Outside Your Southern Door
Learn About the other form of life that surround you in the South -told from a different point of view!
The Mourning Dove
Air accelerates through my wings, and my sharp whistle sings as I take flight through the sky, narrowly escaping the leap from a neighborhood feline. The last two days have been a challenge as I was also pursued by an owl and had a garter snake threaten our nest eggs right before he was snatched by one of the raccoons that inhabit the wood patch less than 100 yards away. Those raccoons prey on us too, but we were lucky this time, and the snake was not. We are known for grace, peace, love, and, in many cultures, good luck, which is what I have had the last few days with my successful getaways. I am historically known as a messenger bird, and you hear my calls during the day, and you see me eating seeds from the weeds in your garden, which helps you control the overgrowth. I am the Mourning Dove.
My mate and I have partnered for life, which should be seven to ten years. In the beginning, to induce her into courtship, I did much of what I did to avoid the cat. Cooing loudly, I glided in a circular motion with my head down. When I landed, I puffed out my chest, bobbing my head and omitting my loud mating call, and then pulled each of her feathers through my beak.
We returned to an old nest where we successfully raised four broods between April and October last year. Although we can build a nest together in just hours, we spent several days on this one, gathering sticks and loose brush and forming it in the branch union of a magnolia tree about ten feet from the ground. The female typically chooses the nesting spot. So, that's what we did. My female partner lays two white eggs at a time, which I have internally fertilized. We alternate sitting on the nest to incubate the eggs, which takes two weeks. The babies stay with us for another two weeks before they take flight and begin life independently. Their mother and I both produce crop milk to feed them during their nesting time.
Then, the cycle repeats. I am the mourning dove and frequent the area outside your southern door.
The Roly-Poly
I may be small, but I am well-known and called by a plethora of names, like pill bug, woodlice, penny sow, wood shrimp, and doodlebug. But Roly-Poly is the name I prefer. The name itself reveals what I am known for, which is rolling into a ball shape as a defense mechanism to protect my soft underside from predators.
I am not a bug! I am a terrestrial crustacean. Our most common species is Armadillidium vulgare. A distant relative to crawfish, crabs, and shrimp, I am the only type of crustacean that lives only on land even though I breathe through gills. My ancestors were most likely from the Mediterranean area and hitchhiked to North America with the trading of lumber. Because I was designed for warmer climates and don’t burrow under the ground, I need temperatures above 20 degrees Fahrenheit to survive. I love humid weather so I can absorb the moisture and hydrate.
When I was just an egg, my mother carted me around in a pouch, or marsupium, on her underside. It took us all several days of getting acclimated after hatching before being ready to venture out on our own. When I was ready to shed my exoskeleton, I did it in two stages. My back shell slipped away after it divided, but I held on to the front section for a few more days. When I was in the middle of molting, I was pink on one end and brown or grey on the other. If you find one of us looking purple or blue, our days are numbered due to iridovirus. After my first molting, I got my seventh pair of legs. I continued to molt every one or two weeks for another 18 weeks, and I will live for 2-5 years.
I know I can be an aggravation around young plants, but I also do good. I am here to help! My role in the environment is an important one. I can crystalize heavy metals like zinc, lead, and copper. This means I can survive in polluted areas better than my friends. I help to increase phosphorous and potassium in the soil and help in composting because I speed up the process of decomposition. So, I live under rocks, leaves and mulch on the ground.
Since I am nocturnal, I am harder to spot on your daily journeys. But while you are sleeping, I am doing my work outside your southern door.
The Southern Magnolia
I sway with the wind as it whips around me. A storm is approaching, which is not uncommon in hurricane season. I feel somewhat protected as I am canopied by more giant trees around me that perfectly regulate the amount of sun and shade I require. I am your Southern Magnolia, a hallmark of the south. I have been believed to represent nobility and purity by some cultures and as good luck and prosperity in others.
It is mid-summer, and my blooms radiate while producing a strong floral fragrance. The bees swarm around me, collecting my pollen grains and pollinating to help me develop a fruit that will aid in my seed production. These helpful creatures also assist your fruit trees in production.
My petals and buds are edible and can be eaten raw or cooked. They taste a little like ginger and can be preserved, pickled, and dried for use in tea. My petals and bark have been used for medicinal purposes for over one thousand years. My bark contains over two hundred and fifty ingredients and is said to help with digestion, weight loss, anxiety and depression, inflammation, headaches, colds, and asthma. Since the extracts have antioxidants and the ability to depigment, they are often used to lighten dark spots on the skin. Additionally, my hard and textured wood is frequently a top choice for custom furniture and blinds.
My scientific name is Magnolia Grandiflora and fossils dating back sixty million years have been found. We are believed to be the first flowering plant in existence. Presumed to have existed before the bee, we were probably pollinated in the earliest years by beetles.
In 1900, my flower was elected the state flower of Louisiana. It is said that more than one million of us are in Louisiana alone. We are native to other areas in the Southeastern U.S. as well. The White House hosts two Southern Magnolias planted by Andrew Jackson, the oldest trees on its grounds.
There are over two hundred forty magnolia species with thousands of varieties. The United States hosts eight of these. Two of us are evergreen, and the rest are seasonally green. Compared to many of my surrounding trees, I am resilient to disease.
As a Southern Magnolia, I like plenty of water so my soil can be rich and acidic. My trunk is relatively straight, and my strong roots grow more outward than downward. Not far from the top of the soil, my root span can reach up to forty feet, and the compass of my branches spread between forty to eighty feet. I will reach my permanent height between ten and twenty years old. I have grown between twelve and twenty-four inches per year. I am twenty feet tall now, but I hope to keep growing. I can reach up to forty feet and should live between eighty and one hundred and twenty years. There was one of us, however, once recorded that was over three hundred years old.
Be patient with my collection of fallen leaves. In addition to my beauty, I offer many benefits for you. I am the Southern Magnolia, and I live outside your southern door.