I saw a nut lying on a rock so I took a picture of it and showed it to my teacher. She said it was a Shagbark Hickory nut. It was cracked open so maybe a squirrel ate it. The bark on the tree looks shaggy. Also Shagbark hickory trees can grow to be 100 feet tall!
Jewelweed is called Jewelweed because of its jewel-shaped flowers. It’s also called Touch-me-not because when you touch the seed pod seeds blast out! It’s mostly found in Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, Florida, Nebraska and New England. It’s typically 2-5 feet tall. Here is Jewelweed just starting to grow so there are no seed pods.
In the winter the nature trail was very cold and snowy. During the horrible storms, the wind and snow knocked down a lot of trees. In the spring, now on the nature trail new plants grow in the place of the ones that died. Jewelweed and Poison Ivy are growing back.
We were on the Nature Trail. On the trail, we saw 7 birdhouses. We saw some that looked new! Most were sitting on branches, but there was 1 that probably fell because it was upside-down on the leaves. The birdhouses were amazing!!!
This is a picture of a fern that I took on the Abbot School Nature Trail. This fern could be a Virgina Chain Fern or a Massachusetts Fern. See how the stem gets smaller as it goes up the fern? See how it is pointy at the ends and wide in the middle?
Out in the wilderness ferns grow on our trail in the woods. We found a whole lot of New York ferns. They come in groups. It’s the largest group of plant. They are green with a stem and leaves. Our class saw them near trees and a marsh.
There are many types of Galls. There are plant galls and insect galls. Galls are growths of lifeforms.
This is poison ivy on a stump. Poison Ivy can give you a rash. Jewelweed juice is said to cure poison ivy. Poison ivy is an upright shrub.
Did you know that there are different names for ladybugs? Like lady beetle or lady bird. A ladybugs favorite food is Aphids and they also eat leaf hoppers, mites and other small insects. Ladybugs are also poisonous to other bugs. Their stinky goo that comes out from its legs is poisonous. The goo is not poisonous to humans. They can be the color red, orange, brown, tan, gray and yellow. It can have stripes or dots. You can find them on leaves, in your garden, or on flowers. They are the most helpful insect.
