Nature's Mathematics

On Dad's last night here last week, we planned for him to pick me up after work (since he had my car) so we could drive to Bear Lake for sunset. As soon as we got near the lake, it started pouring like crazy so we just circled the parking lot and drove away. The rain had driven out most of the visitors so the roads were almost completely empty. I talked him into stopping at Sprague Lake and we walked around since it's just a 1/2 mile loop. Pretty soon after we started, the rain drizzled out until it stopped and the clouds lifted from the sky. It was nice to share that last sunset with just a couple fishermen who stuck out the miserable weather to enjoy the rest of the evening while the tourons hurried to the warmth of their hotel rooms or dryness of their tents.

Walking around Sprague Lake, we saw that the lake had one stream entering on one side and two exiting on the other. It's so crazy that despite what seems to be more output than input, the lake level stays consistent and the water never drops. The way that nature makes sure that everything stays the way that things are supposed to completely blows my mind. Something makes sure the streams that enter and exit the lake are at a particular level above the bottom of the lake so that it doesn't compeltely empty itself and the mathematics of nature regulate that level to keep it the same.

The same kinds of mathematics are true all across nature, even in the animal world. On my hike day, Dad spotted a mama ptarmigan with five or six baby birds scrambling around on the ground surrounding it. When the mother thought it was time to go, she got most of them in a line behind her and they marched away. Unfortunately for one of those little guys, he didn't catch the memo that they were leaving. He kept hopping around on the logs until he finally realized they had left him. He started running around, but then began chirping in a high-pitched voice to try and figure out what had happened. We watched as mama picked up his sound and sent back a much deeper single retort. Watching them communicate and locate each other through sound amazed us both, especially since they couldn't see each other. You can tell by the picture this guy was barely bigger than a weed.

Watching all the babies around the park right now is really fun, whether it be the playful moose from the other day, baby deer or elk, or even the ducklings that swim single-file behind their mothers. Now that the snow is finally melting, all sorts of signs of a late spring are coming out. The waterfalls are all running with the snowmelt and it's neat to see the moss-covered rocks baring the extra flow without losing a single bit of the green covering. Green seems to be the abundant color, especially mixing with the blues of the sky and the yellows of most of the wildflowers. That might be why the purples and blues in the flowers and birds are my favorites--they are just so rare up here!

Some of the wildflowers above treeline and on the tundra amaze me as well. Another mathematic equation in nature tells them to not grow bigger than a certain amount so they can withstand the winds and harsh climate around the are they grow. The colors of these flowers are even more intense than the larger ones in the lower elevation levels which is surprising considering how small they are. It's these unexpected colors in the smallest flowers possible or the unexpected colors in the sunset following the heavy rain shower that you feel lucky being a witness too. Just like the bald eagle Kendall and I saw when we walked around the lake last night, it's almost as if there is some sort of a challenge and if you make it through the harsh conditions or weather than you too can see these fantastic, limited sights.