Just the Beginning

     Within the past couple weeks, I've been observing the Rowan trees, or the Mountain ash, growing next to the path of sidewalks, located around my apartment complex.  This is my subject for my two month Nature Project, assigned to my English class, which requires a relatively close observation on a living thing or surrounding.  I chose the Rowan as my main subject, because I haven't really looked attentively at the berry growing, green bushy leafed, half painted trees.  In order for me to observe a considerable number of trees for about five days a week, I would have to take the regular sidewalk path in the afternoon, that I use to pick up the mail and my sister.  It consists of me leaving home, walking to the mailboxes ,then to the bus stop, and finally another similar path to go back home, which allows me to eye a vast amount of Rowans a day.  During my walks, I would bring my trusty notebook in hand for notes, and some white plain paper for sketches.

     Strolling along the grey cemented path, searching for something interesting around the Rowans, I've seemed to stumble across a sighting or two of American Robins.  These robins are notable for their scarlet red feathered breast, with a dark charcoal feathery base, but if the pleasing afternoon sunlight hits them, the feathers have a warm grayish-brown sheen.  It has a yellow medium sized beak, with black beady eyes of a stuffed animal, and fragile stick-like legs.  They appear frequently in the first and other Rowans, near the mailboxes, perching themselves on the thin brown branches, next to a bundle of plump orange berries.  These Robins, below the Rowan, would occasionally get startled by my presence and end up spreading its wings, beating them quickly to fly up the tree, brimmed with green razor-like leaves, and bright orange ripe berries.  Walking close to them, they would move up or fly away.  Other times; however, they would stay, jump, and turn looking around their surroundings.  Mostly these Robins would like to indulge themselves on the feast of berries, whose colors can range from red or orange.  In my observations they seemed to favor more of the orange fruit, pecking at it, grabbing it in its beak, and then gobbling down the round orb or swallowing it like a pill.

     A few days past, and I noticed that the berries started falling off their stems due to the seasons changing to autumn.  The berries on the sidewalk are mostly crushed by human feet, leaving many crisp flakes behind, while a few are still intact.  The intact ones to my  surprise would have tiny black gnats that seemed to have taken interest with the fruit bearing tree.  They look more like little black dots, hovering around the berries.  Sometimes they would travel up the white trunk, to the brown portion of the tree, then to the stems of berries.  They would then sit still on to the fruit, crawling around the spheres.

     The Nature Project seemed to have gone very well for the past couple weeks.  I really enjoyed the observations, because it does awaken my eyes to realize how stunning the world is.  It gives me a peace of mind, to shun myself of my brooding memories, and it's a pleasant way to observe the gift of miracles that's given right front of me.  I will gladly look forward to doing this project, seeing now that the tree is getting even more interesting as it changes through the seasons.