byCassidy Rivera

Hi, I’m Pock

Who are you?

Welcome to my home. It is part of the Temperate Deciduous Forest Biome.

What is a biome you ask?

Well, a biome is like a community that is made up of all the plants, animals, birds, insects, and trees.

The same biome can be in different places in the world. But they will have the same type of land and weather.

Temperate means mild. We are in between the Tundra Biome and the Tropical Biome.

That means we don’t get really, really cold or really, really hot.

My friend Oscar, told me that deciduous is Latin for “falling down”. That’s what our leaves do.

In the Temperate Deciduous Forest, we have four distinct seasons….

Summer, Autumn, Winter,

and Spring.

As you can see, right now it’s winter.

Hey, do you have anything to eat? Trail mix? A sandwich?

Things get pretty bare around here. There’s not much food in the winter.

Oh, hi Red! It’s nice to see you. It gets real lonely since a bunch of the birds went south for the winter and most of the animals are hibernating.

Oh, hi Red! It’s nice to see you. It gets real lonely since a bunch of the birds went south for the winter and most of the animals are hibernating.

Oh, hi Red! It’s nice to see you. It gets real lonely since a bunch of the birds went south for the winter and most of the animals are hibernating.

Oh, hi Red! It’s nice to see you. It gets real lonely since a bunch of the birds went south for the winter and most of the animals are hibernating.

Oh, hi Red! It’s nice to see you. It gets real lonely since a bunch of the birds went south for the winter and most of the animals are hibernating.

Oh, hi Red! It’s nice to see you. It gets real lonely since a bunch of the birds went south for the winter and most of the animals are hibernating.

Oh, hi Red! It’s nice to see you. It gets real lonely since a bunch of the birds went south for the winter and most of the animals are hibernating.

Oh, hi Red! It’s nice to see you. It gets real lonely since a bunch of the birds went south for the winter and most of the animals are hibernating.

This is my friend, Red. She is a fox.

How are you?

Good, good, good. Just trying to find

something the little ones would eat.

I have a sandwich that my

new friend gave me.

Would you like half?

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I think their going to eat me out of

house and home.

You’re welcome.

The little ones must be getting really big.

Sure are. Would you like to see

some pictures of them?

Love to.

Love to.

Photo AlbumPhoto Album

by Red Foxby Red Fox

The BabiesThe Babies

ScrambleAge 2 months

FlowerAge 2 months

The FamilyThe Family

PointsCousin who lives in

Australia

YowlerUncle who lives in

China

The FamilyThe Family

HunterBrother-in-Law who lives in

Vermont

PoeGreat Aunt who lives in

England

The FamilyThe Family

Kranx3rd cousin twice removed who lives in

Russia

Wow. They are getting so big.

I better get back to the growing ones.

Okay. I’ll see you later.

Bye, bye, bye!

Well, lets go see if Oscar

is still up.

Hey, Oscar are ya up?

Yes, I’m awake. Is there

something you need?

No, I just wanted you to meet my new

friend.

This is Oscar, he’s an owl. Oscar is one of

the few birds that doesn’t fly south for

the winter.

He is also the wisest around.

Would the two of you like to come up and

get warm?

That would be great!

Come on!

Do you like my new photo?

Oh, yes. Who is that?

Would you like to see more of my pictures?

That would be great!

Come here and you can see photos of the

birds that have left for the winter.

ScrapbookScrapbookofof

BirdsBirdsbyby

Oscar OwlOscar Owl

young Spotted Warbler Finch

Metso Bald Eagle

Cedar Waxwing Chick-a-dee

Northern CardinalIn flight

Northern Cardinal

Blue Jay Brown Sided Nut Thrasher

Downey Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker

Eastern Bluebird King Fisher

Crowned Kingfisher Owl

Owl Warbler

Spotted_Towhee Adult Swallow with young

That’s a lot of birds. But why

do they fly south for the

winter?

How easy that is to answer. They

fly south because it’s warmer.

That’s very

clever of

them.

Indeed.

What’s that noise!

Oh, my! Oh, my!

Someone’s shaking the

tree.

Bobby, what are you doing?

Oh, sorry guys. I didn’t know

someone was in this tree.

Bobby, why aren’t you

hibernating?

My back was all itchy.

Brrrr, it is extremely cold

out here.

Ahhh, this ain’t so bad.

My cousin, Joe, lives in the Tundra.

It gets 40 below there.

We only get down to 30 degrees here in the Temperate

Deciduous Forest.

Oooh, I desperately miss those summer days when it gets up to 80 degrees.

Hi, Stripe.

Hello.

Do you know what else I

dearly miss?

I miss seeing the forest floor covered with soft

moss and leaves.

I loved the way the ferns and bluebells

grew out of the moist, cool ground.

The ground here is some of the most fertile there is. That means, lots of stuff

can grow here.

Right about here would be the shrub

level.

It would be a little bit brighter and than the

forest floor.

This is where all the berries and bushes

would be.

I remember the mountain laurels, azaleas, and

blackberries.

Ooohohoh! The blackberries.

This is where the understory

would be.

Oh how I miss the little saplings. Those darling,

little, baby trees with their little green leaves.

And all the short, grown up trees,

like the Dogwoods and Hawthorns.

It was definitely brighter and

warmer at this level.

Hey, Stripe, where ya going?

It is of no use to talk to him when

he is like this, Bobby

Bye, Stripe

This is my favorite level of the forest!

This is the canopy.

This is the warmest and driest level

because it gets the most sunlight.

Only the biggest trees can reach up here.

We’re only at the bottom of the canopy. It’s only about 60

feet up. But some of these trees go up to a 100 feet.

It’s hard to tell right now. But this

is a maple tree.

This is also Squint’s home.

That one over there is a Beech tree.

And that one is an oak. Or is it an ash

tree?

It’s so hard to tell during the winter.

I’m going to see if Squint is here.

Get up, sleepy head.

It’s time to get up?

This is Squints. He’s a squirrel. Don’t mind the mess. Squints

saves his food since he isn’t one of the

hibernating animals.

It’s probably time for me to

get up.

Should’nt that acorn go with the

rest of them?

This is my favorite.

What are you doing

here Stripe?

Oh, well, I miss the

warm days.

I miss the leaves and flowers too.

You know what I do

when I start feeling blue?

What is that?

Well, I just look at my pictures of the

seasons and pretend that I’m in

each picture.

Here look.

Spring

How do you do that?

Spring

Well, I start with spring and remember how it gets just a little warmer from winter.

Spring

The snow starts melting and the

trees start to wake up, little buds start

popping out everywhere and the

sap rises in the trees.

Spring

Oooohh! I can almost smell the flowers. Go on!

Go on!

Spring

Then I move on

to summer.

Summer

Remember how summer is the hottest season and how we splash around in the puddles because it

rains so much?

Summer

Yes, and how the leaves get big and

green. And the berries, oh the

delicious berries.

Summer

Boy, you’re going to like the

next picture.

Summer

Wow! Do I ever miss those

hawthorn berries.

Summer

And the blackberries and those raspberries that grew on the

shrub level.

Summer

Yes and then my favorite

season, autumn.

Autumn

When autumn comes the leaves turn red, orange, and yellow. Then the leaves fall

off.

Autumn

I’ve always wondered why the leaves fall off.

Autumn

That has to do with the temperature

change when autumn comes.

Autumn

Let’s go look at the next photo.

Autumn

When it gets a little cooler, the leaves then, start losing their green color, letting the reds,

yellows, and oranges in them shine through.

Autumn

This happens because the trees start to cut off the sap that flows to

their leaves.

Autumn

The trees will store the sap

and nutrients in their roots,

where they will not freeze.

Autumn

Oh I see.

Autumn

Which leads us back to

winter.

Autumn

Which leads us back to

winter.

Winter

You’re right Stripe!

Winter

Winter is where it gets

really cold and everything gets hard.

Winter

Because the ground is frozen, there is less water for the trees. This makes the leaves fall off.

Winter

Does that make you feel better Stripe?

Winter

Yes that makes me feel

great.

Winter

Thank you so much Squints.

Winter

Lets go outside before

I fall asleep again.

Winter

Okay. Lets go.

Hi guys.

Hi Stripe. Hi Squints.

Where did you go Stripe?

Oh, I went to see Squints.

Where is Oscar?

He went to get something.

It was nice talking to you guys but it’s past my bed

time.

Oh, there he is!

I see Stripe is here and Squints is

awake.

But where is Pock?

Oh, um he went to bed.

What do you have there,

Oscar?

Its my scrapbook of animals. Would you

all like to see it?

ScrapbookScrapbookofof

Temperate Temperate Deciduous Deciduous

Forest Forest AnimalsAnimals

byby

Oscar OwlOscar Owl

Biomes of the WorldBiomes of the World

North AmericaNorth America

North American Porcupine Chipmunk

Raccoon Opossum

South AmericaSouth America

White Deer Gray Fox

Puma Dragonfly

EuropeEurope

young Wild Boar Hedgehog

Least Weasel

River Otter

AsiaAsia

Muntjac rusa Deer

Metso

AustraliaAustralia

Axis Deer Rusa Deer

Platypus

Hello, fellow.

Hi, Buster.

I haven’t seen you in awhile.

Ya, probably because I’ve been building my new dam.

Oooh a new dam?

I’ve been building it over the winter.

Must have been hard

because its so cold.

Kind of was.

Have ya heard?

Heard of what?

All the human homes being

built.

I have. Half the trees are almost gone. Isn’t the building going

on, on the other side of the lake?

Ya, and I heard some

of the animals and insects

have to move.

Isn’t that right Bobby?

Uh, ya.

That’s dreadful.

What about the plants?

They might be hurt. I

don’t know for sure.

If the plants are

destroyed, what would I

eat?

I can’t even say what

would happen to me. And others too.

What do you mean?

Well Squints, we are a community. We all depend on

each other.

What happens to one of us affects

all of us.

Take a look at this chart.

I’m a little scared.

My little friend, I’m sure it

won’t go far.

I hope you’re right,

Oscar.

Take a look at this picture of where

my great granddad used to live.

That’s atrocious.

Look at all the erosion that happened when the

trees and plants were cut down.

Why would they do that? Don’t the humans know that the forests keep the

world clean?

Apparently not. All that dirt is going to blow around without the

plants to hold it down.

When all the plants and trees are destroyed, it

causes global warming.

All is not lost. The most fascinating thing about the

Temperate Deciduous Forest is the way it reacts to temperature change.

Huh?

You know about the seasons, right?

Well, I know that the forest changes as the temperature goes up

and down.

Indeed. Very good, Bobby. We all know

things are getting hotter because of global warming.

That tricks the trees and plants into thinking

it is summer. Then they keep their leaves longer and make more

oxygen.

This actually helps fight global warming.

We live in the coolest place in the world!!!

But, I’m still scared they will cut down our

forest.

Cheer up Bobby. It’ll be fine.

Ya, you guys are

right.

Want to know how I cheer my self up?

How?

I think of some interesting things that are in the

Temperate Deciduous Forest.

Like, how baby fern leaves are

called fiddle heads because

they look like the curled head of a

violin?

Exactly! Let’s all

try it.

Oak trees are usually the tallest trees in the forest but they start as

tiny acorns buried under the leaves.

Insects, like worms and beetles eat dead matter and turn it into soil.

Now it’s you’re turn Bobby?

Oh, umm, what about, owls don’t make any noise when they fly

because their wings have soft, fluffy feathers on the

tips.

Hoo, Hoo. Very

true.

Doesn’t that make you feel better Bobby?

Ya, it does!

Thanks Buster.

Your welcome.

Howdy, ho, Buster has

to go.

I should go to bed too. Hope all of you have a marvelous

night.

Me too. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Good day

Bye guys.

Voices …..

Bobby……………Mike Riley

Buster……………Cassidy Rivera

Oscar…………….Mike Riley

Pock……………..Jennifer Rivera

Red………………Jennifer Rivera

Squints…………..Cassidy Rivera

Stripe…………….Cassidy Rivera