Weather: Windy, Rainy, Cold
Temperature: 57-62 degrees F
Time: 3:30pm-5:00pm
Location: Union Bay Natural Area
PART I
Week ten has rolled around and there is still much to admire about UBNA that I have not yet discovered. This week we are to describe a few things in our chosen location (Shoveler's Pond, in my case) without using the scientific or common terminology.
1. First is a plant, described without using the words plant, shrub, tree, trunk, branch, leaves, stem, flower, or berry:
It emerges from the earth and produces several rough limbs which are protected by growths like scales. The limbs have many hands protruding at several intervals. The hands have fingers, thin and nearly flat, with one smooth and one rough side each. The fingers are green, and have large and numerous veins. Some of the fingers have turned brown as their life wanes. They are curling in death. Twice my height the figure stands tall and thin.
2. Now, a bird without using the words bird, legs, wings, feather, beak, call, song, egg, or nest:
The sky is symphonic yet not melodious as the figures scatter and regroup. They swarm and circle, crying "caw, caw, caw" together. They are black, and fade into specks as they fly away.
3. And lastly, a personal choice:
An expanse consisting of dark colors glitters under the heavy light. There is constant movement, wrinkles begin and end, repeating their pattern without fail, disturbing its surface. It is revealing a double image of the life above it. It's cool, and filled with unseen formations and creatures. It parts and contracts effortlessly, leaving droplets on my boots.
PART II
1. How has your perception of your
observation site changed through the quarter?
Union Bay Natural Area, and my pond
in particular have been a fantastic place to begin noting phenology and
become acquainted with nature in a city. For the first time in my
life I feel far removed from the natural environment, I find UBNA, as well as
Ravenna and other parks to be a comfort while living in Seattle. Largely,
the experience was gratifying. My perception at the beginning of the quarter
was twinged with a bit of hesitance because the land was so bare (and damn
cold). I feared that there would not be enough life to draw meaningful
observations from as the weeks passed. However, as the quarter progressed I
found that UBNA changed with the weather, the flowers bloomed, the birds
returned, the cottonwoods billowed, and the insects emerged from the earth.
Having the privilege to watch the nature here shift from a slow, dormant stage
in Winter to a rapidly changing natural area during the Spring was a pleasure.
However, Union Bay Natural Area is still not far enough removed from the buzz
of the city as I would have liked. From any one vantage point, one can spot
cars, motorways, 20-story cement buildings, and the hum of technology use
surrounding the small island of nature.
2. How has your sense of the Puget
Sound Region changed through the quarter?
As stated, some of the natural
areas that I have visited within the cities are too urban for my liking at
times, but that is not to say that Puget Sound does not have its own
distractions, far more satisfying in nature, which draw me into its ambiance.
Such as the joyous and even aggressive birds who effervescently sing for their
mates, neighbors and predators to hear, or the density of the green Olympic
National Forest, and the blinding, white mountainside of Rainier. The
opportunity to explore an unknown region, become acquainted with the various
species, and familiarize myself with their interactions has allowed for a
greater appreciation of natural history. Not being an environmental science
major, and embarrassingly not having taken an environmental science class
previous to this one, I have been overwhelmed with the abundance of enthusiasm
for nature, and charmed by the natural world's wholehearted response. The Puget
Sound is a fantastic place to acquaint oneself with life outside of the
comforts of town, and become aware of the solace that eludes many of those who do not take
part in interactions with nature.
3. What does it mean to intimately
know a natural place?
To know a natural place intimately
is just as significant as having a meaningful relationship with another person.
Humans have removed themselves from nature within the past couple centuries and
as a result have since engaged in a continuous struggle to fill that gap. The
current emptiness in our existence that would have been filled with an intimate
knowledge of a natural place is often replaced with synthetic experiences with
nature, such as hanging photographs of nature indoors, playing video games that
take place in nature, buying fake plants, etc. Yet the only way to fill this
gap is to enjoy nature as it is by taking part in a range of different
activities in the natural world. Technology has a place, such as modern hiking
gear, or mountain climbing gear, GPS for off-the-road trips, yet there must
also be a time set aside for acquainting oneself with nature without the use of
technology to amplify your experience. To truly intimately know a natural place
I believe that one ought not take a camera with them, whether it be highly
advanced or a feature on one's iPhone. The disconnect we experience with nature can be easily remedied.
Put your phone down, go outside, and form a new relationship. This is similar
to what we have been doing in class, yet with the absence of assigned material
the experience can often hold deeper meaning.
