Nature Diary #9

8.29.2011

After The Storm

    Yesterday there was a hurricane! (Well, not really--by the time it reached MA it was just a tropical storm with hurricane gusts.)  Anyways, the media completely overreacted...but I guess overreacting is better than not reacting at all.  There was a really really tall pine in our backyard that kept swaying back and forth.  My dad got a little nervous and kept asking, "Is that our tree or theirs?  How do you know?"  Well, in the end we were just fine.  We didn't even lose power!

    Today you can barely tell that there had been a storm!
                                                 
                                                 
                                                           AFTER THE STORM

 

The sky is blue and cloudless

While the sun shines bright  

The shadows of trees don't move

There is no wind to rustle their branches.

All you can see After The Storm

Is the remains of scattered leaves and twigs

But other than that the storm seems

To have brought peace from rage.

Because her rage
Was full of sadness and when she left
Her sadness blossomed back to happiness
Because everything is fair in Nature's eyes.


      That's a poem I just came up with after I looked at the photos!  Isn't the sky so blue?

Nature diary # 9

8.11.2011

Cliff View/ Art of Nature

    My family went on the hiking trails today.  We climbed a pretty high mountain and saw the view off the edge of a cliff--straight down, maybe even tilted over that point.  We also saw some nice flashes of nature...Anyways, let these photos do the talking:

These Mushrooms are very very orange---More orange than this photo

There is a little fruit growing on this plant that looks like a cactus blossom 

S<= MIDSTATE TRAIL =>N

A thick carpet of moss

Very Berry

Carefully balanced...  By who?  By what?

A huge stone

Rock road and overgrowth

This is a trail and hiking sign

A pretty spiky fallen tree trunk

Three round 'Shrooms

Nature Diary # 8

7.23.2011

Talking Cat

     I    think that I might know how to talk cat a bit since I've been observing some in my neighborhood and "Talking" to them.

        Or maybe they've just gotten used to me.

Nature diary #7

6.30.2011

The Perfect Home

         Today I keep seeing a chickadee of some sort that keeps going into a hole in the tree and coming out with small strips of wood in its beak.  It drops the wood onto the ground and continues going into the hole.

          I figure that it is trying to make the space in the hole bigger so tat it can build a nest in there.

          By the end of the day, piles of woodchips are scattered on the sidewalk...I wonder how it would be like to live in a place like that--especially if I were a bird.  I suppose that it would be more adequate and sheltering than the classical nest on the fork of a branch.  Then again, it might be more stuffy.

          I really do wonder sometimes...

Nature diary #6

6.24.2011

Some Things are Missed

         It seems like the baby birds are not present in their nest but somewhere else.  And furthermore, I have missed their departure!   Now I will never see the birds grow up.
     
         I suppose some things in nature are missed and other things are meant to be missed.

Rain

The rain pours down
Without mercy in the world outside
Join in and get soaked
By the silvery streaks of silk

Now huddle inside
Colorful blankets wrapped around you
Fix a cup of mint tea
Along-side a fire that fizzes with every

Raindrop

NATURE DIARY #5

6.11.2011 

"Let me feed you!"

     

     Recently I've been seeing the mother bird feed her babies.  When the mother comes, those little creatures will start making a huge ruckus and chirp like mad.  Then I see the mother jump to the edge of the nest and lean over.  Then two tiny gray beaks will protrude from the nest and open their mouths.  The mother then "feeds" them.  

        When she leaves, her offspring are once more silent.  

Nature Diary - #4

6.4.2011

Hatched Fuzzballs

They hatched! They hatched! The birdies finally hatched!

I climbed up a ladder to check if the birds hatched yet. When I looked, I saw two fuzzballs curled up in the nest, sleeping. I have to admit that the fuzzballs looked really ugly. I could slightly make out the fact that there were two birds but it was hard to tell. They haven't grown feathers yet.

After I took a few pictures, I retired down the ladder. I didn't want the mother to get so anxious about humans that she would abandon her babies.



I can't wait to watch how the birds grow up and learn how... ...

... ... To Fly.

*see NATURE DIARY to view entries in chronological order.

Nature Diary #2

5.29.2011

Everything Heals

         
Today-as if my encounter yesterday was just a dream-the birds are singing again. I was reminded of the nest that was in my yard. I know that there is an egg in there and the mother occasionally comes to sit in it. I'll record it when the egg hatches.

    But don't worry, I know not to mess around with the nest.


*see NATURE DIARY to view entries in chronological order.

Nature Diary #1

5.28.2011                          

The Way It Was, and The Way It Is

     Today I saw something that I  will never forget.  I hope that most of you out there won't be snickering when you read this but thinking about the title:

         In my yard, a bird sat there, not noticed by anything but the flies.  Soon my father found him and saw that it had been in a fight.  All the feathers on his head had been plucked out and all what was left was a red rotting head and two sullen eyes.  He was Alive, Breathing, And in pain.  But what struck me most was that he was only a baby bird.

         My father said that he most likely was in a nest or tree and fell out.  Then another bird must have mulled him.

         Occasionally, a fly would crawl up the still body and onto the head to lay maggot eggs on the rotten scalp.  As soon as the fly made contact with the exposed skin, the baby bird would shake it off.

          If this wasn't enough, I saw an older bird land onto the ground next to it.  The elder noticed the baby and nudged it.  Then she hopped a few yards away.  A moment later, she came back and stayed there for a while.  It struck me that this might be the babe's mother.  But after a long stay, she flew away. 

          Then, If That Was Not Enough, I heard a call from an anonymous bird.  The injured bird peeped in reply and started hopping into our neighbor's yard. He kept hopping and calling back.  Unfortunately he was going away from the sound.


*see NATURE DIARY to view entries in chronological order.

Breeze

As the yellow warbler chirps softly
In the cool morning air

As the light wind blows gently
between the trees

As the airy day fades pass slowly
with the sun

We don't mind what awaits us
Just what is Here

Picture

Along the seam of the precipice
Awaiting us with its ocean-like
grass
and sky
Raving with glory, blue with debt.

Sits a crow
Eyes as deep as eternity itself
and an old tree
Gnarled from knowledge but
happy

They all smile:
O' tree, crow, cliff, and sky
It seems as if
They all like the company

The Hymn of a Gardener

When you snip a flower
Off from the Earth
For your little glass vase
Make it matter.

Make it so the little
Red rose does not mind
That it is not home, 
That it will die soon.

Put it near a window
Give it a shower
Make it feel of use
That it has at least--

Done one good deed, in its life.

The Meaning of Life - combined haikus

 ~1~

You asked one question
A solitary question
The meaning of life

~2~

When her seed springs up
Mother soil welcomes child
It's the same with us

~3~

We all have desires
To find what drives these desires
carries firm meaning

~4~

Art is a desire?
Why--why do we spread it then?
Are desires for others as well?

~5~

Think of great things gone?
Think this since they are so great?
Life will show you more

Stars

Today, I saw the moon outside
What a simple fact.

The hunter  stood with a missing leg,
The moon replaced his head.

Today, the stars were bright outside
They spoke to me at once.

They told me what it meant to live,
to see these types of moments.

Today, the sky formed its link outside
With us and the heavens.

The path fell down in a wift of silk
It unraveled its stories.

I look up at the sky today,
I'm happy that I did.

Snowy Night

Slow they said, that's all they said.
But who would guess?
I didn't go slow.

we heard the storm at
6 O' clock!
my parents' prayers weren't answered.

The snow had sped at
a speed so fast,
screams were droned away.

We're doing fine,
We are doing fine,
but what about everyone else?

Blizzard (1)

Snow wafts along plain
Howling but also silent
Self-confidence screams

Too Soon

When did the stars fall?
When did the Night Bird call?
When did foreign mists overlap
your shadowy thoughts?

It happened on the Dark of Death,
The unexpected time,
The Night Bird was the one to sing
The mourn stuck in my path.

There was no star to see that day,
They all dropped from the sky.
Those small dreams tucked away
Were dimmed with misty thought.

Oh, why couldn't come the latter day,
Or even in the noon?
For how can someone handle something
That has come too soon?

Arnold Arboretum

Last Saturday, I went to Harvard Arnold Arboretum. I had lots of fun there. I learned about the Black Walnuts and I participated in an activity called letter-boxing.

Did you know that black walnuts were once widely used as writing ink? To make black walnut ink find some black walnuts that have already started rotting. When black walnuts rot, they turn dark brown. put these walnuts in water. Leave them there for one day. The water will turn very dark. Boil this water and you will have ink!

Do you know what some people do when they see a healthy and mature walnut tree? They pull it out and sell it! Some black walnut trees have sold for 5 thousand or more dollars! Why do they sell so well? Walnut trees have an unique and beautiful original color.

This is what the black walnut looks like when it just falls to the ground. (These things are hard! Make sure one doesn't fall on you![laugh!] )


These are what the Black Walnuts look like when they are starting to rot. Many nuts we eat are part of the walnut family called Juglandaceae in Latin. The black walnut is called Juglans Nigra in Latin.


This walnut tree was struck by lightning. You can tell.


This is a grove of six walnut trees. Five of these were started from seed in 1874.

Arnold arboretum also is a great place to explore nature and have a picnic. You should go there as well!

Cod Fish

The cod fish has been the state fish of Massachusetts for 200 years. If you look around Massachusetts you will find the decorations using codfish in many places.

In one period of time, this species of fish almost got wiped out. The Vikings fished for the cod in Massachusetts. They used the codfish and dried it to make food. This way the codfish wouldn’t spoil, and the Vikings could go on longer journeys. A group of people named the Basques used the codfish as well for the same purpose except for the fact that the Basques added salt to the Vikings’ recipe. Since the Basques added salt, they could travel to hot places without spoiling the fish. The codfish was plentiful at that time. John Cabot reported that the water was so thick with codfish that they only had to dip baskets in the water to scoop them out. The cod also helped the New England colonies to survive and thrive because they could use it as fertilizer, eat it, and sell it. Cod also had an important role in the triangular trade routes and slave trade. New England exported high quality salted cod to Europe. New England exported low quality salted cod to the Caribbean where the slaves working there were forced to make sugar which was made into molasses. Boston merchants bought the molasses and out of that they made rum. Then, the rum produced in Boston was sold in other parts of America and Africa. In Africa, the rum was traded for enslaved people. The enslaved people were brought to the Caribbean to work. But then, technology in the 1800s and the 1900s affected the cod. People made fishing lines with many many hooks, and created boats that could go faster with bigger nets. Soon there was less cod. This was bad. As the cod grew scarcer, people fished more and more. Soon the cod could not be “scooped out of the water in baskets.” And if the cod dies out, what will happen to the fish that the cod eat and the fish that eat the cod? What will happen to the cod’s food web and the cod’s history?

I made my fish jumping because I didn’t want the cod to wander on the bottom of the sea hiding from nets any more. I wanted people to know that in my picture a border of humans did not surround the trapped cods. This picture represented a world that I wanted all codfish and maybe all fish to be in.

No longer hiding. Finally free.