Maggie – The Nature of Nature 2019

California Gulls

In the chapter entitled “California Gulls,” Williams and her family initially believe that her mother’s cancer is gone only to find out hours later that this was a premature thought, and her mother’s cancer is not gone. Williams immediately starts describing how the California gulls saved Utah residents’ crops in 1848 by eating the crickets that were destroying the crops. To the people of Utah these birds are seen as their rescuers in a time of crisis. There is even a gold statue of a California gull in Salt Lake City to commemorate this event. To Williams the California gull symbolizes a savior and is mentioned in this chapter because Williams would like someone to save her mother the same way the Utahans were saved.

When I first read the chapter, I did not know what a California gull looked like, but I have googled it since. The gull is the bird in “Finding Nemo” that says “mine, mine, mine” over and over again. I have always associated the California gull with this memory of “Finding Nemo.” To me this fowl is the stereotypical gull at the beach, and they are a nuisance. I have learned that they are scavengers and will eat most things (including rodents) and will eat if they are flying, swimming, walking, or wading. I now have a new appreciation for them since reading this chapter in Refuge and can sympathize with the dream of having a hero come and save the day. Now that I know the folklore behind this bird, I will no longer consider them the ants of the beach.

Cows

I walked away from David Kline’s farm thinking, “I guess I’ve met more cows.” As a child if someone would have asked me my favorite place on Earth, I would have said my cousins’ farm. I have fond memories of jumping on wrapped up hay and leaping from barrel to barrel, of walking around the barn and encountering the odd cow who was separated from the herd, and feeding their pigs who wanted nothing else but food from you. I stepped into Kline’s barn and the nostalgia hit me like a freight train. The smell of the barn and the hay took me back to my cousins’ farm.

However, when we were standing in the barn and encountered his cows who could have come into the barn had the doors been open, I was reminded of another barn I spent hours in. During my senior year of high school, I had to complete a Rube Goldberg Machine, and because the machine had to be so large, my partner, James, and I completed it in his three-walled barn. I have mixed memories about the machine in general, but I loved the cows in that barn. They weren’t technically James’ cows; the barn and land were used by a big heifer company farm who would keep three to six months old cows in his barn. Then the cows would be moved to another farm, and new cows would come. Whenever I wanted a break from working on the machine, I would approach a cow, offering it a Frito. It took several attempts but, eventually, a cow ate a Frito from me. Once that first cow ate the Frito and didn’t die, the other cows must have realized I was not trying to poison them, and they all wanted Fritos from me. I’d like to imagine I was called “the Frito lady” among the cows. After the machine was finished, I went one last time to James’ house to burn the machine and say goodbye to the cows. I walked into the barn and was surprised and heartbroken to realize they were not the same cows. These cows stared at me blankly, wondering who I was. I asked James when the cows would die, and he estimated two years. I get a little sad every time I think that all my cow friends are gone. Upon seeing Kline’s cows, this memory came rushing back. I looked at the cows’ sweet faces and was surprised when I saw the calves. Of all the cows I’ve seen, none have been quite so little. I was happy to hear that Kline’s cows live ten to twelve years and that he too is connected to some of them

Residence Quad

I am sitting in the residence quad with Stevenson directly behind me and Ebert straight ahead. To my left is the tennis court with a green fence that is approximately seven feet tall. Many people walk parallel to the tennis court and do not look around. Some stare at their phones, others talk on their phones, and some would rather look down at the ground than up at the trees. Beyond the tennis court are trees, beautifully colored trees ranging in shades of brown, yellow, red, and green. I continue to scan to the right, and the trees fill the skyline. However, if I look a little closer to ground level, I see cars. Jeeps, minivans, sedans, you name it, the parking lot has it. It’s really quite a shame because the trees are so beautiful, but it’s hard to ignore the cars. When I look straight ahead, I see Ebert. For an art building it isn’t very pretty. There is a lot of tan brick, some red brick, and some windows on the second floor. When you look closely, you notice that the windows have dark streaks that bleed to the ground. A little to the right there are more trees with equally beautiful colors as the aforementioned. When you first gaze at the trees, there is an assortment of colors. You might believe that each tree is a solid color, but when you study each tree, you notice that it varies in color. The tops of the tall trees are red and then quickly transition to a golden color. Yet both the sides of the trees and the leaves that are located deep within their branches are green. Beyond these trees lies Kenarden, a dormitory building with pretty architecture. But if it were trees, it would be even prettier.

The Ants Go Marching On

When I was a kid, my brother, mother, and I would go to the pool every day during summer. We would meet up with my mom’s friend’s family and all play together. At the pool we couldn’t be in the water during designated lifeguard breaks. During the first break I would leave some food in the grass with the hopes of attracting ants; it always worked. By the time I came back during the next break, many ants would be taking away bits of my gift. They would form single file lines to and away from it. I was always amazed at how many ants there were, how fast they dissembled the grub, and how much a little ant could carry. Sometimes an ant didn’t get to carry anything so I would break off a different piece of food and put it on his back so the ant could be a hero to the nest. Later in the day I would put a large piece of chow directly in the ants’ path and watch the confusion that would ensue. Should they take the old or new? They would always scramble on top of the new gift feeling it with their antennae. Some ants chose to take the fresh food while others took their original score. Whenever I would come back, there would always be even more ants breaking down my gifts. I had to be careful to not make the pieces too large for fear that my mother and her friends might notice the ants and throw away the food. When did I stop playing this little game? When I stopped going to the pool. Today if I were to have a picnic, I would still break off some food and wait for the ants to march to and fro.

Common Eastern Bumblebee

I was walking from the gym and was in between Douglas and Stevenson when I saw a bumblebee. The poor little guy was actually walking along the sidewalk trying to fly but failing. It was only later that I found out that he needed sugar water, and he was tired. At the time I did not know this, so I watched him for a bit and continued my walk to my room. I knew he was a kind of bumblebee, but I did not know what species. His thorax was yellow, and his abdomen was black except for one yellow stripe. I knew these would be defining features. I googled bumblebees, and I found out that he was a Common Eastern Bumblebee. They are active from the months of May-November and have a queen bee as well as drones. Bumblebees are excellent pollinators because their hair traps pollen. Interestingly, the Common Eastern Bumblebee is such a good pollinator that they are being introduced in the western U.S. and overseas to pollinate crops. I find this program intriguing. Logically, it’s smart to bring in good pollinators to pollinate crops, but it would be too easy for Common Eastern Bumblebees to become an invasive species in those areas.

Sources:

The National Wildlife Federation

https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Invertebrates/Common-Eastern-Bumblebee

Bug Guide

https://bugguide.net/node/view/56797

In the Thicket of Thoreau

“I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of time. To be in company, even the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers,” (pg 216).

In this quote Thoreau describes how he prefers to be alone than with other people. From his sentence structure it is clear how peaceful Thoreau finds solitude. To expand on this, the second sentence is longer and is followed by the simple sentence “I love to be alone.” This sentence clearly articulates his stance. The simplicity of the sentence has a powerful impact on the reader. The reader just read about how exhausting people are, but now can take a break and just breathe with Thoreau on how easy it is to be alone. Thoreau also expresses how much he likes to be alone with his word choice. The words “wholesome” and “companion” describe being alone, and “wearisome” and “dissipating” describe being with people. “Wholesome” and “companion” bring to mind simple calming things while “wearisome” and “dissipating” makes one think about tedious, horrible tasks. Personally, I find this passage to be very true, especially the last sentence. I would go so far to say that a person does not need to go abroad to be among men and feel alone, but just be with people who do not understand him/her. Feeling alone can be synonymous with feeling misunderstood. Perhaps, Thoreau did not like people because he thought they did not understand him, and only when he was alone did he feel understood.

Have No Fear the Insects Were There

When I first got to Johnson’s Woods, I was impressed by how “woody” the area was. One of the first things I wanted to do once I separated from the group was to look for insects. Over the summer I had an internship with the Ohio Agriculture Research Development Center (OARDC) that involved scouting for insects in fields. I mainly scouted a small broccoli and potato field. Scouting involves looking for insects and looking for evidence of what they had eaten. Along the boardwalk I found a caterpillar walking along. I was unaware of what kind of caterpillar this was, but it was covered in white hair and had some black spikes. The caterpillar was fun to watch because it would walk a bit, and then pick up its front half and thrash it around. I was told during my internship that this is a defense mechanism and an attempt by the caterpillar to seem scary, but to me it was cute. I have since googled the caterpillar, and it was a Hickory Tussock caterpillar whose hair is venomous. It turns out this caterpillar had a reason to be walking around like it owned the place.

Another insect I noticed was the leaf miner. A leaf miner is a broad term for any insect whose larvae mines a leaf (like a coal miner). An entire plant had all of its leaves fall prey to leaf miners, yet I couldn’t help but enjoy the patterns and contrasting colors the miners left. There were interesting loops that remind me of the path of someone with no worries, and the leaves were of a dark rich green, with the trails of the leaf miner being the color of milk. I enjoyed being able to appreciate the beauty of the leaf miners instead of having to note its presence on a piece of paper. One thing my internship taught me was that insects are always present; you just have to stop and wait for them to come out. Johnson’s Woods is filled with insects and has a thriving ecosystem.

The Caterpillar

source:https://www.google.com/search?q=hickory+tussock+caterpillar&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiYrIqswrjkAhVQQq0KHRW5AXgQ_AUIEygC&biw=1477&bih=718#imgrc=e088SbeOopFTGM:

Leaf Miner Damage

source: myself

Pockets of “Nature”

When I was first considering a place on campus that has “nature” my first thought was of Williams. The café in Williams has many examples of “nature” but upon further investigation in Williams I was reminded that some walls have plants on them. The walls have wood as the backdrop and the plants are in these cloth like envelops. Since the first year the plants have changed. Some of the plants now spill out over their envelop while others remain small succulents. The section of the wall with the plants is back and is not flush with the rest of the wall and underneath the plants are stones. If you stand at the very end of the hall the plant wall sticks out not only because it has plants, but because it’s the only section of the wall painted green, the rest of the hall is white. If you walk down the hall it feels like a sterile environment with the exception of the plants that bring life. Obviously, the plants did not naturally start growing in a brand-new building but were put there by architects and designers to resemble nature. Throughout the whole building there are similar pockets of “nature” that the architects and designers have used to create a modern building that integrates elements of the natural world.