Ecology

So I am currently taking an Ecology class. It is an amazing class and I love it!! This section that we are learning about is Fire Ecology and it is amazing to me how nature works inorder to keep it healthy. In order for a forest to be healthy it can only have 25 trees w/in an acre and that is crazy. Also everyone thinks that fire is a bad thing for nature but in all reality it is a great thing. When something burns it helps the soil to be enriched w/ nutrients and then helps things grow better. When the trees burn and die they will be able to grow back bigger and stronger. It is so amazing to me how things work. I love it alot. Today in Ecology Lab we went up the Mountain here in the Gila Valley (Mt. Graham), it is a beautiful place. Anyways we went up there to look at the recovery status of the mountain after burning in 2004... we saw the trees that are dead and also all the new baby trees that are growing. We looked at all the trees that are changing color because its getting colder and there is no longer photosynthesis going on in the trees. Well at one point of the lab out professor had us sit and listen. It was a great thing to just reflect on life and nature. As I sat there I was listening to the wonderful sounds that the trees make while swaying in the wind, the sounds of birds chirping, and the little insects buzzing all around! It was so peaceful to be able to do this for class. How often do we actually have an assignment to sit and enjoy nature? Well none that I know of unless you are in Ecology. DO we really need to be assigned to stop and reflect on nature? I don't think so...we should just do it our selves and enjoy what we have been given. We don't truely appreciate all that nature has to offer us, but if we sit once in a while and really and truely enjoy it, it will surprise you what you will see and hear. You will learn to love it and wish you could be in it all the time and feel peace. Well during this time that I had to reflect on the nature around me I thought of my Grandpa and all that he taught me when I was young. I also thought of the wonderful place I live this summer where I was around nature all the time. It was a great experience that I had this morning in class. If you ever have an hour just to sit you should go somewhere quiet and enjoy nature....trust me you will love it!! :)