17 de junio de 2023

Nature Walk on June 15, 2023

I walked into a nature sanctuary around an urban preserved tree park for around 45 minutes. I adventure in the forest, careful not to fall into the ponds and wetlands along the way - the different trails led to diverse environments, home to many animals and plants. Throughout my walk, I was able to see an abundance of squirrels jumping in the trees and some frogs, turtles, and dragonflies around ponds. I spotted a couple of birds, such as cardinals, hummingbirds, and robins, with some herons and ducks around the wetlands as well.
The place was quite dense; there was a lot of vegetation everywhere, with various plants such as ferns, flower plants (ex: sunflowers, sunshine mimosas), and mosses. There was a diversity of colorful butterflies (orange, yellow, blue, green, and brown) pollinating the plants nearby. I noticed that plants with bright colors and fresh, pleasant scents were advantageous traits for flowers as insects and birds much more pollinated them. This left me wondering that if pollinators are all attracted to the same types of flowering plants, competition will increase. This could potentially lead to some plant species out-competing others, creating low-evenness environments and loss of plant biodiversity.
Lastly, I only regret coming in the middle of the afternoon because the weather was excessively humid and hot (around 95 degrees Fahrenheit). However, despite the sweltering heat experienced throughout the walk, it was a pleasant place to wander around and explore all the diverse fauna nature can offer. It's nice to see how much vegetation there could be, even in the middle of a crowded city.

Publicado el junio 17, 2023 02:19 MAÑANA por mariabn mariabn | 22 observaciones | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

09 de junio de 2023

Nature Walk on June 7th, 2023

I walked into the Edith Moore Nature Sanctuary in Houston. Texas, a few miles away from my house. I strolled for around 40 minutes and made a couple of loops around the rustic walking trails in this small yet diverse forest, with some little cricks and bridges. The sanctuary was filled with wildlife; we spotted a couple of yellow snakes. Although it may seem daunting, we are often used to seeing snakes in our neighborhoods in Texas. I also saw bunnies, blue geckos, small ponds with some frogs and turtles, as well as squirrels chasing after each other. Although I am not a deep bird-watching enthusiast, it was nice to see such diverse, colorful birds, including woodpeckers, hummingbirds, bluejays, and cardinals. There is so much variety of living forms in forests, providing healthy and complex ecosystems that we must protect.
I didn’t see many types of fungi, or maybe I didn’t notice everything on my way; however, I kept seeing moss and lichen around trees. This made me wonder why we would specifically find lichen around in trees. There may be a symbiotic relationship between lichen and trees, which could explain this observation. Trees must provide a suitable habitat for lichen to grow. On the other hand, lichen must offer certain protection from extreme conditions such as rain or wind.
Additionally, it was hot and humid, with the sun beating our heads. However, tall trees were abundant, so the trail was well-shaded. It was a nice place to relax the mind and connect with nature. My only regret was not putting on bug spray before because I was overwhelmed by all the giant mosquitoes and biting insects around the corner. But overall, I enjoyed this walk in the quiet and peaceful environment nature offers.

Publicado el junio 9, 2023 11:32 TARDE por mariabn mariabn | 9 observaciones | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

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