|
Sorry I haven't posted this sooner..................but having three blogs, it's hard to remeber what I said I'd do and on which blog! :) So here's my WNS Essay Enjoy! :) Maggie Wilson April 2009 Who Cares about Vermont’s Bats Dying? Last April, when Maggie Wilson was swimming in her pond on an unseasonably hot day, a bat came swooping towards her. Maggie had to duck, otherwise the bat would have hit her in the forehead. It was unusual because bats do not come out of hibernation until late April or early May. Later, news reports said that some bats have a disease called White-Nose Syndrome. White-Nose Syndrome is a disease that is causing bats to come out of hibernation too early, using up the fat needed to hibernate. If the bats don’t have fat they go hunting for food, which is why people see them in the middle of April. Since there are few bugs so early in the spring, the bats starve to death. Since the discovery of White-Nose Syndrome in February 2006, hundreds of thousands of bats have died, with many more expected to die in the next couple of years. The death of bats in Vermont is a frightening thing because it can effect the state’s economy, farms and food supply, and ecosystem.
Six of the nine bat species found in Vermont hibernate in the state. They are the Little Brown bat, the Big Brown bat, the rare Pipistrelle bat, the Northern Long-eared bat, the Small-footed bat, and the endangered Indiana bat. The other three species of bats that live in Vermont are migratory. In the winter the Silver-haired bat, the Hoary bat, and the Red bat hibernate in the southern United States. Since the fungus spreads only in the winter, the Silver-haired bat, the Hoary bat, and the Red bat have not shown any signs of White-Nose Syndrome.2 The most affected bat is the Little Brown bat because it tends to hibernate in large groups. Therefore the disease spreads much more easily. The Big Brown bat however, are less affected because they hibernate in barns, and houses.3 One of the major effects from the bats dying is insects will increase in number. A bat normally eats half his body weight up to his full body weight of bugs in one night. If Vermont loses 90 percent of its bats that eat 6,000 insects every night, the state will have an increase of 6,000 insects per bat, per night, we lose. If 100,000 thousand bats are lost, the insect population will increase by 600,000,000. Clearly, an increased bug population will negatively affect the state’s economy. Tourists will not want to come to Vermont because of the many insects, and outdoor activities will be cancelled because of too many bugs. Some of these increased bugs will be forest pests, which will feed on tree leaves. If so, the pests could kill maple and other types of trees. Damage to Maple trees could affect the Maple syrup production. Maple syrup brings in $99 million dollars to Vermont. The state can not afford another big loss. As a recent VPR news report stated, "Farmers and gardeners may also notice a significant increase in the number of bugs chowing down on their crops this summer. Bats can eat half their weight in insects every night, and a drop in the bat population likely means an increase in the bug population."4 One of the many questions people ask when they find out Vermont’s bat population is decreasing is, "how will this affect our ecosystem?" The definition of ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms (/wiki/Biotic factors) in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical factors of the environment. An ecosystem is a completely independent unit of interdependent organisms which share the same habitat. Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs which show the interdependence of the organisms within the ecosystem.5 Bats play an important part in Vermont’s ecosystem. They pollinate flowers, disperse seeds, and eat billions of pesky bugs people hate. Vermonters may think it is no big deal to lose bats in our ecosystem because bees pollinate flowers, birds disperse seeds, and frogs eat pesky insects. But they cannot make up for the loss of bats. A food chain is a intricate web where all God’s created organisms work together. When bats are taken out of the food chain, it throws off the balance of nature. According to Fish & Wildlife biologist, Joel Flewelling, scientists do not know how this loss of bats will affect Vermont’s ecosystem.6 It is possible that birds will pick up where the bats left off, but the outcome cannot be pre-determined. However, the loss of bats in the ecosystem will negatively affect the way nature works together. Any major change within the ecosystem is a serious problem. When all these effects occur, Vermont will be changed forever. People will never want to go outside because it is too buggy. Vermont State will lose millions of dollars from the lack of tourists. And farmers’ and gardeners’ crops will be overrun with insects. Vermont biologists have ruled out many causes of White-Nose Syndrome and are experimenting with many other theories, but will they find a cure for White-Nose Syndrome before Vermont loses most of its bats? Hope you liked it! ~M~The~Writer~ |
|
Hello all! Sorry it's been so long! But, I have a new story coming out in a week or so. It's a research paper on WNS. Ok, if you don't know what WNS is, then you'll have to tune in to read about it! My Writing Clas I go to had my write about WNS. Ok, ok. I'll give you a hint. It has to do with bats. So when I finish it, I'll but it on this blog. Well......I haven't been working on my Nancy Drew story, so it might be a while before you see it. Well I'l TTYL! ~M~The~Writer~ |
|
Sorry about it being Thurs! I forgot! But here it is!!! Enjoy!!! The Case of the Mysterious Shooter Jan 4th, 1906 Holmes received a telegraph from his good friends , Mr. & Mrs. James McGregor today. It read; Dear Sherlock Homes, Lillian and I would be most happy if you would join us on Saturday the 5th in Countworth, Norway. For we have not seen each other in twelve years. Please bring any relative or close friend of your choosing. We will look forward to seeing you. Sincerely, James & Lillian McGregor "I say Holmes that sound interesting. Are you going?" "Looking over all of the circumstances, and the fact they said, ‘We will look forward to seeing you,’ I can undoubtably say, yes Watson." "Wonderful," said I. "But your companion?" "But of course you will join me, Watson." "I would be delighted to, Holmes. What time should I meet you and where?" "6:00 at the Coombe Tracey station. Dress warmly. Norway is very cold." At 6:00 the next morning I met Holmes at the Coombe Tracey station. I was carrying my umbrella to keep from getting wet that dreary morning. I wove my way through the crowd of people heading for the 2nd class seats. I met Holmes in the gift shop. "Holmes.........I started, but was interrupted by the conductor who yelled ‘all aboard!’" I tried again, "Holmes what is your plan?" "We take the train from Redhill to Romford. Then we take the train from Romford to Convey Island. We then board the Nocken steamer and arrive at exactly 13:00:00 in Berrefjord. It takes 15 minutes to join the McGregors in Countworth," he said as he walked to the 1st class seats. At 3:00 we rode a trap into Countworth. We hoped off in center town, and started our walk towards house #43 on Link Lane. On the way, Holmes stopped in a pottery shop to buy a gift for Mrs. McGregor. A little while later we entered the McGregor’s home. They warmly greeted us, and we soon felt at home. "How was your ride up, Holmes?" questioned James. "Fine, although the weather was terrible," Holmes answered. "James,’ said Lillian, ‘I’m sure you have lots to catch up on, but it’s almost 11:00 o’ clock. I think it’s time to go to bed." "Yes of course,’ replied James. ‘Dr. Watson, do you like to participate in athletics?" "Why I never thought of it, but yes, I suppose I do." "If you want there is a biathlon in three days. Doesn’t give you much time to train but, you can compete if you like. All you do is snowshoe 25 miles carrying a gun, then shoot at three targets with a muzzleloader. You sleep there and then snowshoe 19 more miles to the finish. What say you?" "What a fantastic plan. I love snowshoeing. I’ll see you at the finish line on Tuesday then." Three days later I was lined up at the starting line waiting for the gun to fire. James, Lillian, and Holmes were talking on the sidelines. I wondered what they were saying. Pop!!!! But wait, that wasn’t the pistol, it was something else. "Help!!!!! Hue Carnil’s been shot. I quickly looked towards the sidelines, searching for Holmes. He wasn’t there. I saw the McGregors headed for the large striped tent. I quickly followed. There in the middle of the tent, laying on a cot, was Hue Carnil. While the doctor was inspecting Hue, I found Holmes in the crowd. He was asking questions to those whom were nearest Hue, I suspect. The crowd grew silent as the doctor announced Hue Carnil would not be participating in the biathlon. The crowd dispersed little by little, until there were only a few people left. I walked over to Holmes to ask if he had noticed anything of interest. I had been so distracted by getting a head start, I hadn’t noticed anything. "Holmes, did you pick up anything?" I asked. "Yes, I can definitely narrow it down to a person participating in the biathlon. I overheard that Hue Carnil is a very well trained runner, so there are those who are jealous of him. They would do a lot to make their chances greater of winning. But to shoot him.... that takes more than jealousy, it takes a grudge, or something even worse. You keep yours ears and eyes open, Watson. Report to me daily." I left the tent to see if they were going to go ahead and start the race now. They were, so I lined up at my station, #13. In a few minutes they fired the pistol and off we were. It was a long time before we finally reached the shooting range. I scored 13 out of 15 in the muzzleloader range. After everyone was done shooting, we set up tent for the night. Dinner was quite filling. Carved caribou with a side of either mashed potatoes, fries, or applesauce. I managed to receive all three! I went to my bedding place to eat, and overheard a discussion right outside my side of the tent. "So, you say Dr. Watson is in on this spy-trip," the voice whispered. "Yes, he’s with Holmes. Tell the gang not to say anything to him. We don’t want him to get suspicious. That’s all we need. Tell everybody to meet at Death Man’s Cave at midnight. Tell ‘um to be smart about it too. Sneak out five minutes after each other." "Right Steve. I’ll spread the word." "Sue, I told you to call me Stout." "Sorry, just a mishap. It won’t happen again." I almost dropped my plate but fortunately caught it. How was I going to tell Holmes? He wouldn’t know until morning. I could pay the washerman extra if he delivered it tonight. I walked over to the kitchen. "You, washer. Here’s my plate. Oh, and I’ll pay you 1 pound if you deliver this note to Mr. Sherlock Holmes at house #34 Link Lane tonight," I said. "Only for 2 and a half pounds," he answered. "Two," I said. "My final offer." "Done. I’ll deliver it immediately." I fell asleep waiting to go to Death Man’s Cave, and when I woke up in the morning was quite upset. I cursed myself. How could I have fallen asleep. Now the mystery will never be solved. I managed to eat breakfast in spite of it all. Bacon, eggs, home fries, and pancakes helped cheer me up though. I walked outside to suit up for the last leg of the journey. At ten o’ clock we started off for the finish. I came in 27th place. It wasn’t bad considering that there were fifty competitors. I walked over to Holmes and the McGregors after returning my equipment. "Congratulations Watson,"cried Holmes. "For what," I answered. "I came in 27th. There is no prize or honor for that." "But there is for 1st. You better go claim your trophy." "I tell you Holmes, I came in nearly last. How could I have won?" "You sent me the note about Steve." "How did you get it? You shouldn’t have gotten it until this morning." "I took up the job of washer man. How could I leave you to explain the clues? I went to Death Man’s Cave and found out some history, along with why they wanted Mr. Carnil out of the race. Everyone was jealous that Mr. Carnil was winning the race every year. So they thought that if they just shot him in the foot it wouldn’t be that much damage, no one would be caught, and they would win. I let the judges and police know ahead of time. They should be safely in questioning right now. The gang was a group of 27 men. You came in 27th place. So you move up to first, and everything works out for almost everybody. Enough talk, let’s go celebrate Watson’s victory at the best restaurant in town. Mrs. McGregor." So that was our exciting time we had in Norway. I still have the trophy I received for winning, the first I have ever had won. I must leave for it is time for dinner. It was a great and memorable trip. I will never forget. I hope ya'll liked it!!! ~M
|
|
I am sorry that I have not written in a while, I've been busy but that's no excuse. I just wanted to let you now that I am going to post my new Sherlock Holmes story hopefully on Monday. See you Then! ~M~The~Writer~ |
|
Nancy Drew Series #11 The Mystery on the Stamp Written by Maggie Wilson Chapter 1 The Mysterious Letter Nancy Drew, a rather slim girl with sort yellow hair, was laying on the Oceania beach in the River Heights area. Beside her were her two best friends George, who had black hair and was a very tough girl and ready for adventure, unlike Bess, with pure yellow hair, helped Nancy solve mystery after mystery, but was still, rather timid. The girls were enjoying the sun when all of a sudden a black storm cloud came and started showering ran and lighting upon the three girls. Quickly they all headed for Nancy’s convertible and hoped in, unfortunately the hood would not close so the girls drove to Nancy’s house a fast as they could. By the time the girls reached home the storm had gone to tease another town and had left the girls soaking wet. After telling Hannah, Nancy’s beloved housekeeper, everything that had happened, Hannah fixed up three cups of hot coco, even though it was the middle of summer. The girls and Hannah talked for about two hours. Then Nancy took the girls home so they could meet their dates at the appointed time. When Nancy returned home she went upstairs to change, for all that time she had stayed in her wet clothes that were now wrinkled. A couple hours later she heard a car door shut. "That must be dad," Nancy said to herself. Indeed it was, and a few minutes later her father called her. "Nancy, can you come down in the living room please, I would like to tell you something," Mr. Drew called up the stairs. "Sure dad I’ll be right down." Nancy called back. When Nancy finally arrived in two minutes, she sat down opposite her father in her favorite lounge chair and asked her father what he wanted. "The law office wants me to take a break from my duties and go on vacation. So I decided to go to England. It should be really nice just you, me and of course Hannah will be their." said Mr. Drew. "I can still work on the Miclon case when I’m in England. I’ve arranged for all the paper work to be shipped to our hotel room." said Carson Drew. Before Nancy could say another word the doorbell rang. " I’ll get it," Nancy called out. When she got to the door, Herbert their postman was there. " Herbert, what a pleasant surprise, would you like to come in." " I can’t today Nancy, I still have to do the rest of the block around the corner." " Oh, what a bummer," said Nancy. " Say do you have any mail for us today Herbert." "Yep, there’s one in here addressed to you. Here it is Nancy." " Thanks Herbert, you have a fine day." " You to," said Herbert as he walked down the street. As soon as Nancy was in the living room she opened the musty letter and read aloud, Dear Miss Nancy Drew, I am writing to you because there is trouble in the Elizabeth Lain Castle. I would like you to visit Elizabeth there before she passes away. She wants to tell you about a mystery which she hoped you could solve. We fear that this letter may be read so I will not say what the story is. I will now give you the address 228916 Lox England Please Hurry time is short. Amanda Heart Willows "That’s a very odd note," said Nancy." I can’t read part of the address, it’s musty." Nancy Declared. Dad can I invite Bess and George, if I have a mystery to solve, I could use some help. Besides, you know how much they love to help me solve mystery’s." "I suppose so, but that means that it won’t just be you, me, and Hannah. Think about it." He said. "I know dad, but we can take one with just the three of us another time."Nancy said. "I’m only kidding Nancy, they can come." "Thanks dad."said Nancy. "Your welcome Honey, but remember to call and change the plane reservations after your done calling Bess and George and after that can you tell Hannah?" Mr. Drew. "Sure dad,"Nancy said as she rose from her chair. "I’ll be in the study if you need me."said Mr. Drew as he headed out of the living room. As quickly as Nancy could, she dashed to the telephone to call her friends. After she called them, she telephoned her favorite date Ned Nickerson to ask if he was busy. When he said that he wasn’t, she asked if he’d like a little mystery job since she was going away. Of course he said yes, so, Nancy told him he was to find out information in River Heights when she needed it and to telephone her. Ned said he would be gone on vacation but was sure that Bess would love to help unless she was going with her. Nancy said that Bess was coming with her so that left Nick stuck with that job. They talked a little bit longer then hung up. " Dad," Nancy called " dinners almost ready if you want some." "I’ll be right there Nancy." Mr. Drew called back. After saying grace they dug into the delicious looking chicken and biscuit dinner. " Mmm." " This is absolutely wonderful!!" "It has to be the best that I’ve ever had," declared Nancy. "Well," said Hannah."You’ll have better food than this where we’re going." When they were done with dinner Hannah disappeared in the kitchen and then reappeared with a wonderful triple-Chocolate Pudding Pie. After they honored Hannah for her amazing work, they each ate a small sliver of the Pie, and then went to bed. Two days later they were on their way to London. Nancy was speechless at the scenery. As were Bess, George, and Hannah. They had to travel through many states before they finally reached the ocean, from then on it was a little bumpy, caused by stormy weather. As soon as they reached London, England Mr. Drew gathered everyone into a slim black limo, which took them to their hotel. Mr. Drew had reserved three rooms all adjoining into Hannah’s sweet. Everyone was tired for having to wake up at four in the morning to catch their flight so each one tumbled into their own comfortable beds. Nancy, was the first to awake. She was rather hungry, and so called the Hotel for room service. As she waited she unpacked her suitcase, carefully placing the letter on the dresser. Just as she had finished hanging her dresses up there came a knock on the door. "That must be room service," said Nancy. She walked to the door and greeted an unfamiliar face. "Hello, I’m Mr. Greg Thompson. I’m here to talk with Miss Dunlins, is she here?" "No, Sir. I’ve never heard of a Miss Dunlins,"replied Nancy. "What about Amanda Heart Willows?" "No,"said Nancy. "I’m very sorry for wasting your time Ms. Drew, good day."
To be continued......... ~M~THE~WRITER~
If you have any Questions or comments you can leave a comment or PM me. Thanks!!!
|
|
Hello, I have started up this new blog for stories only. ( occasional poems. ) As soon as I finish my latest story, Nancy Drew, I will post about a chapter a day. But for the mean-time I will be posting a few poems here-and-there. If you are a fan of Mystery stories then you'll probably like this Nancy Drew story. Well I have to go now. But please check out my blog every couple weeks, and please leave comments on telling me to hurry up on my story. I don't mind. I love getting comments!!! ~M.~The~Writer~ |