My big lake brings all the shipping to the yard, and their like, its better than yours...

Lake Superior is the largest lake in the world by Surface area. Part of the 'Finger Lakes' on the border of Canada and America, Superior is the largest of the five lakes. This system of lakes holds 21% of the Earth's surface freshwater. As basically an inland sea due to the connection of the lakes by locks and channels, shipping from Detroit can reach New York and the world at large without ever having to be shipped over land. Lake Superior and the other finger lakes also house a myriad of fish types and are the centerfold for a vibrant eco-system. However danger always lurks on the horizon. The flying carp infestation has spread up the Mississippi and now the only thing separating devastation of a multi-billion dollar fishing industry is the lock between the Mississippi and the finger lakes.

I Keep on Fallin'

In Carroll County, Maryland a fall line exists that separates the Piedmont region with that of the Coastal plain. Rolling hills transition into sandy flat lands that slowly sink in elevation to sea level. Thousand of years ago this fall line is where the ocean met the continent... Carroll County (and Macon) was beach property once upon a time.  I lived in the Piedmont region where farming was common and Suburbs plentiful. The coastal plain was naturally more urbanized because it was easier to access in early American history. The movement of people out into the country came with the introduction of more advanced modes of transportation.

Negative Feedback

In order that an equilibrium be maintained, negative feedback loops respond to change in order to bring conditions back to their original state. The way the Human body deals with the intake of sugar is a great example of this. Insulin is produced and the Sugar is metabolized to bring back sugar levels to the original constant. The Y axis of the graph above measures sugar content in the blood and the X axis is displaying time. Notice the trend over time to regain equilibrium.

Getting Down and Dirty

Dirt, most of the time we think of it as that brown stuff on the ground that gets on our clothes and messes up our houses... but it is so much more. In fact, dirt is actually the name given to a substance that has limitless formations and compositions. In order to simplify its study, scientists have created  12 Soil Orders ranging from soil in the presence of permafrost to dirt consisting of volcanic ash. Although Ultisols is the order under which Georgia's famous red-clay dirt falls, in lab when we out to the garden we likely observed Histosols. Histosols is an ideal soil type for growing plants and bodes well for the garden as it is rich in organic material. Hopefully lead content in the soil will one day be considered safe so that the agriculture can take full advantage of this soil.