The Nature Table

The nature table is a seasonal display of objects found in nature, or made to reflect those found in nature.
The kids put up there objects they find outside while walking or playing, or seasonal crafts. Think of it as the extension to your nature notebook... it might display a caterpillar or ant farm, a shed snake skin, birds nest or some robin's eggshells. Maybe you'll be braver than me, and place the wasps nest on the table rather than on the ground outside ;)


Ours is the top of a bookshelf in the kitchen, and also houses some of our religious things-- sort of a family altar slash nature table. There used to be a cross there but it disappeared, and I need to replace it, and the Bible occasionally rests there for a while ;) The kids have placed a bunch of rocks on there, and the two baggies hold some European Hornets ready to mail to collector friends! There are some shells and an empty frame that occasionally holds a picture made by the kids. The flowers are silk, I liked the colours and hope to get some real leaves soon!

Be that as it may, our table is just starting. If you like, take a look at Katherine's table for a great idea!

Nature Tables and Wasps

Last weekend, Jacobite and I decided to clean the house. Not the inside, it's pretty clean already, but the outside. This necessitated a day of power washing, and a few run-ins with wasps and such, including a swarm of these fellows: the European Hornet.

This is not my photo... mine would just show a dead hornet, because we killed a bunch of them... but these things like to swarm our porch-light at night and bump into the doors and windows. I never really paid much attention to the sounds, until Jacobite discovered the culprit! Now we need to find their nest, because we really don't want these things around the kids!

But onto something a little bit more interesting.

The Nature Table.
I always wanted to have one. Indeed I have, several times attempted to start one up, but they always fell by the wayside. Then I decided to read some of the seasonal activity and craft books out there and it popped up again... so I have decided to dedicate a shelf for a nature table.
It still has not happened... the shelf is ready. I just don't have anything to put on it. We did have a wasp nest I considered, but the idea of the bugs in it were too creepy for Jacobite who stomped on it!

So here is Faerie Rebecca to the rescue with a picture of hers!!

Thanks to Alice, I just discovered MacBeth has a BLOG!! Yahy!! She is definitely worth the visit!