Isla’s Autumn Tree

Isla visits the oak tree with Mum. Most leaves are green, but a few have turned yellow. “Is something wrong?” Isla asks. Mum suggests keeping a record. They will visit the same tree as one season follows another.

On the path, they find a fallen oak leaf. They look at its colour and curved outline. Isla does not need to pull a leaf from a branch. She draws the fallen one beside her picture of the tree.

Over the next few weeks, more oak leaves become yellow and brown. Some fall to the ground. It is autumn. Mum explains that this kind of tree loses its leaves as part of its usual seasonal pattern.

Nearby, an evergreen tree still looks green. Not every tree changes in the same way. “We must say which tree we watched,” Mum reminds Isla. Their oak drawings do not show what every tree everywhere is doing.

In winter, the oak’s branches are bare. Mum helps Isla spot small buds without breaking a twig. A healthy bare tree can still be alive. The oak has not become dead simply because its leaves are gone.

At home, they compare their drawings. The trunk and place help them recognise the same oak. Its leaves have changed over time. One quick visit would not have shown the whole pattern they are beginning to notice.

When spring arrives, they return. Small new green leaves open from buds. Isla adds another drawing. The change took months, not one afternoon. Waiting and looking again have helped her understand the tree.

They lay the pictures in seasonal order. Isla points to green leaves, autumn colours, bare branches and new growth. “It is the same oak,” she says. “I can notice change by visiting and keeping a record.”