An Autumnretum at the Arboretum Part Three: Small Things

At the Arboretum, it is so easy to get swept up in the large scale beauty of magnificent trees and spectacular landscapes! But the small things are pretty too!

It's impossible to not be overwhelmed and impressed by large scope beauty such as the ocean or a mountain or the night sky or a colorful sunset. But little things like berries growing on a bush or moss dangling from a tree limb are full of their own wonder!

There are some things that are so small, we can't even see them, but when examined close up, they are pretty wondrous. Right under the scope of human vision is a whole other world, the world of the tiny! There are little creatures all around us that we can't even see! One example is the water bear or tardigrades. The water bear is tiny and cute with a chubby body and eight stubby lets. It is a tiny but mighty creature! It has survived in outer space! They are able to live in environments as cold as negative 328 degrees Fahrenheit and of over 300 degrees Fahrenheit. They are pretty much little creatures with magic powers. Someone should create a comic book character called Water Bear Woman! about a super hero traveling around outer space and diving into volcanoes and dashing around with the Antarctic penguins wearing only shorts and a t-shirt.