Week#12

DIVERSITY OF SPECIES

When I think about diversity of species I automatically go to plants in my environment as I am installing a native garden in my home. And as the bay area has such a specific ecosystem, there are native plants that thrive here.... and they are not too limited to their number of species. I am amazed by the selection of plants/trees that are available and present in our parks. Here if you go for a stroll in tilden, it is shocking how many different plant species there are and I would guess over half of them are native. In michigan (where I used to live) a walk in the park was a game of trying to name that invasive plant, which left less diversity of plant species. Still, there are grasses and blackberries, ie, that get in the way. I read that before the invasive grasses came to these parts, even though we are rain free for seven months, all the hills were always covered with green. Now we have our usual browning.

Still it is important to note that we live in a city, and as humans populate an area they may bring a diversity of culture and races, they strongly diminish the diversity of plant species, as our footsteps are so large. I know we took the homes of hundreds of animals, and try to be friendly to the deers that seem at home (Even though two ate my entire veggie garden over the weekend).

The real neat thing to me is that the fog plays are very interesting role in the diversity of plant species. Redwoods, for example, know how to slap the fog with their needles onto the ground and water their roots (which need tons of water). Our live oaks need small amounts of water and learned to ignore the fog, or just not grow where it is too heavy. This gives me hope that as long as we don't cut them down, they will survive here over other invasive species.


LINKS ON CELLS

Ahhh, good old biology. It is always great revist the cells in living organisms as it is flat out amazing. Every detail has such a important function, and there are so so so many cells of this detail that makes us living things. How did this come to be? LIke I said in a previous blog, science is what makes me visit my spiritual questions. It is so awe inspiring. And when you put a human cell next to a plant cell, it is so neat to see the comparisons as we are all in this to live.


SPIKES GALLERY

Wow! These are works of art. It makes me think about images that we are drawn to in art or design, often already exist in nature. Perhaps there is something subtle in our subconcious that finds comfort with images that we share life with. My favorite is the Opercularia articulata as it looks like a beautiful flower. Neat.