later.  Not much activity from animals in the early afternoon but the hawk fly by was a big plus.  These are very familiar plants for me and I had to shift things to fit them all on the page.  I think it is mostly successful but I may work it a bit more.  Hard to know when to stop.

I found many orange and black caterpillars ( aprox. 3 cm long) on my avocado tree. They were eating the leaves and have four  long hairs on their heads and tails

I enjoyed taking the time to contemplate my surroundings. This was a good lesson in how to get the most from your time outdoors.

It was a great exercise to get into a meditative mood where the senses were amplified. Unfortunately, my sit-spot, although great for drawing ducks, had a little too much river traffic and could never deliver enough silence to allow nature´s noises to come alive. The boats drowned the ducks´ quack, the leaves´rustle, the sound of water hitting  the edge. That made my impressions and notations lack meat. Still, it was a good moment and I´ll be repeating it often. 

It was such a quiet afternoon. Rustling leaves were the primary sound in every direction, but other than that, it was all so still. I enjoyed drawing a leaf close-up. This particular day I think my mind was also a little preoccupied, but focusing the the details of the leaf helped me be more present.