Essay Archive!
I used to go on long research expeditions every once in a while to learn more about a particular subject. Eventually, I decided to start writting mini essays on what I found as a way to record and remember stuff so I thought i would share some here.
Ground cover
Despite the long history behind grass lawns, they have many downsides, both monetary and environmentally. Not only are they expensive to maintain, but they also require a lot of time to keep them in peak condition. A lot of homeowners spend many hours every year mowing, buying pesticides and fertilizers, watering, even going so far as to hire companies to rip up the entire lawn in the hopes of getting rid of the weeds (spoilers, it doesnt work).
What they fail to realize is that nature runs on balance and needs a variety of plants to survive. Not to mention, pesticides and herbicides are extremely bad for the environment and can often seep into rivers and lakes and harm wildlife. By attempting to keep a perfect lawn, you are essentially creating a wasteland where nothing but the most hearty of weeds can grow. Those weeds are attempting to grow in this desert of monoculture and pave the way for larger and more delicate plants to grow. It is a futile task to try to fight it and is pointless when there are better alternatives.
A rather simple solution to this problem is to plant ground cover plants either in replacement of grass or in areas where grass refuses to grow. This method of decorating your lawn is extremely beneficial alongside the removal of pesticides and herbicides. Using native ground cover not only creates an easier maintained lawn, but it provides needed nutrients into the soil that a monoculture of grass alone could not. Not only that, but flowering plants provide food for pollinators such as hummingbirds and butterflies that are beautiful to watch.
click here for a page on ground cover
Corvids
※An experiment showed that Wild American Crows seeing either a human or an animal predator with a dead crow leads to both mobbing and avoiding the area for up to 48 hours. This behavior is continued even if it risks losing abundant food or shelter.
They can also be seen gathering around the bodies of other crows and vocalizing like they are holding a funeral. However, it is believed that it is not due to mourning but instead to communicate about dangerous places and avoid causes of the death. If a person caused the death, crows that hold that territory are shown to hold memories of that person for up to 6 weeks.
※ Corvids are highly innovative. they can manufacture tools, spontaneously solve novel problems, use tactical deception and can learn from birds of the same species. In fact, there is increasing evidence that they independently evolved brains and associated cognitive abilities similar to those of primates.
Crows, especially New Caledonian crows, have a larger brain mass to body mass ratio than many other birds. this is due to the avian mesopallium and nidopallium regions being larger than average. these two regions of the brain are involved in cognitive functtions like flexibility working memory, and context integration. They have also shown considerable amounts of behavioural flexability compared to other avian species which is also thought to be due to the larger brain regions.
※ Crows are capable of self-recognition. At first this ability was assumed to only belong to humans before testing showed that other primates also possessed it. Other animals that have also demonstrated self-recognition are Asian elephants, Dolphins (this this behaviour was only observed in one individual and has not been tested in other individuals), Eurasian magpies, and most recently, a small fish known as cleaner wrasses.
This ability is different from being able to recognize an animal of the same species in that the animal is able to recognize and acknowledge the image or reflection as themselves and acts in a way that demonstrates this knowledge. This is usually tested by placing an inconspicuous mark is placed on the neck or beak of the crow where they can only see it in the mirror and then studying how closely the crow inspects the mark and how it reacts. Some observed reactions are trying to touch it or scratch it off and looking for other similar spots on itself.
A history of grass lawns
The idea of ornamental grass lawns seems to originate in 16th-17th century Europe (estimates in sources vary). Before that time period, the first lawns were likely village commons, found throughout Europe in the middle ages. These commons acted as a communal pasture and were used to graze livestock. The constant grazing produced a short meadow called a lawn, from the English word launde. A similar principle was also found around castle walls. Again, mainly used for grazing animals, but it also had the added benefit of seeing enemies from afar.
Many articles credit the rise of grass lawns to Andre Le Notre when he designed the gardens of Versailles. In his designs, he included a vast “green carpet” down the center of the gardens. This was probably one of the first strictly ornamental lawns. This French style of lawn, very geometric with perfectly trimmed hedges, only lasted for a short period before being overtaken by the arrival of the English landscape garden. This style was less geometric and controlled and instead was more natural; seemingly shaped and improved by man. During these time periods, lawns were a symbol showing that the owners could afford to devote such large sections of land to purely decorative purposes.
After the invention of the lawn mowers, in the early to mid 1800s, upper and middle class families were able to afford a grass lawn. No longer did you have to hire teams with scythes to keep the lawn clean, one man could mow it in a day. During this time period, lawn sports also rose in popularity. Croquet, tennis, lawn bowling, etc all needed a flat grassy plane to play it on.
It wasn't until the birth of the suburb that lawns left the country and gained a large presence in towns. Still playing into the notion that having a large yard means wealth, the suburbs changed the trend of placing houses next to the street and instead placed them in the middle of the property with grass surrounding all 4 sides. The lawn became a symbol of the American dream. Whether a sprawling sweep of green mowed in crisp diagonal bands or a more modest swatch of grass and clover, a lawn expressed the national ideal that, with hard work, sacrifice and perhaps a little help from Uncle Sam, home ownership and a patch of land could be within reach for every American.
Container gardening and porch gardens
For people with enough space and time, gardening is an extremely helpful hobby with many rewards. Not only can you save money on fresh food and have a more nutritional diet, but you can sell or give away extra produce. Especially for people in the lower class, saving money on food can be extremely valuable when budgeting. However, many people have neither the time nor the space to maintain a large garden in their yard. This is where container gardening comes in. produce can be grown either on a front porch or inside next to a window and require much less upkeep. Getting started can be fairly hard for beginners though, which is where a guide on containers and plants comes in helpful. (coming soon)