Nature: The Way I Saw It On Canada Day

Beautiful and The Destructive

Happy Canada Day!

How did you spend the day?

I decided to begin my day on a nature walk all around my backyard with my camera in hand. It has been a while since I did this. I was surprised by the contrast of nature that I had seen.

I first took pictures of flowers. It was a pretty sight to see. They were wild flowers. The purple flowers were the prettiest but the gem was when I stumbled upon yellow flowers that had some orangey- red shining through.

Next, I took pictures of spruce trees. I loved it because it brought back memories of how much I liked pinecones when I was much younger. It reminded me of how much I liked the texture. I remember how I enjoyed the way that they felt in my hand. They were the perfect shape to wrap my little fingers around. My mom reminded me that my pockets were often filled with pinecones. The things we see, if we take the time to look around, can bring back peaceful memories.

Not all the things in nature made me feel great. I was shocked that all the leaves were eaten off our columnar oaks. They looked like decaying trees, so sad and leafless. It seems as though the destructive gypsy moth caterpillars that live in them have feasted on the leaves as if their lives depended on it. The gypsy moth caterpillars are invasive species and are all Caledon. They used to live in both Europe and Asia. They were introduced into North America in the late 1860's near Boston. They still continue to destroy trees across North America. Nature can both be pretty as well as destructive.

After a long time of examining the invasiveness of the caterpillars, I felt like I was done. My final discovery of nature left me feeling a little down. I was done taking pictures. My mom suggested a tree with shade where I could sit down and write. You would not believe it....as soon as I was sitting still and laid my backpack down, a yellow butterfly landed gracefully on it. Whaaaat! It was so cool. My idea on nature was changed again instantly. I had to end my day with one last photo.