by Becca Rooney
I am walking down an October street. I am on my way to class, or maybe to grab some dinner, or maybe I am just on a walk. I am surrounded by an ocean of color. The greens come from productivity. The yellows come from happiness. The reds and oranges come from passion. Together these colors come from change. It is a symphony perfectly composed by soil, rain, sun, and competition. You can learn to read the music by studying the colors, the complexities, and the synergies. Once you have gained this literacy, you don’t see plants and trees. You hear the harmony of productivity, happiness, and passion.
But I look deeper at each individual note. Each one can stand alone to be examined and tested by the extremes of its environment. Each note has its own unique function and characteristics. It is important to look at these notes on this small scale to appreciate their worth. The combination– propagation of these notes are what sustains life. I look around to see the emotions of Mother Nature, and I hear the music she plays.
While being in a class that hums to her tune, I have caught the music bug. I have to apologize in advance to my friends who are subject to my spontaneous naming of plants and spewing fun facts about each one in hopes they will too catch the contagion. Hearing this music enhances my experience every time I step outside. But in knowing how each note fits together to create this symbiosis, I can better understand my humble place in the audience.
Becca Rooney is a Biology major at Bucknell University and a participant in Chris Martine's Field Botany class. The students took some time to write up their Plant Love Stories as a reflection of the class. We will be sharing their stories in the coming weeks.
Photo credit: Fall Foliage by Digby Dalton from wikimedia commons.