Nature Log

Miscellaneous ☁️

Luxury is looking at the sky completely unobstructed.

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The above is truly all I need to say to express my love for the sky, but I have to speak more on it. It is my favorite thing in all of nature. It's breathtaking to see and to think about - It isn't just colors and clouds, but light waves and particles. I have never seen the same portrait of the sky, never an exact copy. And when I think of how it exists, from a innocent blue color down to its molecules and atoms, I love it all the more.

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Things my pets do:

My cat uses feet as a pillow and flops all his weight to the floor.
He loves sticking his fat body in the way of the fridge door when we open it. I'm not sure if it's for the cold air or the chance of him getting food.
He always finds a patch of sunlight to lay in and leaves tons of shed fur behind in the process.
His meows are usually just squeaks that are even sometimes silent, but he'll definitely let us know when he's hungry.
My blonde pitbull does the head tilt when she hears or sees something new/interesting. She always looks at our hands to see if/what we're holding.
Both pitbulls whine like crazy when they see squirrels.
They don't care that they're large dogs - they'll squeeze onto the same cushion and will lay on us if we put our legs up/out on the couch.

🐷 🌻 🌔

Unique animals I've seen up close: capybara, white deer, zebra, wallaby, sugar gliders

"Pests" I have seen and love: raccoons, skunks, opossums, bob cat, rats (nice ones!), groundhogs, chipmunks, gardner snakes

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Birds 🦅

Number of types I remember seeing or hearing in real life: 66

Most unique to me: Kookaburra, Peacock (white; purple male; brown male; etc.), Button Quail, ...

Birds that stick around in my backyard are common ones but nonetheless beautiful. There is a red cardinal pair. There's a shy mourning dove I hear but never see, also a house wren too small for me to spot. A talkative nuthatch. A large, extended family of starlings. A female hummingbird. Blue jays and robins and sparrows. Brown-headed cowbirds have visited, and their unique & wonderful song still echoes in my mind. Little juncos, wrens, chickadees, downey woodpeckers, and the like. A couple of hawks have moved into the neighborhood this year - I want to identify what kind at some point.

What I love most about birds is definitely their songs and calls.

Plants 🌿

Ones That Amaze Me

There are countless plants that people love for their uniqueness, their color, their special and often geometric appearance, or a special ability/quality. I can't leave out how crucial plants have always been in medicine, something I want to learn more about after I researched the benefits of a flower from my own garden. Too, plants have shaped cultures in their color dyeing capacity. Plants are part of our food, health, further resources, and entertainment.

This nature log is about my experience, so I won't go on a tangent about every plant or animal to ever exist. However, I do want to stray off the 'seen with my own eyes' rule just this once to mention a few amazing plants that exist on this wonderful planet.

• The "bleeding tooth fungus" is aptly named not just for its appearance but also the presence of a blood thinner quality within it, called atromentin. Interestingly, the fungus also bioaccumulates the metal caesium.

• The "green birdflower" is one of many plants that have leaves or petals shaped like birds, this case being close to a hummingbird. The plant has more uses than filling vases and gardens, though, as it has a good source of fibre used for weaving. People have used it to craft ropes, fish nets, canvas, and shoes.

• The "Prickly Pear Cactus", a plant we've all heard of and know about by its signature look, is being used to create faux leather products. The use of mature or immature leaves doesn't harm the plant's growth when they're cut off, making the resilient plant a lasting resource. Also, its sweet fruit can be eaten.

Some Of The Best I've Seen

I have gotten the privelage to visit Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Florida. The sheer amount of orchids, cacti/succulents, unique trees, and others I saw is something I won't forget. One of my favorites was the rainbow eucalyptus tree. The bonsai trees were wonderful too! It was all overwhelming to look at in a good way.

Tulip festivals are also a wonderful experience. The flowers come in all colors, some with frills, others with streaks on their petals that look like it was made using the swipe of a large paintbrush. Seeing dark blues and blacks was wonderful, but so too was realizing just how many shades of reds and oranges there are. I would love to have a garden full of wonderfully frilled tulips in several colors.

My Houseplants:

As hardy and forgiving as ever, my succulents are alive through pure determination. Echeveria, Jade, Burro's Tail, and one or two I frankly don't know the name of. For the other indoor plants, there's Snake, Widow's-Thrill, Spider, Marble Pothos, and a few more.

My Outdoor Plants:

Our beloved mulberry tree; four roses; purple-leafed bushes I need to look up the name for; hostas; tulips; irises; lillies; the neighbor's bush growing past our side of the fence that I refuse to let be cut; clover; the little wild-strawberry-looking berries; dandelions; foxglove; ...