Flora and Fauna

August 23, 2011

As a biologist, I get super excited when I see plants and animals. Like, really. I mean, think about how incredible it is that millions of tiny cells make a flower able to photosynthesize, and little elephant cells give the elephant its trunk. The little storage vacuoles are keeping the lilies turgid so they don't wilt, and the pigments not only make the flowers look gorgeous, but they allow them to use light (LIGHT! Seriously!) to synthesize their food and structural components. Life is nothing short of a miracle, and zoos and gardens make me stand in reverent awe.

Earlier this summer my family went to the Hogle Zoo. The zoo had acquired some cute, still-surviving specimens of creatures we thought to be extinct. But my buddy the T-Rex was very much alive. Actually, no. But he tried hard to be.

Look at all those little elephant cells! It boggles my mind every time, just thinking about how they work together so perfectly to make an elephant.

Look at how different genes in the DNA are being expressed in different regions to give the giraffe its spotted coat. It's amazing how something so intricate as that works and we get to see giraffes!

I don't rightly remember what these are. ROUS's perhaps, except nicer.

He ate all my gumdrops. But that's okay, because he's cool.

Today (being a Tuesday in August) admittance to the Thanksgiving Point gardens was a mere two dollars. My mom and I naturally availed ourselves of this opportunity to enjoy the beauty.

These sunflowers were trying really hard to beat their tree buddies in a growing contest. But look at how tall they all are! And all that came from AIR!! Wow. High-quality CO2 converted into cellulose so we can enjoy shade. *Shiver of excitement*