trees Archives

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Barb — 2 Comments

OHC More Nature Study #10 Maple Seeds and Update for Nov/Dec OHC

OHC More Nature Study #10
Maple Seeds and Maple Tree

Inside Preparation Work:

Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 628-632 (Lesson 174). This is the section on the sugar maple. Pay special attention to the “Fall Work” section, especially #2 which describes the “key” and how to observe it. There is also a previous OHC for the Maple Tree that you may wish to look up and read for ideas to include in this challenge.
Other Maples to Investigate: Bigleaf Maple, Silver Maple, more listed on USDA. If you have a tree field guide, page through the maple tree section and get an idea of what kind of maples you have in your local area.
You will want to discuss with your child any winged seeds you are familiar with. We often call these winged seeds “helicopter seeds”. Another name for the winged seeds are samaras.

Outdoor Hour Time:

For this challenge, spend some of your Outdoor Hour time looking for maple trees and maple seeds. Gather a few of the winged seeds to observe and investigate. Maple trees in the autumn have beautifully colored leaves and should help you in finding one to study.
Have some fun with your maple seeds. Release them and measure the distance they travel and how long they stay afloat.
If you don’t have a maple tree or seeds to observe, see if you can find another tree observe that has seeds (oaks/acorns, conifer/cones, sweet gum/sticker balls, etc). Collect a few to bring indoors to observe with a magnifying lens.

Follow-Up Activity:

You may wish to talk about other seeds you have observed that fly or float in the air. How about dandelions, milkweed, and elm seeds as well as the maple? If you found maple seeds, compare them with other seeds you know about.
Allow time to make a journal entry, complete a notebook page, and/or finish a coloring page. Make sure to sketch the key with the seed and wing labeled. If you observed a tree other than the maple, you can complete the Seasonal Tree Study notebook page if you wish.
Plant a maple seed where you can watch it grow.
Read about why and how leaves change color in the autumn: A Tree’s True Color.
Advanced Follow-Up: Use a field guide to learn more about your maple. You can use this online tree field guide. Complete a notebook page for your nature journal (ebook users).
Advanced Follow-Up: Find other autumn seeds and make some observations. Suggested seeds: acorns, seeds from a cone, sticker balls, etc. Sort your seeds: Round/Not Round, Float/Not Float, Fly/Not Fly, Seeds That Lie Flat/Seeds That Do Not Lie Flat, and by Size.

This challenge is part of the More Nature Study – Autumn series. All of the challenges are gathered into one ebook with notebooking pages (regular and for advanced students) and additional resources. You can gain access to this ebook by purchasing an Ultimate Naturalist membership here on the Handbook of Nature Study. See the Join Us page by clicking the link at the top of the website for more information about what comes with your Ultimate membership.

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Posted on November 9, 2011 by Barb — 9 Comments

Nature Study When You Travel – Kona Coffee Farms

Vacation nature study is a great way to learn more about the natural beauty and richness of a new place. We always try to include learning in our travel time and Hawaii affords some unique opportunities.

Especially for coffee lovers. Which I am….a lover of Kona coffee.

We visited two coffee farms on the Big Island of Hawaii and were able to tag along on a coffee tour at both places. The first farm was Mountain Thunder and we drove up the side of the mountain/volcano to try out their organic coffees. We met up with the tour and the first thing the guide showed us were the coffee trees.

Did you know that coffee continually blooms from February to October…at the upper elevation of this particular farm? You can have blossoms, green cherries, and red cherries all on the same branch. You harvest the berries when they are red so with coffee there is no one time harvest, it is a continual process.

We picked a few cherries ourselves, opened them up and tasted the sweet, slimy inside around the bean. There are normally two beans in every cherry (when there is only one round bean it is called a “peaberry”). The red skins are not wasted. They either compost them or make them into “Kona Red” which is a product rich in antioxidants. We were able to taste Kona Red tea and it was light and tasty.

Can you smell the heavenly aroma of coffee beans roasting? We were able to observe the whole process from bean picking to roasting at Mountain Thunder. Afterwards, we tasted coffee, sipping the steaming cups and delighting in the heady fragrance of the,100% Kona coffee. I chose a package of whole beans to bring home and enjoy here in California plus a box of dark chocolate espresso beans (haven’t cracked the box yet…waiting).

Here was the resident cat at Mountain Thunder…..she looks like she needs a cup of the good stuff.

We also visited a coffee farm lower down in elevation. Greenwell Farms is a popular tourist stop and they were geared up for lots of tasting there. This was our second visit but our first time touring the farm. We were able to actually walk out and see the rows and rows of trees.

Here we saw the beans as “parchment” where they are drying in the sheds. They pull back the sliding roof and stir the beans. It was amazing how much work goes into a coffee bean to make my little cup of coffee. I know one of my readers is also a lover of Kona coffee and she drinks Greenwell Farms Chocolate Macadamia Nut Coffee (Hi Ellen!) but I am in love with their Chameleon Blend Kona Coffee.

One last photo especially for Tricia over at Hodgepodge. Can you believe the size of these hydrangeas? These were along the road near Mountain Thunder and I thought of you when I saw them…had to stop to take a photo.

We really enjoyed the coffee farms on our trip but that was not the only opportunity we made for nature study related activities. I will post soon about our ocean adventures.

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Barb — 1 Comment

Backyard Bird: Robin in the Pistache Tree

American Robin. Isn’t he magnificent? What a great image with all the colors!

We had a flock of robins, starlings, and another bird I never could identify fly through our neighborhood yesterday. They were all perching in the pistache tree and eating the fruits/nuts. What a noise they made!

Our Dark-eyed Juncos were at the feeder yesterday for the first time in a very long time. There are also about 25 House sparrows and White-crowned sparrows at a time that eat at the front birdfeeder each day.

I am really loving this time of year and the return of so many birds to our area.

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Barb — 2 Comments

Our Pear Study Using the Outdoor Hour Challenge

Our study has been actually on-going since the spring when we first noticed that our pear tree was loaded with blossoms. We have been eagerly watching the progress since then and it culminated this week with actually eating the pears…but not until after we had closely observed them and dissected them as part of the more advanced suggestions in More Nature Study #3.

We took a quick trip outdoors to snap a few images of the leaves and bark but the highlight was to come inside and actually take a close look at the fruit.

Mr. B was willing to complete the dissection lab with the pears from our backyard tree and he did a great job recording his results on the notebook page. I think taking the Outdoor Hour Challenges up a notch with the more advanced ideas is a great way to keep them interested in nature study. We actually talked about seeds as they relate to what he studied in biology and we also talked about how growing fruit can be so very satisfying. Tend the tree, pick the fruit, enjoy the labor. What a great lesson in life.

Notebook Page from my More Nature Study ebook

I love watching him sketch. Makes me glad that we made nature study a part of our high school plans.

Nature study that ends in eating your subject is always a good thing when you have a teenage boy around.

We will look forward to seeing this sight again in the spring!

I look forward to seeing your results and hearing how your observations went.

If you are interested in more Crop Plants study, I have a series of Outdoor Hour Challenges listed here on the blog. You can find them listed HERE. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the list.

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Posted on September 24, 2011 by Barb — Leave a comment

Apples Distracted Us From Our Pear Study

We have been enjoying our “apple time” of year so far with three trips to the apple orchard, fresh apple cider, apple doughnuts, and homemade apple pie. We tried a new variety of apple (Mutsu) which actually made a really good pie apple.

We really meant to do our Pear Study for the Outdoor Hour Challenge but we were distracted again this week with the wonderful weather and decided to take a drive instead. No pears were studied but we enjoyed peach and blueberry dumplings from a roadside stand. Yes, it was heavenly and I don’t regret the calories at all.

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Barb — 3 Comments

OHC – More Nature Study #3 Pear Study

More Nature Study #3
Pears/Fall Tree Study

Inside Preparation Work:

For the pear challenge there is no lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study. You can read about pears online: Pear Varieties and Pear Fact Printable.
As an alternate or supplemental activity, you can read the section, “How to Begin Tree Study” in the Handbook of Nature Study on pages 622-624. Pay attention to Lesson 72—Autumn Work (#1-#5). Take note of some observations you can make during autumn.

Outdoor Hour Time:

If you have access to a pear tree in your yard, neighborhood, or near-by orchard, spend your Outdoor Hour time observing the tree: tree shape, arrangement of the branches, trunk, leaves, fruit/seeds.
If you don’t have access to a pear tree, use the information from the Autumn tree work section in the Handbook of Nature Study to observe any tree you have in your yard or neighborhood. You can use this tree as the subject of a year-long tree study if you wish. You may wish to read the information from the Autumn Tree Observation Challenge 2009.

Follow-Up Activity:

Have on hand a pear and an apple for each child to observe up-close. Use the suggestions on the notebook page (ebook users only) to compare these two fruits.
For Pear Study: Give the opportunity to make a nature journal entry recording any observations made about pears. Suggestions for discussion: shape of the pear, size, color, smell, markings on the skin, and the stem. Cut the pear in half and draw the inside of the pear in your nature journal. There is also a pear coloring page included in the ebook
For Autumn Tree Study: You can use the Autumn Tree Study notebook page linked above. You may use it for any tree you observed during your nature study.
Advanced follow-up: Complete the Dissection Lab notebook page with a pear (ebook users only).
Advanced follow-up: Make a dry brush watercolor of the pear and either its vertical or cross section.

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Posted on June 24, 2011 by Barb — 10 Comments

Our Tree Study – Sitka Spruce in Oregon

Jedediah Smith Redwoods – Boy Scout Tree Trail June 2011

Our camping trip to the Oregon Coast was glorious. The weather was perfect without even a sprinkle or a cold day! We enjoyed sunshine, sand, and trees all up and down the southern coast of Oregon. Although I could fill a complete post with our adventures, I want to focus on our tree study that was completed right in our campsite.

We were prepared with some notebook pages and a field guide so this was not only an easy study, it was informative and interesting. The campground had a brochure that discussed the common plants and trees to be found so it was our starting point. We read through the brochure and decided to focus our tree study on the Sitka Spruce. Turns out our campsite was surrounded by them!

We looked up the identifying marks of the spruce as well as looked at the images of the needles, the cone, and the trunk. We discovered that the Sitka Spruce is found along the fog belt of the coast of North America.

They are not quite as tall as the Coast Redwoods we experienced most of the week but they are still very tall trees. The photo above is my husband showing how large the base of this Coast Redwood is on one of our hikes. These trees make you feel small and insignificant. We would hike along and one of these ancient ones would come into view and it would make you stop dead in your tracks. Breathtaking.

Even though the Sitka Spruce is not in the HNS, we looked up the information for the Norway Spruce and used the suggestions in Lesson 186 to learn more about spruces in general. We observed the needles, the cones, the bark, the shape of the tree, the roots like buttresses, and the way the limbs droop.

NotebookingPages.com – Nature Study Set. I like to embellish mine a bit with colored pencils.

Somehow I misplaced the photos I took for our study so now I am glad that we did the sketches on the notebook pages for our journals. We enjoyed our simple vacation nature study….one of many we did on this trip.

Here are some other things we observed and read about: harbor seals, trillium, fuchsia, gumboot chiton (sea creature in the tidepools), Winter wrens, huckleberries, and owls. There is a story to every nature study we did and if I had time I would relate them all but for this entry I will stick to our tree study.

Here is the best shot I have of the Sitka Spruces around our campsite. We could have spent our week focusing on the many plants, birds, and trees of this place and not run out of interesting things to think about. Eating and sleeping under the spruces made our study even more meaningful.

Okay, do you love my new tent? It is 6 1/2 feet tall and even my really tall husband and boys can stand up inside it without rubbing their heads on the ceiling. I love the hinged door too! This was our first outing with it and I think it is going to serve us for a long time.

Just a pretty shot I took one night while we were out for a sunset walk…the moon was incredible the whole time we were camping, a natural nightlight.

So there you go…our vacation tree study. Wish every tree study could be this up close and personal.

Well maybe not that up close….my boys have decided Planking is rather a fun activity.

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Barb — 6 Comments

Our Spring Tree Has Leaves: White Birch Limbs and Leaves

This post is part of our on-going series of Year-Long Tree Studies, Spring Challenge. You can see our previous studies here: Autumn and Winter. If you haven’t started your own family’s Year-Long Tree Study, I encourage you to jump in now and start with a spring observation. I guarantee you will learn a lot!

“A person who has not had an intimate, friendly acquaintance with some special tree has missed something from life.”
Anna Botsford Comstock, A Study of a Tree

It has been with eagerness that we watched our white birch tree for signs of new leaves. This past week they seemed to appear overnight, gracefully blowing in the breezes that have come in the afternoon hours. Here is a video (you may need to click over to the blog to view it) that shows how the limbs are so fluid and dance in the wind. It isn’t very long…about half a minute.

We decided to focus on the limbs of the tree and see how they make that movement in the wind. It might have something to do with the shape and arrangement of the limbs. The limbs bend down towards the ground and are not stiff like the oak tree growing just a few feet away.

They sort of spiral up the trunk….isn’t it pretty?

It could have something to do with the leaves as well so we took a look at the arrangement and shape as part of our spring study. The leaves point down and the petiole is long and slender. The leaves catch the slightest breeze just like the sail on a sailboat. They shake and sway and remind me of Robert Frost’s poem, Birches. We decided to include a part of the poem in our nature journal.

I’d like to go by climbing a birch tree,

And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk

Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,

But dipped its top and set me down again.

That would be good both going and coming back.

One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.

(Excerpt)

“Catkins form on the trees in summer, remaining tight, smooth, and closed throughout the winter. They begin to expand in early spring, with most flowering before the leaves appear, or at least before the leaves get too large. As catkins rely on wind to spread their pollen, this arrangement prevents the leaves from interfering with fertilization. After the female flowers are fertilized, the male catkins wither and drop.”
Read more at Suite101: Catkins in Spring.

So another season is beginning for our tree and we will look forward to observing it closely as the days tick by. There is always something new to learn and think about in this great nature study project.

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Barb — 6 Comments

2011 Spring Series – Spring Tree Observations

Year+Long+Tree+Study+Spring+@handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com.jpg

Here’s the challenge for this week:
Spring Tree Observations.
(click over to read the specifics)
This is the post from last year and in it you will find the pages in the Handbook of Nature Study to read in preparation and then some ideas for learning more about your tree that you picked to observe last autumn or winter.

We have been watching our tree get its leaves over the last few weeks. What a transformation! I hope you are able to revisit your family’s tree and get to see its spring beauty. If you are new to the Outdoor Hour Challenge, please feel free to jump in with this season’s observations and get started on your own Year-Long Tree Study!

Here are the suggestions for a general tree study:

1. Pick a tree in your yard or on your street and look for its new leaves and blossoms if appropriate.
2. Is it just beginning to show leaves? Can you tell if your tree has all of its leaves yet?
3. Can you see any insects or birds in your tree?
4. Collect a few leaves to use for leaf rubbings in your nature journal. You could also make a leaf bouquet.
5. Compare two leaves from the same tree. Are they exactly alike?
6. Use your nature journal to record a sketch of the leaf and any blossoms.
7. How has the tree changed since autumn? Winter?

You may also be interested in my Spring Nature Study Ebooks!

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Barb — 4 Comments

Spring Gardens – Filled With Promise

Our Plum Tree – Leaves are coming on fast this week with the little sunshine we experienced. Plum jelly in the making.

I have started reading An Oregon Cottage and she has a great gardening/home blog that hosts a Tuesday Garden Party meme.I thought this week I would join up and share with all of you what is going on in my garden right now as spring starts to burst forth.

My garden is definitely not a winter garden. I don’t do much more than throw out a few lettuce and carrot seeds in the late fall and those have long been harvested. My boys planted snap peas this past autumn but some critter of the night came and munched them down to the ground. I accept that I live in a habitat that offers yummy treats to my fellow creatures so I took the peas in stride.


Our Walnut Tree – Perhaps the squirrels will leave us some this year. 🙂

I think the theme of this post is going to be the PROMISE of a summer garden and fall harvest since that is what I observed as I toured around yesterday.

Our garlic chives are starting to grow again…can’t wait.

The oregano is filling in and hints at the summer pizza and sauces to come…of course, I had to nip a few leaves just to smell as I walked around the boxes.

My son’s strawberry box is greening up nicely as well. We are going to be adding a new strawberry box as soon as we can get through mud to built it. (see the last photo for a photo of the location)

This should tell you how badly I need to tend to the garden after a long winter. These onions are popping up despite being mixed in with the mullein and the dusty miller. I know I am not going to get to this part of the garden for at least a couple of weeks….just being honest.

So as long as I’m being honest, here is what the state of most of our garden boxes at this very moment. Very sad and in need of a good weeding before we can even think about getting something new planted. The saddest part is that if I put my mind to it, I could have this tidied up in an afternoon.

Moving away from the vegetable garden and onto the flower boxes is a little bit more cheerful. The tulips are just beginning to give us a hint of their deep purple blooms to come. I love my little tulip patch and look forward to watercoloring the flowers once they start to really shine.

The chrysanthemums that I planted last year look like they made it through the winter nicely. I look forward to seeing their happy little faces in a few months. This box has coneflowers as well so this spot has flowers long into the autumn once it gets started. I decided a long time ago that I needed to include a couple of flower boxes along with the vegetables because it cheers me up to see the color when I look out the window. Food for the soul.

This wallflower has been a great plant in our garden for the last two years. I actually saw some bees buzzing in it too! Happy bees.

Here are some guys who came uninvited to my garden! My son spotted these whoppers in the back of the bed and of course I had to take a photo.

Now for the exciting part of the post!

See that fresh garden territory? I finally convinced my husband that this “lawn” was using up valuable garden space and very expensive water (rates just increased again!). We are trying out a few possible configurations to build some raised boxes with one center block bed to hold something artsy. Any ideas are welcome. It usually gets summer sun mid-morning to late afternoon so probably about six+ hours altogether.

So there ends my garden survey for this first week in the spring season. I am truly looking forward to the change of the season.

Jami’s Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Category: trees

OHC More Nature Study #10 Maple Seeds and Update for Nov/Dec OHC

Nature Study When You Travel – Kona Coffee Farms

Backyard Bird: Robin in the Pistache Tree

Our Pear Study Using the Outdoor Hour Challenge

Apples Distracted Us From Our Pear Study

OHC – More Nature Study #3 Pear Study

Our Tree Study – Sitka Spruce in Oregon

Our Spring Tree Has Leaves: White Birch Limbs and Leaves

2011 Spring Series – Spring Tree Observations

You may also be interested in my Spring Nature Study Ebooks!

Spring Gardens – Filled With Promise

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!