Outdoor Hour Challenge ~ Autumn Series ~ Oak and Acorns

What a great time we have had discovering oaks and acorns! Every week this challenge series at the blog Handbook of Nature Study helps us enjoy nature and the more time we spend in nature, the more we are in awe of it!

We live in a newer subdivision and sadly, trees are a rare thing..having been cut down to allow for the building of the houses. This is the negative part about where we live right now and I miss trees so much, but I am pleased to be able to find a few mature, tall trees not too far from our house. We can walk along the farmer's field near our home and find them. I had noticed acorns before on the ground on one of the paths we take, and Adrienne usually picks them up for her fairy friends.

We took a walk together one cold sunny day and explored the tree and its surroundings where the acorns are usually found. We brought leaves and acorns home and took out our tree guide to try to identify it. Which kind of oak was it? We are pretty sure that it is a Pin Oak.

our "nature tray"

We completed the nature journal page (found here) and read a great book called "Oak Tree" by Gordon Morrison. We learned so much from that book. I think the picture below shows oak galls, which we found out where abnormal growths on the tree sometimes caused by parasites, insects, or bacteria.

I love taking pictures, so here are a few more from our nature study. I hope you will enjoy them too. Isn't that leaf amazing? Looks like lace to me!



That last photo shows how tall that beautiful oak tree is! I was in the farm field taking that one :)