Friday bliss

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 10-17
Location: South of Eaton Hall’s main entrance
Time: 1424-1441
Weather: 66˚F, overcast skies, morning fog

A woman strolled by with a black, shorthaired medium-large dog. In front of Eaton, they stop often, the woman patiently waiting for the dog to finish sniffing at the base of plants. Finally, it decided to halt in front of an oak tree and mark its territory. After spraying the ground with urine, it used its back legs to kick up the dirt to spread out the scent and followed the woman, who had given a quick tug on the leash. Was she in a hurry that she performed so, or was she somewhat worried about being chastised for allowing her dog to urinate in front of a building? No one seemed to notice but me, who had turned my attention to the students playing Frisbee on the Quad. They all interacted in twos. Even people walking along the paths were in couples: the one person and his/her iPod or cell phone, or in the rare occasion, another human being. Crimson and gold banner blew gently in the zephyr to the east. All was silent for a moment save for a bird whistling a tune and a white cabbage butterfly passing near the horse chestnut trees. Suddenly, the theater awoke with machinery sounds, a bike passed noisily by, students were proudly showing off their college to their benefactors. A brown hummingbird flitted into a mass of brown (red and green) Japanese maple. Magenta and scarlet fuchsias bloomed in the square of soil, their blossoms half the size of those found north of York building. Another dog passed by, a black and white border collie, but there was not time for sniffing the ground; he was completely obedient. Chestnuts fell steadily with a loud crash to the east. They would be cracked open, yet no squirrels took them otherwise there would have been none left on the ground for me to view. The nuts must have less oil in them than other preferred nuts.

Tyler Starr: 10/17, Star Trees

Tyler Starr

17 October 2008 from 1500-1515

Location: The Star Trees

Weather: 62 ̊ F, no wind, sunny

General: I realized that I had not yet done an observation on the Star Trees, which seemed odd considering their imposing presence on campus. I walked into the middle of the 5 Giant Sequoias, and began observing. I first noticed the ground, littered with long, brown pine needles, as well as small, about 1-2 inch pinecones. I find is surprising that such a gigantic organism produces such small pinecones. Many of them had an interesting texture (see picture), while others had the classic pinecone type feel. I next went up close to the trunks of one of the trees. Its bark is actually very soft and spongy, perhaps because it is so large and the outer layers are so old. It has many grooves, which are filled with various insects and cobwebs. I wonder how deep into the soil the roots must extend in order to support such a tall, massive structure. Next, I looked up. I noticed that 4 of the trees focus nearly all of their growth to the outside of the ring in order to capitalize on the open sunlight. The tree on the North, however, doesn’t receive as much sunlight via this method, so it has been growing branches toward the middle of the ring as well. One tree had a fairly large branch, maybe 8 inches in diameter, which hangs pretty low down. I decided to feel how sturdy the branch was, and was surprised to find that it was very bendy and flexible. It seems strange to me that trees as massive as these ones are, at the same time, so fragile feeling.

Observation Oct 17th

Phil Colburn
17 October 2008
Location: Salem State Capital Park
Time: 1100 hours- 1120 hours
Weather: Cloudy

I decided to observe one of the trees in the Salem capital. David said that they are created by one tree growing upon another tree. These mutant trees have huge growths that make it quite obvious where the two types of DNA on each tree are warring with each other. The most interesting thing about these trees is the fact that the battle between the DNA is the only thing that keeps them alive. If one side wins, the other side will be robbed of nutrients and will die, thus killing the entire tree. I can also see the Gold Man from here. He probably has a lot of birds that perch on him during the day.

Picture Courtesy Of http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3211/2286544599_bc74410a07.jpg?v=0

Observation Oct 16th

Phil Colburn
16 October 2008
Weather: Cloudy
Time: 1100-1120 hours
Location: In front of Collins
I am sitting on the main steps of Collins to take this observation. I am facing outwards across the Quad, and on my immediate left is a small grouping of flowers. The flowers look a little like the snapdragons behind Collins, but they are on much larger bushes, and the bushes have huge, platter-sized leaves. Just beyond these flowers, there are a few trees with maroon-colored leaves. They seem to be starting to lose their leaves because of the autumn weather.

Observation Oct 15

Phil Colburn
15 October 2008
Weather: Foggy
Time: 830-850 hours
Location: Japanese garden

When I woke up this morning, I saw the fog outside my window and immediately thought of the Japanese garden just outside Olin. I resolved to go there and see how it looked in the fog, because I thought it would be really quiet and peaceful, just like one would think of a typical Japanese garden enshrouded in fog early in the morning. I really like the sand garden. It would be really relaxing to spend some time there early in the morning creating patterns in the sand. There are several honey bees that wander around the garden, which surprises me early in the morning, but it is probably because there is a nearby hive.

Observation Oct 14

Phil Colburn
14 October 2008
Weather: Clear and sunny
Location: In front of Waller Hall
Time: 1420-1440 hours
I decided to sit in front of Waller hall for this observation so I could write some things about the chestnuts that drop from the trees around that area. They are green and spiky, with a solid brown nut in the center of the shell. The nut is exactly the same as the one in the picture, but the shell is different from the one in the picture. The shell in the picture is brown with many hair-thin spikes, while the shell on the real chestnut is bright green with a few large spikes. The spikes on the chestnut are not sharp enough to cut on casual contact, but they can cause severe discomfort if gripped tightly. It is plausible that they could draw blood under extreme circumstances.

Picture courtesy of http://web.ticino.com/multilingual/chestnut.jpg

Observation Oct 13

Phil Colburn
13 October, 2008
Location: Behind Collins in the garden
Time: 1020-1040 hours
Weather: Clear

I happened to see an interesting-looking garden behind Collins today, and I went over there to investigate it. It is right next to the rose garden along State Street. There are many flowers that look like Snapdragons in the garden. They have long, thin stems with series of bright red flowers that are a red tube ending in a bloom coming off of each stem. There are about forty flowers per stem. However, they are dying because of the changing of the seasons, or they have some sort of problem. Many of the flowers entire bottom half of flowers are dead or dying.

Picture courtesy of http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/senior/flowers/images/large/snap2.jpg

Squirrel on a wall

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 10-16
Location: Japanese Garden north of Olin's
Time: 1125-1141
Weather: 54˚F, clear skies

A sudden sharp bark pulled me away from my contemplations. I noticed an eastern grey squirrel perched on top of a wooden wall of the Japanese Garden staring intently over at the shrubs lining the north wall of Olin’s. I was barking at an unseen object, not even aware of my presence. As it cried out, it’s long furred tail twitched vertically in the intervals of the barks, ending in a slight gentle wave due to the force of the effort. Barking seemed more as a call to an enemy but not one its necessarily afraid of. For instance, each time I went into a squirrel’s territory, barking would be directed at me. However, the one day I heard a high pitched scream was when there was supposedly some threat nearby, and the shriek was used to warn others around it of the danger. Curious as to what its foe was this time, after the squirrel seemed to eat something out of its paws and left the area, I searched through the shrubbery. The vegetation had 4-inch long leaves with parallel venations. Small white flowers grew, approximately 5 petals per blossom with a red mite scurrying around. Several bubble flowers that I mentioned in a previous blog, grew intermittently. I heard a rummaging underneath. Was it another squirrel? In a flash, a small brown bird flew low across the path into the garden. Following its general direction, I saw another squirrel with a nut clutched in its paws yet no bird. I noticed the garden was in a bit of disarray, with an incongruous orange safety cone in a corner. The wilderness seemed to be trying to claim back the land while man was fighting back.

Mill Stream 10-16-08

Time: 1512-1540

Date: 16 October 2008

Climate: in the 60s, a bit overcast

Location: Mill Stream between matthews and botanical garden

I am sitting between the Botanical Garden and Matthews Hall.  I am alone and sitting on a tree stump facing Matthews Hall on the opposing side of the mill stream.  A bridge is on my left but now many people have walked by yet.  A western red cedar is to my right.  I love the way the branches drape down.  The bark is also very rustic looking.  It gives me the feeling of being out in the woods.  There is a tree to my left that has leaves about a foot and a half wide in some spots.  They are huge and very interesting to look at.  I think more trees like this should be planted around campus.  It is huge and its branches sprawl across the stream to the other side and completely over the bridge.  This part of the stream should have more indigenous plants planted around it on both sides of the stream.  If not on the side with the botanical garden then definitely on the side with the parking lot and Matthews Hall.  This area is very secluded and peaceful but one huge factor that i do not like is the noisy parking lot.  They should move the fence back and take away part of the parking lot.  I like the rocks in the water here.  They give the water a different faster flow.  When I look to the right however, the water almost looks completely still.  The water is disturbed by the rocks sending the water rushing down stream much faster than it was originally moving.  I like hearing and listening to the rushing water.  It is so peaceful.  I would like to also see some of the sides of cleared out a bit.  There are all of these wooden planks and what looks like pieced of fences that take away some much beauty of the stream.  

Ducks! 10-15-08

Time:1550-1615

Date: 15 October 2008

Climate: about 60 degrees, partly cloudy with slight wind

Location: Between the back of Goudy Commons and the side of Doney Hall

As i move east along the Mill stream i see 6 mallards, 3 male and 3 female.  They were in that exact spot last Saturday at brunch as I recall and I believe they like it there because it is quiet, shallow, half in the shade and half in the sun.  They are almost on the rocks just wading on the side of the stream.  I like this area and i hope it doesn't change because it is nice to see ducks at a certain place multiple times because it shows that there is something they particularly like about that spot and if we change it, then they would have to adjust and why should we mess up a good thing? As i continue along the stream i sit and settle on a bench facing the back of Goudy and with my back to Doney hall.  I am sitting under a large oak tree.  Looking around i am shocked by the fact that there are barely any acorns on the ground.  I think about the oak tree i pass every day next to Lee House and there are hundreds of noticeable acorns on the ground.  This tells me that there must be a lot more squirrels around this area than that one because they must be taking all of the acorns.  This oak tree is very peaceful and adds a lot to this spot because it provides a place for birds and squirrels to nest, food for squirrels, shade and shelter.  It might be nice if a few more trees were added to this area, and maybe some bushes to keep some of the traffic noise down from the people going in and out of Doney and the little Willamette golf carts going by.  As i am sitting here the ducks swam about 10 feet away from me.  They walked up on to the side of the stream closer to Doney hall.  They were pushing their beaks into the ground as if there was food or something they wanted but i am not sure of what.  Two more ducks came down the stream and now all of them are up on the grass pecking around on the ground.  The ducks stay on the ground for a while until a man came a cut a branch on a near by tree scaring them off.  

Mill Stream- 10-14-08

Time:1401-1423

Date:14 October 2008

Climate: about 61 degrees, chilly, partly cloudy

Location: The "W" of the stream with back to UC building

I am sitting in a white chair looking at the "W" of the Mill Stream with my back to the University Center and when i look across the stream i see the back of Smith Auditorium.  I have decided to observe here because during an environmental science assignment we have had to observe the mill stream.  I have come to the conclusion that i am not a very big fan of this area.  A lot of people love it, but there are many other spots on the Mill Stream that i prefer.  This spot is nice because it is open and a lot of people hang out here, eat, and meet up here but i do not feel like it has a natural vibe to it.  I much prefer the side that is closest to Smith because of the big trees but i still do not like it very much.  They are lots of pretty flowers to make the area look nice and welcoming which is a very good idea, but i think that there should be more big trees planted and maybe some bushes along the sides of the stream.  The sides of the stream look so sharp and cut at such a 90 degree angle and i think it would look better if the sides were angled on a diagonal a bit.  I also think the whitish/grey cement walls on the side of the stream to my right look so bad that they should do something to make it look a little more natural.  I think it really takes away from the beauty of the stream itself.  I have also heard things that Smith Auditorium will eventually be torn down and i think it would be so cool and wonderful to put a small forest type thing there with little paths for people to walk through.  There could be picnic tables, and other places for people to eat.  It might also help bring other species to the area and provide more homes for squirrels, birds and other animals that would bring another aspect to campus.  

Mysterious bird calls

H. R. Waller
Date: 16 October, 2008
Time: 1006
Location: In front of Kaneko, just before the skybridge.
Weather: somewhat cloudy, mild, 57 degrees.

The past few days as I have been walking out the front doors of my new home in Kaneko, I have heard a peculiar sounding bird cry. Shrill and loud and clear, the call rings throughout the area and almost brings me back to a call like a few of the ones I heard while in Hawaii this past March. Upon looking up to attempt to spot the bird whose call this was, all I could see was the web of tree branches directly above me, and when I stepped out to the side, I still could not identify any movement or bird like animal. This reminded me of a few days ago when I was walking back to Kaneko for lunch after colloquium let out and as soon as I stepped off of the sky bridge and on to the sidewalk leading in to Kaneko, I noticed a tiny little black bird swooping swiftly through the air and then I watched in fascination as it dove into a little round hole on the side of the builing about 2 and a half stories up. I never would have noticed the hole in the all white wall had it not been for this little birdie. Perhaps the call I heard today came from a similar bird hiding out in a wall somewhere.

Tyler Starr: 10/16, North Side of Campus

Tyler Starr

16 October 2008 from 1635-1650

Location: The Stairs on the North side of the art building

Weather: 64 ̊ F, partly cloudy, no wind

General: I went by the squirrel carcass to see if there was any change. It was more decomposed than when I saw it last weekend, it seemed like all of the meat was gone. The only part that remained unchanged was the tail, which was still furry. I could see what I thought was its skull and jaw as well. I then went and sat on the stairs of the art building under a tree. The tree had very dark green, waxy, ovate-shaped leaves. At the end of each branch was a small ball that looked like a bud that would bloom into a flower, although I am not sure why it would be flowering right now before the winter. There was a spider in the tree, approximately ¾ of an inch long. I believe that it was a Banded Garden Spider. It is the third one of these that I have seen on campus. Also, right next to the spider’s web was another green worm like the one I saw the other day, hanging from a thin strand of silk. I wonder what would happen if a gust of wind blew the worm into the spider’s web. On the walk back to my dorm, I saw a bunch of mushrooms in a pile of dirt that didn’t have grass or anything growing. It reminded me of when I first learned about fungi, and how there is just one fungus under the ground, and all of the mushrooms above ground are part of the same organism.

Painter's Canvas

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 10-15
Location: East of Fine Arts East, North of Jackson Plaza
Time: 1125-1140
Weather: 54F, overcast, air smells like cilantro all around campus (must be the fog)

Bubbling whirl of water softly churned over unseen rocks. Hints of green growth coated the shallow bottom. The olive green seemed to stream down the course of the Mill Race, merging seamlessly with the shadows, not unlike paint flowing down an empty canvas. At the end of the bridge and the front of Fine Arts East’s side entrance, there lied an inconspicuous rectangle of flowers, easily missed by the busy passers. There, crimson honeysuckles lined the edge in a cascade of trumpet flowers. The long stamen protruded out, edged with a wave of lace, imploring the few passing honeybees to visit. A few dandelion greens grew in an empty spot between the flowers. A strand of hairy vetch shot up in between, showing a small rose-violet colored blossom. Two dark slender pods barely a millimeter in diameter dangled off the grabbing, curling shoots. The odd pinnate leaves contrasted sharply with the other cultivated leaves. In the midst of the contrasting reds and greens, small, fine white fibers grew at the junctions of the sweet honeysuckle. In observing the art of the landscaping, both intentional and unintentional, people sped briskly by in their attempts to reach their unknown destinations. One man dumped his drink out with a thunderous splash. Quietly, a wide ellipse of barely visible webs decorated the corner, where a mayfly dangled helplessly.

Ducks on the river

H.R. Waller
Date: 15 October, 2008
Time: 1742
Weather: sunny, crisp, cooler, 56 degrees
Location: The WU Crew boathouse

Today at the boathouse we began practice in the normal, routine way. But today was different for me because I was the coxswain, which is the person who sits at the front of the boat and directs which rowers to row and how hard and is also responsible for steering the boat. This meant that I had extra chances to look around me as we were cruising through the water while my rowers were doing their thing. I began to steer the boat a bit too close to the shore on my left side, and noticed a huge flock of ducks, probably consisting of about 30 individuals. I have seen a wide variety of birds on this river in the past few weeks, but never yet have I seen ducks. I watched as they paddled around occasionally bobbing down to search for some food. I wonder where this big group came from and why I have never seen them before. I am unsure if ducks fly south for the winter and if we are going to lose our campus ducks. That would be an interesting thing for me to look up. I enjoy when nature presents questions for me and little puzzles like this one to solve.
Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Jailbirds

Observer: Eloise Bacher

Date: 15 October, 2008

Time: 1500-1525

Location: State Street, across the creek from the State Penitentiary.

Weather: Overcast, cold.

On State Street, a line of Canada Geese is crossing, stopping traffic. It's comforting to see that people are sticking hands and heads outside their vehicles and stopping other cars so the geese don't get hurt. Luckily, they all proceed to the other side, still in their stately line, like traffic stops for them every day. Which, actually, it probably does, considering the number of geese here right now. The other species of goose has taken up residence in the tiny parking lot here, and settled down, most of them apparently to sleep. Further down the stream there is a rock bar, and a bunch of crows are bathing there. I've never actually seen crows bathe before. When I passed most of them flew up into a tree on the State Penitentiary side of the creek. Since then they've gone back down to the water and resumed their baths. On the gravel bar right in front of me the Mallards are dominating, although there is a Gull sp. there as well. The sidewalk is populated by the pigeons and the occasionally goose, duck, and gull. The pigeons seems to have no regard for where they're going, and a few almost careen into my feet. There are two female mallards doing something in the water...playing? It looks like they're chasing each other, and it involves what looks like them using their wings to swim. Whatever it is, there's a lot of splashing involved. Every few minutes they stop and groom their wings, then go right back to it. As I walk back towards State St., I pass by the huge group of geese. One starts screaming, which prompts all the others to do the same and stand up. A few closer to me hiss, but they all move away. I notice one with what looks like a broken wing; it was here the last time I was here. Once I've walked far enough away, I look back; they've all settled back to where they were before I disturbed them.

Vampiric creeper

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 10-14
Location: Capital grounds, west of Gold Dude standing on top of a tower structure
Time: 1327-1349
Weather: 57˚F, overcast

Spiders creep me out to no ends. Maybe it’s due to their multitude of eyes, their engorged torso, the pincers I imagine at their mouths, or maybe it’s because of my brother’s trickeries with a toy tarantula when I was a child. Nevertheless, I usually get shivers just by looking at one, but this time, I felt frozen underneath a warm windbreaker. Among a copse of manzanita trees, I found clusters of small, ½-inch urn flowers with a slight pink blush over primarily white blossoms. Curiously, there were 1-inch round berries hanging. They seemed almost hairy but the green balls were firm to the touch and rough, similar to a litchi peel. A few of the fruits were progressing from green to yellow to rose in color. The leaves were dark green and radially arranged. The trunk and bark was smooth and either auburn or mahogany colored, with some of the newer growths a light pink. Three or four honeybees were visiting the upside-down vases of nectar when one seemed caught in something. It fluttered its dark wings powerfully but could barely move a few centimeters at a time, slowly progressing across an invisible tightrope. Finally, it arrived at its destination and crawled about the flowers. I thought that was odd, until I witnessed a queer grey looking insect. A glint of sunlight illuminated a 12-inch diameter web that I had nearly walked into. A spider web, and sure enough, a spider laid faithfully next to its prey. It was brown with small white dots of white along its underside. The slender toothpicks of legs were decorated with horizontal stripes in black, brown, and white. Slowly, the dead honeybee was engulfed in a layer of white webbing, becoming a cocoon of death. The spider calmly brushed its eight pricks over its food as I experimentally blew a hard breath onto the leaves to watch its reaction. I turned away before it started digesting its meal. It unnerved me to imagine the vampire drinking the bee’s life away.

Barking up the wrong tree

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 10-14
Location: Northeast of Sparks, entrance to Botanical Gardens
Time: 943-959
Weather: 53˚, sunny

I won’t have you think I’m obsessed with the Botanical Gardens. I just happen to pass by the area daily between classes and it just happens to have some sort of interesting event occur at those times. Today was no exception. A bench was tucked in a corner of the verdant growth, with 6-foot high ferns cradling the wood. I found reddish spore to line the undersides of the leaves in a perfectly organized fashion, two rows running down each leaflet. Several trees had opposite, odd pinnate, and ovate leaves. They were of a light green hue and had serrated edges. The trunk supporting the growth was slender and smooth tan-brown. I was originally drawn to the spot by bird calls and hoping to identify them, I instead encountered a vicious eastern grey squirrel. I was stopped by a series of hoarse barks intermittently with squeaky door=like sounds. As it made its noises, before each cry, I noted that its abdomen inflated with air. It seems that most humans take in air through their chest, making their shoulders lift up and down due to the action. However, as taught by yoga instructors and voice instructors, it seems that the correct way was the method with the squirrel was exhibiting; breathing deeper into the center of the body rather than shallow breaths through the chest. Anyways, the squirrel went on to bark for another few minutes, at which point I wondered if it was mainly due to my presence. It was didn’t seem to feel threatened otherwise it would have issued the high-pitched squeak that I heard near the front of Eaton. It almost seemed territorial or perhaps protective of its home. When it left and jumped onto a nearby branch, I felt the impact as surely as I saw the branch curve and support the extra weight. It was with a different sense that I heard the chalkboard scratching sound made by a tree scratching on the brick wall of Sparks. With each gust of wind, it seemed to almost protest against the obstruction and cried out in annoyance with a harsh grating scratch.

Tyler Starr: 10/14, Botanical Gardens

Tyler Starr

14 October 2008 from 1615 to 1630

Location: A walk through the Martha Springer Botanical Gardens

Weather: 61 ̊ F, no wind, mostly sunny skies, slight humidity

General: It seems like every time that I walk through the gardens I see some new interesting plant that I had not noticed before. On this occasion, I noticed several of these hidden “gems.” The first one that caught my attention was a plant with brilliant orange flowers (see picture). It was about knee-height, and was covered in these stunning flowers. I could not even attempt to classify another plant I saw. It looked like a giant cluster of very small artichokes, pointed upwards. They were fairly sturdy and sharp to the touch, and a grayish green color. Another plant had pink flowers that clearly evolved to accommodate pollinating bees and other insects. The flowers were long and narrow, just enough space to allow a bee to crawl in to collect the nectar, while inadvertently transferring pollen between plants. I was watching as a bee crawled into each successive flower to pollinate, and I was able to snap some great pictures. It was very fascinating to watch. In addition, my prior assumption that the ducks had left was at least partially incorrect; I saw 8 mallards that had not yet taken off for migration, and I’m sure they were enjoying the weather today.

Unidentified projectiles

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 10-13
Location: West of Art Building, North of Collins
Time: 1105-1125
Weather: 56˚, clear skies

I witnessed a barrage of projectiles gliding between the magnolia or rhododendron shrubs and a fir. On closer analysis, they were small birds of a brown coloration. No more than 3 inches in length, they resembled a ball of fuzz, reminding me of a kiwi. The majority of them were these bushtits but a couple of larger, white colored birds joined in the mix. A sudden movement in front of me provided me the opportunity to look at a chickadee barely one foot away from where I stood. At eye level, I noticed the sharp contrast of black head and white body, deep dark eyes, a white streak at its cheeks, and with that it disappeared before I started to register the sight. The call had a bit of a repetition, sounding similar to chi chi dee dee (big surprise). The fir tree on which the aerial display occurred had 5-inch long elliptical cones with small horizontal lines created by the scales. On the tree trunk was a 3-foot high line of squirrel scat. At the base of the trunk laid a small pile of dark dung, perhaps laid by squirrels that inhabited the nest in the branches. The tree’s profile tended to lean toward the west and then returned to a vertical form, creating an odd curvature as an overall result. The lower branches appear bared of leaves and cones. Some of the birds hung along the ends of the branches and pecked at the cones. At 1120, the chirps diminished and the birds fled to the nearby sequoias and Star Trees. As I left, two squirrels appeared and started digging holes to hide their new cache of vitals. I wonder if the squirrels and birds have some sort of schedule planned out?

*Note: the image was taken at the Botanical Gardens near the rose bushes in front of the windowpane overlooking the Spark's pool. The bird was identical to the one I saw near the art building.