Deer, Cows, and a Swallowtail, by Victoria Mayer

As I walk towards the woods, the rays from the sun are beaming down on me. The slight summer breeze dries off my glistening forehead as I look up in the sky; its deep blue colors remind me of the ocean. The sky is also filled with white, fluffy cumulus clouds.

The first thing I notice as I am walking into the park is a large pink and white flowered bush on my right. There is a butterfly flying around the flowers; one I have never seen before, a Tiger Swallowtail. Its wings are mostly golden yellow, with occasional black stripes. Together, the colors created a unique design that look like artwork.

As I’m walking further into the woods, the sound of cars are disappearing, and it seems as if I’m traveling through an uninhabited land; as if the peaceful notes of nature are overtaking the daunting sounds of civilization. The woods are filled with unique noises; birds chirping, cicadas’ buzzing, and crickets’ stridulating. However, I do not see any of these creatures; where could they possibly be coming from? High in the treetops? Under a fallen tree? I see a beautiful blue jay fly in front of me and sit on an oak tree’s branch. Although this bird isn’t doing much, it’s still putting on a show of exotic chirping and calling. The large oaks and other tall trees create a canopy cover the woods. This creates natural shelter for the creatures below, and also acts as an aesthetically pleasing feature for people who don’t like to walk in the sun. The dense cover from the trees allow little light onto the wood’s floor. This allows only a limited number of things to grow in the forest, such as moss. There is moss covering old branches that have been scattered throughout the park. I think to myself, “Where did these branches come from? Did they fall in a storm or did someone hack them down?” These fallen trees are now home to many ecosystems. For example, when you lift up a log, you will see many different types of bugs. A moist environment with insects such as centipedes and pill bugs. These bugs thrive in a warm, moist environment such as a rotting tree branch.

As I continue my journey deeper into the woods, I notice a tree that has fallen into the creek, which has created another ecosystem for different plants and animals to grow and live off of. The creek was cool and refreshing as I stick my hand into the rushing water, to grab a rock. From behind the rock swims a small fish. Growing off the side of the tree is a slippery moss-like plant.

In the distance I see a white-tailed deer grazing in a small clearing. The deer is eating leaves from a nearby tree and small plants on the ground. Similarly, to the deer, cows are supposed to graze, but most cows in the United States are kept in close quarters called CAFOs. In the CAFO, the cows are pumped with a cheap, genetically modified version of corn, to fatten them up. This is done to produce more meat from each cow. This is also done with chickens, but they are fed soy beans instead of corn. Why do we not do this with deer? There is an abundance of deer in numerous areas but there is not a demand for their meat. Some people are beginning to think that using genetically modified organisms to create larger livestock is inhumane. Cows and chickens are supposed to graze naturally just like the white-tailed deer, yet they are fed products that are not beneficial to their health. In return, we do get more meat from them, but the quality of the meat is at a lower grade. Instead of eating beef or chicken, we are essentially eating the genetically modified corn and soy that the cows and chickens are fed. Which in turn decreases the nutritional value of our food but increases the number of calories we consume.

After spending a few hours in White Clay Creek State Park, I began to look at things differently. I started looking at simple things such as a deer and thinking about that one thing and asking questions I would not have normally asked.

 

 

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