Our May outing was geared toward young children with their parent/s.
The outing was fun. We had an active, lively time and the most special discovery turned out to be the little ‘pink cauliflowers’ on black cottonwood trees. It was very appealing that these beautiful little homes were built by tiny 4-legged red-coloured mites whose adults are only .2 mm long. We saw that in the very early stage the homes are a lovely spring green and are apparently formed by the mites salivating on emerging leaf buds whose growth is thereby inhibited. Poplar bud gall mites spend most of their lives inside these homes.
We followed a path through the woods to the creative playground at the French School, complete with hand drums and a unique climbing frame, then ran quickly back through the woods along a different trail that was tiny, with a secret entrance.
If you are curious to know more about the mites, here is a good link.
Leader: Judith Holm
Photo above courtesy of Judith Holm: Pacific crab apple, blooming in the Estuary in May.
Poster at right by Vanessa Isnardy, based on photos by Judith Holm.