Explore Outdoors ~ WELCOME BACK!

 Welcome back from summer vacay! Just in time to meet a teensy flower that I look for outside my kitchen door every summer. It's so tiny it often goes unnoticed - but not this year.

 

Meet the Blue-eyed Grass! 

 

 

I've got a few of these tiny (less than 1" across) flowers that pop up near my house when there's enough rain. They don't always look like flowers - in fact, their flat stems and blade-like leaves give them a bunchy "grass-like" appearance. Which is probably how they got their name, "blue-eyed grass" - though to tell the truth, I think they have more of a yellow eye.

 

These flowers aren't grass at all, but are related to irises. And when you see the seed pod it makes sense, as they look a bit like rounded iris pods. Blue-eyed grass is a native plant, and can grow as tall as 18 inches - though mine rarely grow taller than half-a-foot.

 

This week, keep your eyes peeled for tiny blue flowers and tiny seed pods. If you can, collect some seeds and try to grow them to plant at the edge of your yard or garden.

 

What color of eyes does the grass in your yard have? 

 

Explore Outdoors ~ Make your own (very quiet) Fourth of July Explosions!

 With the Fourth of July just a couple days away, I thought I'd share some alternatives to fireworks. These hands-on activities will provide plenty of pop, sizzle, and fizz without the big noise.

Chances are you have many of the ingredients in your cupboards, but check the materials lists in case you need to stock up before Friday. Then, after the parade and potato salad, invite friends and family to create their own Fourth of July celebration in your back yard.

Exploding paint Bags ~ more pop than boom!

Blobs in a Bottle ~ a simple take on lava lamps. All you need is oil, water, food coloring - and some alka-selzer.

Erupting Rainbow ~ Of course vinegar is involved!

Fizzy sidewalk chalk fireworks ~ pffff!

For more activities, check out this post from a few years ago

I'm taking a summer break to explore nature in my neighborhood, and catch up on some writing. And of course, I'm tucking a bunch of books in my beach tote for summer reading! 

Enjoy! See you in August!