October 10, 2008

1600

The millstream in between Goudy and dony hall.

            So once again I am at the millstream, I have finally decided that I am so unoriginal and that I will go to the millstream every week. This is also a good idea because for my environmental science class I need to do a field notebook on the millstream so this is quite nice. This new angle on the millstream is relatively the same. There is the stream with out the decorative rocks in the ‘main part’ of the millrun and it is much thinner here than it is from where I usually observe. Other than that there are various plant that I can’t identify from this distance but are most defiantly landscaped there. I would be interesting to find out what type of plant they are and if they are even native to this specific area. One thing that I have noticed all week is the lack of ducks.  I still see them sometimes bit there is a definite decrease in their numbers. I am going to assume that the ducks are flying south since Oregon is much too cold!

 

October 7, 2008

1730

In a crew boat on the Willamette river about two miles from the Willamette University campus.

            Sometimes I get bored while rowing the boat I we are doing a drill where the whole boat is not rowing. So today I have seen two great blue herons. There are most defiantly the most spectacular creatures on the river. The first heron that I saw was flying overhead. I then saw another one in a grassy patch of the riverside near the boathouse. This was really interesting because last Friday I believe I saw a heron in this same patch. So I wonder if it is the same bird or a different one. Also when I first saw the heron by the grass patch I was near to the other side of the river so it took me a moment to decide it the animal I was seeing was a heron or some sort of a dog. There are also quite a few swallows flying about but they are not nearly as glorious as the blue herons. 

Odd creatures

 

October 6, 2008

1547

Lawn of the capital in the park with the rider and the big trees.

            My new favorite thing to do is watch the squirrels on and around campus. I decided they are super silly and fun to watch. Today I walked over to the capitol because there are always tons of these little creatures there. The way they run is most entreating, they hop about from place to place. The best thing about this is when they have a nut in their mouth they tend to run a bit off balance and cannot seem to hope straight. I have also decide that their coloring when they appear t be healthy can be really pretty. They reddish brown tones are quite nice upon their mainly gray bodies. So I will give the squirrels another chance in my opinion, since I used to think they were just like nasty pigeons.  

Kaneko watching

October 12, 2008

1631

In the atrium of the second floor of kaneko sitting at a table.

            I’m sitting in the kaneko atrium watching people. I’m starting to feel kind of weird like a borderline stalker. So on my lefts there are a few boys in the second floor lounge watching a football game. These boys occasionally yell out when there is a good play in the game. People come in out of the A wing halls to finish laundry or do kitchen like things. There are a few other people like myself studding at these tables mainly keeping to themselves. Meanwhile there is a constant flow of people who come up and down the main stairs in Kaneko. Over all this is not the most interesting way and place to observe people. The only really interesting factor about all this is that I know or have met almost all the people that I have seen since I have been sitting here. So it is odd the really see what a small environment Willamette university really is. 

Birdness

October 9, 2008

0930

Outside the Olin science building on the side facing away from campus toward the law school.

            Today I was leaving my environmental science class and about to go do a field notebook for that class when I ran into my colloquium professor out side Olin science building. Here he was catching some of the local birds from campus to do some sort of experiment that I don’t really understand that well. Anyway I was there with two other girls from my class and Professor Craig was releasing one of the netted birds and we were able to touch it. It was really interesting because the birds have a very rapid heartbeat that one can feel while touching the bird. The best part of this experience was that as I was about to leave two humming birds flew into the net and I was able to hold one! I was probably in like the top twenty coolest experiences of my life. I was so small and to keep it from flying away one must hold it on its wing joint. This was terrifying I was so scarred that I was going to squish it. Luckily I didn’t. But the whole holding of bird aspect was glorious. Humming birds are so small and their heartbeats are even fatter that the other slightly larger birds. Also it was interesting to see one of these birds up close since they are always like a blur when one see them flying about. So this bird was molting sadly this meant that its head was not as brightly colored as it usually is. Bit otherwise it was incredibly cool and something I would be interested in helping my professor out with another time. 

10/12/08-Purple flowers

Date: 10/12/08
Time: 1500 hours
Location: By Jackson Plaza about to cross the bridge
Weather: Very sunny and crisp

I was walking back from getting a drink at the bistro and a large hedge of purple flowers caught my eye. I had never noticed them before. Did the buds just open today or maybe these past couple of days? I like to think that the plants are opening for that last bit of sunlight that they can get. I even saw some remnants of spring and summer as a couple of bees flew around the open faces of the flowers. It was enough to put a smile on my face. The weather today was just as immaculate as could be.

10/11/08-I was wrong.

Date: 10/11/08
Time: 1700 hours
Location: Montag
Weather: Sunny and crisp

Well there went my last hypothesis for the rest of the fall and winter. It was so cold and rainy before but now the sun's out and it's just beautiful. I'm told this is kind of a wierd year of weather for Oregon so maybe this is adding another tally to the board of wierd occurances. I kinda hope that this is how it's going to be. A few days of rain and then a day or two of sun. Back and forth. I kinda would like that a lot.

12 October 2008: Sunny Weather

Rose Dickson

12 October 2008

1605 – 1616 hours

White garden chair facing the Bistro, next to the mill stream on Willamette University campus, Salem, OR, USA

61 degrees, clear

What a beautiful day!  Yesterdays chilling absence of clouds really paid off. The sun is out and the skies are bright blue! I relax by the stream as I notice all the students basking in the warmth of the sun. This gratefulness is such that only the passage of cool weather could bring. I have become increasingly more aware of Oregon’s flexible weather patterns. These patterns that used to annoy me, I now find I appreciate more and more. Without the dull weeks and months of rain, how could we enjoy a day like today so sincerely?  Without the dry summer months how could we all welcome the rain with excitement and love? Today reminds me that Oregon’s weather is not consistent, it is constantly changing. Watching the students of Willamette University soak up the sun reaffirms the comforting presence weather can have on humanity. It is important to recognize and experience weather in all it’s forms. 

11 October 2008: Stars and Clouds

Rose Dickson

11 October 2008

2305 – 2329 hours

Middle of the quad on Willamette University campus, Salem, OR, USA

39 degrees, clear

            Brrrrrr. It is freezing outside tonight. The absence of the clouds creates a bone chilling freshness affecting all who inhabit the surrounding area. I sit bundled up with a few friends in the center of the quad on Willamette University campus.  I wonder how strange it is to think that the lack of clouds actually creates a cooler temperature. Clouds seem, in my opinion, to give an automatic hint towards cold weather. However, they really act as an insulator to earth. Besides the chilling weather, the lack of clouds also creates a clearer view of the stars, something that seems completely foreign to campus life. Taking a moment to gaze at the stars, I notice the way they cluster above my eyes and disperse father and father as my vision extends. I want to see more. I become annoyed with the light pollution Salem produces. I long to gaze at the stars in a secluded, natural environment. This annoyance reminds me of the importance of escaping into nature, my goal for the next month is to take a weekend and completely immerse myself into nature. Schedule a time a few friends and I could take a camping trip. A more elaborate, detailed observation on the stars should be expected.  

9 October 2008: Four-leaf clover

Rose Dickson

9 October 2008

1631 – 1709 hours

Outside Collins science building on Willamette University campus, Salem, OR, USA

52 degrees, mostly cloudy

            Sitting outside on the quad I examine the grassy area. Yesterday my friend Tory found a four-leaf clover in this spot and I have made it my goal to do the same. As I search I wonder how four-leaf clovers are created. Is it a mutation from the regular three-leaf clover plant? Or is it a different plant entirely, simply one that is just a more uncommon species? Do all flowers of the same type have the same amount of petals? Why is four-leaf so much higher glorified than three-leaf? I figure it is the rarity that makes this, what seems to be, mutation so desirable. As I search I remain unlucky, no four-leaf clovers in sight.  I remember my friend Tyler Starr telling me about a part of the campus that the four-leaf mutation was extremely common. The longer I search the more I long to find one of these popular specimens. Finally giving up the hunt, I recognize that I will have to explore greater territory if I expect to find my lucky four-leaf clover.

Photo courtesy of:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Four-leaf_clover.jpg

(image would not upload?)

10/09/08-Absence of life.

Date: 10/09/08
Time: 1120 hours
Location: The Quad
Weather: Cold, overcast

With the weather looking and acting like it is, I see no animals around. I hear no songs. Everything is settled in for the cold and I feel like fall and winter are finally coming on. Is the weather that people keep warning me about in Oregon? The cold and rainy and wet days. I wonder if the rest of winter is going to be like this too or what's going to happen. I kind of enjoy it actually. A break from what I'm used to in Idaho. Who knows?

10/08/08-Horse Chestnut

Date: 10/08/08
Time: 1800-1830 hours
Location: My dorm room
Weather: Chilly

We had a chestnut throwing contest today. After all was said and done I emerged champion so I took my winning chestnut with me. I had forgotten that I put it in my pocket. When I got back to my room from dinner, I was emptying my pockets and I found the nut. It's definitely hard. The color, however, is such a rich brown. To me it looks like a very large hazelnut. The top is chalky white and the shell is very woody. There's a concentric pattern coming from part of the shell that look like the rings on the inside of a tree. It reminds me of when you see exposed roots in the ground that have been weathered and stepped on. Honestly I find a lot of beauty in this insignificant nut. Also,I find it quite fascinating how this little thing can make trees so huge.

Observer: Eloise Bacher
Date: 12 October, 2008
Time: 1730-1745
Location: Kaneko
Weather: Sunny, chill in the air, very few clouds.

It feels much colder than it did when I left...is that why the chicken fountain is drained? Have freezes started happening down here? There are a lot of fallen leaves, and they're still very crunchable, so it hasn't rained much if at all this weekend. But it also doesn't feel like the death grip of summer heat that we were in for most of September, and I'm always in favor of it being too cold rather than too warm. I don't see any here, but there have been squirrels running around burying things all over campus, not paying much heed to the humans. In front of the courthouse I saw one squirrel eating the inside of a stalk/stem of an unknown plant that had been cut down. They must feel more cold coming.

Observer: Eloise Bacher
Date: 11 October, 2008
Time: 1115-1130
Location: Evergreen Dorms
Weather: Sunny, still a little cold, some wispy white clouds.

There are crows flying around in the cedars, silent for the most part, but occasionally they'll come down and yell at each other for trying to steal food. They're incredibly sleek and glossy, very, very healthy birds. There must be a lot of people food dropped around here, and probably roadkill too. I can also hear more birds, less than there would have been a few hours ago, but still: some juncoes, a chickadee, I think. I remember hearing a coyote last night. The air smells wonderful too; I can smell the duff and the cedars and firs, and there's just a little bit of a sea smell in the air from the sound. It's a weird contrast...you don't really think of a college campus as being right in the middle of nature as completely as this, but it is.

6 October 2008
3:15
Along the mill stream between the library and auditorium, Willamette University, Salem, OR
As I was walking along the sidewalk between the library and auditorium I looked over to the mill stream and saw some of the most beautiful and intricately woven spider webs I have ever seen. The strings were stretched across a gap of trees and bushes binding the two like needle and thread. The geometric workings of the web glinted in the sun so delicately showcasing the effort this small creature put into its home. It is such a shame that a web, so gracefully put together can simply be wiped away by one swipe of a hand or by a sudden burst of wind. As I kept walking I noticed more and more of these webs each different, each unique. It is such a simple concept, but also unbelievable to think that these webs can never be recreated in the same way, each is a unique work of art never to be seen again. There are several solitary strings of webs stretched across from tree trunk to trunk acting as natural clotheslines. The creators of these webs are just as intricate as their work. As I walked further on I saw one of the spiders sitting, waiting directly in the center of its web, its feet were curled in and I could see the bands on its illuminated by the sun. The design on its abdomen was also a delicate spiral shaded with browns. These creatures are so beautiful in their own way and it’s a shame that we don’t appreciate their existence.
8 October 2008
12:50
The Quad, Willamette University, Salem, OR
Today during colloquium we decided to have a chestnut throwing competition, so we walked outside past the trees transitioning into their autumn colors to the quad. Once at the quad everyone found four chestnuts to use and we started. The rules were simple, stand behind the pavement, throw 3 of the chestnuts with your dominant hand and 1 with your non dominant hand. It was definitely much more fun to watch everyone throw with their non dominant hands. As I stepped up closer to the grass I looked down into a patch of clovers only to immediately find a four leafed clover. I picked it up and looked at the design on each of its tiny leaves. The emerald green was disrupted only by smooth streaks of a very light white, almost mint green. This intricate pattern amuses me and I wonder why the clover needs these streaks, what are they for? I look back into the patch of clovers hoping to find another but scan the ground only to find clovers with 3 leaves. I pocket my lucky clover and we head back inside.
10 October 2008
1:15ish
Behind Olin, Willamette University, Salem, OR
As we were walking to the museum we encountered a family of squirrels behind Olin. There were 3 little baby squirrels that ran amongst us unafraid of what might happen. It was apparent that they had obviously not learned to fear humans yet. As we watched them they would run to and fro, at one point I thought one was about to climb up my leg. We seemed to be just as afraid of them as they were of us, neither was running away, but neither was being overly aggressive. Soon we began petting the squirrels and Rose and I even went as far as picking them up. Their fur was soft and they seemed to be about the size of a large hamster. I have never seen such a small squirrel. The squirrels in Wisconsin are far larger and bushier than the squirrels here in Oregon. These squirrels seem almost rat like. When winter rolls around the squirrels in Wisconsin are large and their fur becomes plush and protective, their tail becomes almost the size of their body. Last week we learned that squirrels were introduced to Oregon by a man previously from the Midwest. It is interesting to see how different and yet similar these squirrels are due to their environment.
12 October 2008
5:46
Hatfield Library, Willamette University, Salem, OR
As I look out the window in front of me the light seems to transcend from a sky that looks as though it has been painted on a canvas. The clouds blend perfectly with the pale blue and it is hard to tell where one transitions to the next. Through my picture frame of a window I can see the branches of trees jutting in closely to the red brick building. One of the trees has branches of vibrant green leaves that seem to be falling off at a much quicker pace than the tree just beyond it. This tree has leaves that have already been touched by autumns hand and has begun to fade into reds and oranges, the leaves further away from the building transition from bright vibrant red to a cool green where only the edges of the leaves have tinges of color. The light beyond the edge of the building seems to mist the sky with a faint glow. The clouds continuously change and every now and then a light streak of purple mixed with pink will blend in with the passing clouds. The branch of a tree I am watching turns into a silhouette as I switch my focus from foreground to background. Streetlights switch on in the background illuminating the ground with their false glow and I think of all the creations people have created to combat nature.
9 October 2008
6:15
Adirondack Chair below the maple, Willamette University, Salem, OR
My friend and I sit together in an Adirondack chair along side the mill stream. It is a sad moment and we watch leaves floating slowly down the stream, each so helpless, their shape being contorted by the current. As they pass by their usually vibrant autumn color has been concealed by the dark water. Each leaf is buffeted here and there as the current pushes these leaves past rocks that jut up from the depths of the stream.

10/07/08-Horse Chestnut Tree

Date: 10/07/08
Time: 1005 hours
Location: The Quad
Weather: Overcast, cool

As I walk to class I've noticed that one of the horse chestnut trees isn't doing so hot on one part of it. There are few leaves and the branches don't look healthy. I'm curious as to why this is happeneing but can't quite explain it on my own. The rest of the tree seems quite healthy so it's not as if the entire tree is sick. Quite the conundrum. I feel bad for it almost. It's quite a large tree so it must have gone through a lot to get to where it is and now it's got something wrong with it.

Dead Barnacles

Observer: Eloise Bacher
Date: 11 October, 2008
Time: 0004-0030
Location: Puget Sound beach.
Weather: Cold, a little foggy out on the water.

I'm on a rocky beach that is (maybe?) still on the Evergreen campus, that goes into Puget Sound. It's too dark for my camera, but there are tons of stars, and the faintest bit of the Milky Way, and there are lights from houses across the sound. Everything is faintly shiny because of the moon, but if you squint the rocks in the water can become something else, seals or people. We met some people earlier that said they caught a crab, but the only animals life I see right now are barnacles. My feet are crunching them as I walk down the beach, and I feel a little guilty.

Fearless Raccoon

Observer: Eloise Bacher
Date: 10 October, 2008
Time: 2115-2130
Location: Evergreen Dorms
Weather: A little foggy, no rain.

The air is cold, but humid in that it feels like it could rain any second. I can see some wisps of mist clinging to the cedars up ahead, and I can see my breath. There aren't very many noises other than human ones, although now creeping out of the shadows is a raccoon. S/he doesn't seem very scared, but still wants us to stay away. S/he looks small, maybe s/he's a baby or adolescent? How big do raccoons get around here anyway? I used to see one skulking around at home that was humongous, but I haven't seen his tracks in a while. Perhaps he got old, or someone shot him. Now the raccoon has galloped away into the underbrush, and I can hear hir rustling around in there.

8 October 2008: Horse Chestnut

Rose Dickson

8 October 2008

1215 – 1240 hours

Outside Collins Science Building on Willamette University campus, Salem, OR, USA

56 degrees, scattered clouds

Walking to class casually this Wednesday afternoon Tory and I discuss our field journals. What could we write about to change up the static observations about the Millstream? Monotonous posts we have read what seems an infinite number of times. We want something exciting, a change. In the middle of our conversation we were shockingly interrupted. A chestnut nearly took Tory out! This “so called” asset to the Willamette University campus just about injured a student! This is the kind of excitement we were looking for. I am surprisingly thankful for this occurrence; I sit for awhile to observe this threatening tree. A Horse Chestnut Tree, Aesculus hippocastanum, This tree aggressively drops chestnuts on students all day long ! A process that seems to me completely random, no selection for its target, just an unfortunate passerby like my friend Tory. This is yet another example of how the environment displays itself to humanity. A simple way for people to remember that we cannot control or predict all of our surroundings. Nature provides us with exciting unknowable experiences everyone has the choice and opportunity to explore. If you choose not explore, watch out, nature may just smack you over the head with them.

 

Photos courtesy of:

http://www.trainingreference.co.uk/free_pictures/gallery_3/horse_chestnut.jpg

http://mirror-us-ga1.gallery.hd.org/_exhibits/leaves/_more2006/_more08/Horse-Chestnut-conker-closeup-23-DHD.jpg

10 September 2008: Baby Squirrel

Rose Dickson

10 September 2008

1250 – 1310 hours

West side of the art building on Willamette University campus, Salem, OR, USA

50 degrees, mostly cloudy

            Since I was young I have been haunted by an extremely irrational fear of squirrels. In my colloquium class, Willamette Naturalist 2.0, we have spent many afternoons observing and experimenting with squirrels. Just my luck! Today I decided to face my fear, as our class walked to the Native American exhibit at the Hallie Ford Museum in Salem, OR, we noticed a bizarre visitor. A baby squirrel, still living in ignorance, approached our class with curiosity and wonder. At first this little visitor undeniably freaked the living daylights out of me. However, as I observed it longer, I noticed how harmless and interesting this young squirrel really was. He was not approaching our class to hurt us or bite us, as I had so often imagined. Rather, he was just as interested and curious about me as I was in him. This experience reminded me that Willamette University campus, a territory we so often claim as our own, belongs just as much to this youngster as it does to me. We need to learn to live together with a mutual respect. As he approached my feet, I began to feel more and more empathetic towards this individual. I waited for him to feel comfortable and I reached down to pet him. To my surprise he accepted it! Unfortunately, my excitement scared him away, however, I was not ready to give up. I followed the young squirrel and as we became more aware and accepting of each other I reached down and actually was able to pick him up! This engagement only lasted moments before he realized he didn’t want to be a part of it and scurried away. I, however, was very excited about this experience and feel I now have a better view and greater respect for squirrels. Firsthand experiences really do give you another side to the story.