ants and plants, trees and bees

another thing related to coldness of the earth. alaska/the arctic is very cold (obviously) and there is permafrost on the earth...i don't remember if it's a top layer or if it starts at a certain point below the surface. i know moss grows in some places, but i don't remember the season. hmm. maybe i should go look at that.

it's way too cold, in my opinion. the question is this: can damage be done to the roots if the earth is cold enough? The root hairs seem to be fragile. then again, i think the temperature isn't as cold in the earth as opposed to the air around the tree sometimes.

anyone who's been to the multicultural center within the last week or so probably has seen the sod that's been laid there. i've seen sod farms, or whatever they're officially called, on a couple trips down to n. carolina. they transport it in big rolls, like you might roll up a rug. if it was big and heavy and made of dirt. anyway. the dirt is very different than the dirt around the multicultural center, and the sod seems to be very packed in on itself...wouldn't this prevent the roots from descending (eventually) to the ground? when you are switching a potted plant to the ground, you're supposed to loosen the dirt around the roots so the roots are not so closely packed and can reach out into the soil more easily. i guess what i'm trying to get to is this: is the grass going to survive through the winter under these conditions?

My dad is addicted to the Weather Channel. Don't ask me why. So over break I was watching TV with my sister when my father came in and informed us that we should abandon the drama of Law & Order to switch to the Weather Channel. They have foliage reports, he says (we missed it). He said it reported on the color of the leaves for various trees at this point in the fall. Would the patterns of colors be this significant, or is it just to tell people where to go leaf-watching, if there is such a thing? I'm not sure when it's on, but for those interested in foliage reports, check out the Weather Channel. But don't watch the reports on the weather in, say, the Bahamas. They like to inform you about sunny beaches and warm water. Not very cheering when it's cold and gray here.

So finally this thing gets on the road. Probably lots of people have made observations about what the lovely Isabel has done to our campus, but I have a new one (I think). During the hurricane a limb of one of the trees by Brecon fell down. A day or two later, I came home from class to find that Grounds had cut ALL of the limbs off. So this tree is stretching sadly up (if trees can be sad), without one leaf. Can it survive that way? And how?

hope this works