My Life as a Butternut
I have always known that my life began when I grew on my parent tree. I hung on one of the lower branches where I had a good view of the ground, but not much further in the forest because there were too many leaves. I remember being with other brother and sister butternuts like myself. One day I way enjoying the sway of the branch in the wind when I heard the crack of one of my fellow butternuts getting torn off the tree. I saw a huge, furry beast called a squirrel tearing it off the tree with its buckteeth. Then he proceeded to rip me off the branch. It hurt a bit, but it stopped when he held me and a few more in his cheeks and scampered down the tree. He took me out and started to dig a hole in the ground, dropping me. I was finally able to see everything in the deciduous forest I lived in. I always knew it got plenty of rain and has warm summers and cool winters, with trees that shed their leaves in the fall. I knew it was fall because the leaves on most of the trees had changed from green to more vibrant yellows and reds, and the air had grown cooler than a few months ago. I saw the hole in the ground was finished, and knew that the squirrel was about to bury me. I didn't want to be buried, so I tried with all my might to roll into the river that wasn't too far away. I needed to get there . . . come on . Finally, I felt myself falling into the river, away from the squirrel and the holes. For three days I drifted into larger and larger rivers until I was confident I had reached the ocean. I felt a sea breeze blowing from the ocean to the land, and I felt myself drifting along with the long distance surface currents, which could travel for thousands of kilometers. I felt the sea plants, or plankton, surround me for days and weeks, and months. As I felt everything get warmer, I knew I had entered the tropics. I washed up onto the shores of South America and was picked up by what was called a human. This human mistook me for a pretty rock, and he took me, along with a bunch of other rocks, into his home in the tropical rain forest. I was accidentally dropped onto the forest floor and saw broadleaf evergreens, palm trees, tree firms, and climbing vines above me, and I couldn't see through the canopy. It was humid and rainy for the many months I stayed in the tropical rain forest. By day I saw the monkeys swinging in the trees and the colorful birds flying around. I saw butterflies fly by and even the occasional lizard. By night, I saw bats flying around in the air and also saw some sleeping leopards. One day I almost got caught by a huge boa constrictor, but I rolled away just in time. Suddenly, a bird picked me up in its beak and placed me in its nest. It looked familiar, as if I had seen it before. I realized that it was a bird from North America, down here for the summer because it had migrated. A few days later, I was carried in its beak back to the ocean, where I fell in and saw a lot of sharks and dolphins, more commonly known as nekton. I saw the sharp rows of teeth in the shark's mouth and saw that I was about to get eaten. I felt myself getting swallowed, and I saw myself inside the shark. I stayed in the shark's stomach for days until I saw the tip of a harpoon getting thrusted into its side, forming a crack large enough for me to roll through. I saw that I had traveled to upper Canada, which was completely tundra. It was so cold up there, I felt myself being frozen to the permafrost, or frozen soil. There weren't any plants up there except for lichens and a few shrubs. I saw a few people killing the shark that had eaten me, and I didn't want to be cut open, so I rolled away. The tundra was extremely cold and dry, and I was wet so I was stuck to the permafrost for days and just wanted to free myself. One day an arctic fox came along and sniffed me with its wet nose. It bit me off the permafrost and freed me. I wiggled a bit, and freed myself from its mouth just before a migratory bird picked me up in its beak. The bird flew southwards to a place known as the coniferous forest. I felt polar easterlies blowing from west to east and knew that the bird was flying towards southern Canada. The coniferous forest was full of conifers, and there weren't any deciduous trees for miles. There were also mountains around the area, and I saw less and less trees around the mountains. I was suddenly dropped onto the mountains, where I rolled down until I rolled right off the cliff and onto a branch of a cedar tree. I stayed there for a few days until I saw a bear trying to climb up the tree to reach a hole full of grubs on it, so the tree shook so hard I fell off and rolled down the hill into the taiga. It was just like the swamps from Florida, only it was a lot cooler here and there were conifers surrounding it. Rain started falling, and I rolled with the rain into another river into the ocean again, this time there was a different current taking me to a new destination. I drifted for many months closer to the equator. There were no real winds, only doldrums. I wished to feel a cool breeze, but all I did was get washed onto the coast of Africa. I didn't see much vegetation around for miles, but I saw a lot of sand with the occasional cactus and small shrub. I knew I was in the desert. It was extremely dry, and I felt as if I was going to die from lack of water. I rolled deeper into the middle of the Sahara Desert, trying to find my way out. Instead, a kangaroo rat came up to me and banged me against the nearest rock. It was trying to get me open, but I was strong enough not to let myself break open. I stayed in the middle of the desert for days and nearly died until I started rolling away, seeing an oasis. I stayed at the oasis when I got there and rolled on until a sand storm blew me into a grassland. There were a lot of grasses there, but there were hardly any trees except acacia trees which got eaten by antelopes and buffalo. I decided not to grow here. Suddenly this brown-skinned child picked me up and looked at me. She ran back to her home and planted me in the ground. I actually liked it, and it felt so soft in the ground. Still, I didn't want to stay here, so I tried to climb out of the ground. I rolled back into the ocean, which wasn't too far away. I felt myself being pulled into another current back to North America. I was washed up onto the shores of Washington in the United States. I didn't see much more than flat land until I saw a dog pick me up in its teeth and run into the nearest forest. It dropped me in the middle of the deciduous forest I lived in and chased the squirrel, the very one who buried me, up the tree I had grown on. I had gone through dispersal by water and traveled through six different biomes, as a biogeographer told me. Actually, he was talking to himself as he examined my condition. Each habitat affected me in some way. Anyone who studies ecology should come to me to learn about different plant and animal life in each biome. I have a story to tell.
I have always known that my life began when I grew on my parent tree. I hung on one of the lower branches where I had a good view of the ground, but not much further in the forest because there were too many leaves. I remember being with other brother and sister butternuts like myself. One day I way enjoying the sway of the branch in the wind when I heard the crack of one of my fellow butternuts getting torn off the tree. I saw a huge, furry beast called a squirrel tearing it off the tree with its buckteeth. Then he proceeded to rip me off the branch. It hurt a bit, but it stopped when he held me and a few more in his cheeks and scampered down the tree. He took me out and started to dig a hole in the ground, dropping me. I was finally able to see everything in the deciduous forest I lived in. I always knew it got plenty of rain and has warm summers and cool winters, with trees that shed their leaves in the fall. I knew it was fall because the leaves on most of the trees had changed from green to more vibrant yellows and reds, and the air had grown cooler than a few months ago. I saw the hole in the ground was finished, and knew that the squirrel was about to bury me. I didn't want to be buried, so I tried with all my might to roll into the river that wasn't too far away. I needed to get there . . . come on . Finally, I felt myself falling into the river, away from the squirrel and the holes. For three days I drifted into larger and larger rivers until I was confident I had reached the ocean. I felt a sea breeze blowing from the ocean to the land, and I felt myself drifting along with the long distance surface currents, which could travel for thousands of kilometers. I felt the sea plants, or plankton, surround me for days and weeks, and months. As I felt everything get warmer, I knew I had entered the tropics. I washed up onto the shores of South America and was picked up by what was called a human. This human mistook me for a pretty rock, and he took me, along with a bunch of other rocks, into his home in the tropical rain forest. I was accidentally dropped onto the forest floor and saw broadleaf evergreens, palm trees, tree firms, and climbing vines above me, and I couldn't see through the canopy. It was humid and rainy for the many months I stayed in the tropical rain forest. By day I saw the monkeys swinging in the trees and the colorful birds flying around. I saw butterflies fly by and even the occasional lizard. By night, I saw bats flying around in the air and also saw some sleeping leopards. One day I almost got caught by a huge boa constrictor, but I rolled away just in time. Suddenly, a bird picked me up in its beak and placed me in its nest. It looked familiar, as if I had seen it before. I realized that it was a bird from North America, down here for the summer because it had migrated. A few days later, I was carried in its beak back to the ocean, where I fell in and saw a lot of sharks and dolphins, more commonly known as nekton. I saw the sharp rows of teeth in the shark's mouth and saw that I was about to get eaten. I felt myself getting swallowed, and I saw myself inside the shark. I stayed in the shark's stomach for days until I saw the tip of a harpoon getting thrusted into its side, forming a crack large enough for me to roll through. I saw that I had traveled to upper Canada, which was completely tundra. It was so cold up there, I felt myself being frozen to the permafrost, or frozen soil. There weren't any plants up there except for lichens and a few shrubs. I saw a few people killing the shark that had eaten me, and I didn't want to be cut open, so I rolled away. The tundra was extremely cold and dry, and I was wet so I was stuck to the permafrost for days and just wanted to free myself. One day an arctic fox came along and sniffed me with its wet nose. It bit me off the permafrost and freed me. I wiggled a bit, and freed myself from its mouth just before a migratory bird picked me up in its beak. The bird flew southwards to a place known as the coniferous forest. I felt polar easterlies blowing from west to east and knew that the bird was flying towards southern Canada. The coniferous forest was full of conifers, and there weren't any deciduous trees for miles. There were also mountains around the area, and I saw less and less trees around the mountains. I was suddenly dropped onto the mountains, where I rolled down until I rolled right off the cliff and onto a branch of a cedar tree. I stayed there for a few days until I saw a bear trying to climb up the tree to reach a hole full of grubs on it, so the tree shook so hard I fell off and rolled down the hill into the taiga. It was just like the swamps from Florida, only it was a lot cooler here and there were conifers surrounding it. Rain started falling, and I rolled with the rain into another river into the ocean again, this time there was a different current taking me to a new destination. I drifted for many months closer to the equator. There were no real winds, only doldrums. I wished to feel a cool breeze, but all I did was get washed onto the coast of Africa. I didn't see much vegetation around for miles, but I saw a lot of sand with the occasional cactus and small shrub. I knew I was in the desert. It was extremely dry, and I felt as if I was going to die from lack of water. I rolled deeper into the middle of the Sahara Desert, trying to find my way out. Instead, a kangaroo rat came up to me and banged me against the nearest rock. It was trying to get me open, but I was strong enough not to let myself break open. I stayed in the middle of the desert for days and nearly died until I started rolling away, seeing an oasis. I stayed at the oasis when I got there and rolled on until a sand storm blew me into a grassland. There were a lot of grasses there, but there were hardly any trees except acacia trees which got eaten by antelopes and buffalo. I decided not to grow here. Suddenly this brown-skinned child picked me up and looked at me. She ran back to her home and planted me in the ground. I actually liked it, and it felt so soft in the ground. Still, I didn't want to stay here, so I tried to climb out of the ground. I rolled back into the ocean, which wasn't too far away. I felt myself being pulled into another current back to North America. I was washed up onto the shores of Washington in the United States. I didn't see much more than flat land until I saw a dog pick me up in its teeth and run into the nearest forest. It dropped me in the middle of the deciduous forest I lived in and chased the squirrel, the very one who buried me, up the tree I had grown on. I had gone through dispersal by water and traveled through six different biomes, as a biogeographer told me. Actually, he was talking to himself as he examined my condition. Each habitat affected me in some way. Anyone who studies ecology should come to me to learn about different plant and animal life in each biome. I have a story to tell.