The sights, smells, and sounds were very different in the park today than when I last went. Fridays and Saturdays there tends to be a big market in the piazza adjourning, which also stretches up along the park.

Closing my eyes, I hear viral Tik Tok songs, smell fried food, car exhaust, and rain, and feel a slight cool wind. I see lots of people, stalls full of clothes and food, and people clumped together listening to music or chatting. There’s high traffic, and cherry red buses and rows of car flow by the park.

The object I chose to observe was a tree next to my bench:

OBSERVE
1. I notice a small gold numbered tag with numbers nailed high up into the tree.
2. There’s beautiful green moss like a rug near where the branches begin.
3. There are no leaves, but I see buds.
4. The branches over the park’s sidewalk have been cut.
5. There are deep, dark grooves in the bark.

WONDER
1. What type of tree is it?
2. When was it planted?
3. Will it flower or simply sprout leaves?

REMINDS ME
1. Of the trees that grow in a park near my home, even though they are on different continents and from different climates.

The climate is pretty regular in Bologna. Hot and humid summers, cold winters with little snow. Rain, but not every day – spurts every few weeks or days, with lots of sunshine and a moderate amount of overcast, cloudy days. When I looked it up, it has a humid subtropical climate. I think the mix of hot and cold is why this tree (a deciduous tree) has been able to grow well.