Signs of Spring

The week started out cool and rainy. I was beginning to wonder if the ground was ever going to dry out enough to finish planting our potatoes and onions. But Monday was the last of the rain-for the week at least. All classes finished planting, the fourth graders who normally come out on Mondays, came out today to plant. They were so glad they did because today was the perfect day to be outside, 70 degrees at 3PM and cloudless skies.

Sure signs of Spring observed this week were birds carrying nesting material, and the Mexican plum tree with swollen white flower buds. I predict full bloom next week, and the red bud trees shortly after.

While observing the burr oak next to my portable, Mrs.Cantu noticed a strange growth on the tree's stem. We cut it open and found what we thought was a small round seed. On further observation we found a small larva inside. It was white and only a couple of millimeters long. A wasp I'm told, but unsure of the species. There were hundreds of them on the tree. What effect do these small insects have on the burr oak?

Classes have been observing chicks they hatched in the classroom. Mr Pittillo bought a small coop that the chicks could be in outside on the grass. Chicks are hatched so students can get a glimpes of at least one stage in the life cycle of a very important bird to humans. Chickens and their eggs have been a part of the diet humans (and other animals) as long as we can remember. How chickens and other meat animals are raised is now a very controversial subject. For centuries animals were raised on small farms,in small herds and flocks foraging on the natural landscape, this diet supplemented with cultivated hay and grains. Often the animals bedded down in buildings adjacent to the homes of their owners. Now the norm is that these animals are raised in large containment buildings and never see the natural light of day, or set foot on real ground. Their diet is strictly controlled, no free choice at nature's table.

The questions I posed to students this week were, "should we know where our meat food comes from and how it is raised? What sort of life should these animals live? What constitutes for them a "good" life? Should we be intimate with these animals as we are with our domesticated pets?" Should we have a chicken coupe on campus? Could raising chickens help us learn to care about the lives of at least one animal our whole society depends on so much?
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)