Oak Apple Gall

Pictured below is what I believe to be an oak apple gall growing on a small oak tree in the side yard. From what I understand, a tiny wasp lays her eggs in a budding leaf and the leaf forms a gall around the growing larvae. The larvae are protected and nourished inside and emerge when fully grown. Galls come in all shapes and sizes and can be found on leaves and stems. They are really quite beautiful and they rarely harm the host tree. I must make a note to myself to look for and document more varieties of galls this summer.

I didn’t get my challenge doll completely stuffed yesterday – much more time-consuming than I thought it would be. I called it quits after two hours. I must finish that today or I will get way behind schedule. Besides the web site I’m designing for my new Santas, I just got a commercial web design job in today. Not sure of the due date, yet, but it will probably be in a rush…like everything else…

Our taste of Italy for today was a rerun of Couscous Al Fresco. (Click here and type in Couscous Al Fresco under recipes.) This is a great dish for warm weather because it requires very little cooking – my kind of meal!

Oak Apple Gall