Tales of Tenth Grade

     After thinking for several days about a topic that was important to me, I couldn't find a better one than the Earth itself.  It provides us with an atmosphere to live in, spend time with family and friends, enjoy our favorite hobbies, and to just live life at its fullest.  The Earth encompasses everything that is of great importance to me.  But, I fear that our planet is in danger.      The word "wildfire" has been dominating headlines globally over the past few months.  A total of 12.35 million acres have been burned in Australia this year alone, according to Time Scholastic.  Although there can be several good effects from natural occurring wildfires, such as tree reproduction and some animal benefits, these excessive burns have had an overall more negative effect on animals, people, and our planet.      Annually, Australia experiences a "wildfire season" which coincides with their drought period.  Dur...

Warm orange flames danced amongst the treetops as darkness approached.  The setting sun was darkened by billowing black smoke that emerged from the forests of Northern California.  In complete silence, the distant crackling of brush burning could be heard coinciding with the sirens of the panic within the human population.  However, as many homes were evacuated by both people and animals, we started to converge on the fire with a gathering excitement. The excitement built with each increasing degree of heat. As we neared the fiery destruction, a wave of black emerged from the forest, chased by licking flames.  We swooped down and feasted on the crunchy insects as if it was Thanksgiving! Weighed down with delicious food, we returned to a safe nesting area in close proximity to this wonderful gift. After several days of waiting, nature finally dialed back the intensity of the flames.  With the flames extinguished, it was time to feast again, bu...