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Our Winter Tree Study: Nothing Short of a Miracle

1 17 11 birch study (3)

We started our birch tree year-long study back in October. (You can read it HERE.) I remember saying to one of the boys that soon the leaves would all be gone and we would be able to see the shape of the tree’s trunk and branches better. Well, time has flown by and here we are standing in the backyard looking at just those very things.

Words that are going in our nature journals: bare, thin, flexible, drooping, catkins, white.

1 17 11 birch study (5)
This tree is so different in shape than our other year-long tree studies done with the silver maple and the tulip poplar. The bark on the trunk is different and the seeds are totally different. I anticipate that we are going to learn quite a bit about trees just taking a few minutes each season to observe this tree.

Birch catkins 2
We wanted to take a closer look at the catkins from the tree so we brought a few inside to the table. I bumped one of the catkins and the seeds went everywhere. You can see the partial catkin in the photo above and how the seeds are attached to make it look somewhat like a little dangling cone but it is not really like a cone at all. It is a well organized bunch of winged seeds that are in the shape of a cone. We have seen finches land on the catkins and hang upside down as they nibble their treat.

Close up Birch seed
After much manipulation of lights and magnifying lenses, my son and I were able to capture the seed in an image for you. Truly amazing!

Birch Seed Journal Entry
Mr. B sketched the seed for me in my journal and I added color and the captions after we did the research. So much to learn about seeds and how they are part of the life cycle of a tree. I know in my head what seeds are but when you stop to think about the miracle of a complete tree growing from this one small hard to see with the naked eye structure…well, it causes me to sit and be amazed at our wonderful Creator. It is nothing short of a miracle.

It actually reminds me of this quote that I ran across and wrote down to save.

“Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference is nowhere.”
Blaise Pascal

My Encouragement to You
If you haven’t had a chance to start, begin now during the winter. Charlotte Mason in her writings suggests choosing trees in winter to observe and compare. She says to wait until spring to identify the trees when the leaves and blossoms appear.

“Children should be made early intimate with the trees, too; should pick out half a dozen trees, oak, elm, ash, beech, in their winter nakedness, and take these to be their year-long friends. In the winter, they will observe the light tresses of the birch, the knotted arms of the oak, the sturdy growth of the sycamore. They may wait to learn the names of the trees until the leaves come.”

There are some simple ideas outlined in Winter Series Challenge #2 or you can just pick a tree and observe, perhaps taking a photo or making a simple journal entry. Don’t hesitate to jump in now!

Winter
See this entry for a description. Sample HERE.

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2011 Winter Series Outdoor Hour Challenge #2 Winter Tree Study and Winter Wednesday #2 Snow

Taylor Creek 12 25 09 Hiking to the Lake
Get Outside And Experience Your Winter World

Here are the links to this week’s challenges:

Winter Series #2 Winter Tree Study 
Winter Wednesday #2 World of Snow 

Even if you don’t have snow…take a Winter Nature Walk. Click HERE for nature walk ideas to print out for your family. Please feel free to complete one or both of the challenges as you have the opportunity.

Don’t forget to check in with the additional webpages for these sets of challenges:

Winter Winter Wednesday Button

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Seasonal Tree Study and Leaf Comparisons

I don’t usually enjoy the fall season…it is a melancholy time for me. I love the barefoot days of summer and the hot afternoons working in the garden or swimming in the pool.  I would much rather be hiking in the green, green hills with wildflowers blooming at my side in the springtime. The promise of spring and the activity of summer are much more likely to gain my vote for “favorite season”. Winter is the enduring time, the time for preparing for spring and summer.

Autumn days are soon filled with colored leaves, falling leaves, and raking leaves. It seems to creep up slowly but then you wake up one morning to find that the leaves are starting to turn colors…..oranges, reds, yellows, golds, purples.

Leaves on maple 10 10
Observing autumn trees and looking close though, you will see spring’s leaves preparing for the winter.

So here we are in the middle of our autumn challenges and making the best of what the season has to offer. We gathered a few leaves to compare and my son reminded me that we did an in-depth study of leaves and their parts as part of our biology study.

Botany notebook page 1
I went to the shelf and pulled out his biology notebook and his nature journal and we thumbed through to find our completed study.

So now what could we do to learn more about leaves?

Tree Study Leaves on copier
First of all, I shared with my son the idea that I gleaned from Amy at The Teachable Heart and her family’s study of autumn leaves. She actually color copied the leaves for their nature journals and they looked wonderful. I thought maybe we could do the same for our tree and other fall leaves that we were comparing just for a change in our journals.

We had already decided to choose another tree to study for a year-long tree study, the birch tree in our backyard. We gathered a few leaves and took a closer look at the tree while we were out there.

Tree Study Birch 10 10
Welcome to our new tree for the year! We are excited to see what we can learn by looking at and comparing this tree to our previous tree study subjects.

Tree Study Birch 10 10 leaves
These catkins are such interesting things to look at and we looked up some more information in our tree guide after our outdoor time.

Leaves with loupe
We brought some inside to look at with our loupes and to draw in detail in our nature journals.

Dandelion leaves 10 10
While we were out we looked at several other kinds of leaves….the dandelion growing in my pot is such an interesting shape in comparison to our tree leaves.

Broccoli leaves 10 10
How about these leaves on the broccoli? Amazing gray-green color.

Leaves on coleus 10 10
Our coleus is still giving us blazing amounts of color in the container garden on the deck. It makes me happy just to look at these leaves.

It had to go in my nature journal.

Coleus leaf in My Nature Journal
Watercolor pencils are fun to work with in your nature journals and we always have a set sitting on or near our work area table. It is easy to sketch quickly and then come back later to add water and details.

I will end my entry here since this journal is getting quite long. We are enjoying the connections between our biology study and our nature study using the Outdoor Hour Challenges.

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Summer Tree-OHC #2 Our Summer Tulip Tree Study

Tulip Tree Bloom
Tulip Tree or Yellow Poplar Tree

We have been observing the tulip tree very closely and I shared the blossoms a few weeks ago when we had the complete tree covered in blooms. Now it is mostly big yellow-green leaves that provide abundant shade on the front of our house.

There is a mockingbird that frequents the tree early in the morning to sing us a song. It is a nice way to wake up, with the leaves silhouetted on the window blinds and the sound of bird song in the air.

My son noticed that the bark has some moss on it still even in the heat. There were ants on the trunk as well. There were no bees visible, but we know when the tree is blooming it is alive with bees.

Here are our nature journals which this time we decided to use photos instead of drawing. It makes a quick and easy journal that looks really nice.

Spring Journal Tulip Tree
I opted to add a photo to my nature journal from last month when the tree was blooming.

Summer Tulip Tree Journal
My son’s journal has a photo of the tree as well. He made a list of his observations and then added a photo to make a very easy nature journal entry.

This entry completes our full circle for the year:

Autumn Entry

Winter Entry

Spring Entry

It hardly seems possible that we have gone all through the seasons with our tree already. This is such a great way to learn more about what is right in our own yard. We have started to think about what tree we will observe next….oh the possibilities!

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Spring Tree Update: Blossoms on our Tulip Tree

Tulip Tree Bloom 1

Our tulip tree is blooming like crazy! I have never seen so many blossoms on this tree and the bees have noticed too. The buzzing starts as soon as the sun rises and continues most of the day.

Tulip Tree Blossom

Wouldn’t you want to buzz around this blossom and collect some pollen too? The colors and patterns are very impressive if you take the time to observe them up close. You can see clearly the inner part that will become the helicopter seeds in the fall right there in the middle of the blossom.

Tulip Tree Bloom 2
You can see how the sepals bend back and expose the flowers. The design of this flower truly shows the finger of our Grand Creator.

Tulip Tree with blooms
Here is a view of the tree with all the flowers….it is amazing the difference between the seasons in this tree.

Tulip Tree complete blooms
Our next update will be with the Summer Series of Challenges.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

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Our Year-Long Tree Study: Spring Tulip Tree

Tulip Tree 4 7 10
We were able to get out and enjoy our spring temperatures this afternoon, completing a tree study of our Tulip tree as part of our on-going year-long tree study for the Outdoor Hour Challenge.

Our Observations
Tulip Tree leaves and seeds
  • Leaves are showing on many of the branches but there is still lots of growing that needs to happen.
  • The seeds from last fall are still visible on many of the branches. Hard to believe it still has that many.
  • We did not see any insects or birds this afternoon but this tree is a favorite of our early morning robin, the Western scrub jays, and the white-breasted nuthatch. We see them in this tree daily now.
  • The leaves were all very small but we did compare a few and they are the same shape.
  • There are lots of changes in the leaves and colors since the fall and winter. The shape of the tree is different as well because all of our freak winter snow broke off many of the branches in this tree…a few ending up on the roof of our house.
  • We discovered that we will not be able to use the activity on page 626 to measure the height of our tree. The tree’s shadow lands squarely on the roof of our house in the morning. I am going to ask my husband if he can help us figure out how to accomplish the task.

We came back inside with one of the leaves and my son and I both sketched it into our nature journals.

tulip tree finished journal colored pencils

His is very simple while I took a little more time and played with my watercolor pencils and my Prismacolor pens.

tulip tree finished journal

Tulip Tree canopy
We found this interesting website on our tree: Yellow poplar or Tulip Tree. This tree is not native to California, but many choose it to grow as a shade tree. We like the shade as well as the leaf shape and the flowers later in the spring.

Here are our autumn and winter blog entries for this tree.

It is not too late to get outdoors and start observing a tree. You can even start this season and continue over the next year. The best way to observe your tree is to go outside and quietly sit and look at your tree. You may be surprised and see some visitors as you sit. I am anxious to see how your family’s tree has changed since the last time you reported in.

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Our (Humble) Spring Maple Tree Study

So now that we know that one of the trees in our row of sweet gums trees is actually a maple, we have a subject for this week’s maple tree challenge.

We found some information about maples online:
Maple tree identification video from About.com
How to Tap a Maple Tree

We are holding off on the exact identification until it totally leafs out. We think it may be a silver maple which is not native to our area, but we know that we did purchase it from a nursery over a decade ago. The whole situation with this tree makes me wonder if I will ever know my own backyard.

It humbles me.

We always enjoy the tree no matter what its exact species is anyway and my husband reminded me of how much I enjoy this particular tree with its beautifully shaped limbs and its pretty leaves. It also gives us much needed shade on the back of our house when summer comes.

Sweet gum
I already shared a photo of the helicopter seeds but here is another one for this study. We did learn from our research that these are officially called samaras.

My son and I went out and really truly looked at this tree one afternoon this past week. We observed a few new things. First of all, it is ready to leaf out and the sweet gums are still in buds. Next, the samaras are not on every branch. We have looked in our field guide and then online, finding no information about why that is so.

maple seed and leaf
We remember now that the leaf buds on this tree are bright red and the sweet gums are light green. My son also reminded me that this tree has a time of year that it drops sap lightly on the rocks below it. The leaves and the rocks below get all sparkly with a sticky substance.

After discussing it as a family, we decided that all these years we just thought we had two different varieties of sweet gum trees. It never occurred to us that it could be a totally different tree.

Okay, so now the really humiliating part of the entry. My son studied this maple for a whole year thinking it was a sweet gum tree.
Spring Tree Study
Fall Tree Study
Winter Tree Study

This should make all of you feel better knowing that I am just like you. I am learning every week as our family slows down to study and learn about all we have living in our backyard. The other lesson that we learned over the last week is that we actually learn more when we are wrong about something. It takes real determination to research and compare in order to dig down to the bottom of a mystery. We now know more about maples and sweet gum trees than ever before. I am positive there is still a lot more to learn on this topic.

What is the saying? The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know. I think that is how it goes. It perfectly illustrates how I feel right now.

We have been trying to spend some time outdoors every day, but we are told to expect more snow tonight. It has been a crazy spring so far!

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OHC Spring Series #1: Year-Long Tree Study


Outdoor Hour Challenge
Spring Series #1
Spring Tree Observation

“Like a friend is a tree, in that it needs to be known season after season and year after year in order to be truly appreciated. 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

Inside Preparation Work:
Read pages 625-626 in the Handbook of Nature Study: Spring Work. This part of Lesson 172 should give you lots of things to think about as you prepare for your spring tree study observations. If the tree you chose to study has a section in the Handbook of Nature Study (check the table of contents), you might want to read the lesson for your particular tree in preparation for your Outdoor Hour time as well.

The Handbook of Nature Study suggests measuring the height of your tree using a stick 3½ feet long and a measuring tape. See page 626 Lesson 172 #4 for details.

fall sketch B
Outdoor Hour Time:
Now that spring has come, it is time to check on your tree from your Year-Long Tree Study. If you are just starting out with a tree study, pick a tree from your yard that you can watch through all four seasons. Spend 10-15 minutes of your outdoor time using the ideas from the Handbook of Nature Study to do some focused observations of your tree.

walking on a sequoia
Simple Suggestions for Spring 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?

Follow-Up Activity:
After your outdoor time, complete a nature journal entry using the notebook page I provided for the Spring Series, a general notebook page from my freebies page, the original notebook page, or your own blank journal. Photos of your tree are a good record in your nature journal as well.

prints 1
If you would like to make some leaf prints with your spring leaves, please see my blog entry with instructions:
Making Leaf Prints

Drawing your tree can be easy if you follow the instructions found in this file:
Guide to Sketching Trees

If you would like all the Spring Series Challenges in one book, I have an ebook gathered for you to purchase for your convenience. The ebook also contains art and music appreciation plans for the winter months as well. Please see this entry for more details:
Spring Series Cover
Spring Nature Study with Art and Music Appreciation

Ultimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

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Spring This and That From Our Yard

Maybe it is in anticipation of starting the Spring Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges, but I am very much alert to the signs of spring around us. Mr. A and I were in the backyard doing some clean up and we noticed the winged parts of the sweet gum tree for the very first time ever. How could we have this tree in our yard for over a decade and not notice them before?
Sweet gum
Does anyone know what these actually are?

Edit to add 3/31/10: After a few comments and some investigation on my part, I have come to the conclusion that this is not a sweet gum as we thought but a maple. I would like to thank those of you who commented about it being a maple this morning and helping me.

Here is what I wrote to Amy in an email:
I guess what has stumped me about this particular tree is that my husband is dead set that he planted a row of four sweet gums. I was thinking that this tree had the sticky balls on it but after going outside this morning, I might have been wrong. The other three in the row still have remnants of the sticky balls but this one doesn’t. This one is the only one with the helicopter seeds on it and the other three still have buds and no leaves. I still never noticed the helicopter seeds before so it just shows how we really don’t “see” until we stop and take the time to really “see”.
Blueberries

My most favorite things in the garden right now are my blueberry bushes. We planted three bushes last fall and they are bursting out with blossoms right now. I have never had blueberries growing in our yard and it is something that I have wanted to try for a very long time.

Tulips in Bloom
The tulips are in full bloom right now as well with their pretty colors all in a row. These are definitely going into my nature journal again this year.

Tulips in a Row
Aren’t they pretty? We started this tulip garden last year with ten bulbs and I added ten more this last fall. There is a row of pansies behind it and when the tulips die back the pansies fill in for the summer.

Money Plant
This is a volunteer plant from seeds blown in from another part of the yard. We call it Money Plant but it is actually called Annual Honesty. It is really easy to grow and it has wonderful pods at the end of the season.

One more photo that is not from our yard but still really fun.
Turtle on the Loose
This turtle was on the loose at the flower nursery last week. My hubby and I were getting some garden inspiration by browsing the aisles of plants and this guy was walking down one side. There is a pond at the nursery and somehow he had taken a wrong turn and ended up in the wrong place. One of the nursery workers picked him up and carried him safely back to his pond and friends.

Tomorrow the weather man has predicted some light snow. I can hardly believe it. I am hoping he is wrong and we just get some much needed rain to water our garden flowers. I didn’t get a photo of my climbing rose that is just beginning to bloom so I will make another post as soon as I can get back outdoors to capture it. Oh, I forgot to take a photo of our strawberries blossoming too. So much going on outdoors right now in our little yard. I suppose that will give me something to post about tomorrow.

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Winter Tree Study: Tuliptree

Winter tree study-Tulip Tree

We completed our Winter Tree Study a few days ago before all the rains started. Last fall we chose our Tulip tree or Tulip Poplar to observe in every season for the next year. It is the tallest tree in our front yard. It lost quite a few branches during our December snowstorm so it has a little different shape than it did back in October.

tree silhouette
There are virtually no leaves left on the tree at this point.

seeds no leaves
The boys noted that there are still a million helicopter type seeds left on the tree.

seeds all over the ground
The ground under the tree is covered in seeds. The boys are going to sketch some of the seeds into their nature journals.

Mr. A wanted me to note that he had to spend the better part of an afternoon last week cleaning out the rain gutters and downspouts and the bulk of the mess was from this tree with its helicopter seeds. They are just thin enough to sift through the screens over the rain gutter.

seeds on tulip tree
Here is a small cluster of the seeds on the ground under the tree. We noted they look like wooden flowers.

looking at the moss on the trunk
The most interesting part of our winter tree study is the moss and lichen growing on the trunk. It is really noticeable now that the tree is bare. We took a few minutes to observe the moss. Words like soft, fluffy, bright green, and spongy were used to describe the moss. It is most definitely more prominent in the winter and far greener than the fall.

Here is a link to our Fall Tree Study so we can compare the two seasons. What a difference! Now we will wait until spring to make our official study of the changes in this great tree in our yard.

As a sidenote…
bulbs peeking out

Here is something that made me smile. Look at those bulbs peeking out of the ground already! I know that underneath the ground there are dozens and dozens of bulbs just waiting to pop out in flowers before long now.

Hope you get to your Winter Tree Study soon.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom