Date: 11 November 2008
Time: 1405 Hours
Location: West end of Skybridge, south side of Sparks
Weather: Overcast, in the 50’s temperature-wise, light rain
Not All is Brown for Fall
After my 5 hours of ivy removal last Sunday, I have never looked at ivy the same. That’s why I am here now, just at the base of the Skybridge on the west side of 12th street. Again, I was on my way to a different spot when I glanced to the ivy that I had passed so many times before. There is a cool wind blowing about under the cloudy skies. It is not raining now, but I am sure that it will not be long before the clouds release more rain down onto us.
Okay, onto the ivy though. Unlike most every other plant that grows to be some shade of brown for fall, the ivy is still a rich green. There are some spots of brown though on some leaves: I noticed that these leaves with brown are usually found near the edges of the patch, all of the larger and more healthy leaves are in the middle of the patch. The shapes of the leaves have 3 primary points. Like a writer who does not complete the strike across their “t’s”, the ivy’s indents only go in a little bit and are content with that. I suppose this would be beneficial for the plant as it increases surface area and therefore more sunlight can be absorbed. The vines are invading everything around them—the trees and even now the bricks on the side of Sparks. It truly is an invasive species, but I wonder now if Willamette is not using it to their advantage, covering Sparks with it on purpose.
Date: 12 November 2008
Time: 1430 Hours
Location: South side of Mill Stream
Weather: Warm, partly cloudy, high 50's to low 60's
Full Mill Stream = Happy Ducks
I have just finished eating lunch after class and was headed back to my dorm when I noticed that the Mill Stream was running with water again. No longer low, almost to the point of being dry, I make note of the murky brown color that now rushes swiftly past. I then remember the construction that was being done on it across 12th street and figure that might explain the coloring. Walking by it, I did not want to make a nature observation at the Mill Stream because then it is just another Mill Stream observation. When I saw the ducks though, I could not resist. They all just looked so very happy to be there with the water flowing swiftly again. In fact, I knew that they were happy when I witnessed one thing. Well, I guess it does not have to mean that they were happy, but I am assuming that it did. While they paddled about on the bend of the stream, I noticed that two of the ducks were acting abnormally. It was a male and a female and they were facing each other. The male would dip his beak into the water and then the female would do the same and they copied each other for just a minute or so. Watching this, I was wondering what they were doing and that is when the male climbed onto the back of the female. What? At this time of year, are they mating, or are they just enjoying themselves in the rushing water? Well, I am certainly no bird expert and this completely threw me off.
Date: 13 November 2008
Time: 1235 Hours
Location: Under a spreading tree on the north side of campus, just to the east of Eaton.
Weather: Overcast, but with patches of blue, 50’s
I Finally Made It!
After being stopped so many times before getting to this location, I have finally made it here. It is mostly cloudy today, but a patch of blue skies is over my head. I am located at one of, actually probably my favorite tree on campus. I am on the very north side of campus on a bench in front of Eaton Hall. The tree to my back is great: it is weathered and has great knots on its tremendous trunk. The branches all twist out sporadically and fan over me. Most of its leaves are gone and are on the ground at my feet. Of the leaves that are left on the tree, there are only a few that are not a golden-brown color. Under this tree I find peace, even though there are numerous distractions around me. To the east of me is the construction site that builds the new hall and there are bulldozers that beep as they back up. By the roses that line the sidewalk on campus across the street from the capitol building, people man leaf blowers. Under here though, none of that matters too much.
Looking down at my feet, I notice that the bench was built on top of a concrete foundation. The reasons for this, primarily prevention from ground erosion from the rain, go through my head. However, what I thought about the most was that whenever this bench was installed, people spent much more time on things and were not in such a rush.
Date: 14 November 2008
Time: 1505 Hours
Location: Inside of an airplane, at PDX, destination Seattle, Washington
Weather: Goes from beautiful, sunny day in Portland (50’s) to an overcast and little bit cooler weather in Seattle
Observation Sans NatureWell, okay, I know that this is not a legit observation, but the things that I am seeing are fantastic and I am afraid that I have spent half of my day in classes and the next half is to be spent inside of the Seattle airport.
The past few days here in Oregon have been overcast and on the cool side. Today however is brilliant. The sky is clear and, as I am driving up the Portland airport, Mount Hood stands tall and proud, pristine to my east. I was not going to make an observation out of my travels, but I thought that it might be interesting to see the contrast between Portland and Seattle, only a 30-minute flight. Waiting our turn for take-off, I look out the window, to the northeast and straight towards Mount Hood. On the window is a small insect, smaller than a gnat and on the inside. It flings its legs about in a desperate attempt to find an escape from its pressurized cage. It does not use its delicate wings, but continues throughout the flight to try to breakout. As we lift off into the atmosphere we tilt directions from east-bound to north-bound and as we do so, I notice two new mountains in view. However, their entirety is not visible like Mount Hood was. There is a cloud cover over Washington and the two mountains peak over the top of it. As we leave the hills surrounding Portland and I am looking down, I spot a reservoir, its dam on the very west end of it, tiny in comparison to the amount of water it holds back. As soon as we pass over that though, we are flying over the top of the clouds and all that I can see is what seems to be an ocean of cotton balls.
Only a short while later, as we descend into Seattle, I realize that it is not the perfect blue skies of Oregon that I am about to experience. The cloud cover is low and fairly dark. After we lower through it, the city comes into view, as does an extremely dirty harbor. I take a glance backwards, to the west and notice the beauty in the horizon there. The islands west of Seattle are various shades of blue and fade away with the distance. The cloud cover meets them and there is only a thin layer of blue skies visible. Now that we are on solid ground, I just have time to sit around until the next leg of my journey is complete.
Date: 15 November 2008
Time: 1000 Hours
Location: Moscow, Idaho, University of Idaho Campus walk
Weather: partly cloudy, cool and crisp air about 40 degrees
A University of Idaho Stroll
It’s game day! I am here in Moscow, Idaho with my best friend, Lauren and I am here on campus to watch the Boise State Broncos dominate the University of Idaho Vandals (they did: 45-10). It is a beautiful day here, but cooler than back on campus in Salem. As I walk out of Lauren’s sorority house, there is a Maple tree down at the bottom of the path leading up to the door. It is all very picturesque, just how a sorority should be. As we walk down the sidewalk, Lauren leaves bits of squirrel food on the barrier keeping in the landscaping. There are other people who feed the squirrels! It’s not just the Willamette Naturalists!
So anyway, it is certainly time for winter here. The leaves are all falling and for the most part, the trees are barren. Weird little side note, there was cabbage planted outside of the ATM that I used. It was not really normal cabbage though, it was multi-colored and very pretty.
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