Slow or Fast: Still Special!

As I observed, as I compared, as I judged my apple tree like the human being I am, I saw that its leaves were finally changing color and were at last beginning to fall. My mystery tree went through this process weeks ago. She was faster then the apple tree and seemed to think she was smarter, brighter...Better. Better then the apple tree because she was faster.Her beauty and personality of course out weighed any negatives she had but they were there. As I saw my apple tree live under the shadow and greatness of the my mystery tree, I began to question why some leaves change faster then others? According to"Why Leaves Change Color?", some factors that mainly effect this are; the weather and the amount of moisture the soil had during the time the chlorophyll was starting to die. During the time at which my mystery tree's chlorophyll was dying(in October) the weather was not as cold and the days were a little longer. However in November my apple tree's chlorophyll was dying and during this time it is much colder and days are shorter. This weakened its beautiful colors and turned the leaves a brown yellow color.

"The leaves finally began to change color." Field-notes 11-15

 The color of leaves in general depends on the pigments like the chlorophyll responsible for the green color, carotenoids responsible for the yellow orange color and anthocyanins for the pink, purple color ("Why Leaves Change?").  I couldn't figure out why some trees were faster then others, however I'm glad I couldn't. We can say there has been many experiments not only on trees but on people as well to try to figure out why some are taller, stronger, smarter...Better. Sometimes there is to believe that there's an answer for these. However I don't  believe that there's an answer for why a person is Better then someone else because its not true. There are factors like weather, moisture, and DNA that I guess can be said effects the outcomes. However we shouldn't judge anything based on only a few factors. We shouldn't consider my apple tree dumb because its slow, I judged my tree as I judged everything else in my backyard. At first I though my backyard was pretty ugly now its a beauty. I'm not sure if judging is a human instinct based upon what we were taught but I do think we should wait if we do. We should know them before we judge and I think most humans judge automatically however with practice we can control it.

Work Cited

"Why Leaves Change Color?" Butler University: Friesher Herharuim.               N.p. n.d. Web. 16 Nov.2014.

See The Unseen

The fear of not being able to see has surely come to our mind in one form or another. It seems to be a scary thought, loosing your vision. However they're things around us everyday that we truly can't see. How many people can say they have seen love? I challenge you, what color is it?  How does love smell? Whats it's shape? Have you seen love? The air that surrounds us, that same air that goes within our nose down to our lungs and back up again to keep us alive, is clear, invisible. One very important factor the keeps us alive can't be seen(At least not by our own eye vision). However its effects, is a whole another story. There was plenty of wind this week in which effected everything that's movable. I have these plants that have grown to be taller then me by about an inch and a half. They have been unfairly ignored by me since they're near my mystery tree. The wind however made them move as if they were trying so hard to get my attention.( like humans). The plants danced in the wind, sometimes calmly letting the wind guide their every movement. However other times the wind hit them with it all it had, making it a real struggle for my plants to get back up. My plants strong as can be took the wind like champs. 

"They seemed to be dancing to get my attention" Field- notes 10/29

As seen the wind effected my plants making them move in a certain, weather it be for bad or for good.We can definitely hear the wind, and feel it, maybe not smell it however we can only see the effects of  the wind.  The air is clear to us because we have evolved retinas that are sensitive to the wave lengths of light that pass through it. (" Why Can't We See the Wind?") Making the air or wind invisible to us. As love and air theirs many other things that can't be seen but their effects can be. Every single person has a story behind them. Just because you can't tell or see it doesn't mean they don't have a serious problem. Doesn't mean they don't have a type of wind (problem) hitting them. People may act a certain way good or bad like my plants did. However they acted and moved due to the wind hitting them and for this we should be aware. We never know who is dealing with, what might as well encourage everyone to keep going with their heads held high all the time!

Work Cited

Bromley, Brian."Why Can't We See the Wind?" Focus: Science and               Technology. N.p. 9 Aug 2014. Web. 2 Nov 2014.

Don't Stop! Continue..

How many people wish they can go back in time to when they were kids? To being kids that would run and never get tired.To being kids who would jump off of things and do flips on the monkey bars without seeing any danger what so ever. To those times where we could climb trees so freely, without any worry. Observing this week I had a sudden urge to climb my tree. I did, of course it wasn't as easy as before.(Maybe because I was thinking if I fall I'm going to break my neck.) Reality checking in with me, I didn't get so far up however I did get far enough to notice that there was some type of wire that seemed to be growing out of my tree. There was also an old sprinkler attached to my mystery tree. Both items were like molded to the tree.         

Field -notes " No matter how hard I tried to pull them

 out of the tree, they wouldn't budge." 10/24

Taken by Marlyn Arce 

The tree seemed to take the wire and sprinkler in,as her adopted children. My mystery tree decided to care for them, to show them a place called home. She didn't spit them out because they were in her way of growing. They've been there for quite some time now, they belong. They match and look as if they were a finished puzzle with all pieces in there places. I never understood how trees can grow over things. They can even grow over a bike! According to "How a Tree Grows?" trees have these cells called apical meristems which are located in specific areas like in the branch tips and are responsible for the tree's height. The trunk however contains vascular  cambium cells which makes its diameter increase ( How a Tree Grows?"). Explaining that the reason trees grow over things is due to the vascular cambium cells making the tree wider, taking in the objects.  As I was saying before the tree didn't spit out what life threw at it. On the contrary it took it in helping it in anyway possible,

taking the wire, sting, bike or problems in a positive way growing over it. When life throws something at you don't stop growing, don't stop making progress but continue to succeed because the there's always room for more.  

Works Cited

" How a Tree Grows?" Forsite: Forestry Outreach Site.  Virginia Tech,            n.d. Web. Oct 26 2014.

Dolak, Kevin. "Bicycle Swallowed by Tree in Washington State." ABC             News. ABC News Internet Ventures, 2013. Web. 16 Oct 2014.

A New Way of Looking

Halloween is getting closer, the sun is setting earlier and the darkness looks brighter. Yes brighter. As I was observing my now naked mystery tree during the day I wondered how it would look in the dark now that it's branches were bald. Challenge accepted, I decided to observe in the dark with a flashlight in hand. I began to observe however I myself was cautious doing it. Soon I began to "Trip myself out" in which I think many of you know what I mean by but I mean that every single little noise I heard had me on my toes ready to run! The branches were scary looking as if  they were extra arms to come get me. The apples on the ground suddenly became my enemy. I couldn't see them so I would step on them and almost trip. I automatically saw myself  in a scary movie, where something or someone would pop out of no where form the corner (which is the darkest spot in my backyard) and chase me! Of course I would trip on an apple right before getting to my door and that would be the end of me. Ignoring that feeling I had I continued. The branches moving in the wind were like two male deer fighting, there horns fiercely moving up, down, left, right and any other way possible to defend themselves. The noise they made while moving sounded as if they were nails against a chalk board,as if is was broken record repeating my name, almost blaming me.

"The Naked branches seemed scary in the dark and reminded me
deer horns" Field-notes 10/18

Scary right? However I also found that there was much to be discovered in the dark too. Looking at the hole in my tree with my flashlight I discovered that  Ms. Farias was right when she said that earwigs come out at night. There was many of these near the spider web in the hole of my tree and there was many on the ground too. Now I don't think these creatures are physically attractive but they do seem interesting. 

(Picture from " Ring-Legged Earwig ; Euborellia annulipes")

From the same page of where I got the picture on top I discovered that these creatures appear to be scary(especially at night ) but truly are nice little bugs who raise their own family like any another specie  would too.  They mainly feed off of dead or living insects or mosses. During the day, my mystery tree and the earwigs aren't so scary. However now that I see how the dark can change my opinion on them , I have found a new way of looking at things. Just because they seem ugly or scary in the dark doesn't mean they truly are. Just because a problem seems to be the end of the world today doesn't mean it will be tomorrow. When there's a problem, a situation or something in general I don't like I will use my flash light and show some light in there to make the dark brighter.

Work Cited

"Ring-Legged Earwing; Euborellia Annulipes." Ninnescah Life.                          N.p. 2011. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

LIfe is Precious, Enjoy it!

Life has a funny way of working itself out. I consider life magical in the way it can make us feel that something is forever and then out of no where prove us wrong. One day the person you thought would be there forever isn't and the place you thought you would live in forever isn't where your at. One day is very different than the next. As we grow we see things we never expected to see, as we grow we learn that life comes with many changes and as we grow we are able to see the circle of life interfere with many people. Most older people are well experienced by there age and have seen what life can bring, good and bad. However just because were young doesn't mean we cant learn from life now. Observing my mystery tree I noticed I  too can see the Circle of life, like the older people. I have seen my tree bloom in the spring as if it was a new born baby looking for a chance in life. I have seen my tree in the summer feeling healthy and invincible as if it were a teenager or young adult who seems to take life head on. I am seeing my tree in the fall where it seems as if  it has noticed what life can bring. It changes color representing the change in life it is going through.The trees starts to realize its not young as it once was, the hair turns from black to white slowly or in this case from green to orange.

"The leaves fall, flowing in the wind wondering their next destination." Field- notes, 9/24  The leaves may wonder if they end up next to the apples or near the grass or even end up caught in a spider web. They wonder and will continue to wonder as they slowly begin to leave the stability, the support they once had. Like they were growing up, like their parents were letting them go on their own. My mystery tree reproduced and let them fly to find their own destiny whether it be to be a home for an ant, or maybe the leave wanted to carry on tradition and become a tree itself.                 

  I have heard that before people die they usually want to leave something part of them in this world. This is usually their kids, there experiences and everything they know. I have seen this with my tree. It has left its leaves before it goes into a deep sleep. The final stage of  the Circle of life would be when we fall into that deep sleep however in our case we don't physically wake up in the spring. I have seen my tree in the winter (I think it looks beautiful with snow even if it has no leaves). The only thing certain in life is death. This is the sad truth, the only thing that is certain. One day our heart will give up, some faster than others (hopefully not until a long long time has past for anyone reading this) My mystery tree has looked gorgeous throughout every single stage of the circle of life. However sadly her circle of life goes by very fast year after year. Sadly our life goes by pretty fast too. We shouldn't sit here and have our life lived for us. We shouldn't wait for a specific time to begin our lives. Do what you want to do because it makes you happy. Enjoy every single stage of the circle of life because it goes by quickly, don't want to grow up so fast you will have plenty of time for that stage (I think, yet I am 16 year old talking like grandma but still) I learned  this by observing my tree. Enjoy your life because one day you won't have it.

Be Yourself

Choosing what to observe for this project was a real challenge. The only reason I decided to observe this specific spot in my backyard was because one day, while I was eating, I noticed an apple falling and then eventually saw the ground with a few apples already rotten. On my first field note of this project I decided to conduct an experiment. An experiment where I grabbed two green apples that have already fallen and placed one of them away from the rotten apples in the cement and the other near by the dirt where the rotten apples were. I kept a close watch as the days went by. Here are before pictures of the apples.

They were both green healthy and full of life."
Field-notes 9/12

 As days went by the apples began to change. However one of them, changed faster. Recording the changes I saw day by day, I noticed that the apple in the dirt near by the rotten apples(lets call it apple number two) was ripening faster. According to Washington State University:" Ethylene: The Ripening Hormone" Ethylene is hormone that produces gas in which you can't see or smell.(Scary right) This hormone is the cause of why many fruits and plants begin to ripen faster then usual or die. Ethylene is also what makes the fruit or plants change color and texture. Have you ever wondered if humans have something similar? I did and it turns out that we have something called the hypothalamus within our brains. I mean it doesn't makes us change color like from green to brown but it is responsible for our hormone production. According to You and Your Hormones:"Hypothalamus" The Hypothalamus controls many aspects of the body like body temperature, food intake, emotions and much more. Both apples and humans have hormones that effect their actions. Our surroundings can have a big impact on what we do as well. This video contains the results of my apple experiment after 12 days. The video is a little fast but please watch and pause as you need. It also contains a song that has questions, maybe people can ask themselves these questions like I did once when I was looking for inspiration.

Song: Am I Wrong-Nico and Vinz

Pictures taken by Marlyn Arce

As seen Apple number two ripened faster then apple number one due to the ethylene hormones in apple number two's surroundings. Apple number two was once green, healthy and unique. However once he let others control him, change him, not be himself, the apple sadly wasn't as beautiful. He turned brown as if the others smacked the color off of him . He changed as if he had no other choice, as if he felt the need to belong. Like I said in the video every single person is unique, every single person can choose for themselves. Everyone has a gift, everyone has a talent and everyone is different! Theres no need to be like others, be yourself because no one can pull it off better..then you!

Responsibility

I never really knew the space in my backyard  until I started to observe it. The first couple things that caught my eye were the trees. The apple,cherry,peach and mystery tree. However while taking notes and trying to get a decent picture of the cherry tree I noticed a moth caught in a spider web. At first I was going to try to help it however I then saw a black widow. Thinking this was part of the circle of life I decided to let it happen and really focus on it. Luckily I was able to get the process all on video.

"The moth was fighting for its life"

Field-notes 9/12

Taken by Marlyn Arce

According to National Geographic :"Black Widow Spiders" the black widow used its fangs and administer digestive enzymes to puncture the month and suck up its inside fluid. The black widows prey are usually flies, mosquitoes, grasshoppers,beetles and caterpillars (though apparently they get moths for dessert.) The YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRnCeg-EWio#! which I recommend deeply to watch, gives the specific information on what the spider does to the moth. It even includes a little extra for the guys to be aware off. (Go females!;]) My reaction on everything was surprised! The way the spider jabbed the moth reminded me of ninjas hitting someones pressure point. Her legs were like chopsticks winding her food together. Her actions and quickness in everything, reminded me of strong, confident women I know of. Sadly the black widow has disappeared and I wasn't able to see more of its unique qualities. Working with what I have I noticed that the spider wasn't dependent on anything or anyone to live. She built her own web, found her own food, killed her prey herself . She knew she had her own duties to fulfil, wasn't waiting for someone tell her "theres a moth go kill it!" She was even responsible for her outcome of the whole process. She left the moth at her web, hidden. I really tried looking for it but didn't find until a few days later.

 "the moth was on the ground as if it no loner satisfied anything, little did it know that it benefited me" Field-notes 9/17

Maybe it was the spiders instincts or maybe she was taught that but we  should be responsible for our own duties as she was. We have responsibilities that we can do on our own like this beautiful spider did. It about time we stop coming with up with excuses, its about time we man up about our own actions. Life happens, life goes on. Just be responsible for it because one day, if your not, nobody will.