Enjoying the Sounds of Nature

I really appreciated lab this past week. It was really amazing leaving the business and chaos of campus and being in nature for a prolonged period of time. I found this week, especially, that the farm was really peaceful and full of life. During the quiet time I heard frogs ribbiting and multiple different species of birds singing. It was cool to sit out in nature and really hear the communication between animals.
When we got to our BioCube we found that the water level in the stream was elevated compared to the week before. We had left the cube sticking half out of the water, but when we returned it was completely submerged. We observed the cube for a while, trying to find any organisms we could catch or plants we could take pictures of, but ultimately found that it would be a good idea to move the cube. Our initial placement was not allowing us to observe the diversity within the cube. We moved the cube across the stream and placed it where more visible life was. One of my group mates took the cloth net and grazed the water with it, ultimately catching multiple bugs. One bug had an ovular body, with a triangle head. Sticking out of its sides were two long leg-like structures it seemed to clap together while it swam. It also had a green tint to its structure. We also found a small, brown, hairy spider that seemed to thrive on the water, as its legs would quickly move back and forth to swim. Perhaps one of my favorite findings was the cattails. We found two different cattails, possibly at different stages of development, but also possibly half eaten by an animal. One of the tops of the cattail was almost ripped up, exposing the fluffy material underneath. The other had had most of its top eaten or blown off. There was also a tree right by the stream with small pine cone-like seeds on its branches. The branches were skinny and light grey, and the pine cones were a reddish-brown color and were littered all over the ground near the base of the tree. Along the river we found some moss, with dark brown and light green gametophytes forming the bed. Last week we had found skunk cabbage lining the stream, with a purple-pink cone like structure. This week we found a skunk cabbage at possibly a different stage of development. It was primarily composed of a slight bundle of a large, green, veiny leaf. It had a very pungent odor, reminiscent of skunk. We also found a branch-like plant. The stalk was brown, almost bark-like but very thin. The top of the plant split the stalk into many different stalks, all with little bundles at the end. We pulled out a low-lying green plant that was half submerged in the stream. The plant was very waxy, and the main stalk, white in color, split into three green leaves. We found a very small, larvae-like bug. It was extremely small, with a yellowish transparent color. It had many legs and would curl up on its self. Amongst all of the plants and bugs was also a very large amount of plant detritus. There were large leaves that had fallen off of nearby trees. There were also brown, flat, thin bark-like stalks everywhere. While I was not completely sure, they seemed dead.
More than last week, I found the moment of silence to be very special. I was able to listen closely to the nature surrounding me. I was even able to distinguish between different bird calls. One was a more consistent, high-pitched song, while another was much more inconsistent and had a lower tone. Even just hearing the rustling of the branches and leaves in the wind put my mind to ease. While the stream is not particularly fast-flowing, the moment of silence enabled me to hear the quiet bubbling and swaying of the stream. My group really enjoyed exploring the stream this week. We were able to walk along the stream a bit more than last week and could find more diversity than we had before. We even found a glass bottle in the soil by the stream. While at first the stream seemed hard to analyze, I have found that it is really fun catching bugs and really observing the wildlife within the area. I especially enjoy photographing the various plants on the edge of the water.

Posted on April 17, 2019 10:56 PM by hgarth