November 24, 2025 5:07 PM
54°F Clear Skies
This is the house we live in and behind it is the cherry orchard.
Taking the corner to the left will lead you to the small garden
where the tomato plants and chili plants are located. A little
further to the left are the water tanks, the fig tree, the flowers,
and the future warehouse. I believe that this house is a good example
of human impact/alteration on the site because it is right next to the
cherry orchard and it wasn't there before. One example of the interaction
between the human impact and the environment would be the summer where
there were many barn swallows nesting under the eaves of the house.
They would fly out to the cherry orchard to catch insects and return to
their nests. They lived in peace until they were attacked by the house
sparrows. The sparrows also used the orchard for food, but for shelter they
also preferred the house. The sparrows began to attack the barn swallows
and they drove them away. The barn swallows never returned after that, and
the house sparrows had begun to take over the nests to lay eggs. After
that summer the barn swallows were never seen again, nor were the sparrows.
During one of those days I had come back from work and saw a couple baby
sparrows that were on the ground. I think they had fallen from their nest, but
I don't know for sure since there were times where I would find dead babies
on the ground and those had definitely fallen from the nests. They rarely survived
the drop so it was really strange that there were 3 of them alive, without any
injuries on the ground. I had picked up others before and put them in a nest, but with
so many nests I think I put them in the wrong nest and they ended up falling again.
This time I decided to take them inside and care for them until they were old enough to fly.
I used a small fur cap as a makeshift nest and kept them warm in a drawer. I forgot what I fed them
at first, but eventually I fed them mushed up freeze dried bloodworms with a tweezer. They grew really fast
and when they could fly they would spend their time flying in my room or sitting on my head. I had given
them the opportunity to leave several times, but they always flew around in circles and landed on my
head or shoulders. I wish I still had those birds, but they eventually died after several months.
November 24, 2025 5:17PM
54°F Clear Skies
This is the tractor that is used for mowing the grass that grows in the cherry orchard between the rows of trees. It is just the right size to fit between the trees. The tractor is a good example of human impact on the cherry orchard because it maintains the weeds, grass, and other plants at a manageable level. If the grass and weeds were to grow out of control it could take away nutrients from the cherry trees or it could introduce pests that could harm the trees. One of the plants that will grow very fast and take over the ground if left unchecked is the purslane plant. This plant is mainly seen in the summer and it is in every row of the cherry orchard. It is also the most dominant plant besides the tall dandelions. There are some other short shrubby plants, but I don't know their names nor are they as common as the purslane. Currently the main pest that affects the trees are the cherry fruit flies, but those are mainly seen when the trees are full of fruits. I had actually eaten a cherry once and found a tiny worm inside, yuck! Now I check every cherry for a pin size hole before eating it. This tractor is used for carrying the pesticide as well as the fertilizer.
November 24, 2025 5:12PM
54°F Clear Skies
This is where the future warehouse is supposed to be built. There are some PVC pipes here that mark the corners of the warehouse. This will also prove to be a huge human impact on the cherry orchard because it will take up a lot of space and potentially introduce a lot of rats that like to nest in buildings. This could also encourage more birds to nest in the warehouse. If the birds decide to nest in the warehouse they might try their luck with the house again.
November 24, 2025 5:08PM
54°F Clear Skies
These are the water tanks that store the water for the houses and cherry orchard. This water tank also supplements the small garden of tomatoes and chili peppers. The water provided by this tank is crucial for the maintenance of the cherry orchard and the garden because otherwise this wouldn't be a good area for farming. There isn't a lot of rainfall in Gilroy, so having a reliable water source is very important. The river nearby doesn't reach the cherry orchard either so that's why these water tanks are necessary. Without the tanks the bee's water supply (hose) would not be available and we would have never seen the bees come to use it. It would also be very hard for us to live here without water.
November 24, 2025 5:10PM
54°F Clear Skies
These are the water sprinklers that are used to irrigate the cherry orchard. I have not counted how many there are, but they are all spread out evenly. When these sprinklers are turned on they leave the whole orchard soaked and it creates a good environment for the snails because they will come out and climb onto the trees and into nooks. When my chicken was around he would often walk to the cherry orchard in the mornings and stay there most of the day eating bugs and snails that were on the ground.