A crunch in my walk,  leaves stuck in my hair when the wind blows. The breeze rubbing against my face when I walk. The snail I loved, but hated is gone, its eggs have completely vanished. Leaving the mystery of if they made it or not. Did an animal eat them? Did the windy nights carry them away? Did they make it? Then theres the flowers ... The flowers that used to stand so still now dance with the wind, capturing the change of the world around them and the change that is beginning to show in them. Changing more and more as the nights grow colder, and the days get shorter. Noticing change is great, but the question of why is so much greater. The power of letting the imagination run wild with new discoveries.

The ladder Back woodpecker I used to watch has disappeared. Such a mysterious creature, yet fasinating and very very annoying. The pecking against anything is pretty distinct and well known to me by now.

But why is it that wood peckers peck?

They peck because they are creating a home for themselves and also they peck in a certain rhythm to attract mates along with establishing their territory. Something interesting about this bird is that they also nest in cactuses which is why they usually are found in the desert ("All about Birds"Ladder-backed Woodpecker). which is interesting and I don't think that a lot of people to take the time to care about why they do the things they do more than saying that they're annoying and loud. I've always wondered this, but never cared enough to look it up, but now I'm glad I did.

Another question I've come to wonder was..

Why is it that plants change color?

old.wallcoo.net - fall leaves

The answer seems simple, like the change in weather, but its so much more. This is due to chemical processes that occur inside the plant. The days are shorter which means less sunlight and coldness. After this occurs the leaves stop their food making process. This caused the color to go from green to the fall colors we are experiencing and noticing right now. The chlorophyll breaks down and this is the thing that is a green pigment found inside the choroplasts of plants. This is the molecule that obsorbes sunlight and when there is hardly any sunlight to absorb the plant will lose its color. Weather and sunlight are a big factor, but it's really whats inside the plant that creates an extravagant change from the inside out. 

Field Notes Oct. 20 2014 -

Green to yellow and yellow to nothing. like a disease it spreads around the garden. Reaching certain spots faster than others. The once lively plants are becoming a new death. The woodpecker is in the sunflower munching away on the seeds that occasionally drop to the ground. I have always failed to notice. The red crown on his head is fasinating and unique. Watching me closely in the corner of its eye to be sure I'm not a predator... The sunflower was a beauty in the summer and has now become food for this little guy.

Something I still womder about, but couldn't find is do the choroplasts become active again in the summer?  Is that hiw some plants "regrow" in the following spring? 

Works Cited

"Why Leaves Change Color." Environmental Informational Series. 2014. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.

"Ladder-backed Wood Pecker." All About Birds. N.p. n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

Disappearing Beauty

Fall has settled in and its beginning to become colder and colder out. The green  colors that were brought with time, sun light and water are becoming crisp and changing colors. It's a beauty as well, but it also slowly sucks the life out of the plants leaving nothing. The hard work and time, gone. Everything will be gone. It will leave new ideas and wonders for next year when spring lifts the seeds out the dirt sprouting brand new life and wonders. The unspoken beauty of creation and life. Until then, I continue to watch what's dissapearing in the garden with the same fascination as the way I looked at it from the start. Like true love, the ability of two people to always look at eachother the same no matter how much they change. That is true beauty.

         Taken Oct. 11, 2014 by me.

Field notes Oct. 16, 2014: "The sprout that I had thought had so much potential and hoped would become something has began to wilt. Although it didn't make it very far in its journey of life it did good... Hope. Life, the greatest journey ever. Something or nothing, still amazing."

When I was younger I was always told that things turn ugly before they can become pretty. Change and time drag the process along they way. 

Take A Look Around

As I had hoped this project has opened my eyes to a new way of looking at things. The smallest things seem to fasinate me and they bring new questions to my mind and my minds runs wild. It's amazing and I absolutely love my new look on things.

This week I found myself paying more attention to the surroundings around the garden. 

Field notes 10/4/14 : " the neighbors birds have never caught my attention until today, when I did my observations much earlier. Loud,  annoying,  poopy. This bird just yawned!  I've never seen a bird yawn before,  so this is weird and cool!... One of the birds has missing fautures where it looks like it was cut or injured. It Continuously picks at it. Makes me womder if there is cones for birds? "

The birds where most interesting to me because I have birds as well. So observing other birds made me wonder more about mine.

I had mentioned this plant in previous entrys and it has again caught my eye. Lemon sented like lemon pledge Sort of rough against your hand but a sent like no other. Bright green color and interestingly shaped leaves. A quite distinct plant. This is a Citronella,  which is a mosquito plant . "Sometimes called citronella, but actually a citrus-scented geranium. " When I reseached i also found out that the leaves have some ability to repel against mosquitoes they are mostly used for there refreshing sent.

Life & Death .

Every beginning must come to an end at one point. The circle of life is beautiful, if the life opportunity is taken and lived out to the absolute  fullest. The life of a plant is much different than human life, but the transformation can be wilder than ones wildest dreams. A small seed with water, time, and care will become something new , something unique and something worth watching.

  Taken October 3th, 2014 by Ericka

  ( bean sprout )

This bean is new in the garden and came very late, but I think it can still become something special even  with the cold weather fastly approaching. I believe that sometimes the latest bloomings can be the most beautiful things. Field notes October 4th , 2014 : "a new sprout , new life form ... Unusual timing in the season, but everything has potential in this garden. The seeds that we thought would never grow have become an endless jungle of vines . "

   October 2 , 2014 photo by Ericka

Lastly this poem makes a connection to the garden in the sense that nothing lasts forever. I know that this is a poem that describes a mans life but I find it beautiful in connection to life and how sort yet beautiful it is for a plant.