The End

During the Winter it is  common for most things to "die" or go into some sort of hibernation. It may be thought of as a sad time or possibly even a happy time depending on the reason. In my case it is a sad time. I am not sad because it is cold outside or because the flowers in my backyard no longer bloom. I am sad because this observation with this tree is over. I could sit here and tell you that since this assignment is over I will keep up on posting my blogs on a regular basis but in all honesty I have no time especially with it being basketball season. But even though I am saying this I still want to take time out of my busy life to observe nature and have time to appreciate it.

I got to thinking and I have really been wondering; do trees have feelings? This came to mind when I was observing the tree for the last time and felt some sort of sadness as I put my pencil down. I also wondered this when I saw people rip off the pines from the tree. I thought to myself if this tree had any sort of feeling or amy type of recognition as to what was going on. It may seem as though it is a stupid question but I was really curios and I figured if I was curious others must be as well. I decide to do some research on my thoughts. "In fact, he found, plants can react "in the moment" to events taking place thousands of miles away. And not only are they psychic, they also are prophetic, anticipating negative and positive events, including weather." ("Do Plants...") It is obvious that plants/trees have something. It may not be feelings but they are aware of things that happen around them and even things that are going on inside of them. It made me realize that everything has some type of feeling and that the next time we carelessly do something to think how it will be affected.  "Plants might not have minds, but the researchers weren't entirely misdirected in wondering just how deep plants' abilities run."(Nassar) I find this to be a valuable lesson that I will take with me from here on out. I will make sure to share what I have learned to my friends and family so they will realize that their actions affect everything around them. 

Throughout this blog assignment I have learned a lot. I have learned how trees grow and how I should take care in how I treat nature as well as truly appreciate the ability to be able to view this nature so easily. I am sad that I wont be spending much time in my day to be with nature free from distractions. But it really opened my eyes on everything I was missing and how important it all is.


                                   Works Cited 
"Do Plants Have Feelings?" Viewzone.com. Web. 14 Dec. 2014. <http://www.viewzone.com/plants.html>.
Nassar, Latiff. "Do Plants Have Feelings?" TheWeek.com. Web. 14 Dec. 2014. <http://theweek.com/article/index/239813/do-plants-have-feelings>.

The History Behind the Tree

An important part of childhood is being adventurous, playing outside, getting bruises and cuts and just having fun. Personally I loved being outside and experiencing nature firsthand. One of my favorite things to do was climb trees. I can name countless times when I would come inside with my legs and arms all scrape up from climbing all of the trees in my backyard. I still go in my backyard and see those same trees and I see them growing and remember what they looked like when I was at a certain age and it really surprises me to see how much trees really do change and grow over the years.

This tree that I have been observing at Wooster High School has grown and changed with me so far throughout the years in high school. Even though I never paid it much attention or even really gave it a second thought it was always there and at times I was aware of it. I got to thinking of how much it had grown since I had first seen it, walking to my first football game distracted by everything that was  going on yet still seeing it in the back ground.

Thinking about these times in the past also got me thinking; how do trees grow? I decided to look this up  being that it would probably make sense if I had this on my blog. Longleaf pine is the longest lived of the southern pine species. Throughout most of its range,individual longleaf pines can reach 250 years in age. To reach that point of old age that pine tree must go through stages. (Life Stages) I realized that this tree is in the "Sapling Stage" this stage would be considered like the teen and twenties. When the longleaf reaches about 6 to 10 feet in height, lateral branches begin to emerge and signal the sapling stage. Diameter increases and bark thickens but the tree continues to grow in height. The tree remains in this stage for several years.(Life Stages)

I found the growth of this tree to be quite interesting and alike to those of someone my age. How it says they thicken and continue to grow is a exact replica of what is currently going on in most teenage lives at the moment. It is very interesting to have learned this and to have shared it with my blog followers.


"Life Stages of the Long Leaf Pine." Longleafalliance.org. Web. 7 Dec. 2014. <http://www.longleafalliance.org/longleaf-pine/life-stages/life-stages-of-the-longleaf-pine>.

After the Sorm

A storm can mean many different things to different people. To some it comes as comfort; to others it may cause fear. When you ask most people they prefer to be inside watching from outside so they know that they are in comfort and they want to feel protected but then there are others that prefer to be under the rain and in the middle of all the chaos. When you are under a tree it is like a fine balance between staying inside and being out in the rain. You feel a sense of protection but you also feel like you are out in the middle of the storm. When I was out under the tree I felt just like I was outdoors but I also felt like I was in the center if the storm because I was seeing it in front of me and I was feeling the rain.

After a storm can have two different looks to it. It can either be really muddy and all messy but on the other hand it can be beautiful and enlightening. On this particular day (11/21/14) it was a very beautiful finish to the storm.(Field Notes 12/21/14) The grass looked healthy and green like the core of a lime. hill of the trees looked perky and happy. But this tree, the tree Ive been observing looked the happiest of all. Its pines were all covered in dew that had just the right amount of water to where it would reflect the suns rays and sparkle. The pines were like an army green color, unlike how they usually are and they were full of life and beauty. 

I try to imagine an analogy between what storm is like to trees and how I could compare to humans. I only have one thing that I constantly think of. A storm is like love. The first one or few you experience can leave you happy and feeling good and everything is well. It will be beautiful when it is happening and it will create beauty in the darkest places. But then there can be ones where it seems to ruin everything and create a mess it may even look as though nothing would ever get better or ever be back to normal again.