The Outdoor Hour - Challenge #36 - Late

Having done our Autumn study of our tree (Sweet Chestnut) in September, and finding that it was really still in full summer dress... we decided to re-visit it now that Autumn is in full-swing to see if it had progressed any... and it sure had! It was still clinging to it's leaves, despite those around it being nearly bare. Not a hugely exciting colour of Autumn leaf... but still nicer than the Horsechestnut we think. Ah, I just love Autumn so very much and all the colours...

The Outdoor Hour - Challenge #36 - Early

We went up to see Our tree on Friday... we haven't been to see it for a while, and the last time we did, it didn't have any fruits. Well, this time was a different matter! Heavy with fruits and some fallen... though they are not the biggest sweet chestnuts I've seen. Autumn is starting to show on many of the other trees in the Park, but not our tree... not yet. We'll need to visit again soon and see if we can get some chestnuts for eating, the fallen ones had all been trampled.... though while we were standing mourning the squashed ones, a gentleman kindly stopped to let us know that there was a Sweet Chestnut tree further up a nearby road that were very large and ripe if we were wanting some!

The Outdoor Hour - Challenge #14, #16 & #20

Just kind of 'catching up' really... we've got out of the habit of doing something regularly, we need to get back on track...

Here's the sunflowers... look how well they've done! It's great looking at them and thinking how we brought them on ourselves...



The sorry tale of the pumpkin plants... they WERE healthy and green... so we planted them out... then 2 of them were eaten over night... the next night the remaining pumpkin plant was set upon... in an effort to humanely keep off the slugs/snails, we broke some eggshells around the plant...

... didn't work! Poor plant!

However, a week later, we discovered leaves growing again on this plant, so we've covered it up (plastic milk bottle cut in half, with some netting on the top) and will see how it does... it seems to be still alive, but whether it will grow to produce a pumpkin is another matter! We just don't ever seem to have any joy with pumpkins... maybe next year!

We've done some pressing of flowers... mostly from the garden... Bubbles was fascinated by the process... I like pressed flowers... but they just aren't the same as they look 'in real life'... they lose so much of the colour. The microwave press we have works a little better at keeping the colours a bit more... but we didn't use it this time (it's the one at the bottom). The top press is my all-time favourite... so easy to use.


We've done a lot of 'looking up' in our books too... I love my wildflower book... I've had it for years now, and is definitely the best one I've ever had... Complete British Wild Flowers by Collins. There's some lovely wild flowers down here in Mid-West England, that we've not seen before in East Scotland...

This is our make-shift 'press' (basket of heavy items!) for the leaves we took when we did a 'tree survey' of sorts in the local park, where there are a plethora of trees, MANY of which I do not know (I'm more a wildflower person than a tree person!). I think we took leaves from about 15 trees... we've still to identify some, and I must remove the pressings to see the result soon... and then post about the trees. I have to say, the kids were not quite as enamoured with the whole 'tree expedition' as I was! But, they just about tolerated it! They WERE happy to examine "our" tree for our summer tree study though!


Here's "our" Sweet Chestnut tree, in Brinton Park... these pictures were taken about a month ago now... the tree was looking really lush and green... but we were surprised that there were no fruits starting, as the Horse Chestnut trees were already beginning to grow their conkers. We shall have to check back soon, and see if any are beginning to grow yet...


We've also decided to follow a tree in our garden, through the seasons... a tree we've never encountered before, and which we've only just managed to identify! I've had many people tell me that it is a Tree of Heaven... but, whilst the leaves are very similar, the 'flowers' most definitely are NOT! Finally, we have identified it as a Staghorn Sumac... it is really quite lovely to look at... but I can see that it is going to need to be kept under control! Apparantly it is a weed in Australia, and I can perfectly see why! There are small trees growing all over the garden! I have noticed quite a few around Kidderminster in gardens too. I haven't taken a picture of the whole tree since all the new flowers came out, but it is very pleasing to the sight. We are looking forward to seeing what it is like in the Autumn (my favourite time of year...).

The Outdoor Hour - Challenge #12

This challenge is all about garden flowers.

I'm a bit late posting this! Time passes so quickly. When we were last at the garden centre, I asked the kids if they'd like a plant each to look after in the garden... "er... nope!" was the answer! They decided to pick... erm... this....

Not exactly "outdoor"! Actually... they are quite pleasing cacti! I'm pleased they chose ones that weren't the 'norm'! The reason they chose the ones they did?... because they didn't want prickly ones! So, here's hoping they will have a happy life on the window ledge!

This was how our well our Butter Bean was doing, a couple of weeks ago (started as part of a science experiment)... it was doing so well, I had to pluck out the top shoot to stop it going on up!

It has really bushed out now, and looks like it is going to flower... I have NO idea whether to expect beans off it or not! I don't think so, but... we've never grown one before... and it was only an experiment...

Pumpkin seedlings... we've never managed to produce any before! I don't know why, but they haven't liked us! Here's hoping these go all the way. Above was them a week ago...

Look at them now! Still inside though... will have to harden them off soon...

Above is how our sunflowers got on in the house... they were doing really well... they have slowed up a bit since potting them out, and one of them 'broke' in some wind the other day. Will see how they come on... have planted them all in the same pot, so not giving them much chance really! So, we will see how they do... we have a little competition going on - between us, my brother, and mum and dad - to see who can grow the largest sunflower! The kids and I actually found a load more sunflower seeds in the house and have planted them out in a little plot in the garden that Stephen just dug over for us... any little extra effort to try and win!!


I love seeds and plants! I don't think the kids share the same enthusiasm... at the moment! I'm not green-fingered though! More a kind of plant it up and hope it looks after itself, kind of thing! And a "tub" or "pot" gardening person.. that's me! I love plants though! The rest of the challenges up to number 20 (not including), we are just about to cover them in our science - God's Design for Life: The World of Plants... so it's great that it's all co-inciding. Whether I'll post on these challenges or not, I don't know yet!

The Outdoor Hour - Challenge #11

Finally, we get around to doing our Nature Study again... and about time to go and examine our 'adopted' tree... for we are going to look at this throughout the year and see the seasonal changes that is goes through. Our Tree Study... this is the Spring one.

We found the tree we wanted to study in the nearby Park not long after moving here... but it had no leaves, and it has been a long while in budding up... but finally, we have leaves... AND we have and identity for it... O, it was wonderful walking up the slope under the canopy of tree leaves from so many different trees... the Limes in abundance and the Horse Chestnut, the Maple and the Sycamore... all so fresh and green and gently rustling in the wind... sadly, I think the moment was lost on the kids, and it was just me gauping in wonder! Nevermind, can't force the issue!

So, to 'our' tree - a Sweet Chestnut... how exciting! I had NO idea it was going to be that... it was really fun to go and see what it had 'turned into'! We didn't have any close by at the old house... lovely to study it... the most wonderful knotted bark on the trunk... almost like the pattern from an Arran jumper. We all felt it, and agreed it was very rough, and quite jaggy really... nice to *look* at, but not touch!

We did some simple observations... measured the tree trunk (and even stretched around it ourselves... Bubbles wanted to see if it was *ancient* - apparantly, so she tells me, if you have to have 4 or more people stretched around a tree trunk to encompass it's girth, then it is ancient... we managed to get us 3 round it very easily and some arm to spare... so it's not ancient!). We brought a leaf home and a catkin to press and we did some bark rubbing. We also stood quietly underneath to see what we could hear... sadly, being near a main road it was mostly cars we heard! But we heard people talking as they passed (probably wondering what we were doing!!) and we could just hear the wind rustling the leaves, despite the drone of cars.

Saw lots of growth out of these 'knots' on the sides of the tree.

Hands off, it's ours!

Our lovely tree... I think it stands so elegantly... like a ballerina, arms stretched out so gracefully...

The Outdoor Hour - Challenge #9

So, here we are looking at Challenge 9 (One Small Square). We are to see how many different things we can find in our square. It's been such a lovely afternoon that we spent a lot of it in the garden, and we went to the top of the garden to find our 'square' to look in. We threw a bit of twine in a rough square shape and grabbed the magnifying glasses and our field microscope and had a good look to see what we could find.

To be honest, it wasn't a hugely exciting square of the garden! However, we did discover that life goes on underfoot, even when we don't notice it!... we had a fair amount of grass in our square and moss and some creeping leaves, which we think may be buttercup stems - what was more interesting was the root systems of these, fascinating. Then we had leaves, a few small stones, dead branches and tiny cones (off the overhanging conifers we presume). We also managed to see an ant, a small spider a couple of small bugs and a tiny woodlouse.

The kids hugely enjoyed using the magnifying glasses and Bubbles particularly liked using the field microscope and eagerly viewed her 'finds' (mostly leaves) this way.

Eager to continue using the mangifers, talk turned to burning grass... but the sun just isn't quite hot enough to manage that yet so we discovered... so talk turned to melting chocolate - that worked! Not exactly nature... but managed nature study AND science activity all out of the same equipment!

The Outdoor Hour

We've seen loads of moss and lichen in our move from Scotland to England. A selection of them are below. I think we've kind of exhausted our interest in them now though! Time to move on... but I'm sure we'll see and take note of them whenever they crop up (my new lawn seems to be 90% moss, so can't get away from it really!!). It's been really good to have a nature 'focus' during the upheaval of the move.

Moss on the path... ours at our new house!

Wow, think this is amazing... found this up on Dartmoor, Devon

So, what to next? Well, I think we will maybe jump around the challenges a bit now - that's the good thing about starting the project nearly a year after everyone else! We've covered Challenge 6 on collections quite a lot in the past year... the kids are always keen to pick up things, from sticks and feathers, to stones and shells, and any other interesting items lying around whether to do with nature or not! Our Bubbles is a bit of a magpie!

We may make our own field guides some time, as per Challenge 7. It would be nice to have our own personal ones... maybe we'll do one of our garden birds too - we have so few at the moment (I guess it takes the birds a while to get used to new feeders if they've not been encouraged into a garden before), and not so much variety as back in Rosewell. So far we have only seen 2 fat wood Pigeons, 2 Bluetits, 2 Robins, 4 Dunnocks, a Song Thrush and, on the one occasion, a Goldcrest (that was very exciting for me!)... far cry from the Chaffinchs, Sparrows, Greenfinches, Tits - Blue, Coal and Great, Collared Doves, Yellowhammer, Starlings, Rooks, Magpies, Robin and Wren that we had in our old house! Still, it's early days yet. Though the shelves are bursting with bought guides! I picked up a great one today at the Wyre Forest Visitors Centre called The Tree Name Trail (these trail guides are great for the kids), and I hope it will help us to identify all the trees around us here... because there really are an awful lot of trees around for a town!

Challenge 8 has reminded me that I found our large magnifying glasses AND our field microscope the other day... so I'm very excited to remember that, and will have to pack them in our bag when we go out walking in the afternoons. It's amazing how something overlooked before (eg a blade of grass) can suddenly take on a new dimension when looked at even closer!

We love picnics... so are eagerly awaiting it being a little warmer so we can comfortably sit outside with our food! We'll have no problem enjoying challenge 10 at various times over the warmer months!

So, I think that leads me to Challenge 9 (One Small Square) and Challenge 11 (Spring Tree Study) to start on at the moment. Challange 9 should go down well with the kids I think... not sure if we'll choose a spot in our garden (which appears very mundane, but you just never know!) or out at the park (approx 26 acres to choose from!)!. I have always fancied the idea of photographing an area of nature at each of the different seasons... but never got round to it, so here's the opportunity! Trees is a good one... there's an abundance of them around us here! In fact, the reason I purchased the trail guide today is that our local park has a plethora of different trees that I feel compelled to get to grips with! And after this... I'm hard pressed to know whether to carry on with Challenge 12 and Garden Flowers, or jump to the Tree section! We'll see...