I planted grapefruit trees in my yard. They were supposed to be tolerant of temperatures to 22 degrees Fahrenheit or -10 Celsius. They weren't. They died promptly after the first freeze.
I have plans to purchase the variety of banana plants called cohol veinte. They are supposed to set fruit that mature before the plant freezes back each year. It is best to grow what is suitable for your climate.
About ten miles as the crow flies, there is a great deal of sand. There is a road in the area called cactus hill. There is plenty of rain but the sandy soil doesn't hold onto the water. So you have cactus.
The greatest predictor of extinction of a species is loss of habitat.
I'm a bit cynical about this. Whenever a developer wants a piece of land, they may be delayed but eventually the land will be developed. So many of our natural areas are in undesirable locations for people to live. The nuclear disaster at Chernobyl has produced a natural wonderland for flora and fauna.
This is why I never enjoyed teaching environmental science. People will support protecting the environment. But economics make a lot of decisions. When the knowledge that many dolphins were killed during tuna fishing, sales of tuna dropped dramatically. This demonstrates the general public is in favor or protecting species. Tuna companies began advertising their tuna was caught with dolphin safe nets to encourage sales.
I don't develop my small piece of property. No insecticides or herbicides are used. It is not a big natural area but it is my part. I love a late evening walk and hearing the birds settling into the deep grass for a short night's sleep.
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| Westward View from my Front Yard. |
The first thing that sprang to mind when reading this was my time as a teacher and doing habitats with the kids as part of their project. It was amazing and I learned as much as them. Great post.
ReplyDeleteYou do learn a lot as a teacher. I remember teaching rocks for the first time. I thought, I'll get through this. Then in time, I got really good at identifying minerals and rocks by sight.
DeleteHabitat loss is a huge problem in my country (India), the population pressure is high and humans win and animals lose.
ReplyDeleteI love the image. You have a beautiful view, and are so lucky to live where you do, with wide open skies.
Human needs do put pressure on the environment.
DeleteI don't know how long places like mine will exist. So many more people and development is coming.
There are micro climate cells where I live. Going 100 to 200 metres in a direction can result in several degree average temperature shifts (my neighbor can grow bananas but I can't.
ReplyDeleteRhonda at AlbomAdventures.com
One of Alex's ninja minions
Such is life where elevation changes rapidly. I would love to tour your country. I've always heard how beautiful it is.
DeleteMy mother grew up on top of a mountain in Alabama. The heat was always a problem for her in central Georgia. Essentially, my mom grew up where the climate was more similar to Vermont.
J here, of the #atozchallenge Arlee Bird's A to Z Ambassador Team.
ReplyDeleteHow has the first week of the challenge been for you so far? Are you meeting your goals of posting and hopping to other blogs? Looking forward to Sunday off?
My blog's giveaways are still going! I'm encouraging everyone to visit more stops.
http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com
I'd say the tuna thing was the most impressive environmental campaign of all time.
Nice giveaways Dorner.
DeleteThanks shortybear
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the post and the picture! We should all be more aware of our environment—the impact we have on it and its natural beauty, too.
ReplyDeleteSo true, I remember a park ranger saying that world was made up of builders and destroyers. Hopefully, more of the builders will take heed to protect the environment.
ReplyDelete