Outdoor Hour Challenge #1: The Pine Bark Mystery!

The Mystery Bark

  In Outdoor Hour Challenge #1, the idea is just to whet the appetite for nature study. Charlotte Mason didn't want it crammed down the children's throats perhaps because, like all things that are good for them, they will run in the opposite direction as soon as they learn that it's beneficial. No matter that it might even taste good!
   So although we've been doing nature study for a few years, it was good to go back to basics and just let Mei lead the way in finding something of interest to her. She doesn't get all hot and sweaty over nature study, I have to confess (unlike me). So allowing her to call the nature study shots was a sneaky way to get her attention.
    As the Challenge stated, she could find anything she wanted.. She could have chosen some exciting stuff like the pileated woodpecker that I can imitate pretty well much to her amusement, or the bittersweet that was festooning the late-autumn trees. Nope, she chose bark.
    This bark was from a downed tree along the private road we frequent. It runs through a mixed hardwood forest divided by a couple of streams--tributaries to the Patapsco River which in turn flows into the Chesapeake Bay. It's a nice little piece of outdoors that provides many of our nature study opportunities. And a good dog walk.
   As I said, the tree was down and quite deteriorating. At first all we noticed was a trunk, smooth and lying a distance from its source. The short remains of branches stuck straight out in regular intervals. It was a few minutes before we discovered the stump that had once supported the tree. It surprised us to see that it was covered with bark, unlike the smooth surface we had seen on the fallen trunk. We helped ourselves to a sample and headed back, looking all over for a match to identify the tree.

White Pine: gray-green,
long crevices

W-H-I-T-E

We narrowed it down to a pine, but weren't
sure which. There were trees that were clearly white pines. We knew enough about clusters of five long, soft needles to pinpoint that one (ID trick: "WHITE" has five letters, just like the tree has five needles) But the bark didn't match. Nor did the cones. We suspected red pine, but here was the rub. Whenever we found a tree with bark that resembled ours, the tree was DEAD! No needles! Only a rare cone. Ah ha! Now I had her interest as I gave her the responsibility of doing the research at home.

Range Map for Red Pine

   At long last, after consulting a few field guides (hint: it's good to invest in several different guides!) and some internet resources, she concluded that it was indeed a red pine. But why all the pine death? She looked at the map and noted that  red pines don't normally grow this far south. So how did all these trees end up growing here in the first place? Did they sprout from seed cast by a transplanted parent in someone's landscaped yard? Are  they dying from the hotter-than-usual summers we've been having? Or is it something else, like an  infestation or disease? We really haven't solved the mystery
yet, but just having one related to nature made this study all the more "appetizing!"

Mei's  observation page for Challenge #1

   Want to know what makes a pine a PINE? Check out this video "How to Identify Pine Trees." And below that you can learn how to identify four different pines including White and Red! We'll be watching it too. It may solve the mystery of the Mystery Bark!

"How to Identify Pine Trees"

"Pine Tree Identification

Outdoor Hour Challenge: "Old Man Winter" Tree

Inspired by Barb at "Handbook of Nature Study's Outdoor Hour Challenge" blog, and needing a real-live breath of fresh air after spending hours purging A's room (the Indoor Hour Challenge?), we grabbed the dog for our daily walk.
But instead of just walking and maybe commenting about the scenery, I "took a page" from the Barb's "Winter Tree Challenge #2" and brought our attention to three trees on the hill. In an old book I own called "Trees Every Child Should Know"   (read online ), the author points out that winter is an excellent time to study trees, allowing us to really see the structure--bones if you will--of a tree. But it also says that the tree is best observed isolated from others, allowing its full shape to be appreciated."
So we compared the neighbor's large specimen red maple tree to the giant oak that stands sentry on a hilltop in the pasture, a magnificent tree that must be one hundred years old.
It was very easy to see what the book talked about. First the proportions were so evidently different. The oak was wider than it was tall, and the maple the opposite. We used our thumbs, held at arms' length artist-style, to measure. Then we observed the general shapes. The maple was rounded, like most of us expect a tree to be shaped. But the oak was rectangular-ish. I didn't have my camera that day, but will try to get pics soon to share.
Later I will ask what direction the branches of each will follow and we will study the bark and twigs. Who needs leaves?
I'm enjoying discovering trees in winter more than I expected!

Nature Study: Oak Trees: It's All About the Acorns!

I had been apprehensive about Ambleside's timing of a tree study in the winter. Who studies trees when the leaves are all off?? But yesterday, as we took our walk around the lake, I was excited to find several trees that had cones or seedpods or even fruit in early December! The best thing is MeiWei was also excited. I think my enthusiasm for nature study is beginning to rub off!

A couple of weeks ago we had stopped to pick up a few different oak leaves near the house. I have never been good at oak ID and determined to do better. Well, after reading in Handbook of Nature Study
, I found that scientists have trouble with certain types of oaks because the same tree can produce several different leaf shapes! Boy, did that make me feel better. (It's the little things, you know.)
So to really know what you're dealing with you need the ACORNS!

How To Identify an Oak Tree video