Week 12

The last week of blogs I finally see some life at Symphony Park! I have been waiting weeks for this and they are finally here, dandelions!! Since I know for a fact from past experiences that these are dandelions I have decided to talk about the taxonomy of them. I found that the kingdom for them is Plantae which is obvious, the class is Magnoliopsida, order is Asterales, family is Asteraceae, genus is Taraxacum and species is Taraxacum also (www.itis.gov). In the other website I found some more interesting things that I did not know about Dandelions. I did not know their true name is Taraxacum Officinale meaning "the official remedy for disorders" (Williams 1). Also interesting to note is that the early colonists brought the dandelion to America from Europe (Williams 1). Eating dandelions seems gross to me but apparently people do it! They are full of vitamins unavailable to pioneers during the winter (Williams 1). I found this interesting "Eating the leaves after the yellow flowers bloom is like chewing yesterday's gum" (Williams 1). It also says how to cook them which after learning about them and learning that they have many nutrients in them I may have to try some this year if I feel daring enough! If I do I sure know where to find them!

Williams, Carol. "The Dandelion Is a Healthful,great Tasting Weed You Can Eat." The Dandelion Is a Healthful, Great Tasting Weed You Can Eat by Carol Williams. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.

 

"ITIS Standard Report Page: Taraxacum Officinale." ITIS Standard Report Page: Taraxacum Officinale. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.

 

Week 11

  

Another glorious day at Symphony Park it was! Unlike the last few weeks, minus last week when I found some ant hills, I found some things coming to life! This week I found some plants starting to break through the ground. This is so exciting! I did not hear much this week except a few birds but I did not see them. After looking around the park a bit more looking for more plant like creatures I decided to settle for what I got this week. I spent a long time looking at these pictures before doing research. The roots look like asparagus to me but I knew that was not what was growing at the park. The roots looked familiar to me almost like it was something that was growing in my yard so I asked my mother. She said yes we do have them growing in our yard they are known to be called hostas'. I did some research and she was correct as far as we can see! This website shows almost a picture identical to the one I took at the park, the same color roots and everything. http://shavenook.com/thread-hosta-garden-beginning-to-wake-up On this website it says that this plant is over 100 years old, but after learning about extinctions and everything else in class 100 years seems like nothing to me now! These are extremely new plants as far as I am concerned!

 

 

 

"Hosta Garden Beginning to Wake up." Hosta Garden Beginning to Wake up. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

Week 10

Week 10 at Symphony Park! It was a beautiful Easter morning, a bit chilly but very sunny! We heard an obnoxious dog barking throughout my observations along with a few birds that were willing to stand the cold! I found some ant hills first in the grass and as we were leaving the park we saw more on the sidewalk. We did not see many ants maybe because of the chilly weather. After doing some research on only a little evidence, there is a good possibility that the type of ants that I was viewing were field ants.

The few that we did see were a brown, translucent color. This combined with where the nest was located led me to this conclusion. According to an exterminator, who would most certainly be familiar with finding ants, "Field ants commonly form large low-profile earthen mounds in the yard" (Steinau). His assessment of the ant hills is close to what we found.

Steinau, Rick. "Field Ants." Field Ants. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

Week 9

Moss Moss everywhere at Symphony Park in Peabody, Massachusetts! Wow, this is week 9 and it feels like just yesterday I was picking my location. This week, it was a glorious day just like it has been for the past few weeks I have done my blog post. I saw and heard more birds this week just like the past few Sundays but the moss really stuck out to me this week. My sister came to the park with me and pointed it out and asked "Sam can we take a picture of this fuzzy green stuff"? We took pictures and then I remembered the "myth" about Moss only growing on the North side of the tree. My sister thought I was just making that up so of course I had to prover her wrong! I went home and did my research. The website I found proved that the statement is in fact a myth! According to the website moss can grow on the North, South, East or West side of the tree as long as there is their is enough moisture (www.forteantimes.com). I bet lots of people did not know this because I sure as hell did not! I was believing a myth all of my life! I hope some of you will read this and learn that you too learn that you have been believing a myth! Happy Spring! See you all next week!

www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/mythbusters/2911/moss_growth.html

"Strange Days: Myth Busters." Moss Growth. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

Week 8

This week I saw more signs that Spring is here and I am thrilled! As I approached the park with my Labrador Retriever I saw new life such as grass forming all around the park and leaves finally on the ground. They were last years leaves but they were still leaves and the grass was looking less and less brown! This is a lovely start! I heard basketballs bouncing and children yelling, it was a glorious day! I first saw the grass growing in the cracks in the sidewalk which got me very excited. This is a sign that things are starting to reproduce again and come back to life from the horrid winter that we encountered this year. After I saw the grass growing between the sidewalk I noticed the couple birds nest's in the trees. Birds are so smart, they have used the old leaves from the past season to make a nest to keep their young that they have reproduced during the winter. In the article I found, The Four Seasons, it talks about how animals wake or return from warmer climates, often with newborns (Redd). The video that is on this website was very interesting as well, including all of the seasons of life. This was a helpful website that explains what happens in each season and was useful when I got home from the park to do some research! Happy blogging! See you all next week!


http://www.livescience.com/25202-seasons.html

 

Redd, Nola Taylor. "The Four Seasons: Change Marks the Passing of a Year." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 03 Dec. 2012. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.

Week 7

Good morning all! I went out on Sunday back to Symphony Park to find more birds but not more snow thank heavens! This week I decided to focus on the trees. It was not a windy day so the weather was gorgeous. I heard and saw a few birds but not as many as last week which is interesting, it was warmer this week than last week. Hmmm. I found the trees to be interesting this week, they were full and not naked. I took the two pictures of the tree itself on Sunday and went to explore the internet to see what type of tree it actually was. After finding this website: http://www.arborday.org/trees/whattree/?TrackingID=908 I realized I needed to go back and take a picture of the leaves/needles on the tree to truly identify what kind of tree it is. So, I went back this morning to the park and came back and took the quiz to identify the tree. After answering questions I decided this tree was a Red Spruce. http://www.arborday.org/trees/whattree/WhatTree.cfm?ItemID=E16c It seems to identify the tree exactly and looks exactly like the one at the park. I really loved this website because I feel as if this was accurate and asked all the right questions to identify the tree. Happy Spring! See you next week!

http://www.arborday.org/trees/whattree/?TrackingID=908
http://www.arborday.org/trees/whattree/WhatTree.cfm?ItemID=E16c

Week 6

Finally it feels like Spring at Symphony Park! Well, maybe it doesn't feel like Spring but it sure looks like it! The snow is almost completely gone and finally there is some wild life! My boyfriend came to the park with me this week and said "look at the birds" and I was so excited because I had not seen them once since I was doing this blog! The most we saw was five but it was still more than there has been for the past six weeks! It was nice to hear the wild life as well this week because it was getting a bit too quiet for my liking! There were a few people playing basketball too this week because the court was all clear of snow, that is a good sign! Any sign of Spring is good enough for me, I am sick of the cold and the wind!

I did some research on the birds that we saw at the park. My guess was that they were Robins but I had to be sure. I found that it is an American Robin, the picture on the site looks identical to the pictures I took at the park. In the article, it says that they make an early appearance at the end of Winter which would make sense since we are approaching the end of Winter (www.allaboutbirds.org). It also talks about Robin's habitat which is where it says that they are found at parks (www.allaboutbirds.org). This information proves to me that this is indeed an American Robin and I am also pleased that this is a sign of Spring on the way!



Work Cited: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Robin/id

Mammal Madness

Here I have covered two of the four brackets for the Mammal Madness competition, the Social Animals and the Marine Animals. These are the two brackets that will eventually be the two champion brackets competing against each other.

Social Animals

Qualifying Round

Match 1: Hyenas + Titi Monkeys

Winner: Hyena's because in any environment they can eat and attack the titi monkey because of size alone.

Match 2: Jackals + Mandrill

Winner: Jackals because jackals are closely related to wolves, dogs and coyotes. They can fight and kill in any environment and have canine teeth. They are adapted to hunt mammals, birds and reptiles.

Match 3: Dingoes + Army Ants

Winner: Army Ants because Dingoes are not equipped to fight bugs.

Match 4: Hamadryas + Meerkats

Winner: Hamadryas because they are much bigger than Meerkats. Meerkats only adapt in the desert and will not be able to fight anywhere else.

Match 5: Tibetan Macaque Vs Beavers

Winner: Tibetan Macaque because Beavers have limited limb range and Tibetan Macaque are much larger than Beavers.

Match 6: Wild Dogs + Marmot

Winner: Wild Dogs because they are faster than Marmot's and they are always looking for food and the Marmot's are prey. They are like coyotes when talking about speed.

Match 7: Ethiopian Wolf + Bush Dog

Winner: Ethiopian Wolf because they are faster than Bush Dogs. They travel in packs unlike Bush Dogs.

Match 8: Musk Oxen + Hyrax

Winner: Musk Oxen because they are enormous! They weigh about 600 pounds and a hyrax weighs about five to eleven pounds. The Musk Oxen can eat the Hyrax in one bite!

Quarter Finals

Match 1: Hyenas + Jackals

Winner: Hyenas because they eat very quickly and could take a bite out of the Jackal very fast and then go for a second bite.

Match 2: Army Ants + Hamadyas

Winner: Army Ants because they travel in packs and they can beat any animal when there are thousands of them.

Match 3: Tibetan Macaque + Wild Dogs

Winner: Wild Dogs because they are hungry. They are fast and will eat anything in sight.

Match 4: Ethiopian Wolf + Musk Oxen

Winner: Ethiopian Wolfs because they have teeth and claws made to take things down such an Musk Oxen's especially if there is a pack of the Ethiopian Wolves.

Semi Finals

Match 1: Hyenas + Army Ants

Winner: Army Ants because when there is enough of them and there always will be, they can gang up on anything.

Match 2: Ethiopian Wolf + Wild Dogs

Winner: Ethiopian Wolfs strictly because of the size difference between the two animals.

Finals

Match 1: Army Ants + Ethiopian Wolf

Winner: Army Ants because when there is enough of them and there always will be, they can gang up on anything.

Marine Animals

Qualifying Round

Match 1: Orca + Sea Otter

 Winner: Orca because they are toothed whale's and killer whales. They can bite and attack anything using their teeth also can swim faster than Sea Otter's.

Match 2: Beluga Whale + Sea Lion

Winner: Beluga Whale's are two times longer than the Sea Lion and 1,000 pounds more than the Sea Lion. The teeth on the Beluga Whale are unbelievable!

Match 3: Walrus + Harbor Seal

Winner: Walrus because they can kill the Harbor Seal with their tusks alone. The Walrus weighs more than 4,000 pounds and Harbor Seals weigh about 300.

Match 4: River Dolphin + Humpback Whale

Winner: Humpback Whale because they weigh about 79,000 pounds and the River Dolphin weighs about 217 pounds. The Humpback Whale can crush the River Dolphin without even trying to fight!

Match 5: Hooded Seal + Bowhead Whale

Winner: Bowhead Whale because they are bigger in size.

Match 6: Oceanic Whitetip + Ringed Seal

Winner: Oceanic White Tip because they are sharks, their teeth alone can beat the Seal never mind their fins.

Match 7: Narwhal + Dwarf Sperm Whale

Winner: Narwhal because they weigh about 3,000 pounds and the Dwarf Sperm Whale weighs about 550 pounds. The tusk alone can kill somebody as well.

Match 8: Manatee + Polar Bear

Winner: Polar Bear because they have four legs and a Manatee does not! They are also well adapted to being out of water where as a Manatee is not which could be a problem depending on where they will be fighting.

Quarter Finals

Match 1: Orca + Beluga Whale

Winner: Orca because first of all they are much bigger in size than the Beluga Whale. They are more aggressive as well.

Match 2: Walrus + Humpback Whale

Winner: Humpback Whale because they are faster than Walrus' and they do not need to live in shallow water like Walrus' do. They can lose the Walrus by going deep into the ocean.

Match 3: Bowhead Whale + Oceanic Whitetip

Winner: Oceanic Whitetip because this is a shark and has large teeth to bite the whale and will be able to out swim the whale as well.

Match 4: Narwhal + Polar Bear

Winner: Narwhal because they have the huge tusk that can be used to hurt anyone especially a polar bear because they are big, they are not fast enough to escape or to fight back.

Semi Finals

Match 1: Orca + Humpback Whale

Winner: Orca because they have very strong teeth that will hurt anyone and they are bigger than the Humpback Whale.

Match 2: Oceanic Whitetip + Narwhal

Winner: Narwhal because they have the tusk that can be used to hurt anyone even though the Oceanic Whitetip is thin and fast.

Finals

Match 1: Narwhal + Orca

Winner: Narwhal because the tusk would beat the Orca even though they have teeth just like the Narwhal.

Championship Match

Narwhal vs. Army Ants

Winner: Narwhal because it wins all the living things it goes up against. Its tusk was the reason that the Narwhal beat everyone it came in contact with, it is strong and nobody has one quite like it.

Week 4

A beautiful Sunday March morning at Symphony Park and the proof is in the pictures! Not a person in sight but absolutely a beautiful day! No animal in sight, no cars, nothing. I hear little to no noise, a few dogs barking from the houses across the street but nothing on the actual park is making any noise. 

 This picture was the first interesting thing that I saw on Sunday morning. I assume it was a dog's paw prints, so I did a little research. What kind of dog is this from? Which legs? I think this might be from a domestic dog's hind legs (Cabrera). They look very similar to what it describes in this link I have provided (Cabrera). I knew their were different types of dogs obviously and small and large dogs but I never thought their were so many paw prints! http://www.bear-tracker.com/dog.html

 This week I got to go into the park which I had not been able to do because of the snow. I found this book under one of the slides in the park. It is clearly a college book, it is just interesting to me because who would want to study under a slide in the park with all the wood chips?! It is very uncomfortable if you ask me! Maybe it was the only place that would be quiet enough for them to study, after all like I have said for four weeks now, there is not much noise at all! I wish I was able to go into the park weeks ago because I am curious to how long this book has been here.

 Approaching this stick, I was nervous because from a distance it looked like a snake to me. I was prepared to scream but knew I had to get close enough to at least get a picture of it because it would have been the first animal I have seen in a month! Turns out it was just a boring old stick but it still has a cool shape to it!

See you all next week!

Work Cited: Cabrera, Kim A. "Animal Tracks - Domestic Dog." Animal Tracks - Domestic Dog. N.p., 1997. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.

Week 3

Hello again from Symphony Park in Peabody Massachusetts! Today was in the 30's and sunny so the snow has melted a little bit today which is exciting!! I took the second and third picture because you can finally see the ground with no snow! Does this mean spring is coming?! I don't think so, we couldn't be that lucky. Still their were no people here that has been the same for the last three weeks. There was not one car that went past me today which is unusual. I did not see one person or one car besides my own. This is sad because the park is getting no use but it is the winter time so this is expected. It is a good thing because it is peaceful with no noise besides an occasional chirp from a bird. I spelt the cold winter air, no smell of people grilling hot dogs and hamburgers this week!I saw dirty snow, I hate dirty snow. I love snow but not when it is dirty, I have no use for it when it is dirty. It looked like some people had been there in the last few days because there were some footsteps besides my own. When will the children be back? Definitely not this week, that is for sure!

Week 2

This beautiful cold winter morning was not my favorite day. It was rather cold and windy and yet still no people to be found. This week, I admired all parts of the park, the basketball court, the jungle gym and the baseball field. The basketball court did not look itself, as it usually has multiple people playing pick up on it. The baseball field is usually empty for the most park and if its not, someone is playing fetch with their dog on it. The jungle gym was missing children yelling and laughing. I heard nothing today, not one bird. I saw the moving trees from the wind but yet the snow stayed in place as if it was never going anywhere any time soon. When will the snow go away and have the children return to play? Hopefully the snow will go away sooner than later, but it is not looking like that. It is still very cold out and I hear we are getting more snow next week! The children will return to play once the snow has disappeared, as they always do every year!

  I chose to observe this semester at my local park, Symphony Park in Peabody, Massachusetts. I went there the morning of Monday February 17, 2014. It was about twenty degrees but the sun was shining and the birds were wide awake, chirping away. Fresh air is what I smell and nothing more, I see some snow on the trees but mostly leafs. This is a good sign for no more winter I hope! The playground looks so empty compared to what it normally looks like. Their is too much snow today for their to be a soul here. Most of the time there are some brave souls walking around but nobody in sight today. Snow is all over the swings and slides on the playground which just means there has not been a soul here in a while. Is this how this park is suppose to sound you may ask. No, this is sad to me, I like to see at least some people here, without people it looks too lonely and deserted. A playground should be noisy with kids screaming and balls bouncing. This was a peaceful morning overall but I would have liked to hear some other noise except for the birds chirping.