Documenting the neighborhood play park

It's the last day before school!! Outside it’s 90 degrees, so summer will be with us unofficially for a while longer.

We decided that on our last day we’d document the park across the street. We tried out a Florida Pine tree dichotomous key to figure out the name of the only Pine tree in the park. Pretty much, it’s a flow chart you follow based on the physical characteristics of the tree. Ours is a Slash Pine! (Next goal: find a park with Long leaf pines.)

We took a swim break, and then ran out to find some creatures on the trees. Underneath the Slash pine bark we found bugs and on top of the bark we found lichen. Hiding in the old bases (boots) of the Cabbage Palm fronds we found a brown anole, and on the underside of an Oak tree leaf we found an insect gall.

Finally, we mapped out our play park! A lot has changed since we first moved into the neighborhood. What will be new next year?

Now we know that these trees serve as homes, too! Let’s not cut off our Cabbage palm boots like was done here!