A Walk Down Memory Lane; True Bliss

My backyard continues to be under construction, and it's nearly impossible to focus on its beauties, or even to feel at peace when it is covered with tools, planks of wood, and broken pieces of my garden.


Michelle Santos's photo
 

Michelle Santos's photo

As I sit in my backyard I can't help but to think about how differently my backyard is going to look once all the construction is done. My backyard has been my backyard since the day my parents brought me home from the hospital. "It's so freaking crazy to think about all that has happened in my backyard, and how it's been a part of some life changing events. Woah, my backyard has been here for days, almost like friend." Field notes 11/7. Sitting in my backyard and noticing all the changes that have been occurring, I began to remember all the memories it holds and what is has been a part of. The insomniac nights where I lay on the roof; in hopes of sleeping with the stars. Or better yet, the hand picked roses from my garden given to my sister when she was proposed to at the beginning of spring. And of course, I can't forget the time my brother got sent to the hospital for monkeying around on the tree.

Not only does humanity lack of gratitude towards the unexplainable beauties of nature, but also towards its simple presence. Nature has been there for us and with us all along, and sometimes we don't even notice it. Think about  the gleaming spotlight from the moon for those midnight kisses. The tree of love; where you carved his initials and he carved yours. Rolling down a hill of grass as a child, while laughing so hard you literally think your laugh box is going to break. Maybe, even sneaking out with your friends for a wild night at the lake.  Think about it. Without nature, none of those irreplaceable, unforgettable, and uncontrollable memories couldn't have been possible.

Nature isn't just meant to bring us air, paper, water, and foods. It's also meant to bring us bliss. Paul Bloom, the author of "Natural Happiness," speaks of the incomparable happiness that comes from nature as well. Bloom states, "It might be that one day we will be able to replace the experience of nature with star trek holodecks and robotic animals. But until then, this basic fact about human pleasure is an excellent argument for keeping the real thing." Bloom is speaking of the happiness that humanity receives from nature, and no matter how unthinkably advanced technology gets, nature will always be the better outlet for some real green action.

Take the time to think about nature. The time to remember all the joy nature has brought you. And afterwards give a little "thanks."

                                                                   Work Cited
Paul, Bloom. Natural Happiness.


There's Never a Right to Say Goodbye

 Every year, at a constant rate, hundreds and hundreds acres worth of green and tropical forest are viciously taken down for mankind's personal use, such as money, family needs, but the most common reason is agriculture--farmers will cut down land to plant crops and raise their livestock. The problem is not only the loss of trees, but also the millions of species that helplessly lose their homes, and unfortunately many of those species don't survive as they require certain environments to live in. (Deforestation). And for those who don't know, everything and everyone in the world make up one giant family, and when someone or something is hurt, it usually has on impact on almost everything, including us. For example, as millions of trees are cut down, the amount of oxygen is also cut down, an element essential for our existence. Also, as population and deforestation continue to grow, we are helping to create deadly circumstances.


"I never thought I would feel this upset to see my rose bush be removed completely from my backyard. It's not fair--it's been here forever and now it has to be removed so there will be enough space to build a shed--AN UNNECESSARY SHED." Field notes 10/31. After twelve long years of overflowing red and white roses, my rose bush has come to an end as my parents feel the most sincere necessity to build a shed that will require to destroy the entire garden. For years my rose bush has been the home to many bees as they need some type of plant where they can pollinate. Pollination is when pollen is transferred from the male parts to the female parts of a flower of the same kind. Eventually leading to the production of seeds. Pollination is necessary to maintain the balance in growing crops, the crops in which we consume. (Pollination). Although my rose bush was not providing foods for my community, there is still an impact in my backyard. With my rose bush being removed it means that the bees will have more time to target one of my family members to sting. It also means that there will be a greater amount of pests targeting the few plants that's remain.

Michelle Santos's photo

It's quite amazing to know that humanity is selfishly killing acres of nature, and they know nothing of what's truly at risk--our lives. Nature isn't just a luxury, it's a necessity, and whether it is a big or small part of nature, it has an impact on someone or everyone when something is hurt. Life is a gift, so why not take care of it?

                                                               Works Cited

    

“Deforestation.” Nationalgeographic. N.p. n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

“Pollination.” Nativeplants. N.p. 28 May 2014. Web.  2 Nov. 2014.

                             

Peace and Still

The results of taking Ms. Farias's AP English class has me staring nightly into an open area of unknown for an oberservation project. The purpose of this project is to witness ourselves the collaboration of art and knowledge, and, hopefully, along the way, a life lesson. For the next two months, I will be observing the night life of my backyard in the little city of Sparks, Nevada. As typical as my backyard may look, things are never how they seem.

A month into my project I became very fond of my backyard, and appreciative of nature herself. With the time that had passed I learned nature does a lot for everyone on this planet, and although my backyard may be a small piece of nature it still contained active life. What I learned most importantly, was I couldn't force myself to be inspired by nature, I had to let nature inspire me own its own time. 

As I sat outside searching for new information for my fields notes I began to get frustrated. I didn't know what to write. Ms. Farias told us that using the five senses will help with the process of gathering notes, but I didn't see anything, I didn't hear anything, I didn't taste anything, I didn't smell anything, nor did I feel anything. I knew I was trying too hard and just needed to let nature inspire me diligently. I leaned against my wall, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath.

Michelle Santos's photo

As I opened my eyes I couldn't help but to feel the most overwhelming, yet tender feeling ever. "While my eyes were closed I noticed the immense amount of peace and stillness I feel sitting in my backyard. My heartbeat mimicking the beat of the cricket's tunes, my thoughts flowing with the whispering winds, my body pressed against the imperfectly smooth concrete, and my favorite part--the darkness that swallows the light away. My backyard is beginning to become one of my favorite places." Field notes 10/23.

After that small experience of sweet serendipity, I learned I can't force myself to see certain things or make certain things happen in my backyard because the more I try to, the less I'll actually see and the less that will happen.  Mother Nature has its nightly agenda ready for me, therefore I need to let nature take its course and I just need to follow it along the way. I also applied this to my daily life. I may want certain things to happen in my life and I may try to make it happen, but I can only let the clock tick and know that what is ahead of me is what is meant for me. One more life lesson down from Mother Nature, many more to go.

Once I was back in my house after that night, I was strongly reminded of one of my all time favorite movies, Now You See Me. The Movie sends a similar message that can be applied to many aspects of life.  The Movie is about a group of four talented magicians who leave their audience questioning every single trick they perform. As they perform a trick that seems to involve doing some crime, the police department tries to reveal how the magicians were able to perform what, to them, is a crime. The magicians and others are constantly telling the police that the more they try to figure out their tricks the less they'll figure out. One of the magicians states, "Look closely. Because the closer you think you are, the less you'll actually see." Take a quick look for yourself to see the similarities between the movie and the lesson nature taught me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OtM9j2lcUA

                                                     
                                                               Work Cited

Now You See Me. Dir. Louis Leterrier. Screenplay by Ed Solomon, Boaz Yankin, and Edward  Ricourt. Perf. Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffafalo, Woody Harrelson, Melanie Laurent, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman. 2012. Film. Youtube. N.p. n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

 

 

Meet The Randoms

Once summer is out of the way and fall is ready to settle in, a great amount of stores begin to put all summer merchandise on sale to stock up for fall merchandise, and sure enough I just happen to have the typical "It's on sale so I just have to buy it" parents. As my parents were roaming around the garden center at Home Depot, they decided to buy two trees, a plum and Fuji apple tree.


Michelle's photo
Fuji apple tree (left) Plum tree (right)

When the trees first arrived I thought it was probably the most random thing my parents could have done, just for the fact that fall is here (even though it is sunny and the weather is pretty warm) and winter will approach us soon, how are the trees gong to survive through harsh weather conditions? After doing some research my mind was yet again blown as I learned that not all trees get contaminated by the fall virus, which explains why my older tree has not shed any leaves yet. When fall arrives some trees adapt to the new weather conditions to survive, they do so by ensuring that their leaves get filled with sugar because it protects the cells in the leaves from being penetrated by the frosty snow which causes the leaves to fall off. Trees also do other interesting processes to adapt to fall and winter. For more information take a quick look https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d260CmZoxj8 .

I'm not quite sure what exact type of trees are able to survive through fall and winter, but it is a relief to know that the new family members of my backyard have a shot of making it to next spring. If my trees are able to survive through winter I wonder if they will continue to produce fruit? As for right now only time can tell.

Before I finish, I also would like to talk about the changes I've noticed with myself now that fall is here. Trees, plants, and animals are not the only things that adapt to fall, humans do too. As I sit every night outside, I couldn't help to notice how much falls affects me. "Hair runs in to my face, chapped lips make me lick them over and over again, dry skin, goose bumps crawl onto my skin." Field notes 10/19

The changes I'm going to have to make so I can survive fall and winter reminds me of a topic that Ms. Farias blogged about: Everything in the world affects each other. I couldn't agree anymore. Fall is not just a nature thing, nature is not just trees, birds, and water, nature is us as well. We unknowingly participate in nature everyday, and are blind to realize that when nature is at work, it also affects us. As dominant and powerful humanity may thing it may be, we fail to realize that we cannot live without the biggest, little necessity, nature. 

Let It Go

Unfortunately after 14 days worth of field notes, they were left unattended and put in the wrong hands. Having my field notes disappear I felt strongly discouraged having to start all over because I felt it wasn't going to be nearly as good as my first book of field notes, especially when the first book contained sincere and dedicated work, but after a bit I began to let it go. As I began to write in my new book of field notes I started to notice the color change on the leaves on my neighbor's tree, the howling winds from my tree and others, and the goose bumps creeping onto my body from the nighttime breeze, "The virus of fall is slowly contaminating what surrounds me, and even myself." Field notes 10/7.

Michelle Santos's photograph
 

That night it hit me, fall is getting closer and closer, meaning no more summer romances, dashing through the crisp sand, or basking in the sun. For many of us, including myself, it's hard to breakup with the strong and memorable relationship that's been created with summer, and move on so quickly, but as I let go of my lost field notes, I realized I had to let go of my summer love and look forward to the new creations of fall that I've already begun to fall in love with, and as for my lost field notes I realized it was an opportunity to connect with nature on a deeper level, and maybe just maybe, my field notes are in the hands of someone who needed some soul searching, or some information on crickets.(somewhere along those lines)

It may be a bit too early, but I feel as though Mother Nature has already begun to teach me one of her simple, but life changing lessons, let go of the small bumps in life, move on, and look forward to the better things in life that are sure to come.

You Are Smarter Than You Think You Are, Think Again.

For as long as I can remember I have always been told that I am smarter than I think I am, but for the first time, others, including myself, have been proven wrong. This observation project is not just about observing some part of nature and scribbling down what we see, but it is also about questioning nature's mysterious ways of working, asking why things happen or how things happen. Every single day my presence is surrounded by nature, and what I see is only an inch of what I think I may know, and after two weeks of observing I took it upon myself to try to reveal some of natures secrets.

The damn cricket. Where is it? I don't know. How does it look like? I don't know. What I do know is that the cricket is continuing to announce the commencement of a vivid night as it sings its symphony, but why does it sing? Is it a celebration tune? Or rather than a cheerful tune, is it a scream of fear as the dark eats away the light and is at a troubled thought of whether or not it will survive through the night's terror?  Or maybe it's just perfect timing to fill in the awkward silence of a situation? For my classmates, Wooster students, and teachers reading my blog, I ask that you take the time to think about why crickets chirps, because to your surprise, you might be quite shocked as to why crickets really chirp. (I've always thought that crickets chirp because they were asleep and it was their way of snoring, then again I use to think daddy and mommy loved to have tickle fights, boy was I wrong.)

Men are usually stereotyped as someone who only wants and cares about one thing, having sex. In some cases it may be true, in others it's not, but in the case of crickets it is a stereotype that applies accurately. Firstly, only male crickets can chirp. They chirp for four reasons only: to attract a female and scare off another male nearby, this chirp is usually very loud; a quiet song is sung  when a female is around, but no male is near; to detect any males close to the cricket, this chirp is aggressive; lastly a cricket will chirp for a very short period, sharing with the world that it has had such a successful mating with its lover. (Score for the little guy.)



www.imgfave.com

Like I've said before, what we see is only an inch of what we may think we know, and what we think we may see, is never what it seems to be.

I Spy With My Little Eye

I have been living in the same house since the day I was literally born, and to this day I cannot exactly tell someone what is in my backyard or what even goes on in my backyard, especially during the night. What my backyard has in store for me can be mesmermizing, but for now, this is what my eyes can see.

Through coloring books and "Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving" I was taught the leaves on a tree begin to fall and change into a variety of orange, brown, and yellow colored leaves when autumn strikes, but never have I taken the time to witness the transformation for myself.




Michelle Santos's photo

When fall is in season my backyard becomes and ocean of colored leaves, but I never really noticed if the leaves came from my own tree. My tree is about 15 feet tall and the virbrant green, thumb-sized leaves still latch onto its branches. With just a closer look I'm begining to think that the fallen leaves come from my neighbor's towering tree, whose leaves are almost the size of my hand and have already begun to have a color change of yellow. I wonder if the size of leaves have anything to do with the color change? Or maybe there are certain trees that don't undergo the changes of fall at all? I plan on observing my neighbor's tree and my own at the same time to help answer my questions.

The damn cricket. There's a damn cricket in my backyard that always begins to chirp around 7:30 P.M. I am so intrigued by this cricket because it creates Night's symphony, but the cricket is no where to be seen. The cricket is like an author of a beautiful writing piece, but the authors demands to be unknown, while people frantically desire to know who the author is. I am determined to meet the creator of Night's symphony and write about its hidden features.

One of my favorite pieces of my backyard is my fragile, but strong rose garden. " Exactly 5 roses holding onto the thin thread of life. From the time they were bloomed until now, I've noticed that they've shrunk, wbich would make sense, since their petals have wrinkled up. Crazy how they're so similar to humans." Field notes, 9/16