Drawing of the buds of my (potentially dead) Ash tree
Lesson 1: Shame=excellent motivational technique
In our first week in college, our Science teacher gave us a quick "test".
He handed out a load of buds and asked us to identify them by tree. I was completely and utterly clueless. It turns out....I have never really looked at a tree in my life....ever. The shame.
Lesson 2: Don't plan a lesson unless you have the means of supplying the relevant resources
Ego completely devestated, I started looking around and trying to identify trees by their buds. I became quickly obsessed. I have countless pictures of buds on my camera; some of them identified;others....less so!! I entusiastically planned a lesson for the infants on distinguishing between Ash and Oak trees. I was REALLY into it! I did this however, before having located an Oak tree to source buds from. Ash trees; I was finding everywhere. There was one conveniently located a couple of steps from my door, which I used to play on when I was a kid. (We were later evicted by bees...) I snapped a collection of twigs from it with only a minimum amount of regret. It was for educational purposes after all... Locating the Oak however was quite the adventure. I found a picture of the kind of buds I was looking for on trusty Google images, and off I went. I was a constant source of annoyance to my familial chauffeurs (aka:brothers). "Could you slow down here, I just need to check the buds...." I went for walks. It wasn't happening. I went to the grounds of the the University in my local town. No dice. A million beech trees, some sycamores....but nothing that resembled an Oak. I did eventually locate some Oaks....randomly and thankfully. It was a strange and challenging thing to have to locate on demand though. I couldn't google it. I couldn't scan back in my memory. Where have I seen Oak trees before? I had no reference point. My brain had not been filing this information it would seem... And so, it was a worrying time for me. I assure you.
Lesson 3: Ensure you don't use cuttings from dead trees when trying to monitor growth in the classroom.
After our lesson on buds, I had placed two cuttings in jars on the windowcill before encouraging the children to check their growth daily to see which one will bloom first.
Yes. That's right. I am now thinking that the conveniently located Ash tree mentioned above is in fact....dead. Actually, I'm not entirely sure just yet. There's still time. It might yet sprout. I'm praying. Vigorously! In the classroom jars, the Oak's leaves are emerging now, but the Ash is looking worryingly inactive. My Ash tree at home is looking similarly dubious....and yet....the Ash tree down the road is as developed as the Oak tree that I have in the classroom. I may have to sneakily replace it one morning with a tree which is definitively alive...
(Lesson learned: Science is tricky...Who knew...)
And all this matters because....
Oak before Ash, we're in for a splash
Ash before Oak, we're in for a soak!
The arrival of leaves on Ireland's two most common native trees are traditionally used as a weather forecast for the upcoming summer.
Currently, there are three possible scenarios in existence...
A. The Ash tree in my garden is not dead and the Oak did in fact sprout before the Ash. Ergo: We should be looking forward to a lovely Summer.
B. The Ash tree in my garden is indeed dead and I have no idea which tree actually sprouted first. Ergo: Cross my fingers and hope for a lovely summer, regardless of any evidence to the contrary...like i usually do
C. The Ash and the Oak are sprouting simultaneously....so we're in for a mixed summer??
Either way...I think I will have to repeat my experiment again next year...
So now you all know: I know nothing about trees.
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