A little more surfing this morning revealed that the folks from Anacortes Telescope and Wild Bird (ATWB, see this post) also run a site for amateur astronomers at Astromart.com. The site has articles and reviews, including how-to information for beginners and folks with a little experience under their belts. There are classifieds where you can buy or sell equipment, but there is also the option to use an auction instead of a classified listing.

Some areas of the site require registration, which costs $12 . The discussion forum is one of these. But there are plenty of other areas that are open to non-members, including a links page and a calendar that lists events from many places in North America. You can also subscribe to the RSS feeds at no charge.

Most of the content is provided by site users, and many have chosen to become supporters or sponsors by making a donation to cover the expenses of site maintenance. This is a really great place to look for reviews of specific items that you are considering buying. The number of reviews that will come up is obviously dependent on users, so it will vary from category to category. Also, do try a number of different search terms or browse by category if you don’t find what you want at first, as there don’t seem to be any tags or key words on the articles and the search engine may bring up results based more on the presence of words in the article, than on relevance.

Just as an example, a search for digital camera reviews brought up four results today, none of which were actually about digital cameras. However when I looked for beginner telescope reviews I found a very relevant article on a $60 telescope purchased at WalMart, which turned out to be a 60mm TeleStar manufactured by Meade. The gentleman who reviewed the scope was very honest both about the pros and cons of this particular model, and he offered suggestions for improving on its performance with an affordable eyepiece upgrade. In his opinion, the scope was an acceptable first telescope for children in the early primary years. (If you can’t find the $60 TeleStar near you ATBW does carry its 70mm cousin, the Meade NG-70SPR, for $99 including astronomy software on DVD to help your child learn more about the night sky.)

Articles on this site are well written and quite in-depth. They are usually accompanied by photos of the product or images of objects viewed through it. Although many of the articles are more technical and focus on more advanced equipment, this is an excellent place to watch for reviews of affordable, kid-friendly equipment. I had expected mainly just to find reviews of telescopes and the occasional birdwatching topic (those are mostly in the forum, by the way) but I came upon a review of a microscope as well.

I actually saw a review on the morning news for the Carson ePix microscope, but hadn’t put much stock in it because the reviewer is the “tech guy” who is more of a paid promoter than anything, and he only has a few seconds to show off what a product can do. The Astromart review showed lots of great images, and compared the results to a more professional microscope. What was the verdict? There were some drawbacks including the quality and size of images, but the microscope was definitely a good starter for kids and would be quite functional for primary school science projects. (Since it was reviewed on television I imagine this is one you could easily find either in a shop or online, but in case you can’t find it look at the ATWB site where you can purchase it for $79. They carry several other microscopes as well, including intermediate and professional microscopes which I hadn’t seen earlier.)

The Astromart.com web site is a great resource for all parents, whether you are homeschooling or home hobbyists. Classroom teachers will find the articles helpful, and will be able to stretch their budgets farther by checking the reviews before buying equipment. Even the kids can use this site to keep up on science news - I don’t have to tell you they’ll be using it to find goodies for their wish lists…

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I saw a lovely video this morning in which a pastor from the United States rediscovered his family’s roots in Barbados. As a young man this poem had been quoted to him, and he returned again to its words in a cemetery where his ancestors were buried.

I must have studied this poem in college, for I can hear in my head the phrase “In the bivouac of Life” spoken by a pear shaped, slightly balding professor who had once been a Jesuit. No one knew why he had left the religious life, though what we did know was that he now had a wife and two young children, and he had benefited from the best classical education available - a small portion of which he was then sharing with us. And the man’s voice was like liquid honey! It is wonderful to hear poetry recited, but even more so when the person reciting has a trained voice.

I have often said that the important thing in life is to live in the present, and to make the most of it we can. Longfellow says it so eloquently: “Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, / Is our destined end or way ; / But to act, that each to-morrow, / Find us farther than to-day.” To act, that each tomorrow find us farther than today.

“Be not like dumb, driven cattle ! / Be a hero in the strife !” If only all children were given this advice, rather than being taught to simply follow rules and conform to standards….

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A had a visit from Jason Boyd, whose blog on Recitation may be of interest to some of my readers. Jason remarked about the passage from Shakespeare I was asked to memorize in high school. It was in 8th grade, which for us was the first of four years in high school, and my teacher was Miss Elaine Evans (who was one of those memorable teachers who teach their students to drink deep!)

Miss Evans was the head of the English department, and was also a member of a local acting troupe. Miss Evans told us all about Shakespeare and his time, and she taught us that to appreciate his plays they must be acted out. And that we did! We visited the Little Theatre over a period of several days in order to run through A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I wish we had done the same in later years! Watching Chuck and “Sir” act out Julius Caesar (Man Without a Face 1993) reminded me of how little I had enjoyed that particular play when we read it in school….)

In addition to acting out the play we were asked to memorize and then recite a speech from the play. I believe we had been given two or three options to choose from. This is the piece I selected:

Thinking back on it, I think we were only expected to remember the first six lines. I have included the rest for my own pleasure and, I hope, for yours. I have an indelible memory of Miss Evans reading this piece for us in class, and miming the action of squeezing the juice from the flower into Titania’s eyes. I can still hear her repeating the last two lines for us, when the question of rhyming was raised. She taught us that in Shakespeare’s time the word “fantasies” would have been pronounced to rhyme with “eyes.” I don’t know if that is true or whether that was just a theory of hers, but it was memorable.

Thanks to Miss Evans for all the valuable lessons she shared, and to Jason for stopping by! I am flattered by your kind words, and very much look forward to reading some of your other posts. I wandered over to the Favorite Poem Project, as well, and am very excited with this new discovery! I’m glad you had the link on your blog

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One of my visitors commented in his own blog about acting Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night when he was a student. This passage is one that he recited, and it reminds me a great deal of my husband, when he was courting me.

So this is for Jason Boyd, who reminded me of the play. And also for my beloved.

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Then maybe you’d like to go birdwatching! We’ve been planning to take it up ourselves, this year. The Botanical Gardens in Montreal offer an extensive wooded trail where close to 200 different species have been observed over the years. I have been thinking that spring would be a fabulous time to go visit, so we’re in need of our supplies in the next few weeks!

Anacortes Telescope & Wild Bird (ATWB) is one of the suppliers I have decided to look into. They sell both astronomy and birdwatching supplies, and claim to carry the best astronomy binoculars anywhere.

The site is very well laid out, but just to make sure you make the best of all they have to offer, you can visit their site guide. If you are new to astronomy and want to buy a telescope, read their beginner’s guide. It describes the different kinds of telescopes, the nomenclature of the parts of a telescope, and explains such things as the “f/number” (related to the focus) and the difference between power and aperture.

If you’re concerned about the cost of taking up astronomy as a hobby, you won’t find any round figures to plug into your budget, but you will find some truly inspiring lines about the passion of stargazing - and a reminder that astronomy can be pursued as well through magazines and visits to the planetarium, while saving up for a quality telescope to begin gazing with!

Recommendations are made on the second page of the guide, however, for some affordable quality instruments (not “cheap telescopes” but scopes in the $200 to several hundred dollar range.) I do wish we had read this before we picked up Dojogirl’s telescope last year. It was a fair bit less expensive than I had expected but I believe this is because it was just cheaply made, and it has never worked properly. We didn’t lose much money over it, but what a disappointment it has been for our little girl…

As we plan to return to astronomy at some point, I think I’ll be looking into a scope from Orion. They make “semi-smart” scopes that will help the amateur astronomer find objects in the sky with the aid of a 14,000 object database and a digital readout. (This may not be the ideal for some folks, but I know that finding objects to view can be frustrating even with sky maps and written directions.) In the meantime, I may just look into the astronomy binoculars. They are apparently made by several major companies, including Celestron and Meade, and they are quite affordable. I saw some that were around the $75 mark, and several in the $100 - $200 range. One description said these binoculars are best for long distances, but did mention sky and land use. I wonder if they would work as well for birdwatching?

If you are looking for binoculars just for birding, click the BINOCS.COM tab at the top of any page. ATWB offers a large range of binoculars, including the very affordable Bushnell Trophy series made to be compact, sturdy and waterproof. (The 10×27 model is currently only $58!) Or if you want to take photos to put in your learning portfolio or on your blog, there is an 8MP camera from Nikon that comes with a special “gorillapod” that allows for mounting in odd places like tree branches. The Pelican case that comes with the camera is stainless steel, watertight, dust proof and crushproof. The package (the “hunting camera system”) comes complete with all the necessary cables and software. Right now it’s priced at $139, while most other vendors are selling just the camera at an equal or higher price.

Anacortes Telescope & Wild Bird ATWB will ship internationally, and they also offer a frequent buyer discount for their internet clients. They carry not just the scopes, binoculars and cameras, but also clothing and books, and bird supplies for those who want to watch the birds around home too. I saw some really cute birdhouses, bird feed, and even a butterfly feeder! You can make a wish list for your kids and send it along to the grandparents, or you can apply for 90-day financing on items that cost $199 or more.

Want to upgrade? List your gently used equipment in their classified section - or maybe you’ll find a great deal on equipment you can’t afford new. Have a great photo you want to share? The have a gallery of customer photos. You can also contribute a review or look to see what other customers have said about an item you are considering. ATWB also has compasses, maps, t-shirts, and gift certificates starting at $5, so if you’re looking for stocking stuffers or you like to put together themed gift baskets, there is plenty to choose from.

Nature study is a lot more fun when children can see “up close” the animals they are learning about, and certainly that is why Charlotte Mason suggested we get our kids outside to observe animals in the wild. For those of us who live in the city this isn’t necessarily as easy as taking a stroll a few minutes from home. I think a little technology wouldn’t hurt. Especially if it means the difference between our kids really seeing what the are outside to look for, and maybe seeing nothing and giving up on their nature walks. Bring along your sketching materials and have the kids spend time quietly observing, but if you can keep them interested by helping the observation along with binoculars or a great camera or telescope, why not?

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