Most people know what a “food chain” is, but just for the record, I’ll define it before proceeding with my story.
Living things need energy. Animals get energy from food, plants get energy through photosynthesis.
A food chain among a given set of critters shows the order in which they get eaten. Essentially, it describes how energy is passed upward until it stops. (Well, the energy gets recycled repeatedly, but let’s keep it simple.)
For example, a blade of grass is eaten by a grasshopper, which is eaten by a mouse, which is eaten by a snake, which is eaten by a hawk. In that situation, the grass is at the bottom of the food chain, and the hawk is at the top.
Okay, on with the story.
During the school holiday break, my granddaughters Kelsey and Katie (twins, age 11) came to my house for a visit, chauffeured by their grandma Deanna.
These are the granddaughters who live about an hour away. The other two, Maddie and Sarah, live here in Jefferson.
Katie and Kelsey walked into the kitchen, and as usual, stopped to check for new refrigerator magnets. All four of the girls do that. They can spot a new addition within seconds. It’s uncanny.
Naturally, I want to make sure they aren’t disappointed, so I add new magnets regularly. I have the tackiest refrigerator anywhere, but it’s a price I’m willing to pay.
The girls had not been to my place for a couple of weeks, but they quickly and simultaneously found the newest magnet — a small yellow plastic wedge of pie.
“It looks like custard pie,” said Kelsey.
“I think it’s apple,” said Katie. “See? It has a crust.”
Leaving the girls to peruse the door of the fridge, I went into the living room to join Deanna. As we sat and talked, Katie and Kelsey remained in the kitchen, whispering and giggling.
Before long, it struck me that their chatter had a conspiratorial tone to it.
“You guys are up to something,” I called out. “What’s going on?”
“We’re building a food chain!”
“We’re making a food chain out of refrigerator magnets!”
Okay, I thought, they probably learned about food chains in school. Deanna and I looked at each other, then got up and went into the kitchen.
There on the refrigerator door was the girls’ food chain. They had collected all of the animal and vegetable magnets (except one photo magnet of my sister and my dog) and arranged them in a long column. This is it:
At the top of the column was Uga the bulldog, the University of Georgia mascot. Below him was a wooden bear.
“The Georgia bulldog is at the top of the food chain, above the bear?” I said.
“We know that isn’t right,” said Katie. “But we decided to do it anyway — since this is Bulldog Country.” Kelsey nodded in agreement.
Below the bear was a moose. Below the moose was a plastic wedge of cheese. So far, so good, if you accept the bulldog’s honorary position.
After the cheese, however, came the slice of custard/apple pie, which derailed their logic.
Below the pie was a lobster, followed by a mug of beer, a Hershey’s miniature chocolate bar, another beer, a fabric fish, and a wooden chili pepper.
I stood there for a moment studying the magnets. I wasn’t sure how beer and chocolate fit into any food chain, but still, their handiwork had a certain je ne sais quoi.
“Excellent work,” I told them, “But I don’t think it’s completely accurate. Technically, that is.”
“We know.”
“– We like it this way.”
“– And Maddie and Sarah will probably change it anyway.”
Good point.
Rocky – your granddaughters are clever. The combination of chocolate and beer sounds like a wonderful idea. (Also, I’m from the U.P. – thanks for giving us Yoopers props on your fridge…)
The UP is a fascinating part of the country. I flew up there a few years ago and drove home in an old F-350 diesel. I bought it from a fellow who used it to plow snow for a living. The magnet is a souvenir of the trip.