Life...

From website http://thefamilyfarm.ie/forestry

There has been a couple of days when it has rained. Most of the times when it rains it happens during the night, so when I wake up and go outside I notice that the dirt is always wet. Days can pass and the dirt still seems to be wet. I began to wonder during my observations, how long does it take for the tree to absorb all of the water and how does the water travel through the huge tree. Sure, it seems like a simple answer, right? Well, turns out that there is a whole big process trees go through to get water in themselves. Water doesn't just go up the roots.

Most of the time trees look to be healthy. With the research I have done I was able to learn a great deal of how trees seem to maintain this look thanks to the article "How A Tree Absorbs and Uses Water" by Steven Nix. The first step is getting the water into the trees which is by the roots, but after that "Any dissolved mineral nutrients travel with it upward through the xylem" (Nix). The leaves are the ones that get most of the water, so they can be healthy. The atmosphere is actually the enemy in this case because it's the one who steals all of the tree's water through a process call evaporation. During the summer a tree can "lose several hundred gallons of water through its leaves"(Nix). As for the winter it's the opposite because it doesn't lose any water (Nix). The way the tree can absorb all the water to keep itself living is fascinating. To read more of the article just follow this link http://forestry.about.com/od/treephysiology/p/tree_water.htm.

Trees are humans as well. Either if we are plants, trees, animals, or humans we all depend on water. Water is life because it is what keeps all organisms alive. And even if some of us can't walk such as trees they are still able to get it one way or another. After reading the article I actually felt guilty because on hot summer days I barely water my tree. I know right, what a jerk. When I read that trees use that "10% [of water]that remains keeps the living tree system healthy and maintains growth," it actually blew my mind(Nix). Trees hold on to that little bit of water for dear life. Think about this during the hot summers when that tree is looking healthy and strong, but only has that tiny percent of water in them. Looks can be deceiving.

From website www.britannica.com

                                                                 Works Cited

Nix, Steven. "How A Tree Absorbs and Uses Water." about education. About.com. 2014. Web. 7                           Nov. 2014.

Birds!

Tweet! Tweet! That familiar sound that comes out of my apple tree as I observe in the evenings. Every time I go to observe I go under my tree and look up to see if I can find what bird is making that noise. I usually never find them. When I'm under my tree it feels like I'm playing hide-n-go seek with these birds because as I get closer to the sound they become quiet. I feel as if the birds are just playing around with me. It's like when humans think it's funny to play around with animals. Either way it's so frustrating because I always want to take a picture of them, but they won't come out to smile. When they do come out they end up flying to my neighbor's little tree and hide. On one evening I was lucky because I finally saw the pranksters in my apple tree.

From the website www.allaboutbirds.org

Turns out the ones who have been driving me crazy are tiny Chipping Sparrows! I was able to get more information about these adorable birds thanks to my teacher, Ms. Farias. The resource book, The Sibley Field Guide To Birds of Western North America, by David Sibley was a great tool that I used to help figure out about the birds that were creeping around in my tree. These birds are "common and wide spread" all over in North America. They may look familiar because they are usually seen in "suburban parks and lawns." When it's winter time they are located in "trees or bushes." For more information please look at the amazing resource book, The Sibley Field Guide To Birds of Western North America.

After I found out about these birds, I went back to my field notes when I first began to observe. I believe in the very beginning I said that there was a nest in my apple tree. Well, I started wondering if these birds were the ones that have been nesting in my tree. I haven't gotten my answer to my theory yet, but that's my mission as of now. Hopefully I can get my answer.

Field Notes 9/12/14

Works Cited
Sibley, David.  "Chipping Sparrows." The Sibley Field Guide To Birds of Western North   America. New York: Alfred Knopf, 2003. Print. 

Enemy

Lately, when I have been observing my apple tree, I have been thinking that we humans are lucky. I have been consuming the delicious fruit my tree has to offer for about nine years. Yet I have never actually appreciated it, because every summer when I go outside to pick an apple it's just an instinct. I've never noticed when the apples start to grow. All I ever think is " I'm going to go eat an apple today." Even when I'm at the store and we buy more apples when we have plenty at home, never does it cross my mind how the apple trees are being taken care of. We humans have become selfish. We tend to manipulate nature into giving us what we want as if our wishes are nature's command. When we do have what we want, we still are not satisfied. We want more. We have the power to get our trees to produce more and bigger fruit. We never consider the damage the chemicals can cause to our trees. All we care about is if the fruit meets our expectations.

My mind has been pestering me about the chemicals we spray on our tree, how we always seem to have the "perfect " apple at stores. The information that I have found from Beth Hoffman  is that farmers use a chemical called "Paraquat" in order for bugs to not ruin the fruit. We chemically process all of our food because, well, we can. It seems to be America's only way for food to meet its expectations. In this website http://www.forbes.com/sites/bethhoffman/2012/04/23/five-reasons-to-eat-organic-apples-pesticides-healthy-communities-and-you/?optimizely=a it has plenty of information about the harm the chemicals do to our trees and our bodies. (Hoffman).

I have never put any type of chemicals on my tree. The only thing I have given my tree is water. I do not want to be a part of nature's enemies. I leave my tree alone. The fruit it will produce will be perfect to me. Even if they are not the right shade of green or yellow or red, it does not matter because the tree will produce the fruit on its own. I won't interfere with my tree's healthy nonchemical life. 

Field Notes 10/22/14

Field Notes 10/22/14

Works Cited





Hoffman, Beth. "Five Reasons to Eat Organic Apples: Pesticides, Healthy Communities, and You."   

                Forbes. N.p. 23 Apr. 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

Autumn's Process

                 Field Notes 9/24/14

                 Field Notes 9/24/14

                Field Notes 10/13/14

When I started observing my tree it wasn't fall yet. As this observation proceeded the seasons began to change as well. Fall is when the leaves turn into different colors and the trees are all naked at the end. But what happens to the fruit? Does it just disappear? Well as I was observing my tree I notice that the leaves were changing color, having patches of yellow, brown, and more. I also notice that the apples that haven't fallen off my tree had patches of red. I found this rare because my apples have always been green so why are they turning red. I started thinking that the leaves aren't the only ones to change color, but the apples change as well because they are getting old. When we buy apples and leave them in the bowl they begin to change color as well because they are rotting. My apples are slowly getting old just by changing its color. 

During my observations now the apples are still changing as fall is starting! The apples on the ground all have holes and they are all wrinkly! The apples are slowly decomposing, but what really caught my eye was the wrinks the apples had. It's a funny thing because they seem so human like since when we are born we are all smooth but as we get older we are all shriveled up. I ended up doing research about what causes the apples to get all wrinkly and Answer.com says that "the moisture in them evaporates."  As apples get old in the fall they will be all wrinkly, with holes, and different patches of color. Their  time is soon ending, but when spring and and summer come back they will be reborn and be all smooth and beautiful again. 

Bees Exsistance in the Tree

The apple tree is a home for all different kinds of little critters. One evening while I was observing I was walking around my tree when I herd a buzzing sound. There were there yellow and blue shades flying around apples that had holes. I never thought bees would be attracted to fruit. I always thought that flowers were the main thing that the bees liked. I started wondering if the apples or at least the leaves had some sort of pollen? What does the bee get from the apple? Do bees only go for the apples that have a hole? To get my answers I started doing some issues and I ran cross this website that has a lot of information about bees. http://www.honeybeesuite.com/do-honey-bees-eat-fruit/ Turns out that bees don't really eat the apple but instead they suck all of the juice from fruits such as apples, cherries, and plums. Flowers attract the bees by their radiant colors and the pollen the bees can smell, so as for the apples they give off a sweet aroma that brings the bees in. As for bees being able to drill some sort of hole into the fruit the answer isn't decided yet. There has been a lot of studies to prove this theory. While others say yes a bee can the rest say no. In my opinion I think they can't as well because the bees I've seen would be on the apples that had holes already. Overall though I believe that the bees are the only ones that are being benefit from this because what can apple tree want from a bee. The apples are the desserts for the  buzzing yellow and black speckles.

Field Notes 9/30/14

Branches Matter Too

The most important part of an apple tree would be the apples right? If the apple tree doesn't have any apples then it's just a simple tree. I always want my apple tree to have apples so I can eat the delicious sweet fruit. The thing is that without the branches these green sweet circular fruits would't be hanging on the tree. Branches matter too! They are the arms that hold the apples high in the sky. The ones that keep you up even if someone (or in this case the wind) wants to knock you down. In a way they are the hero that doesn't let you fall.

During my observation time I started to look carefully at only the branches and I actually notice that they have characteristics that no one really notices because they are tiny. On September 16 "The branches seem to have more and more white spots then the others." this was the first day I notice that some branches on only one side of the tree are different. The branches look as if they were painted for Christmas. The dots is what make these branches unique. They aren'y your average "normal" branches and because of this they are excluded. During high school years most of the teenagers are in their own clique, so there's always those teens that are excluded because they are "weird". The excluded teens tend to be amazing people, but no one gives them a chance because they don't want to be kicked out of their group. And this is how these spotted branches are. They are isolated. They can't join the others because they are weird. 

Field Notes: September 16, 2014

I wanted to watch the branches again to see if there are other unique features. On September 26 I watched my branches again and I just went to the side that had the spotted branches. It was a chilly day. I used my phone so I can see closely on the branches. The branches have hair! I'm not a hundred percent sure if it really is hair, but it looked a lot like it. I began to think that maybe these are tiny hair since they looked fuzzy and this is what kept the tree warm. The fuzzy branches were like when we get cold and get goose bumps making our hair stand up. Maybe the trees do get cold. I mean really think about it. There are trees all over the world, but certain trees must be planted in certain parts because of the different climates. For example it would be impossible to bring a mango tree from Florida and try to plant it in Nevada because Florida is tropical and Nevada is cold. The tree would die! So trees probably do feel the weather because depending on their climate they will either be successful or completely fail. Overall my theory is that trees do get cold!

Field Note: September 26, 2014

Our society is taught that being different means they must be exclude. No matter what you are either a human, insect, animal, or plant if you are different then you don't "fit" with the others. It's the sad truth. There will come a day when that doesn't matter and we are slowly progressing to this goal. 

The Beginning

I've basically lived in my house for about nine years and I've never once looked at my apple tree very closely. Why would I look closely at an apple tree there isn't anything interesting about it right? It's just an apple tree for crying out loud! Wrong, wrong, and again wrong! I've started to observe the tree, but not just sitting there and staring at it with big open eyes. What I mean is that I've really started seeing the tree with not only my eyes, but also my mouth, hands, and nose. With my hands I felt the smooth yet soft leaves. The taste of the sweet apples and the ones that are not so sweet. Even smelt the scent the tree gives off as the breeze comes my way. I have open my eyes now to see what my own apple tree is capable of.

Fall is here now, so its time for the trees to say bye to their leaves slowly. My tree doesn't have just leaves there are apples there too! What's going to happen to them? Well most of them get eaten by birds, but even my dog eats them too. Other apples just rot slowly and sort of disappear. And then there are other apples that cling on to the tree for dear life. It seems that the apple dries up and hangs on the leaf. This looks like the dry apple is glued to the leaf! Days past and these apples were still there. I would think the wind would knock them down, but they proved me wrong again. These little guys want to still be a part of their tree. 

Field Note 9/12/14

Trees are homes to even the smallest little insects. The other day when I was observing my tree I was looking closely to one of the branches and I found this gold little dot, so I got my phone out and put my camera closer and just when it was focusing I saw that it was alive! This little critter looked like a ladybug, but the most weird thing about it was that it was gold! The insect looked like if it was a piece of jewelry.They are so rare yet so beautiful. Why are they gold? Why do they live in an apple tree? Is their color a way for them to survive? I did a bit of research on these critters and turns out they are mostly in California, so the cool thing is that I actually found them in my apple tree! They aren't ladybugs though instead they are Charidotella sexpunctata. To learn more about them go to http://baynature.org/2014/02/27/whats-small-ladybug-like-golden/.

Field Notes 9/24/12

This tree has so much to give not only for us, but for the creatures it attracts. I am able to look more closely at this apple tree and notice the changes its going through and see the home it provides for insects, birds, and more.