A Sign of New Life

Yesterday, in between two sessions of opening presents, my husband and I went on a hike. It was a beautiful day! The sky was crystal blue. The air was crisp and cool.

After months of appearing gray and brown, the landscape is showing signs of getting green again. The seeds blew off of the dried grasses back in October and November. The seeds landed on the dry soil. Then, the rains finally came and watered the seeds. The rain made the seeds sprout. The sun is making the grasses grow. We will get more rain as winter continues. The grasses will grow taller and taller.

Grasses are amazing and necessary for our existence. They take in carbon dioxide, which we breathe out, and they absorb sunshine. Then, like little factories, they use the sunlight to turn CO2 into sugar and oxygen. Grasses and other plants are the main source of energy in the food chain. Have you ever eaten rice, oatmeal, or wheat bread? All of these foods come from grasses. And what do you breathe in to survive? Oxygen, of course!

So, as these grasses sprout, it reminds us of the promise of new life. Some animals survived the long, dry summer and autumn. They will eat these new grass shoots. The grasses will grow taller and wider. When there's lot of food available for many animals, the adult animals will have babies in the spring.

Three cheers for grass! You can play soccer, and baseball, and football on it. You can go to a park, have a picnic, and lay on grass. AND, grass gives you oxygen and energy!

Have you ever tried to make a grass whistle? Check out this video...
http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-whistle-with-a-blade-of-grass-279448/

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