Time: 1520 Hours
Weather: Sunny, partly cloudy, warm in sun, cool in shade
Location: Tree stump (disturbingly) at Mill Stream (south bank) by bridge and Marth Springer Garden
Perfect day for a nature observation!
I am here at the Mill Stream with no one to keep me company except for the bees that are harvesting the flowers behind me. In the shadows on the ground, their bodies dance around from flower top to flower top and I turn behind me to see that there is a large number of dainty, purple flowers that a group of bees are moving about. With the sun warming my back, I face the Mill Stream again. Directly in front of me, the bank slopes fairly steeply into the Mill Stream. Looking across, it seems to do the same thing. Of all places I have observed so far along the Mill Stream, this would appear to me as the one spot least affected by man—even though human influences are certainly present. Across from me, onto the north end of the stream, a wooden plank juts out from the bank. Camouflaged by moss, it would be easy to pass over but it would probably be best to remove. Below that and actually in the stream is another wooden plank. Again, it is doing little harm, but it would be best if it were gone—in my opinion. A male Mallard is up-stream, to my east, and I’m sure he’s not alone. What would it take, I wonder, to get fish to come through our Mill Stream? Looking again to the Mallard, I notice now a female and another male. At the bottom of the bank are two stems with purple flowers on the top like those behind me. It would be neat to see them extend all the way down the bank instead of just stopping like they do behind me. Perhaps level the bank out a little to accomplish this? Also, there are 3 large tree trunks here. I am grateful that they’re here because I now have a table and a seat, but I question why they were brought down. I do not understand, but I suppose there are things that I will never understand.
(http://www.jasonhahn.com/gallery/albums/jul2007/mallard_duck_lol_042307_014_copy.jpg)
Date: 14 October 2008
Time: 1525 Hours
Weather: Sunny, partly cloudy, fairly cool in the shade which is where I am located.
Location: West end of the Mill Stream, south bank behind Goudy
A dip in the Mill Stream?
My shoes sit next to me as I dangle my feet over the rocky wall that is on the south end of the Mill Stream. My socks must be kept dry and so they hang about 6 inches above the water. For such a shallow and small stream, the water seems to move pretty quickly. I wonder if it would be possible to place some larger rocks in the middle of the stream to slow it down. This way, it could be a more desirable location for ducks and other animals to visit. It could also be beneficial to animals if more native plants were introduced to hang over the edges of the wall, especially if the flow of the water were slowed.
A leaf floats past me in the stream and I wonder about all of the physics involved in keeping the leaf moving, submerged at that particular level.
Date: 15 October 2008
Time: 1550 hours
Weather: Partly cloudy, fair temperatures, warmest in the sun
Location: North bank of the Mill Stream behind Goudy dining room area, under a large oak tree.
Always Welcome Visitors
I am sitting in a warm patch of sun, while Jane is not far from me, on a bench directly under a spreading Oak tree. Looking downstream, I notice 6 ducks. There are 3 males and 3 females, mating pairs? Perhaps. They stick to the sides of the stream where it is not so deep and swift as in the middle. Here, on the stream’s banks, is where the ducks find their food. I think back to where I found the small snails on the sides of the rocks and wonder if they are still down there, even though it is slightly colder now. Looking on the ground around me, I notice that the roots from the Oak tree have spread far from the trunk and I can see parts of one where the bank slopes down.
Just to my right now, to the west, I notice that the ducks have moved upstream and onto the north side of the bank. They search in the sticks that trap the fallen leaves for food. The beads of water roll off of their heads as they dip under and come back up. I wonder what they could possibly be finding to eat as they clumsily hop up the banks. My answer crawls in front of me (maybe it’s their food?) in the form of . . . moving grass? No, it is an ant moving grass on its back. As the 6 ducks find delightful meals in the rocks, dirt and grass around me, 2 more join the date, a male and female. This makes it 4 pairs in all. One brave female moves directly in front of me now, stops and takes a good look at me—her conclusion must be that I’m terrifying because she quickly turns and paddles back to her comrades.
Date: 18 October 2008
Time: 1610 Hours
Weather: Sunny, very pleasant ☺
Location: South bank of the Mill Stream in front of the UC
There are fish in the Mill Stream!
My two friends, Susie and Nicole, and myself were sitting on the south end of the Mill Stream today, just enjoying the fall weather and waiting for Goudy to open. Because the water was so low, I sat there with my feet dangling over the sides and could still not touch the water without pointing my toe downwards. The grass that we were sitting on was slightly wet and it was not the most pleasant feeling, but oh well. The bed of the stream was covered in dirt that then partly covered rocks and some sort of plant. There were also some small, round shells that were bedded down by the sand.
As I am looking down into the stream, along the very edge of it, I notice something different there. It is a thin earthworm, probably about 5 inches long. Its pink, fleshy body was moving towards me and I was excited to see any form of life. As I exclaim and point out the worm to Susie and Nicole, I am entirely shocked and ecstatic to see a fish eat it! This worm is simply cruising along on its own, pleasant way, when a rather ugly fish snatches it up! I could not believe it. I never would have thought that fish would choose to live here. This particular fish was very small. It had to be because it had come out of the crack in the rocks that line the bank of the Mill Stream. The body of the fish was short, probably the same length as the worm that it just consumed. A dark brown color, it blended in well with its surroundings, especially inside the cracks of the bank. This is where it took the worm back to eat it and left me to sit and wonder about what sorts of creatures might be dwelling along the wall of the Mill Stream.
(Addition! After looking for what kind of fish it might be that was in the stream, I found that it must have been a Prickly Sculpin which likes quiet waters and could explain why it chose the Mill Stream as its habitat) (http://www.arsconsulting.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/pricklysculpinelkcrk.jpg)
Date: 19 October 2008
Time: 1630 Hours
Weather: Partly cloudy, in the 50’s? It’s nice ☺
Location: South end of the Mill Stream in the most obvious spot, in the bend of the “W”.
Bring Back the Nature
So I know that the Mill Stream is man-made, but this is the most obvious section. The banks end abruptly and to my east, a cement barrier identifies the end of the bank. I know that it has to be this way, but I still wish that more nature could be brought in. What if Smith were gone? It would be more open to the Quad, which could be nice. I think more native trees should be introduced along the south side of the creek here. Other than that, I don’t know what I would do because I enjoy it the way it is.
(http://www.willamette.edu/about/index.html)
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