Climax

          Unfortunately, this observation journey has come to an end. Today's weather is very seemly to end this observation journey. Snowflakes fall as the wind gently drifts by. A sign for a new beginning. For the closure of my observation journey, I will talk about all the things that I've learned during my adventure. Throughout the whole duration of my observations, I learned about the species of pine, and the type of clouds that encompasses the area that I was observing. However, those weren't the only knowledge that I learned. I also learned new words; how to correctly cite sources without a online citation machine, and how to improve my overall writing.

          To begin with, I'll start with what I've learned about the area that I was observing. Like I mentioned in my previous blog post(Blog Post #2), pine cones vary differently. "There are the impressively elongate and slender cones of sugar pines and western and eastern white pines, for example, and, at the opposite end of the spectrum, the little squat ones of lacebark , mugo  and Scotch pines"(Schowalter-Hay). Based on my research and observations, the pine cones that are bore by the tree that is part of my observation are Scotch pine cones. According to my research, trees that bears the Scotch pine cones needs two growing seasons to produce mature cones(Koelling).The picture provided below is a picture of the Scotch pine cones.

Credits:https://sp.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608051680264259381&pid=15.1&P=0
 

          The clouds throughout my observation were mostly Cumulus clouds like the one shown below.    



          Moving on, this observation project has undoubtedly changed me as a person. I feel like this project has opened me to new perspectives. It made me appreciate how great it is to just sit in one place and absorb your surroundings. It made me think about the other things that I've never even given attention to before.Overall, this observation project made me realize that those things that I've seen for the first time during my observation has always been there.You just have to go beyond what you normally see on your normal days.

          More importantly, I felt like this project has contributed in making me learn new writing techniques and improve my overall writing. Writing blogs made me learn a new writing process which I could definitely use when writing an essay. It made me learn new words and it showed me how to be more descriptive when presenting an unknown object to others. Reading blog posts written by others made me learn new writing techniques and made me see how they interpreted the project. Writing blogs made me learn new skills and techniques that can be used in future writing assignments.

          Overall, this observation made me learn not only about the area in my observation, but also opened me up to new perspectives and new writing skills and techniques.


                                                                   Works Cited
Koelling, Melvin R., Dr. "Scotch Pine." Scotch Pine. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
Schowalter-Hay, Ethan. "Types of Pines & Pine Cones." Home Guides. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

          

Crumbling

Fall is one of my favorite seasons along with winter. A lot of things to see. Leaves during these season are enthralling. Sky is either nice and clear or it's cloudy. Crunching leaves is the most fun you'll have all year. There's football, and the forests turns technicolor. But it's all about the leaves.

In addition, there's Halloween. It's a great holiday. You get to dress up and go around the neighborhood for trick or treating. Halloween candies are always good. People go crazy for pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkins turns into pies. Pumpkins gets carved. A good holiday overall.

Then there's Thanksgiving! A 3-day break from school plus the 2-day weekend incorporated with thanksgiving sales. A good time to go shopping for everyone. You get to eat a good Thanksgiving dinner with your family friends. It's a good holiday break along with this amazing season.

Then there's the tree in my observation that stays up while it watches the other trees crumble. The evergreen which maintains its great foliage throughout the year stands strong. Although the other trees are slowly crumbling, it's not really a bad thing. There's still some advantages and purpose for their degeneration. According to my research, "this fall color is a vacation attraction that visitors from all over enjoy"/ "Trees lose their leaves to protect themselves during the winter months, as the cold dry winds in these regions will readily strip moisture from the trees through the leaves, which have a large surface area"("Why Do Some..."). It's amazing because of all the trees that I would've had for my observations, the tree I chose stands tall above every other trees. It stays green while the others crumbles in this season.

Work Cited

Baer, Drake. "19 Reasons Fall Is The Finest Season." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 24 Sept.           2014. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.

"Why Do Some Trees Lose Their Leaves?" WiseGEEK. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.

W" 

Sky is the limit

It was a  calm and quiet day with the addition of the mesmerizing sky. The combination of the astonishing sky and the daylight caught my eye immediately as I sat down to observe. As always, I could hear the airplanes departing from the nearby airport. The leaves of the trees were hardly moving as the flock of birds drifted from one tree to another. The wind was hardly felt. I could hear the babbles of the kids from a few houses away. I guess they were out playing with their friends under the stunning blue sky. Nothing really extraordinary happened while I was observing, but gazing at the sky brought tranquility to my soul as I continue to glare at it. I was mesmerized by the sky for so long that it has totally changed when I left my viewing spot. I started this post with a glance of the sky as I began observing, so I guess it's proper to end it with what the sky looked like as I left.

Something

                          During these past few days, there's nothing really extraordinary that happened. So I guess I'll just talk about the day when I took a closer picture of the pine cones I found at the tree that I'm observing.

 

                            I took the picture above immediately after I got home from school. It looked like I was taking a "selfie" from someone else's perspective, but I was definitely taking pictures of the pine cones. That afternoon, the sun was bright yet the wind was shivery. A school bus was passing by as I took the picture above. Other than that, no vehicles/cars passed by. The clouds were tornado-shaped as they hover in the sky. It was unusually quiet after the school bus passed by as well. Normally, you could hear the sounds of the airplanes from the airport, vibration of the machines from the nearby factory, and other people's chatters. However, during that time, you could only feel and hear the cold shivers of the breezing wind. It was a feeling that made me observe longer and embrace that peaceful day from outside.

                       

Subsistence of the Unknown

So, it's been quite a few weeks since we started this "nature project/ observation. However, I've never really noticed the pine cones that's been thriving within the tree until recently.This just goes to show that unless you pay really close attention to your ambiance, it is doubtless that you will overlook something's existence(pine cones in this case). According to my research, there are different types of pine cones. Pine cones vary dramatically in appearance and dimensions.There are the impressively elongate and slender cones of sugar pines and western and eastern white pines, for example, and, at the opposite end of the spectrum, the little squat ones of lacebark , mugo  and Scotch pines(Schowalter-Hay). I'm not sure if it's the exact same thing, but the pine cones I found were very similar to Scotch pine cones. I'll be sure to find out exactly what it is during the instance of my observation.

                                                   Not a very clear picture but they're still visible!

Also, since I think that I haven't looked close enough, it could be possible that there are other life forms that I have yet to discover. Having something to look forward to definitely keeps me sympathetic towards further observations. Discovering something that I have not seen despite the three years that I've spent living around it would definitely be enthralling.

Work Cited

Schowalter-Hay, Ethan. "Types of Pines & Pine Cones." Home Guides. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

Preamble for the inevitable journey

                For most people, an observation simply means perceiving what you've caught a glimpse of. However, conducting an observation using all our senses acquiesces us to grasp what's beyond our eyes can see. Thus, I have chosen a tree and the area encompassing it as the subject of my observation. This gives me the tree, sky, and sounds from afar to take note of and observe.
             
              To conduct my observation, I've decided to pick a viewing spot and sit there everyday and record what my senses perceived for 5 minutes. Throughout the first few days or weeks of my observation, I've thought about changing the subject of my observation. However, I've decided to focus on my subject more and actually found it fun and relaxing to sat down quietly and just observe. Nothing else.

               During the first week of my observation, nothing extremely alluring happened. However, calling it mundane would be an embellishment. Observing meticulously allowed me to perceive things unlike before. I became fixated towards the sound of a landing airplane, the vibrant of the grass and the tree's leaves from the gusty wind, machine sounds from a factory, neighbor's chatters, the rough texture of the tree, the soft and drenched grass, and the gloomy sky.These are the elements that I've contemplated throughout the first week of my observation. These factors kept me engrossed for the duration of the week.