1. The tree pictured above is right outside my bedroom window and within the last couple of weeks, I have been woken up from the noise of birds chirping as soon as the sun comes up in the morning. At least 15 small birds, I’m guessing finches, gather on this tree and consistently chirp following a hint of light in the sky. I consider this a sign of spring because I hadn’t really noticed this until a couple of weeks ago, which was when the season started. I find it to be a very pleasant sound and a much more pleasing alarm than what I am normally used to.
2. I have been walking to Golden Gate Park a lot ever since the shelter-in-place started and I have been observing pairs of hawks circling in the air the past few weeks. I looked it up, and for Red-tailed Hawks, their breeding season is in the early spring, where you can see migrants begin their aerial courtship displays. This is when pairs soar together in wide circles high in the sky and the males typically fly above and slightly behind the female. I find this super fascinating because this is exactly what I have been seeing, so it is nice to put an explanation behind it.
3. Another sign of spring that I’ve noticed is the abundance of bees pollinating flowering plants in Golden Gate Park. I have been venturing to the park to play frisbee with my roommate, and occasionally the frisbee lands by these flowering bushes, which always have a swarm of bees around it lately. Now that it is already April, temperatures are warmer and flowers are beginning to bloom, which cause the bees to be really active.
Leaf Descriptions –
Thyme Plant – Reddish stem with two different leaf morphologies – a circular, petaled green leaf with frayed edges and a red arrowhead leaf with spiky ends, both symmetrical
Basil Plant – Red and green, solid, oblong leaves with point at the end. The leaves are 1-2 in and curve downward, with deep grooved veins, delicate, soft texture
Goosefoot Plant – Heart shaped leaves, darkest green on the edges and lightest green towards the middle, smooth texture with defined veins, flexible, soft leaves
Spider Plant – linear-shaped leaves in rosette formation, flat, parallel leaves leading to a pointed tip – dark green and white striped leaves
Narrative –
I have been observing signs of spring for the last couple of weeks now and I really enjoyed researching and finding out why birds are chirping, hawks are flying, and bees are buzzing this time of year. I noted all of these signs in Golden Gate Park and I am very appreciative, especially in a time like this, to have access to one of the nation’s largest urban parks where I can witness these beautiful signs of spring. For my leaf descriptions, I decided to focus on the plants I have in my apartment in aim to learn more about their morphologies and I found it to be a productive use of my time.
