study buddy

My mother always used to tell us, "Make sure there are always people in your pictures. Or else they'll be very boring." So forgive me if these pictures bore you, but I can't stop photographing the tiny wonders of spring that are taking place all around our home.

Inspired by an activity on the Green Hour website, Emma and I have each "adopted" a bud on the Maple tree in the side yard, that we'll be watching for the next few weeks.

Today was the first day. We marked the buds with a piece of string, took a few pictures and drew some sketches of what our buds looked like.

After a dormant winter, it seems like changes are happening daily, so we'll be revisiting our buds regularly to take more pictures, drawings and observations.

(And for the sake of full disclosure, I just want to note that my dear children spent more time decorating the title of this chart than they did studying the buds. Isn't that the way it goes?)

I think it will be really neat to compare all the photographs once the leaves emerge. To see how these spindly, fragile red buds change and develop into broad maple leaves.

If I'm not careful, spring will creep up on me, and next thing I know I'll be looking at green leaves, and long grass, and flowering trees. Hopefully, this little project will help us savor the change of seasons a bit more.