Nature Observation: Part 2

For the fourth time this month I was sitting outside in my backyard cutting up and breaking down what seemed to be an infinite amount of cardboard boxes. The reason for me doing this is because my six roommates have apparently never heard of a recycle bin before so they decided to use the garage instead and things tend to build up over four months. Little did I know that my attempt to clean my garage and the side of my house would end up in a perfect topic for my second nature journal. As I lifted the last of the cardboard boxes from the ground I opened what appeared to be a door to another world. Almost immediately, ten or more lizards shot out from underneath the cardboard box straight towards my feet. Do not get me wrong, I have seen lizards before. In fact, my older brother even had one of the green anoles that you can find all over campus as a pet. However, I have never seen so many different kinds all in one place. After the initial rush of life from underneath the cardboard box, the rest of the microenvironment remained eerily still. There were large lizards nearly the size of my hand and smaller ones barely bigger than a quarter. They were light green with dark green and brown markings across their body. Some of the lizards that darted out when I first lifted the cardboard were now climbing the brick wall with their circular toes which is actually characteristic of geckos. Regardless of the scientific classification, the lizards large, glassy eyes looked up to me waiting on my next move. After further examination, the microenvironment was not only home to lizards, but a snake and many insects. The finding of a snake startled me. Its gray-blue body shimmered in the sun as it started to slither towards the base of the house. Using my limited knowledge of snakes and their characteristics, I assume the snake was a baby because it was only ten to twelve inches long. After a couple seconds the snake vanished. I can only assume it had a hole managed to make its way back into. The insects were dark brown and black. They had wings that glistened with every movement. Although I am not sure of the exact species, they looked like cockroaches which we unfortunately had exterminated from our house earlier that summer. There were exponentially more insects than there were lizards or snakes. I wonder if they were a food source for the lizard and snake or if they were simply all living together in harmony. Overall, the insects were the least likely to startle which I can only assume is due to their limited eyesight. It was not until after using the cardboard box to physically move some of the insects that they started to move. It was a rather hot day outside and it made sense that this community chose to seek shelter in the shade away from the ever present sun. The grass is also rather long near the cardboard box pile because the mowers neglected to trim around the pile. In addition to the shade and grass, the bottom of the cardboard box was still damp from the morning dew despite being in the sun for most of the afternoon. All of these factors most likely contributed to why this unlikely place was a home to so many different species. When it comes down to it, they were all trying to seek shelter, avoid the sun, and find water. All of which were present underneath that pile of cardboard boxes. Although fascinating, I have experienced similar situations when taking out the trash on Wednesdays. I often find lizards and insects underneath the recycle and trash bins so I can only wonder the amount of life under each one of the bins in Fort Worth.

Nature Observation: Part 1

For my first nature observation I decided to describe my time on the Trinity Trail. Since the second semester of my freshman year, I have spent my Saturday mornings running from Texas Christian University to either Press Cafe or downtown Fort Worth using the Trinity Trail. Although there is a lot of nature alongside the trail, my favorite part is the nature within the river. There are several times, depending if you head towards Press Cafe or downtown, where you actually cross the river. My favorite part of the trail is about halfway between TCU and Press Cafe. It actually takes you the longer way because you have to loop back to get on the right side of the trail but it is well worth the extra time. The crossway is unlike any other crossway I have seen. Unlike the traditional concrete pathways across the river, this one in particular is made of large stones that you have to jump from one to another in order to cross the river. I often find myself sitting on one of the stones in the middle of the river just looking at the life around me. The water is murky so it is hard to see anything deeper than a four or five inches. However, my favorite part of the river is the turtles which are often sitting alongside the river or on one of the stones in the pathway. As long as you are quiet and do not make any quick movements, the turtles usually sit still and continue to sun themselves. I used to own turtles as a kid so I enjoyed getting to see the familiar streak of red on the neck of the Red Eared Sliders and the yellow underbelly of the River Cooter. Over the course of my time spent on the river I saw close to 25 turtles. Many were going in and out of the river as my movement across the pathway scared them into the water. At first glance, all the turtles out sunning themselves all looked the same. After further investigation, I learned that it was because all the turtles were covered in a layer of sludge dried into a light tan color making their unique markings.