We’re still enjoying our first edition of Travis’s subscription to Ranger Rick Jr., which has already been the inspiration for scrapbooking, animal crafts, and more! There appears to be a recurring monthly feature called Green Time, encouraging play or activities outdoors. Me being me, my plan moving forward is to highlight these adventures on the blog!

January’s suggestion to get outside was to get to know an evergreen tree, an up-close-and-personal exploration of these verdant trees. Travis and I took advantage of mild temps (for January) and headed off to the park. When I told him we’d be getting to know a pine tree, Travis asked which one was going to be our friend!

Soon enough we’d spotted it, a majestic pine. We listened for sounds, although it was hard to distinguish much nature with cars nearby and plane traffic overhead. But we did get to use our sense of touch on the tree bark…

Sense of smell on the needles…

And simply got to know our friend. Travis was dusting him off here with an extra pine needle.

Needles and pinecones were easy to spot. It wasn’t the right time of year, unfortunately, to see insects or bird’s nests.

But we loved this burl on the trunk!

Thanks for getting us outside, Ranger Rick!