McDowell Grove Forest Preserve

Fallen Limbs at the Forest Preserve in Spring

I took a walk in the McDowell Grove Forest Preserve by my house today. I had never been to this area before and I'm so glad I visited for the first time in spring. There weren't any real flowers to speak of but the floor was a carpet of green. I know in a few months, I won't be able to walk through the fields like I did today because the grasses and under story brush will be too high.  

There were fallen branches everywhere, creating a natural clearing. I don't know if it is normal for so many branches and trees to lie on the the forest floor or if there was some event that caused the branches to fall. One fallen log had a reddish moss growing on it but the majority did not. I wonder what was different about that log - the age, type of bark, moisture content of the wood? I'm guessing the latter, but I'd love to bring an ecologist to find out next time.

The Pattern of a Tree Limb

Tree Limb Observational Sketch

On a walk through the forest preserve today, I thought about the growth of tree branches.  Seeing so many that had fallen to the ground, I wondered about their structural integrity.  Upon further reflection, I think the downed limbs had more to do with flood damage to the roots than to any defect in the branches themselves.  But, it got me thinking about how a branch grows out from a tree and sends out leaves.

Tree limbs tend to grow and send out leaves and branches in a spiral pattern to maximize exposure to sunlight.    I found areas of the limb where it looked like the limb was going to grow in one direction, but then made a sharp turn.  I am hypothesizing that the initial direction became damaged or did not get as much sunlight as its offshoot branches and was abandoned in favor of the more productive branch.

Tracking Changes over Time

Magnolia bush in my backyard

my backyard is a constructed ecosystem.  but even so, i've tried to keep it as naturalistic as possible by minimizing turf grass, adding bushes and planting beds, and introducing edible plants into the landscape to encourage wildlife (but not in my fenced off vegetable garden).  so, despite it's constructed nature, it is still natural.  and since it is my backyard and i spend a great deal of time there, i've decided to use it as my iSite for tracking changes over time.

i live in a downtown area with a small lot and just a tiny patch of turf grass for my kids to play in.  that tiny patch of grass isn't doing well - bad soil, erosion, or my natural weed inhibitors and organic fertilizers don't go far enough to keep it lush and green.  but oh well.  if it all dies, i'll reseed it with more appropriate varieties that hopefully don't require the maintenance that kentucky bluegrass does.  in most of the yard, i have gotten rid of  my grass in favor of planting beds.  i have flowering trees and bushes, berry bushes, herbs, and far too many hostas that will all fill out later in the season, but right now they look like green sticks in the mulch.  

Thoughts on a Tulip

Backyard Tulips

i decided to focus my attention on my backyard for a couple of iSites this week, for a couple of reasons.  1) i love my backyard and have put a lot of effort into making it beautiful and 2) i'm getting seriously close to my next trip and the deadline for all of my assignments - and my backyard is very convenient.  and the tulips are out and beautiful this time of year.

so, tulips.  while outside, i studied my tulips looking through the lens of multi-functional design.  when thinking about this, i divide the tulip plant into three parts - the bulb root, the leaves, and the flower.  i'll focus on the flower because we don't plant tulips for the foliage or the bulb.

Sound Mapping the Morton Arboretum

Sound Map of the Morton Arboretum

Another day, another chance to work on my iSites - I still have a few more to do before my next Biomimicry trip in 3 weeks, so I am using every opportunity to finish them that I can find.

Today is Easter.  We are not religious, but my two little kids like the idea of the Easter Bunny, so after hunting eggs in the back yard we went to the Morton Arboretum to welcome spring the way we feel most comfortable - by being outside.  For this iSite, I did a sound map.  By closing my eyes, I made a map of every sound I heard.  I was also supposed to see if any of the sounds were related or responsive to one another.

Happy Spring!

The Cantilevered Tree

Cantilevered Tree at the Naperville Riverwalk

For today's iSite, I was to test my skills of observation by drawing an object and then trying to draw it again without looking.

Walking along the Riverwalk in my town, I came across a tree that has grown horizontally off the riverbank. It's roots have grown horizontally and are strong enough to cantilever the tree 30' over the riverbank. The tree is truly an amazing feat of natural engineering. It will fall eventually, but so will everything. For now, it has found a way to survive and stand out from the rest of the trees - gaining access to solar resources that others cannot reach. Life will find a way.

As for my skills of observation, I spent a lot of time observing the tree. The roots that hold it up are buried under the ground, but I would have loved to see how deep they reach and how far they extend. Moss was growing on the underside of the tree to the east - not surprising considering it was only a few feet above the water and a river that often floods. This tree has spent a bit of time underwater and it still survives.

Drawing by looking at the tree, but not the paper, was pretty difficult. I felt like I should have picked a simpler object for this exercise, but the outline of the second drawing was not much different than the first. Which was kind of cool.