101 Reasons on Why I Love Nature

We can learn so much from nature – if we care to listen. It’s here where you will find 101 Reasons on “Why I Love Nature”.

Feel free to help me compile this list.

Meet Jonathan, the oldest living animal on the planet!

Imagine,  this amazing creature has lived through two world wars, the Russian Revolution, seven monarchs on the British throne and 39 US presidents.  Jonathan is a giant tortoise that lives on the island nation of Seychelles and is 187 yrs old! Born in Seychelles in 1832 (approx), Jonathan was taken from his home in 1882 and brought to the island of St. Helena on the opposite side of the African continent.  A British colony, St. Helena is a tiny island in the South Atlantic with a population of barely over 4,500.  It’s governor lives at a Plantation House, along with a quartet of giant tortoises. Zoologists, believe he is rare Seychelles giant tortoise that was once believed to be extinct, but current documents reveal about 80 living species on earth.  Jonathan has already well surpassed the average life span of 150 yrs.  His tenacity and history is  reason number number 1 on Why I love Nature.

Hypnotic Hoodoos

Masterfully designed by nature – shaped by wind, water and erosion. They take millions of years to form. Exploring the Drumheller Hoodoos in Alberta was like connecting with another planet. These sandstone mushrooms stand like pillars on a thick base of shale, capped with rock resembling a crude hat.  That cap is the key to the hoodoos’ existence. Hoodoos are encased by stone that prevent these prehistoric formations from eroding at the same speed as the surrounding sandstone. One day these natural columns will be mere dust, leaving only pictures to prove their existence.  Hoodoos are not unique to Alberta or Canada. The rock spires can be found in various parts of the world – if you get chance to see any of these formations, do not pass it up. They are mysterious, intriguing and will make you feel like you are an explorer making the discovery of a lifetime. They are like sculptures that slowly changes over time – and they are reason number two, why I love nature!  Here’s to hoodoos!

I’m a “Spider” man

These tiny, eight-legged creatures are master architects. With artistic precision spiders spin their silk fortresses out of a liquid stored in special glands. Typically, arachnids spin two kinds of silk – sticky, or viscid silk, which is used to capture prey, and the non-sticky, dragline silk, which provides stability and strength to the web structure. Spiders are champions in local gardens, helping control mosquito populations and rose-eating aphids, to name a few. The web makers are also masters of recycling – no blue bin required. Spiders actually consume their old webs and reuse them to make new silk threads. The threads are so strong that some can withstand hurricane force winds and the engineering and design of the webs is so incredible, that the webs themselves can become stronger if a single strand breaks.  Around the world there are some 35,000 types of spiders. They range in size from a few millimeters to over 30cm (12 inches), this is the Giant Huntsman Spider. These air-breathing arthropods are vital contributors to our planet, which makes them reason number three, of why I love nature. 

Venus Fly Trap

You likely have heard of them, and maybe even seen them – but there is so much fiction over fact  surrounding them. 

These alien-looking plants are actually an endangered species.   Venus Fly Traps, are not tropical plants, and the only place on earth the  grow “naturally” are in small marsh areas located in North and South Carolina. While they survive off of photosynthesis like other plants, they require additional nutrients to stay alive- but take note more common to consume  ants and spiders over flies.

It’s the actual process of how they catch and consume their prey that is truly fascinating.  Inside this plant are tiny trigger hairs. When creatures enters and brushes against these hairs, it sends off an electrical signal.  That signal sets off a countdown. If the prey escapes in under 30 seconds, nothing else happens. But if it brushes against another hair, the trap slams shut, quicker than a blink of an eye and the Venus flytrap will begin to digest the insect.Digestion takes about 10 days, its at that point  the “trap”  will open back up and prepare for it’s next meal!
Its astounding to think how this plant operates to survive, so complex yet so efficient, and it is reason number 4 on why I love nature.