Cars

From my apartment I can see MLK dr, a major downtown thoroughfare, so I used this view to observe and count cars.

In five minutes twenty one cars drove by. I could not always see the driver totally clearly but I counted seven on their cell phones and one eating (it appeared to be french fries).

I was glad that only 1/3 of the drivers I counted were on their phones and only 1/21 was eating while driving. Hopefully most were focused on the road!

Ethnicities

These women are from the Masaai tribe that live in Kenya and Tanzania, Africa.

A woman from rural China

An American Indian 

An Argentinian woman

A Spanish man

                                                 An Australian Aboriginal man

A man from Antarctica 

There are many reasons that people have developed physical differences over time. People who live in hot climates naturally developed darker skin to absorb the sun's rays. People in cold climates often evolved to be stockier and shorter, because they conserve more heat and can deal better with the harsh conditions and lack of food. Even today, there are people whose communities are primarily fishing communities, living on islands and spending much of their time n the water. They have developed great lung capacity, and are able to swim deeper and for longer time than those of us who did not evolve alongside the water. It makes sense that, like all other life forms, humans adapt and evolve to fit their climate. All of our differences are just our different strengths, developed in their own independent way.

Trees

MAGNOLIA: This tree is common in the South and grows to huge proportions. It can have low-slung branches that sweep the ground (making them a good location for childhood fort-building, I can attest). They produce large, lovely white flowers with a sweet smell.

MAPLE: These trees have gorgeous colors in the fall and can grow in our Southern climate. They are also popularly found in Asia. Sugar Maples produce syrup, and maples are a national symbol of Canada. 

GINGKO: The Gingko tree turns bright yellow in the fall and has fan shaped leaves. They can grow very tall but often have to be trimmed to get the classic "tree" shape, since little branches grow off in many directions from all over the trunk. The females give off a bad smell when they drop their fruit, and you must have a male and a female to cross polinate.

HOLLY: This shrub has spiky little leaves and red berries. It is often associated with Christmas and can be planted under windows to deter intruders since it is difficult to penetrate with its sharp leaves.

CRAPE MYRTLE: This shrub is very popular with land-scapers because it is easy to trim down and reshape. It produces big groupings of flowers, some are white and some are pink. They grow well in the South and are the state shrub of Texas.