27 October 2008

1230-1250

We are in a small park in Salem that we arrived at by fallowing the mill stream and are now sitting by a later part of the mill stream.

Today our class went on a nature walk along the millstream and ended up at another part of the mill stream that is a ways from campus. I’m pretty sure that we are somewhere near Pringle park.. Like yesterday the weather is surprisingly warm, so that today I am tempted to be in shorts again. Were I am sitting the millstream had been created into a crescent shape pond. Here there is not much of a current and many ducks have congregated here. This is nice to see since they are becoming more and more sparse near the Willamette campus. Here are about 12 ducks just floating and sleeping in this still part of the stream.  A few are constantly ducking below the surface looking for what I would assume to be food. There is one mallard that is attempting a nap but the slow current keeps bring him to the rocky edge of the pond. These creatures the more I observe them the more comical they become! They have such a playful air to them. There is something interesting about how peacefully they look above the water but under the water they are paddling incredibly hard.