We had crowns of weeping willow blowing in the wind behind us as we ran across the rocks, careful not to step into the water below. My sister and I only had on school clothes, but as soon as we crowned ourselves royalty, those clothes might as well have been glittering gowns of gold. We each believed we were princesses, and this was our grand palace on the water. There was a tunnel where this narrow path of water started, we knew not to go near this tunnel. The cold drafts and echoes from the street cars above was enough to keep our curiosity to a minimum. For hours and hours we would escape, then, when the first tip of the sun began to disappear, we knew it was time to leave our palace-until tomorrow. This ritual continued until early fall turned into late fall, the waters became colder, and the days became shorter. I sit here now and still feel that cold, wet moss on my feet, I can distinctly remember the smell of the willow that would be soiled on our hands from twisting its vines into our tiaras. However perfect it sounds, like any other reign depicted in our history books, my kingdom, too, would soon fall.
Nikky Finney, an environmentally conscious and well respected author, shares the opinion with me that it is important for everyone to experience this type of harmony with nature. In her introduction to her book, Rice, Finney analyzes the world's past and compares it to the world's present, noticing that "this beautiful country is being turned into one half golf course and one half toxic dump," minimizing the opportunity for people to enjoy "its incredible natural beauty" (Finney intro). This environment being destroyed is not only crucial to the wildlife that depends on it, but also vital to humans' physical and mental h...
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...our childhood.
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The study area consisted of Latah and Benewoh in Idaho, USA. The research used a total of 105 sites to collect data; ranking the areas from lowest to highest elevation. The methods implemented in this research consisted of wetland sampling, mail survey and habitat modelling. The combined results allowed for better insight for the conservation of these species. The first section of the experiment consist...
On the edge of a small wood, an ancient tree sat hunched over, the gnarled, old king of a once vast domain that had long ago been turned to pasture. The great, gray knees gripped the hard earth with a solidity of purpose that made it difficult to determine just where the tree began and the soil ended, so strong was the union of the ancient bark and grainy sustenance. Many years had those roots known—years when the dry sands had shriveled the outer branches under a parched sun, years when the waters had risen up, drowning those same sands in the tears of unceasing time.