This week's assignment was to read the first chapter in our Discover Nature in Winter book and then observe colors in nature that are more noticeable because of the white snowy landscape and barren trees. So we trekked outdoors today in the high winds and bitter cold *grin*, to see if we could spot some brightly colored nature :)
The first observation that the kids made was that there were no brightly colored plants visible since everything around us is completely covered with over a foot of snow right now :) So I encouraged them to look more closely at some of the trees and shrubbery that we walked past. Under a giant cedar tree they found huge masses of moss, wonderful furry moss that was soft to the touch.
And growing along with that wonderful moss was some silver colored lichens which were definitely more scratchy and rough to the touch. We've got a bit of a touch and fell theme going on today *grin*.
We also found lots of tree branches and leaves littered on top of the snow as we walked, blown down by the winds today. Above L is holding a chunk of a cedar branch. We also observed a blue sky the color of robin eggs and not a cloud in sight :)
And just as we were about to head inside we stumbled upon some of the beautiful bright red berries of the Cotoneaster bush poking out from beneath the snow. Sorry for the bad photo. It was so far up on the hillside, that I had to zoom all the way in to get it and sacrifice quality :(
Hope you enjoyed discovering winter colors with us :)
I have found a love for all mosses after studying them in the Outdoor Hour Challenges. They really are an overlooked beauty. After you start noticing moss, it is everywhere.
Beautiful red berries too.
Thanks for the link to the chapter in the Discover Nature book and for sharing your link,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
