Does climbing an Apple Tree count as a nature study? LOL.
Just Bug and I did the nature study this week. Fairy and Pixie were under the weather and not interested in being out in the cold for too long when we had a chance to work on this. Apple trees in our area are pretty much spent for the season. We got lots of good apple picking in earlier this fall though and have made almost weekly trips to the cider mill. There are a couple apple trees in the neighbor’s yard and we choose to take a closer look at those for our study.
I read out loud from the Handbook of Nature Study while he colored a picture of an apple tree. We talked for a bit about grafting and why a farmer would choose to do that over planting seeds.
Then we headed outside. We made some quick observations before Bug wanted a boost up into the tree.
Some of our observations:
It looks like it has several trunks.
The top looks like a ball.
The leaves only have one finger that have lots of teeth (his words).
The apples left were pretty gross.
The bark flaked off easy in places.
The bark was gray with some green mossy stuff (I should ID).
There were no more bees.
There were lots of new shoots growing out of where some limbs had been cut off (which made it very pokey and hard to climb).
There was a grasshopper hiding on one.
One of the things I find interesting is how all the trees we have studied I describe as having gray bark – not brown. So why is it that I always reach for Crayola brown instead? Somehow I have been trained to think brown even though what I really see is closer to a shade of gray if I had to generalize. Kinda makes me wonder what else I haven’t really seen.
We did a lot more apple tree related activities in our Johnny Appleseed week and our Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree week. Or just do a search for apple on my site.
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I love your observation about the color of bark. Nature study helps me to really see things with new eyes too. I just purchased a book on how to paint trees and foliage and it is eye-opening to me too how many shades of green there are in a single tree if you really look closely. Mind boggling.
I love the connections.
Thank you for sharing your apple tree entry. I was interested to note that you said your trees are finished with the harvest. Where we live, we are just beginning. In fact, that reminds me that I need to go out and pick my pears off the tree.
Have a great week,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
Looks like climbing an apple tree is almost as fun as climbing a corkscrew willow! I’ve started paying more attention to tree colors since you started this nature study. It’s wonderful to think that there is always so much more to learn and observe, no matter what your age!
How fun that you got to take your own apples to the cider mill! Great observation about the color of the bark.
I love your son’s description of the leaf. It is so fascinating to see things from a child’s perspective.