Nature School :: Walking Distance

Welcome!  It seems that it's time to begin again in a new place, so here is a new beginning.  Nature school day is often my favorite day of the week, since it obligates us to leave home and enjoy our surroundings.  If you're interested in the past year of nature school, you can travel to my old blog and check out the Nature School tag.

We went to our town's oldest cemetery, home of the Royal Oak, the oldest public tree.  It's just over the hill from our little bungalow, so it's an easy walk on a gentle Spring morning.  This little place is sadly in disrepair, if you can say that happens to tombstones.  They are toppled and worn, the people seem forgotten, though I am certain local historians have them on file.

The children named this tree the Fairy Palace, with this high broken branch acting as a balcony on magical evenings.

 We found a puffball in the leaves and enjoyed spreading its spores around.  That kind of thing never gets old.

 This is one of the better headstones in its proper place.  Maggie Virginia, just five years old.  The words at the bottom are the ones we know well "suffer the little children to come unto me. . ."

 The thing that makes this place unique, apart from its age, is the presence of many woodland flowers.  We found bloodroot, which is always so early that it is usually missed.  The petals dropped off at the slightest touch--the plants had already gone to see and we saw them just in time.

 These flowers, whatever they are, I could only snap this quick photo of.  That little hand snatched them off right away!  The Solomon's Seal, below, went the same way.  It did give me a chance to show the root to the children so they could see how it grows, year by year. 

In the same place as all these dear little natives, there were also plenty of day lilies, multi-flora roses, and periwinkle vines.  I wonder if they will take over or if these early Spring wildflowers have remained because they are up before the cultivated plants.  Only time will tell, I suppose.

Well, I think it's time to end this first entry.  I hope this new spot sticks.  I sure like the new address.