Tyler Starr: 11/8, The Quad

Tyler Starr

8 November 2008 from 1230-1245

Location: The northwest corner of the Quad

Weather: 55 ̊ F, no wind, raining on and off

General: It was misting slightly as I sat on Quad. A heavy bout of rain had just ended, so I decided to do an observation. The rain makes everything feel clean and refreshed. Many more leaves fell from the trees due to the force of the rain. One interesting thing that I noticed was that later, as I was walking to the football game, Pringle Creek was a very murky brown color, almost reminiscent of chocolate milk. The Mill Stream looked like that earlier this week, and I wonder if somehow the rain triggers a disruption of the sediment. The middle of the Quad is very wet and muddy. A crow descended upon the southwest corner of the Quad and was picking at the ground. Perhaps it is eating worms that come up from the ground during the rain. The squirrels, however, are not really out at all. I guess they don’t like the rain too much. It seems like all of the big trees along the north side of the Quad are in the process of losing their leaves. I can see three non-coniferous trees that are still completely green, and a couple that are mostly green. The days continue to get shorter and shorter now, so I’d imagine most of the leaves on campus will be gone soon.

Gardening

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 11-7
Location: Kaneko’s community garden, north of the sky bridge
Time: 1516-1546
Weather: Overcast skies, 60˚F

When I had walked across the sky bridge over 12th street toward Kaneko in the past, I had never realized a small area of the land adjacent to the buildings. Usually, my eyes would be attracted to the lines of the buildings and their modern designs. Far too easy to be swept away by the crimson buildings, I had neglected a rectangle of land known as the community garden. South of the Tokyo International University of America building, six rectangles of dirt mounds were flourishing with greeneries. The soil was damp and dark as I walked over a hose lying in between the sections. Many crops were still producing. My eyes drew in sight of ripe sugar snap peas, green beans, small 2-inch buds of broccoli, vivid red Swiss Chard, and lacy cilantro. Few people seemed to bother picking the food when it was so convenient to purchase meals in the cafeteria. Yet, my friends who I met there today were intent of utilizing fresh greens in their food, endeavoring to incorporate them into a meal that they knew would eventually find its way into college students mouths through their purchases. If only others were as intent on doing so, the garden would mostly likely not had fallen into its slight neglect today. There was minimal maintenance; the peas were bursting full, zucchini’s 6 inches long, and broccoli infested with aphids. I think introducing a natural repellent or biological control would be beneficial to the community as a whole.

Uppermost picture (taken sometime in the earlier seasons) courtesy of http://tiua.edu

Tyler Starr: 11/7, Botanical Gardens

Tyler Starr

7 November 2008 from 1545-1600

Location: A walk through the Martha Springer Botanical Gardens

Weather: 63 ̊ F, still with an occasional 5 mph gust of wind, mostly cloudy skies

General: Everything feels very awake in the pleasant weather. In total, I saw 3 different squirrels scurrying around the Botanical Gardens. Many of the small birds that were out the last time I observed the gardens were out again. In particular, I noticed the bird that I always see but never can identify, with a white and gray body with a dark or black head and neck, along with several chickadees. I found an interesting fruit lying on the ground. It was about an inch long, sort of in the shape of a pear. It was light green, with beach ball-like segments. The outer layer peeled back like moist paper, and on the inside, there was a small, soft green ball. Inside of that there were many seeds that looked like those of bell peppers. The ground is very soft and muddy from all of the rain, especially towards the back of the gardens. I noticed that a group of some sort of plant had been reduced to a cluster of stems. It appeared that grounds keeping cut off the tops of all of the plants with a weed-whacker. Perhaps they are planning to plant something else there next spring.

I don't know about you, but I can't see anything

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 11-6
Location: Mill Stream north of UC
Time: 1714-1730
Weather: Light rain, 57˚F

The sun sets earlier now that day light savings has ended, plunging the campus into dim twilight. Most of the birds have slowly disappeared to prepare for the night’s rest, yet I was surprised to find the mallards still swimming around the Mill Stream. Nearly 20 were congregating around the corner of Jackson Plaza, mostly still. A few were plunging their beaks into the water to catch a bedtime snack. As the light dimmed, the stream became dappled with lights from the surrounding buildings, illuminating the gentle ripples. I could not distinguish many of their movements from their resting, that is, floating positions. One duck ostentatiously flapped his wings in greeting to my arrival as I ventured forward for a closer observation. The movements consisted of the drakes using their beaks to clean their back feathers and wings. The females sounded their quacks momentarily. The light drizzle faded as I watched. Will the mallards stay here during the night? I remember previously that the Mill Stream was deserted during the night as I left campus. Their vision must have been better than mine, for in only 16 minutes, the scene grew dim and I could scarcely make out the shapes of the fowls.

Tyler Starr: 11/6, Mill Stream between Rogers and the Library

Tyler Starr

6 November 2008 from 1025-1040

Location: The Mill Stream between Rogers and the library

Weather: 59 ̊ F, 5 mph breeze with gusts up to 15 mph, gray cloudy skies

General: Leaves fell from the trees like rain due to the strong wind. Those that stayed on the trees clattered in the breeze. With the strong gusts, the clattering would be so loud as to drown out the construction noises from the nearby theatre renovation and Ford Hall construction. The leaves on the ground race around in the breeze. The Mill Steam is still exceedingly low, but it has a slight current, which could be due to the strong winds, which are going in the same direction. For the past two days, the water has been a brown-gray, murky, color. It started after the rain, so perhaps the rain stirred up the silt on the bottom of the stream. However, today it is back to its normal color. Maybe with the reemergence of a current, the silt resettled to the bottom of the stream. I hope that the Mill Stream returns to its original level soon, it is much more appealing. I saw a Banded Garden Spider in a web, as I often do over here. It is probably the same spider every time—from comparing pictures, it looks the same. I did not see or hear any birds though.

Smashing pumpkins

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 11-5
Location: Botanical Garden bridge between the gardens and Belknap
Time: 1530-1551
Weather: Raining, overcast skies, 47.5˚F

The Mill Stream was filled with dirt today as the runoff from the land was washed into the waters. It was still lower than ever due to someone controlling the height of the stream somewhere to the east. For whatever purpose, I felt that the wildlife was suffering due to the decreased water. The mallards seemed to have a harder time finding food and there have been fewer birds about the Mill Stream. Two pumpkins were left over from the smash-fest during Halloween. Anonymous somebodies decided that it would be hilarious if they could take their carved pumpkins and see if they would bounce on the bottom of the stream. That made me wonder, were the pumpkins returning to nature? After all, they would eventually decompose into…something. A big leaf maple, clothed in golden drapery, overshadowed the stream, unheeding the mess beneath its slowly baring branches. Moss covered many of its branches in return. Earlier in the month, there were many cedar waxwings that had roosted there, yet now, there was only a hummingbird, a black-capped chickadee here. An occasional crow was more likely to be seen. Two mallards rested slightly upstream, a drake and a female, watching a squirrel gorge himself on the cracked corn spread along the shoreline. Leaves from the aforementioned fell softly into the dirt of the stream, barely swept away by the low stream of water. Rocks instead caught the large leaves. At the side of the bridge, moss heavily covered the concrete, yet not enough to hid the three heavy pipes lining the lowered area.

Mushy worms

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 11-4
Location: Front of north end of Rogers
Time: 930-945
Weather: Rainy, 44.5˚F

Leaves from the horse chestnut trees were strewn across the pathway, mixtures of browns and yellow, soggy from the rain and unable to produce the sharp crisp that reminds me of autumn’s jumping-in-leaves. Soggy grass complains with a belching squish as I trudge through the field. Next to the lawn, a large mass of earthworms had crawled out to soak up the moisture from the torrential rainfall, only to be squashed by the passing student or mail cart. A few lucky enough to evade the feet were pecked on by a bird at some point. Regardless, most were starting to dissolve into the water. A stench of decay filled the air (or maybe it was solely the wet concrete). Grasshoppers or crickets were amazingly singing their chirps in the air. Did they really expect to find mates in this weather? Or perhaps they were forecasting to the rest of the insect community. Rainy days were indeed here once more, with a lightning storm a few days ago at night. I wonder if my poor umbrella will the stand a chance against the torrent. Intermittently, a mechanical leaf raker swept up the leaves that I had only momentarily passed through. With a loud cacophony, it whisked the leaves into the pyramidal compartment, ready for use later on hopefully as compost.

Umbrellas and Trees

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 11-3
Location: East of Waller Hall, stairwell beneath Grand Fir
Time: 1515-1530
Weather: Rainy, 50˚F

Seeking shelter beneath the spreading branches of a Grand Fir, I can not help but revel in the prowess and beauty of nature. Sitting on the steps donated to the college by the class of 1925, I stare at the marvelous fir that still stands for nearly a century. Grand indeed, the cones were large and hefty, pointing vertically upward, sitting upon the branches. A branch swung low over the entryway to the chapel, forming an arc to welcome the visitors. Few could find a drier spot on this drizzly day. Most people walk by either oblivious of the water pouring down their necks, snuggled within their cowls, or else holding their umbrella imperiously over their heads. It’s hard sometimes to appreciate nature for its ability to provide the same shelter. In this technologically laden world of today, trees are primarily seen as landscape ornaments. Rarely does a person cast aside their aluminum-nylon shield to bask in the brisk weather. That’s not to say, we should all strip and dance in the rain. Birds themselves are wise enough not to fly about too much in the rain, preferring rather to conserve their energy. they seek the warmth of their homes beneath the tree branches, a few, including the black-cap chickadees, singing their songs. The larger birds, most notably the American Black crows are the few species that hang out on tops of the buildings, cawing at one another from a distance. Flights are kept short. Speaking of flying, mayflies seem to enjoy my lunch, one landing directly onto my meal. As I left, I saw a flying insect that was intriguingly straight and narrow, like a stick, about 1.5 inches long and flying in such a way as to keep its body slanted at 45˚. Perhaps it was a damselfly?

 

2 October 2008

930 – 1000

Watching the mill stream on the grassy area in front of the University Center

This weekend the mill stream had been especially low. Not only are all the decorative rocks showing but the rocks on the bottom of the stream are all completely showing as if they were a beach of black rocks. Since the low level of water prevents the speed and current of the water flow, but since it rained this weekend many leaves fell from their trees. Anyway so the leaves are all in the mill steam and now sitting below their respective trees are able to be taken down the mill run. Another funny but borderline rude thing is how there are quite a few smashed pumpkins in the mill stream. 

28 October 2008

1400-1500

In the Willamette University Bistro

I am at the Bistro ‘people watching’. For a school afternoon the bistro is quite busy there are people occupying most every couch, chair or table. And the bistro staff is chatting amongst each other waiting for more customers to get their caffeine fix or what not. The people in the bistro all are either chatting quietly with friends in small groups of two or three huddled on the couches and chairs. There are also groups or single people that are attempting to study or read. 

 

1 November 2008

1300-1400

In a tree behind Smullin and Eaton Halls.

Today I moved into a tree well sort of. Essentially my friend a I decided that climbing trees was the necessary post Halloween activity. So we went to the lawn behind Eaton and Smullin hall, near the construction site. There we found the tree that we both had the inkling to climb for a while. One we arrived at the tree it out be absolutely impossible to climb! Which was most disappointing since the limbs of the tree seemed absolutely perfect to lay upon since the were so broad. Luckily with some thought process my friend and I went into Eaton and barrowed a chair. This way we were able to maneuver around the knobby trunk and get into the tree, by leaping onto the lowest branch from the chair.  Once in the tree the branches turns out to be perfect to lay upon!! I was able to lay all the way down and look up into the canopy of the tree. This was lovely because this tree still had most of its leaves. Yet there were soo many variations in the colors of leaves, looking up was like looking at a really complicated and sporadic tie-die. So after this experience I have decided that tree life my suit me quite well. 

30 October 2008

1600-1620

In the grassy area cornered by the chicken fountain and library.

There are leaves everywhere! This is much, much different than California! The change of seasons will never stop amazing me! Since it rained all the leaves are falling much more rapidly than they would have with out the weight of rainwater. So now they  are everywhere. It is interesting to see the sidewalk covered with them or the grass with a red blanket covering them. It is also so odd to see that some of the leaves are red while some stayed yellow. I guess I always had this idea the leaves went yellow then red, but apparently not. This shows how naïve I am towards ‘real’ fallness. The other odd part of fall is that one the leaves are gone from trees it is almost sad to see the trees all-leafless. They are kind of like bare skeletons or like empty shells of what had been in the summer. It is also really interesting to see how it takes longer for some trees to change color and loose their leaves than other trees. I’m really interested to see in the spring the progression of the leaves coming back and blossoming into the green trees that I am used to. 

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.  

First November Post

Observer Name: Kaitlyn Rice
Date: 27 October 2008
Time: 1300 Hours
Location: Corner of Liberty and Trade Street
Weather: Sunny, slightly warm, probably close to 60 degrees
Duck’s Playground



For class today, we have ventured to the very end of the Mill Race. After traveling through cement and falling through waterfalls, the water finds itself pooled up in a very modern area. Cement ledges circle the pond and I find myself seated at the edge of one now, looking down below me into the water. The smell is less than desirable because the water is, other the water that that is falling down the waterfalls, sitting still. Leaves rest on the top of the water and some discarded cups and plastic bottles hide away in the corners of some of the cement nooks. Looking down below me, suspended between the walls, there are spider webs, 4 or 5 in a row all lined up. I hope those spiders can swim. Across the pond from me, sits Jane, the fall foliage in full color behind her. As I have been walking across campus for the past week or so, I have been dreading the time that these leaves all fall and we are left with only the bare branches. Anyway, my gaze follows the three male ducks that are in the pond now. I laugh as they go from side to side of the pond, wherever the people are in hopes of receiving a bite of food from the gazing people. When they decide to move upstream to the west, I turn my attention to other things. One thing I think about is how, even though there is an extremely busy street just in front of me, I have not noticed it until now. The sound of the water and the entertainment from the ducks has distracted me from the rushing traffic ahead. Jane has moved around the side of the pond and her and Estella are both behind me out of my view. Looking to my west, I spot the ducks again. Two of them are up on the side now and the final one is stuck below. I noticed that the loner in the water has no white band under the green on his neck and I wonder if it is because he is younger? After talking to my wonderful and brilliant Professor though, I find that it is because he is a hybrid bird, bred out of more domesticated females that do not produce great fliers. This lack of flying strength is demonstrated when he attempts to join his comrades on the cement bank a few feet above him. After trying to make the flight and while his friends just watched him fail, the duck finally gave up. Luckily for him, there was a miniature ramp built up alongside the cement wall that led from the water to the top of the bank. He was smarter than I would have given him credit for and he used this ramp to climb up to his friends.



Date: 30 October 2008
Time: 1330 Hours
Location: North side of the Mill Stream between Hatfield Library and Rogers Music Hall
Weather: Over cast and cold—fleece jacket weather
Never Want Fall to End



Before work I decided to leave my dorm early make a nature observation on my way over. This past week, with the exception of yesterday and today, has been beautiful—blue skies and perfect temperatures. Today calls for a fleece jacket and as I sit on the north side of the Mill Stream between the library and Rogers Music Hall, I wonder how the 3 ducks (2 males and 1 female) are not freezing. Adaptation I suppose. Growing just to my left (west of me), there are shards of grass spurting from the ground. Some of the widest pieces are more than an inch across, but they all have the same general shape—wide in the middle and coming to a sharp point at the top. The colors are brilliant, all different types of green, but it is not something that you would notice with just a glance. It would take a careful observer to really absorb the spectrum of green. I have been sitting here now for over 10 minutes and I just noticed the spider suspended among the plants leaves. It is not the spider commonly seen though because this one is much more petite with spindly legs that all stretch in front of it. One of the first things that I did notice though was that this plant has white strands fraying from it sides, as though it were shedding. I wonder why.
Looking about, my focus turns to a tree to my west. With half of its leaves green and the other half a gorgeous variation of red, orange and yellow, it just reminds me of how much I love fall. Looking up its branches, my gaze falls to one spot of leaves that are bunched together in one ball. My first thought on what it could be goes back to the Mistletoe that we saw on our nature walk last week. I then thought back to one of our first nature walks ever, when we went around Olin and found the squirrel’s nest. Perhaps that is what this is. Maybe I will have Greyson climb up there and find out for me. ☺

Date: 31 October 2008
Time: 1420 hours
Location: northwest corner of campus, on a bench snuggled in the corner of collins, facing the quad.
Weather: Overcast, has finished raining, sun is shining through the fog-like clouds
Halloween: Bumblebees, nests, and falling leaves





On the sidewalk in front of me, there are two moms walking. One of them holds a small child dressed up as a bumblebee—so adorable. As another family walks in the opposite direction towards them, they call out exchanges of “Happy Halloween!” to each other. Meanwhile, as I sit on the bench so picturesquely placed beneath two trees, leaves fall around me. They are red and there are thousands of them on the ground around me, especially behind me—a red sea, so to say. I had been thinking earlier about how much I wish that fall would never end, how I wish that the spectrum of leaves would stay on the trees forever just as they are. As I sit here now though, the leaves above me being half-way done with their shedding, I realize how awful that would be. Imagine how much we would miss if that were the case! There are all sorts of good things to be seen when the branches of the trees are barren, like the nest that is in the tree to my west right now. At the very top, there is a nest of some sort, a bundle of leaves all stuck there on the branch. To my east, a crow cries from the top of Waller Hall and then flies over my head. In the lawn in front of me, two squirrels jump back and forth in search of buried treasures. My inward thoughts wish them luck in their quest. A bit further down, there is a large tree with a dark brown trunk, but its leaves are a beautiful golden yellow color. It contrasts the red leaves of the tree in the foreground of my view. And look! A Caspian Tern has decided to grace the Willamette campus with his presence. What a magnificent animal ☺

Date: 1 November 2008
Time: 2030 Hours
Location: south side of Kaneko, sidewalk
Weather: Dark out, chilly, wet from previous rain
Sluggish Weather


The rain has been going on and off today. It would rain for a few minutes and be fairly breezy and then it would stop and I even wore my flip-flops outside to go on a trip to Quiznos. Now though, it is dark and I have on normal tennis shoes in place of the flip-flops. The ground is wet and I realize that this is the prime time to see worms and slugs on the sidewalks, sliding around and trying to find a place dryer than the ground that has absorbed all of the rain. As I am walking, I spot exactly what I was hoping to see. It is one of the largest slugs that I have seen, except for the Banana Slug that I saw at a horse show last summer in Sherwood. The one here, we shall call him Sammy, is maybe a little over 2 inches long. Sammy is an earthy color, maybe a slimy form of tan. I do not really know how to describe his color actually. His body is round and comes to an end in a tip. At the other end is Sammy’s head and it narrows to a flat spot and then has two antennae that stick out in separate directions. I wonder what Sammy eats. Perhaps it is fruit like the Banana slug. Either way, as I leave, I make sure to step over him and hope that he has a good evening.
Date: 2 November 2008
Time: 1000 Hours
Location: Deepwood Estate
Weather: Overcast, turned to rain eventually
Longest Day of my Life?
It could quite possibly have been the longest day of my life. No, actually, that is probably an exaggeration. It has however been a very exhausting day. I have just spent the past 5 hours of my life pulling ivy and blackberry bushes from the earth at the Deepwood Estate. It was not too much work until it started raining. That is when it was not as rewarding to dig through the fallen leaves to find the hidden ivy roots and pull them out. When that was rewarding though, I almost enjoyed doing it. I did wonder though about the disturbance we were causing. In the beginning, at 10 A.M., there were 5 of us, all trekking around in the leaves off the sides of the path. In the next hour there was one more of us making it 6 people that are walking around in the plants, trying to only take out the invasive species. Beneath all of the fallen and brown leaves, there are little curls of ferns trying to grow. Our coordinator, while leading us to our work space, had pointed to large patches of much larger ferns and said that once the ivy were gone, there would be more patches of ferns that would be able to grow. I had never seen ivy as an invasive species that would keep things from growing, but now that I know the plant much better, I understand. It is not just a plant with a few leaves that grow out of the ground. The roots spread across the ground; they do not grow deep into it. Digging into the leaves to reach the roots, I uncovered several things, most of which I did not want to find. I saw several different types of spiders today, the worst of which hitched a ride home on my pant leg and I did not discover the large, black spider until I was getting into the shower. I was definitely not pleased, to say the least. Anyway, there was also a pale white insect, a grasshopper or cricket that was not happy about my activities off the path. When I would pull up a root that would bring up the dry dirt underneath it, I would see many rolly-pollies, or Pillbugs I guess would be the technical term. There were also 3 miniature worms that I saw. They were like baby earth worms, all very active in the way that they would crawl around, lifting their heads (I assume it is their heads) in search of who knows what. Other things that I saw plenty of were mushrooms. There were the really round ones that had a tan background and then dark red spots all around it. The other kind that I saw were much more plain; they were a pale tan color and were flatter on their tops. I cannot tell which of the mushrooms they would be in my field guide and I do not see any like the round mushrooms in there.

11/01/08

Date: 11/01/08
Location: Baxter Hall
Time: 2100 hours
Weather: Cold and wet

It rained! Oh my gosh there was a little bit of thunder and everything!! It was so exciting! It was just *bang!* and rain! I love the rain so much. It's just so calming and so much fun at the same time. How does it affect someone so? I'm not sure but I sure do love it. Unfortunately, just as quickly as it started, it stopped. I'm not sure why it stopped. The rain I'm used to goes on for hours. Is it usually this short in Oregon? I'm still getting used to this weather huh? Oh well, you learn something new everyday right?

10/31/08

Date: 10/31/08
Location: Behind the Art Building
Time: 2000 Hours
Weather: Dark and cold

I'm walking downtown to get some stuff for my roomate and there are just so many leaves everywhere! I'm almost in disbelief. I had seen the trees around campus and I guess it must just be the doing of the grounds keepers that keep it so clean but i think they missed a spot! They must be an inch thick on the ground and I almost can't see the cement. It's really interesting but really quite annoying at the same time. They like to jump up and attach themselves to my pant legs and my shoes and I have to shake them off. I'm almost afraid to see how many leaves are going to fall because there are still so many left on the trees.

10/30/08

Date: 10/30/08
Location: Baxter Hall
Time: 0940 hours
Weather: Cool

I have just walked in from my first class today and have come to discover that my pumpkin that I carved smells awful. It's an irritating smell that is very musky and dank. My pumpkin, I'm sad to say, has begun to mold the day before halloween. I can't say that I enjoy this one bit. I don't want to carry Schnicklefritz(said pumpkin) down to the trash can because he smells so awful, but I don't want to keep him by my room because he smells so awful! The mold is white and black and is growing on the inside wall of him. The rind on the outside where the mold is on the inside is very soft and leaky. How gross is that?! I fear that my only option is to take him down and bury him deep in the trash can. Goodbye sweet Schnicklefritz!

10/28/08

Date: 10/28/08
Location: Between Collins and Doney
Time: 1230 hours
Weather: Sunny and cool

I was walking to class and took notice of the leaves. They are changing ever so beautifully! I'm always excited for fall because of the leaves. They make everything so absolutely beautiful! I can't wait for them to dry out. I want to make a giant pile and jump in them like back home! I wonder though. Will this weather allow for leaf jumping? Well it get dry enough for me to be able to scoop the leaves up and do as I wish with them? Maybe not. But I'd still like to think about all the fun I could have.

10/27/08

Date: 10/27/08
Location: Park down the Mill Stream from Campus
Time: 1300 hours
Weather: sunny and brisk, cool air

My class and I have walked over to a park that's way down the path along the mill stream and I'm about six feet in the air sitting in a tree. From where I am I can see three different types of moss on this tree. One is light blue and scaly, one is a little more teal and bush like, and the thrid is dark green and looks almost like cedar branches. As I observe, this tree becomes more and more like an ecosystem in my mind. I'm sure that somewhere inside this tree, there are bugs that have made homes for themselves. This tree provides shelter for some animals, a resting place for birds, and food for others. As we're heading towards the winter months, the leaves already litter the ground. The ones on the tree don't look healthy at all and there's very few of them. The branches look thin and as I sit here, the leaves fall. What a sad time to be a tree.

Spiders everywhere!!

H.Waller
Date: 2 November, 2008
Time: 1950 pm
Weather: currently 48 degrees and drizzly
Location: All over Salem.

In Montana, we have our fair share of spiders that come out during the summer and occasionally terrorize me by setting up camp in the bathtub or on the ceiling above my bed, but since coming to Oregon, I have seen countless spiders everywhere I go, rain or shine. As my friend was driving and about to turn out of the Sparks parking lot, she screamed as she noticed a little spider the size of my thumbnail hanging in front of her driver's side window from the roof of the car. Quickly she rolled the window down and had someone hit the spider with a shirt to shew him out of the window. The little guy has thin, light brownish grey legs and a flat body. How the Oregonian spiders manage to get into every nook and cranny in ways the Montanan spiders do is a mystery.

J.Martin Service Project

Time: 1500-1515

Date: 2 November 2008

Climate: Cold, wet, gray skies, slightly raining

Location: Deep Woods on the far side of Bush Park

After removing more blackberry bushes than I thought was possible, I decided to do another observation of the area we were working in.  It poured for a little bit while we were working, leaving us soaking wet for the next few hours of work.  I have a whole new perspective of invasive species.  Trying to pull the roots out of the ground took so much effort for every individual branch.  Sometimes I would pull so hard that I almost fell backwards when I uprooted the plant.  I have scratches all over my arms and legs from this but when I look at the area we worked on, it looks wonderful.  We got rid of so much in 5 hours of work.  Clearing out the Ivy was nearly impossible without clearing out the Blackberry Bushes first.  Some of the blackberry bushes were over about a centimeter and a half in diameter at the bottom.  They were huge and sometimes took multiple people and shovels to uproot them.  The rain also made it more difficult because out gloves became soaking wet and muddy.  It was strenuous work but looking at the area we cleared we definitely made a difference.  

J.Martin Deep Woods

Time: 0955-1010

Date: 2 November 2008

Climate: Chilly, windy, grey skies

Location: Deep Woods in Bush Park

I went to Deep Woods today for an Environmental Science service-learning project.  Our job was to remove ivy and Blackberry bushes from the area because the invasive species are taking over.  Before we began removing ivy and blackberry bushes I noticed a few things that I found interesting.  The first was a tree that was open and was missing the whole inside.  This was not the only thing interesting about this tree.  Where the bark was missing, it was a blood red color underneath.  This was so weird, and it looked almost like the tree was bleeding.  The next thing I saw were snowberries.  They are little white berries that are very cute.  But I am unsure of whether or not they are edible.  Looking around, the invasive species are completely taking over.  They spread for hundreds of feet wherever other plants are not, or where they are they just take over them.  It is now time to begin the project.  

J.Martin oct 31st

Time: 2307-2325

Date: 31 October 2008

Climate: low 50’s, does not feel very cold, rather warm for a late night

Location: The Mill Stream again in front of the University Center

As I am walking towards the University Center from Doney Hall, I walk over the bridge next to Goudy Commons and I notice a large number of ducks to my left.  They look almost like rocks, which is what I thought they were before noticing they were in fact ducks.  I counted over 20 and then could not keep track anymore.  They were just sitting there, most likely sleeping.  They were all together in a big clump except for a few by themselves off to the sides.  There looked to be about an equal amount of males and females.  I was surprised earlier to see no ducks but now I am seeing how many are there and it makes sense because I usually see ducks sleeping in lower level water.  It is surprising to me how many there are though.  Usually at night there are about 5 or 10 but tonight there are so many.  I do believe that it is in part due to the water level.  A friend and I decided to walk in the low water and the gravel on the bottom sunk very quickly.  My feet and legs were covered in muddy, mucky, water.  

J.Martin oct 31st

Time: 1350-1410

Date: 31 October 2008

Climate: rain off and on, chilly, gray skies

Location: Entire Mill Stream, mostly by the University Center

So today I was very shocked by the water level of the Mill Stream.  It is almost empty all the way to the bottom.  I do not understand how this is possible because it rained so much last night.  It is so low that in some spots, there is no water at all and the rocks under it have surfaced.  I am surprised to see no ducks in the Mill Stream right now because it is shallow and I usually see ducks in the shallow areas of the Mill Stream.  Today is not very pretty outside; well I don’t think it is.  When I walked out the back door of my dorm, all I saw were leaves.  Leaves were covering the ground but not just a thin layer.  A thick layer of leaves covered the ground from the trees above.  It was weird to walk on because it was almost bouncy.  

J.Martin oct 27th

Time: 1305-1330

Date: 27 October 2008

Climate: warm, sunny, clear blue skies

Location: following the Mill Stream from campus to the corner of Liberty and Trade St.

I am sitting facing a waterfall with my feet dangling over the edge.  I see 5 places where water is dumping into the area.  I am not sure where it is all coming from or where all of this water is going.  There is a layer on top of the water of leaves, pines, pinecones, sticks, and some trash. There is a busy road next to me on the right and loud vehicles are passing by.  I cannot hear a lot of them though because the waterfalls are so noisy.  I see a ladder and a ramp type thing on a wall across from me.  They seem like odd things to be there.   There are 3 male mallards swimming around going back and forth on the water.  Two have now flown up onto the sidewalk.  They are just standing there looking around.  The one duck is trying to fly but cannot seem to make it up onto the sidewalk.  After trying multiple times and failing, he finally resorts to walking up a ramp on the side of the wall to get to the other ducks. This was so funny to watch because you could tell the duck that couldn’t fly was getting so frustrated.  

01 November 2008: Low Water Level

Rose Dickson

01 November 2008

1223 – 1230 hours

Bridge over the Mill Stream, near the library on Willamette University campus, Salem, OR, USA

57 degrees, overcast

            Looking out onto the Mill Stream I notice a strange difference. The water level is significantly lower than normal. The plants and rocks inhabiting the stream are now extremely more prominent due to the lack of cover. I begin to wonder what could be the cause of this lower level and I am perplexed as I reflect on the large amounts of rainfall we have had this week. Is the Mill Stream really regulated by society, or is the water lower for another reason? The Mill Stream’s ebbs and flows clearly usually reflect the change in season, but even as we see a clear shift to winter the Mill Stream is low. Why doesn’t this normal principle of the natural world apply to the Mill Stream? Is it because the Mill Stream was created by man? The Mill Stream defies normal expectations because it was created under abnormal circumstances. This should indicate a clear and ever-present fact of the natural world: that man cannot replicate the beauties of nature.

Leo Castillo
1 November 2008
Location Maultnomah Falls
Climate: 55
As we are heading back from Walla Walla, the bus passes I realized that I needed to take out my notebook and make an observation. This type of observation is a visual of what I can remember from the last time I was at Multnomah falls. As you get near to the fall it tends to get colder and colder. There is a highly expensive shop underneath the fall underneath the fall. The wind that gets accumulated in the fall and mass of sprinkled water spreads through out the bridge underneath it. The bridge never goes over to the other side of the fall if I can recall right. Behind the waterfall there is a cave hat anyone can go and explore if it’s still available to the public.

Tyler Starr: 11/02 pm, Squirrel Carcass Update

Tyler Starr

2 November 2008 from 1600-1615

Location: The northwest corner of campus, along the art building

Weather: Off and on showers, no wind, 54 ̊ F

General: I went over to see how the squirrel carcass was doing from a couple of weeks back. On the way over there, I noticed the patch of mushrooms that I had observed before. There are even more of them now, and in several places they grow in very dense clusters, resembling the downtown of a city with skyscrapers (see picture). Once I got over to near the squirrel carcass, I noticed that the ground and sidewalk are far more covered with leaves than the rest of campus. Perhaps the groundskeepers don’t spend as much time over here since it is very rarely traveled. I walked back toward the kiln where the squirrel carcass has been decomposing. When I last saw it, it was just a skeleton with a furry tail. Today, there were far fewer remains. One leg bone was in its original location. A few feet off was another bone, and what may have been the jaw and skull was a couple of feet past that, although its shape was different than before. There was no longer a furry tail, but instead there was what looked like a long bone with tufts of haggard, black hairs. It seems like nature has made off with all that it could from this squirrel carcass.

Leo Castillo
31 October 2008
Location: Walla Walla WA
Climate 65
Heading over to Walla Walla as I look out my window I can see the dry dirt land that surrounds this area. It seems to be vary dry and not much happening around here. There is a golf course that we are headed towards and plan on seeing what it has to offer. As we step on the these golf course there is plenty of leafs every where through out the place and it seem to me that the wind flows very hard. There are leafs everywhere in the filed and it’s seems to be rolling and up and down area. After noticing that there are areas being cut in less then the rest. Going back to the hotel we stayed in there was only one tree on front law but by now it seem to have been removed and no longer there. There is harley any green to be seen in this part of Walla Walla.

Leo Castillo
28 October 2008
Location: Outside my Door.
Climate: 60
Since Halloween is coming up I decided to make my observation on the pumpkins that where put out side my door. There are many sizes and types of pumpkins and today we will stay with the original. This was just like any other pumpkin with its yellow/orange color and with about 25-50 side section on the outside of it. It has a little top that seems to still be green and will probably fade in the next days. Most of the outside of the pumpkins outer side is vary smooth and bump free. The inside of this pumpkin are more like the guts and seed. That’s about it as far as pumpkins goes there is not much to them. When Halloween roles around the carving that is out in to make scary faces. You can make it look ugly or nice. Then after you clean the insides of the pumpkins you apply the candle and light the face. Most people put the pumpkins outside by there door and light it to scary the kids when the come for candy.

Leo Castillo
27 October 2008
Location: Along the Mill Stream.
Climate: 57
Today for class we as a class set out to take opportunity and make some observations. We headed out and crossed the street over Winter St. Then saw the miniature dam and how it had a little drop and drops. This is another part of the Mill Stream and I continue and we continue our path towards the drop off. As we cross the lights, we end up in a park that has a pond in the middle. In this pond there are many ducks and people admiring the nice day outside. I continue to wonder and end up in a restaurant with a drop of the Millstream and multiple water falls with leaves everywhere. I keep on going and find the end of the Mill stream and it ends up in a river that goes into a dark shady area. The end of the stream to me seems it run’s down hill. The difference between the water running down the river which then goes in to the Willamette River is that is has natural leafs. Later I find out that past that shady area there is the Riverfront park and where we did our first observation for class.

Collin's Observations Week 8

C.Jones
27 October 2008
Millstream
1303

I am sitting on a rocky bank by a large pool of glistening murky water. There are ducks in the middle and multiple ones on either side. I am watching one duck, its entire body underwater now. There are leafy trees above me, but they are so spaced that they are not providing much shade. The ducks are drifting close to me now, the colors of green and white look great on the proud mallards. I hear a consistent series of crow calls going overhead. It is very sunny and warm outside. The rocks by the stream, however, remain cool to the touch. I see a lone yellow leaf floating silently down the stream. The ducks are still relaxing in the pool of water. The sun continues to heat the area around the stream.

http://www.natures-desktop.com/images/Wallpaper/Fullsize1280/Bird-wallpaper/Mallard-Duck-Female.jpg

C.Jones
27 October 2008
Outside Eaton Hall
1421

It is sunny but cold outside. I hear birds chirping nearby. Leaves in multitudes of shades litter the ground. There is a stick that looks like it's from a nearby tree. I notice some plants with interesting colors on the tips of their leaves. I see a very overgrown tree and I think I hear chirping coming from within it. I notice a rock in the grass that seems out of place. The two trees above me have interesting plant like cones growing on them. I am now convinced that the chirping is coming from around that tree. I notice a bee hovering off the ground. Maybe it's searching for food. The sun continues to glisten off the plants. The trees don't move in the light wind. The bees continue to scavenge. The leaves reflect the sunlight.

C.Jones
29 October 2008
Outside Shepard
1548

It is very chilly outside and the air is cold to the point where you can almost see your breath. A few leaves drop from a tree to my right and I hear a crow call from my left. The dirt looks moist and there are a lot of ants on the concrete today. I am convinced their colony is close by. The leaves are shaded a deep green with some of them shaded red and yellow, fall colors. I notice a pile of these colored leaves to my right under a tree that I don't think they came from. The wind is low today, but just enough to amplify the cold air. I hear a bird call nearby. I see the top of a tall tree rock back and forth. I see leafy bushes lining the trees.

C.Jones
1 November 2008
Munson Creek Falls
1341

I'm looking at a waterfall hundreds of feet high trickling down into the vegetation below. The trees around me have moss clinging to their thin frames making them look like a house cleaning product. It is lightly raining and yellow leaves litter the ground. The moist rocky dirt adds a jungle like feeling to the place. Sticks of all sizes and shapes form tangled masses on the wet ground. The lush green plants are amazing. It makes this place seem so isolated. Overturned muddy logs are a tribute to the lush surroundings. The air smells like pine trees and the trees are very thick. I see a bug floating over a sunken log and notice the falls trickle all the way down into a stream near the base of the hill. There are also many green leaves scattered in this tranquil setting. Ther forest here is very green and lush.

gallery.photo.net/photo/6370651-lg.jpg

C.Jones
1 November 2008
Oregon Coastline
1458

There is an incredible view of the waves smashing against the rocks and swelling in the misty ocean. Pine and spruce trees are all around and the sun sparkles off the waves. The coastline is very green and the brush on its side is very thick. There are two huge rocks out in the distance, sitting there in the giant swells of the ocean, they resemble the shells of turtles. I can hear bird calls drift out over the coastline and I had recently witnessed two birds hovering in the air above the crashing waves. There is a thick underbrush surrounding me as I hear the sharp fast calls of several birds behind me doing cartwheels in the windy air. The strong wind is brushing all the tops of the many trees and making them waver like the water hundreds of feet below them. I notice many pine trees to my right just covering the coastline.

http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050826/050826_waveenergy_hmed_11a.hmedium.jpg

H.Waller
Date: 30 October, 2008
Time: 1600
Weather: Overcast, 60 degrees
Location: Pringle Park

Today a friend asked if I wanted to go on a walk, and I thought that would make a very nice break from all the homework, so I agreed. As we began walking, I realized we were heading toward Pringle Park, so I recommended that we make a stop there and observe nature. I observed one plant in particular that was growing down in the cracks of the rocks that line the bank. It grows like a weed might, and covers a large area of ground, making it look invasive. This plant is green and purple and has oblong shaped leaves attatched to thin wirey vines. The vines look almost spongy in a way, and like they might be hollow inside like long pieces of thin tubing. The thing about this weed looking plant, is that it doesn't detract from the aesthetics of its surroundings like many weeds do.

H.Waller
Date: 1 November, 2008
Time: 2200
Weather: mixed!
Location: The Quad

I joined an intramural football team recently. This is a bit of a problem seeing as I have no experience playing football and while I enjoy going to the games I must admit that 90% of the time I don't know what is going on, so I just cheer when the crowd does. That said, it was crucial that we practice yesterday, even though when we went out it was a chilly 53 degrees and raining pretty consistantly. We toughed it out however, and played through the rain. Then suddenly, the clouds parted, the sun came out, and a perfectly warm fall day was exposed. Why does the weather suddenly shift like that? It happened again a few minutes ago as I was in my friend's room where the sound of the rain is magnified greatly. It began to pound on the windows so loudly that we had to raise our voices. It kept on like this for a good 5 minutes, and then just as suddenly as the rain came, it was dead quiet.
Photo courtesy of Google Images.

27 October 2008
1509
The Adirondack chair below the maple, Willamette University, Salem, OR
Finally the leaves have started to change colors and it is beautiful. The tree I am sitting underneath has the most beautiful autumn colors I have ever seen. The leaves make the tree look as though it is burning, though the bright lime green leaves give the tree a bright twist of color. Besides the lime green, other leaves have a bright orange pigmentation the blends smoothly into yellow as it nears the stem. As you look higher up the leaves fad from the bright yellows and greens to more traditional autumn colors like deep rich reds, these are the leaves that are making the tree look as though it is burning. The colors are so vibrant amidst the other trees. The other vegetation surrounding this tree is still green, fighting against the autumn chill. Other trees have started to change as well though the vegetation surrounding this tree has only faded lightly from green to brown, nothing too exciting. The leaves frost the ground with color and they leave imprints on the sidewalk once the rain has pressed them down. Every now and then a leaf or two will fall into the mill stream and be sent on its way, being tugged on by the current towards the center of campus.

28 October 2008
1725
The Mill Stream Bridge, Willamette University, Salem, OR
Today we made leaf boats! For a couple hours my friends Laurel, Devon and I were doing our homework in the library, but the weather looked so enticing outside that we had to leave. We went to the bistro, grabbed some coffee and then headed out to the quad to sit in the last bit of sunshine before the sun set. As we were sitting there leaves kept falling off of the trees, great big leathery leaves, squashy green leaves, and crunchy, curled up brown leaves. We sat for a while admiring the beautiful weather, just laughing and talking. After a little bit another one of our friends came up and sat down next to us. She asked if we had ever made leaf boats when we were young. Of course we had! I remember making little leaf boats and sending them down the gutter, only to see them fall through the grate of a sewer never to be seen again. Today we made leaf boats; I made the most superb boat I have ever made. I fashioned together 2 curled up leaves with a stick in the middle making a perfect little pontoon boat. We all quickly ran over to the mill stream and dropped our boats into the water on the library side of the mill stream. We watched them float and curve with the current, every now and then one would get stuck in a cluster of leaves only to be pushed out by a helping hand. It sounds so simple, but sometimes that is the best type of fun. I would readily make leaf boats again any day.

29 October 2008
10:00
Behind Eton, Willamette University, Salem, OR
Tonight my friend and I decided to go long boarding around campus a couple times. On our second trip around campus I looked down to see several mushrooms growing in a little cluster. The stalks were so tiny it was surprising to see that they could support the caps that lay above them. The light above these mushrooms hit them at such an angle that each of their shadows magnified their minute frame to a couple times their actual size. The stalks of these mushrooms were a light brownish grey, and the cap that lay above was a dark grey. We kept long boarding for a while and circumnavigated the campus several more times. The weather was perfect, just cool enough to get a nice soft breeze as we long boarded around. After and hour or so we headed back to Matthews for the night.
28 October 2008
9:00
Matthews Dorm, Willamette University, Salem, OR
Today when I was out with Rose and several other people looking for Halloween Costumes, we happened to be right next to a pet store. We went in intending to just look at the cats and other animals (aka Rose and I are hoping to get a hamster some day ). We looked around for a while and then I decided to get a fish. I bought a delta tail beta and named him Dumont, after Simon Dumont an amazing skier. We got back to the dorms and I decided to write an observation about him. His scales are a bright, glimmering electric blue and his fins fade suddenly from this bright blue to a rich red. Every now and then he waves his fins back and forth in a menacing type of way, perhaps this is just a defensive tactic to a new environment? From time to time he swims lazily back and forth next to the glass barrier that separates him from the rest of the world. After seeing my fish, my friend Amelia decided to get a fish as well. So the next day we went back to Petco to find a fish for her. She is especially intrigued in bike racing and wanted to find a fish with white fins aka a “Euro” fish. She successfully found a fish and brought him back with her. For a while the fish was fine, but then he started exhibiting odd behaviors like lying on the bottom and floating on top. Later that night we came back to find him dead. It was a very unfortunate night for her.
31 October 2008
5:00
On the Way to Goudy, Willamette University, Salem, OR
On our way to dinner today someone mentioned how they never get to see the leaves fall off or trees because they’re from California. I can’t even imagine not having four seasons to experience. It seems as though it would be such a bland life. I began to notice the leaves more and more as we neared Goudy, for; maybe I just take this season for granted. The leaves ranged from dark brown, to tan, from bright yellow to orange. Seeing these beautiful leaves just makes me want to rake them all up and jump into the brightly colored pile and watch the leaves fly into the air and then, once again, back down to the ground.

Tyler Starr: 11/02 am, North Side of Campus

Tyler Starr

2 November 2008 from 1045-1100

Location: A walk along the north side of campus, from Belknap, through the path between Smullin and Eaton and along the academic buildings to the east side of the art building, and back

Weather: 54 ̊ F, off and on showers, slight breeze

General: With all of the deciduous trees shedding their leaves, my attention was drawn to many of the coniferous trees on campus. While the Star Trees command so much respect on campus, other cone-bearing trees that I noticed were equally commanding. My favorite was the one that was just outside the art building. Its branches extended far and wide, and its cones were very interesting, protruding upward instead of hanging (see picture). I also noticed another interesting pine tree; it was just as tall as the Star Trees, and yet it seemed so much more fragile and gaunt. Its branches didn’t fill up as much space as the dense, voluminous Sequoias, taking away from its imposing height. It had some pinecones hanging, scattered among its branches. While the ground below the Star Trees had pine cones spread about, I didn’t see any developed cones on the trees themselves. I did see a couple of dense clusters of what were most likely the beginnings of cones, small, light green balls that looked similar to buds.