I spotted a Yellow Woolly Bear caterpillar on the Abbot Nature Trail. The caterpillar was eating the Jewelweed leaves. It’s yellow and hairy but when it goes into its hairy cocoon out comes a white bodied moth called an Virginia Tiger moth. They have two broods yearly. Cocoons are formed in spring and summer. I learned so much about just one thing I found on the Nature Trail. This caterpillar was awesome. I hope that I can find it again!
Evening Primrose
One thing I found on the trail is the Evening Primrose. It has wide heart shaped petals. It takes two years to grow. When I felt the stem it was square shaped and fuzzy. The stamen is cross-shaped. It flowers from June to September.
Abbot Nature Trail
When I went on the nature trail I saw an engine, a birdhouse and white trail markers. I noticed there were lots of bees where the flowers were growing.
Smartweed
One thing we saw on the trail is a type of Smartweed but we’re not sure which one yet. It grows to be about 37” inches tall. The flowers are spikes of pink or purplish petals. The Smartweed has long pointy leaves that grow to be about 4 and a quarter inches. That is one thing we saw on our nature walk.
Queen Anne’s Lace
The Queen Anne’s lace is a cream colored flower. Queen Anne’s lace is a lacy flat-topped flower. Also, an interesting fact is that in the middle of each cluster is a rich, deep violet colored flower. The flower grows in mostly New England and London. That’s what I saw on the trail. Don’t you think this is a pretty flower?
Pokeweed
On the nature trail we found a berry bush named pokeweed. Pokeweed is a flowering bush. The flowers are tiny and white in long clusters. When the flowers die, berries take their place. The berries are black. In the colonial days, they used to put the juice of the berries in cheap wine to make it look better. The colonists also used it as a dye. I tried dyeing some cloth and the color turned out to be the same color as the stem, magenta. The berries and roots are poisonous. The leaves (which are not poisonous) are large and oval shaped, and darkish green.
Welcome to Room 21’s Nature Blogs!
We are about to embark on a new venture in Room 21! Students have been observing and journaling their discoveries along the Abbot Nature Trail. Now they are going to start posting what they have learned in their outdoor classroom. We hope to make some monthly posts about what is changing in nature over the seasons of the school year. Students will be taking photos to add to their posts. Stay tuned to see student blogs about their finds!