Explore Outdoors ~ how snow sticks

 

Walking through the woods on a snowy afternoon I noticed the differences in how snow stuck to things. Tree trunks, for example. 

 

Some trees had thick scaly bark, and falling snow accumulated in the crevices around them. Trees with smoother bark had hardly any. But, given the wind, some had stuck to the tree trunks anyway.

 

 Winter weeds, on the other hand, ended up with Snow Hats!

 

Next Time it Snows: take a walk around your neighborhood and notice where the snow ends up on trees and plants. 

 

Further observation: does where and how snow sticks to trees and winter weeds vary with the water content of the snow? Powdery snow forms in cold, dry air so it doesn't have much moisture. Flakes that form when the temperature is near freezing will have more moisture. That makes them stickier - great for making snowballs - but also heavier.

Explore Outdoors ~ Tree-gazing

 With leaves gone, it's easier to see lichens and other fungi growing on trees. Here's one I found just a couple weeks ago, along our road. I've walked by this tree nearly every day, but on that day I stopped and spent time looking at it. Really getting to know it - lichen patches and all. 

What will you notice when you go tree-gazing?

Explore Outdoors ~ Nature's Window

 

I love the way snow clings to beech leaves. It collects in the curls and hollows, along veins and ridges... and pulls my attention to the leaf details. This one, for example. Who gnawed that picture window in it? And do you notice the points along the margin?

What do you notice about winter leaves this week?

Explore Outdoors ~ Snowy Trees

 

After one of the snowstorms, my eye was drawn to the snowy limbs of trees. It accented the structure of the trees. The snow was light and powdery, so it didn't weight anything down. Over time, some was blown off by wind, pushed off by birds landing, and melted off in the sun.

And then there was this one, looking more like someone had dumped a load of feathers on it from above.

 How does snow collect on the trees in your neighborhood?

 

Explore Outdoors ~ tree trunks

Splotted and splattered

there's more to tree trunks

than bark

What do you see

when you look at your trees?

Explore Outdoors ~ early buds

                                

A couple weeks ago I went for a hike. Snow was melting, I could hear the tiny stream gurgling with meltwater, and the smell of spring was in the air. Tree buds are already fattening up, preparing for spring. And while most deciduous trees let go of all their leaves in the fall, beech hang on through the winter. I'm wondering if these paper-thin, tattered and faded leaves will still be clinging to the branches when the buds open and new leaves unfurl.
 

Looking up, I noticed buds on the ends of thin twigs on some of the maples. It will be fun to watch how spring emerges, flower by flower, leaf by leaf.

What do your trees look like? Go out and get to know them during this changing season.

Explore Outdoors ~ Bark

At this time of the year, most of the trees have shed their leaves. Except for evergreens that are covered in needles, and the papery beech leaves clinging to twigs. So if you want to know about the trees you see, you need to learn about their bark:

• is it smooth?
• is it patchy?
• is it lined vertically?
• is it scaly?

Check out field guides to find out who's who in their bark. Here's one from UNH.

This year I'm encouraging everyone to spend 1,000 hours outdoors. So on Wednesday I'll be posting ideas for nature breaks, field trips, and outdoor play. The goal: to have fun!

Teachers and homeschoolers who want to use nature breaks as field trips can grab a sketchbook or journal, something to draw and write with, and some watercolors, colored pencils, crayons, or markers. Think cross-curricular: art, language, science, math, engineering, movement, exercise! And come back Friday for some STEM book-talk.

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Look Up!

How do trees share the sky?

This week spend more time looking at the world 

from a different perspective.

Welcome to a New Year of Wednesday Exploring! We'll head out on field trips, take nature breaks, ask questions, and meet cool bugs. So make sure you've got a nature journal, and sharpen your pencils. On Fridays join us for STEM book reviews and "beyond the book" activities.

Wild Outdoor Wednesday

Look at needles on different evergreens around where you live. Notice whether they are in groups or single, what their shape is, how sharp or soft they are. Bite them and experience their flavor and aroma. Then capture them using colors and words.

Remember to take your sketchbook or journal with unlined pages, something to draw and write with, and something to add color ~ watercolors, colored pencils, crayons, or markers.

Wordless Wednesday

single

square

sharp

stiff

what am I?

Wordless Wednesday

The Shape of a Tree

When the last leaf has blown away and the trees are left bare - that's when you can see the true shape of a tree. Each kind of tree has its own shape and pattern of branching. Some have branches that alternate up the trunk, like oaks. Others have branches that come off the trunk in pairs - "opposite" branches. That's what maples do. Some trees have weepy droopy branches, like the willows. And others, like Staghorn sumac, are tipped with fruit clusters that the birds love to eat in the winter.

The shape of the tree is its "skeleton", with the trunk and branches making up its bones. Some of those bones are white, some are dark. Some are smooth, some rough.

Grab your sketchbook or journal and go on a tree skeleton hike. Draw the structures of your neighborhood trees - and maybe do a rubbing of the bark. It's a good way to get to know the trees without their leaves on.

Today is STEM Friday - head over to the STEM Friday blog to see what other people are talking about in science, technology, engineering and math.

Wordless Wednesday

Seeing the Forest Without the Leaves

This time of year the trees are "bare bones". Except for maybe the beech trees, which hold onto their leaves as long as they can - and a few branches with dried berries.

But mostly it's bark and branches. Still, you can get to know the trees by their shapes. Some have branches reaching up towards the clouds, some alternate up the trunk, and some hang down. Take a good look at the bark: some trees have shaggy, scaly bark, while others are as smooth and white as old bones.

Now's a good time to head outside with some paper and crayons to collect tree bark rubbings, or to draw winter portraits of the trees around your house.

Check out more science resources and some great books over at STEM Friday.

Bark-o-logy

oak

 Bark protects trees by acting as a waterproof layer - it helps prevent the loss of water through evaporation. Bark also creates a shield, or barrier, against insects that would like to eat the inner bark and other woody layers. And, like your winter coat, the layer of bark helps insulate the tree from dramatic temperature changes.

Each kind of tree has its very own pattern of bark. It might look similar to another species, but when you take a close look you will see that each tree is as unique as the members of your family.

The first thing you notice about tree bark is its texture: is it rough or is it smooth? If it’s rough, look closer to see whether it has deep furrows, platy scales, or long shaggy strips peeling off.

cherry

Find two different types of trees in your backyard or a local park. How is the bark of one tree different from the other? See how many differences you can list.

You can make a “bark collection” without hurting trees – just make bark rubbings or take photos of tree bark. To make a rubbing, hold a white piece of white paper against the tree trunk so that it won’t move. Then rub over the paper with the side of a crayon. Make sure you write the date and location of where you found the tree so you can find it again when it has leaves.

Winter Tree Walk

Winter is a perfect time to look at trees because you can see their “skeletons” without all those pesky leaves to distract you. Now you can take a closer look at the patterns in bark and how branches and twigs attach. And you can take a closer look at the buds on the sides and ends of twigs.

On some trees the twigs (and buds) are opposite each other, paired up. Maples, ash, dogwoods and buckeyes have opposite branching – and opposite buds.

Other trees have alternate branching. So the buds alternate along the twig.

What sort of tree buds do you find in your backyard?

If you’re looking for a good book to read about winter trees, go here.

The best field guide I’ve found for this season is the Winter Tree Finder by May T. Watts and Tom Watts.

Adopt a Twig for Winter

Trees may look dead during the winter – but they’re not. The leaves may be gone, but there are plenty of buds on the twigs. And each of those weatherproof buds holds next season’s growth.

Take a look for yourself. Find a tree with fat buds on the ends of its branches. Now carefully peel open one of the buds. Inside you’ll see tiny leaves and stems twisted and folded up, waiting to grow once the weather grows warmer.

Adopt a twig and watch the amazing changes that happen as spring returns. Tie a ribbon around your twig so you can find it again. Then take a photo – or draw a sketch – of your bud.

Check back in a month and see how it’s faring. Take another photo, sketch another bud portrait and make sure to write down any changes you see. Does it get bigger? What happens in the spring? Does it turn into a leaf or a flower? Follow it through the fall.

Nonfiction Monday: Winter Trees

Winter Trees

By Carole Gerber, illustrated by Leslie Evans

32 pages, for ages 4-8

Charlesbridge 2008

Winter is spare, stark, gray and dark … a perfect season to hibernate in the library. Which is where I found Carole Gerber’s book, Winter Trees. Winter, Gerber explains, is the best time to look at trees because you can see their “skeletons” – the egg shape of maple, the oval of beech, the sloping sides of evergreen pyramids.

Winter Trees takes the reader on an adventure of exploration with a boy and his dog. Together they crunch through fresh, frozen snow. Together they compare the smooth peeling trunk of the birch tree to the yellow poplar’s furrowed bark, the soft ferny hemlock twigs to the sharp spruce needles.

Gerber, who volunteers at a nature preserve, wrote her first tree book about fall leaves. It was after slogging through snow and tapping a maple to make syrup, she said, that she was inspired to write a second book about trees. She wanted to focus on a different season. The challenge, Gerber says, is finding another group of beautiful trees that she can fit together in a single long verse.

Gerber says that she does a lot of research. Then she needs to find a way to translate what she learns into language that will appeal to young children and, at the same time, teach them about the trees in their back yards and city parks. She learns new things, too – “The most interesting is that evergreen needles are actually thin, pointed leaves!”

The result of all her work is an award-winning picture book – Winter Trees was named “Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12” by NSTA. The book is more than a field guide – it encourages children to interact with the trees growing beyond their front door. Even if it is something as simple as collecting twigs and pine cones and crunchy dried leaves to decorate a snowman.

This post is part of the Nonfiction Monday Round-Up hosted this week by Wild About Nature. I picked up a copy of the book at my local library.