We've had a nature table on our back porch for a few years now. In its former life, it was actually a shoe bench in an old office of mine. (I got it from IKEA years ago, I don't see it there now, but this bench looks like its cubby-less cousin.) It changes with the season, of course, but this summer it has gotten so much use as a sorting station for all of our beach booty.
The basket-filled cubbies are perfect for storing other nature finds, such as acorns, pine cones, bird nests, egg shells, and rocks. We also keep important nature-related tools in the baskets, such as binoculars, magnifying glasses, a flashlight, a jar with holes for bug catch-and-release, and little notebooks for recording observations.
Recently I added the little chalkboards for labeling flora and fauna and flotsam and jetsam.
A little nature-lovin' + a little learnin' = so. much. fun.
By the way, I'm in total denial that summer is drawing to a close. You might have to indulge me with my backyard posts until December....
