Dog Park

I think that the importance of having dog parks in communities is similar to having green space. It provides a place for people to go and get away from the city. The dog parks give dogs a place to run around and interact with other dogs. The owners also benefit because they get to the know fellow dog owners within the community. When I'm home from school over the breaks, I take my dog Charlie to a dog park near our home. When we go he gets to run around with other dogs, and I am able to meet new families, and become familiar with others who frequent the park. The park we go to have fenced in sections, for small dogs and big dogs. Each section has a little course that the dogs can play on. It also has a section for all dogs that you can throw frisbees and such in. 

This picture is of my dog, Charlie, hanging out by the obstacle course thing. 

And this is a picture of Charlie and me at the park!

Plant Update

At the beginning of the semester everyone got plant seeds to take care of and grow throughout the year. You could get sunflower seeds or tomato seeds. I chose to get tomato seeds. My plant was put in a small dixie cup to grow in. I kept it on the end table in my apartment near the windows in the living room. I gave it water every night and morning, and when it got super tall I attempted to prop it up. However, I failed at my attempts of keeping the plant from breaking in half, and it died. I did not take any pictures during my plants sort life, but I did find pictures that mirrored what it looked like.

The picture above is what my plant looked like within the first 2-3 days of having it. 

The chart above mimics what my plant slowly turned into within a two - three week time frame. However, my plant in the last stage displayed here, was much taller. Too tall to hold it self up, which is why it died.

This picture above it what I would like to believe my plant would have turned into. However, I more than likely would have had to move the plant into a much bigger pot for it to grow this big. I also would have had to figure out a way to keep it growing upwards. 

Bakersfield Park

Bakersfield Park, or Jackson Springs park, is the park we visited to take rock samples from the river and other areas of the park. The min part of the park is very pretty, with a stone bridge, a bunch of green space, and giant trees. Dr. Rood explained many years before the park was used as a zoo. Now it is used as mainly green space for the city of Macon. The trails that led away for the main section towards the Ocmulgee River River walk, are paved to allow better access for people in wheelchairs or strollers (Information Link). 

While at the park Dr. Rood discussed the importance of green space within a city. Other than the environmental aspects, such as providing a place for animals and plants to live, it also benefits humans.It gives people a place to use for recreation, and relaxation. By having a safe place everyone can go, it allows for better community living spaces. Many major cities across the nation have parks in them. Atlanta has Piedmont park.

Green Space Importance

Hitchiti Trail

During the lab this Wednesday we walked the trail at the Hitchiti Experimental Forest. I looked up the trail online and found a map of the trial that random people posted their own photos on. The trail is about 3.7 miles long.

Website!!

I enjoyed the lab because it reminded me a lot of the trails behind my house growing up. A good bit of the trail went along side the Falling Creek, which leads into the Ocmulgee River. Along the route we stopped and looked at the different types of jutting rocks. We also observed plants and animals, like the snake, that grow along the path. One plant we all observed was the wild ginger plant. This type of plant grows in dense forests through out North America. It has heart shaped leaves and grows about 10 inches tall, and blooms in the spring. This plant is a type of herb and can be used for many different medical remedies, such as coughs, colds, cuts, head aches and sore throat. 

Above is a picture of a wild ginger plant. 


Ginger Webpage

 

The picture below and above are from the website. As you can tell, the water level is a lot higher in these pictures.

Mid-way through the hike, we all stopped and hugged a tree.

Lake Hartwell

I choose to blog about Lake Hartwell, because it's the lake I always went to growing up. My Mawmaw owns land with two lake lots that my family uses. Lake Hartwell is located on the Georgia, South Carolina border. It was created in the 1950's as a flood prevention for the Savanna River. The Lake is made up of 56, 000 acres, with 962 miles of shoreline. The three rivers that provide in flow are Savannah, Tugaloo, and Seneca Rivers. 

This is a picture of Lake Hartwell.

Information Link

The Fall Line

The fall line is the area where the Piedmont land meets the Atlantic Coastal Plains. Thousands of years ago, this area was where the ocean meet the shore. Rivers that cross at the Fall Line have rapids and waterfalls at this land mark. The land was important for people to settle here for many reasons. For one, it was the farthest inland you can go via water travel, making it a prime location for trading. Also, the water falls and rapids allow us to create an ample amount of water power. The rivers and large volume of trading allowed large amounts of settlements to occur in places such as Macon, Columbus, and Augusta. When standing on the Great temple mound in the Ocmulgee National Park, you can see the difference of land because of the Fall Line. The land north of Macon has rolling hills; while the land south of Macon is very flat. 

 This is a picture of the Ocmulgee River Walk. This is the main river that passes through Macon, and over the Fall Line. 

Fall Line Information Site 

Information about Macon

 

Blood Sugar

What’s the response to your body when you eat sugar?

When a person eats food, the body breaks the food down into glucose (sugar). This is important because the cells use the sugar as energy to fuel your body throughout the day. Once the sugar is broken down Insulin, which the pancreas secretes, transports the sugar from the blood stream into cells throughout your body. Reaching this point of homeostasis is important, because without the balance your body can be contaminated with too much, or not enough sugar, causing multiple problems to occur. This process on restoring your body back to a normal blood sugar level can be seen in the graph below.

This information is from the day in class that Dr. Rood recorded his blood sugar during the class period. He took his blood sugar at the beginning of class, then ate a candy bar and drank a sprite. Every 5 min he recorded his blood sugar. You can see how his blood sugar increases to a certain point, then his body brings it back down to it's regular state. 

More Info!!