A month ago I needed to get outside in the garden early to do as much as possible before the heat became too intolerable. Today I must wait for the sun to warm the air because night time temperatures have been in the low 50’s F.
Last night I caught an interesting program on PBS about a unique and ancient tree called the baobab. It is of the genus Adansonia, six species of which are native to the island of Madagascar. It is a deciduous tree with a massive trunk that is capable of storing as much as 32, 000 gallons of water! It is often referred to as the upside down tree because the branches and foliage appear at the very top of the extremely wide trunk, kind of like a mushroom; except that the crown is very compact and resembles roots rather than branches. The leaves and the fruits are edible. It has helped native people, of desert areas, to survive the impossibly dry conditions in which they live for as much as ten months out of the year. The rainy season, which lasts only a couple of months, sustains the trees and the native people as well.
I am truly grateful for the ample snow and rain we received last week, but I am concerned about the droughts in surrounding states and the terrible fires that are raging out of control. Science continues to reveal more and more amazing discoveries about this planet we live on. The number of species in the water, on the land, in the soil, and in the air, that are all competing for space and food is mind boggling. Most of our human race could possibly become extinct over the next few decades, but there are plant, animal, and insect species that have truly stood the test of time. There may come a time when Earth may no longer be able to support human life; but life will continue in one form or another. If by some ill fate our entire planet should burn up, there are billions of other stars and solar systems. Life will always evolve according to the conditions that are present. Life will continue in some form, for eternity.
