2 October 2008: Moth

Rose Dickson

2 October 2008

1647 – 1700 hours

2^nd floor acting studio in the Theatre building on Willamette University Campus, Salem, OR, USA

67 degrees, cloudy

Dancing in the theatre at Willamette University I am pulled out of my dedicated practice. Immediately my mind is drawn to a buzzing coming from the corner window. A moth has gotten lost within this top floor room. How did it manage it’s way here? The windows almost seem permanently sealed closed with dust. Did it fly in elsewhere and get caught? I try to forget my new companion as I work hard on my dance steps. As I continue, I can’t help but remember the poor moth’s fate. If I wouldn’t be the one to set it free, it could end up living a life of solitude in this secluded loft. My empathy takes over priority and I open the window for the moth. I watch it fly out and I can’t help but feel a sense of joy as I think about the life I saved and the new connection I feel to this creature. 

1 October 2008: Redleaf

Rose Dickson

1 October 2008

1431 – 1509 hours

On the bridge between Smith Auditorium and the Library on Willamette University campus, Salem, OR, USA

63 degrees, cloudy

In an earlier blog post I commented on the pale orange, red and yellows of a leaf, now under the same tree I find leaves of deep red. As an art major I have studied intensively the color wheel and I find the speed of the leaves’ transformation from green to red fascinating. The color green is directly opposite red on the wheel.

 As I tear the leaf I encounter a delicate web and the fragility of it intrigues me. On the surface the leave appears robust and waxy yet beneath its thin surface is a veiny skeleton. Then as I examine the other leaves scattered across the pavement I notice the skeleton is apparent from outside. I suppose it is a internal quality that must be perceived inwardly before it can be noticed on the outside. Then I realize the small segments of the veins reinforce the leaf like the foundation of a home. And stepping back from the tree I notice each leaf contributes to the whole tree just as each part of the web makes up the leaf. This comparative scale reminds me of the interconnected web of the ecosystem. Each part contributes to a whole and each aspect of the system functions in accordance to the purpose of the whole. I am beginning to believe and question the idea of nature as a whole, which is something I would like to investigate further.

Chickadees in the Rain

Observer: Eloise Bacher
Date: 5 October, 2008
Time: 1745-1800
Location: My balcony
Weather: Raining, a little foggy in the distance.

The rain keeps creeping in from the southish area, and from up this (sort of) high I can see where it blurs into the ground and is this amorphous fog/rain/mist thing that I'm not sure has a name (although it should, really, because this is Oregon, and we have a million names for rain). There's a bit of a breeze, just enough to make the tops of the trees sway and the rain blow further onto the balcony. The trees in the distance are mostly green still, but there are larger patches of yellow. On one of the closest trees there are two Black Capped Chickadees calling back and forth and flitting around on the branches. Now though, they've flown away across the tracks, and I can't hear them calling anymore. There's just the sound of the wind in the trees and if I listen really hard I can hear the rain.

Paralyzed Squirrel

Observer: Eloise Bacher
Date: 5 October, 2008
Time: 1400-1410
Location: State St., Willson Park.
Weather: Dense clouds, a few sprinkles of rain.

The squirrel looks like a statue it's trying so hard not to be seen. I can't really believe it would let me get so close, but it could be terrified out of it's mind that there's this huge thing coming towards it. It's paws are tucked up by it's chest, and it's sitting extremely straight, with the tail curled on the ground behind it. It looks like there's something in it's cheeks, but that could just be the way squirrels are. I get close enough, eventually, that it shakes off it's paralysis and bounds a few feet away from me. I keep moving along the sidewalk, and every time I get close it bounds a few more feet and freezes. Eventually it moves a bit away from the sidewalk, towards some trees and relative safety.

Leo Castillo
4 October 2008 from 4:26pm to 5:00pm
Location: Net
Weather: 58*
Looking through my window I see a little sparrow. This is a tiny little sparrow that’s on the tree outside my two-story building. Let me tell you about this sparrow outside, its very small in size and really hard to see and I will make the best to describe him. Let’s start from the top, it has a small beak and a white stomach all the way to it’s tail. Also along the chick, with black on the chine and it runs to the eyes ant after that it turns brown that runs also to the back of his trail. The back of the sparrow is a mixture between brown and black. It’s so small I bet I could grab it and use it like a ball; the body of the sparrow is small. The rainy weather can scare a sparrow away cause this one is gone. I think I might just close my window; it’s starting to get cold also starting to rain. Now I will write my observation down and post it on the bog so blogers can read what I see.

Aspens?

Observer: Eloise Bacher
Date: 4 October, 2008
Time: 1014-1030
Location: Outside Kaneko, between the pool and the train tracks.
Weather: Mostly cloudy, windy.

The clouds keep shifting to reveal sunlight and some blue sky, but the temperature is still reasonable and it's much windier than it has been in a while. Blowing from the south/southwest, and it smells like it's bringing rain. We'll see how that plays out later. It feels like it's actually fall now, both because of the weather and because of what the trees are doing. The line of trees between Kaneko and the railroad tracks, those that are deciduous that is, are turning color. One to my left has sudden yellow patches of leaves, and a white barked one has a few yellow and brown ones. It's leaves are fluttering extremely quickly, like aspen leaves. Perhaps it is an aspen? I don't even know what they look like, just that their leaves flutter spastically.

Tyler Starr: 10/05 pm, the Quad

Tyler Starr

5 October 2008 from 1645-1700

Location: The northwest corner of the Quad

Weather: 60 ̊ F, 5-10 mph wind, very cloudy, showering off and on

General: The entire campus seems so different when it’s cloudy than when it’s sunny. I feel like it makes everything appear more natural. I am not used to this type of weather, but from what I’ve seen from it, I think I’m going to like it a lot. For some reason, I feel more relaxed on days like today than days where it is hot and sunny. We’ll see how I feel about the weather in November though, after I have been experiencing it for a while. Many animals appreciate the cloudy weather as well, so they can be out all day instead of having to find a cool spot to spend the day. Squirrels are out in full force and the ducks are out. There are four or five crows on top of Collins, cawing. Student activity seems pretty mellow right now, since most people are probably inside doing homework. Looking at the clouds is very interesting as well. Most are a whitish grayish mass covering the sky and hiding the sun. There is one patch to the west that a bit darker than the rest. Perhaps it is a rain cloud.

Tyler Starr: 10/05 am, Mill Stream

Tyler Starr

5 October 2008 from 1120-1135

Location: North side of the Mill Stream in between the library and Rogers

Weather: Low 50’s, 5-10 mph wind, off and on sprinkling, cloudy

General: Two squirrels were chasing each other around. One would dart after the other and nip at its feet. When the one being chased was some distance away, the first one stopped and watched it as it left. The chaser then continued to forage for food. I also saw 10 mallard ducks. Five were male, and 5 were female. They were paddling in place against the fairly quick current. I am curious to see when they leave. It definitely seems like there aren’t as many ducks as there were before, so it is possible that they are already starting to leave. It is getting cooler outside too, and the Mill Stream feels extremely cold. I would guess that the ducks will be gone by November. There is a slight increase in color change in the trees, but once again, the majority of leaves are still green. It’s strange, because in Minnesota right now, the trees are probably already mostly changed. I saw another interesting conifer. It was about 15 feet tall, with a classic Christmas-tree conical shape, but its branches were kind of wispy and looked sort of like garlands. I hadn’t ever really taken the time to look at the conifers on campus, but there is actually a lot of variety.

Observation Oct 5

Phil Colburn
5 October 2008
Weather: Cloudy
Time: 1300-1320 hours
Location: The Construction site behind Baxter
Today I decided to sit up against the fence of the construction site and make an observation on what the construction site contained. There is plastic and sharp gravel everywhere, and no animal ever seems to make an appearance within the construction site. It is possible that some of the plastic on the ground from the construction site could be blown or washed away in the wind or rain and cause serious problems to the areas around it. It is extremely important that the effect the construction site has on the environment around it be strictly contained.

Observation Oct 4

Phil Colburn
4 October 2008
Weather: Sunny
Location: Crew Boathouse on the Willamette River
Time: 800-830 hours
As I wait for my turn in the Regatta today, I decided to take a look at the water around the boathouse and the kinds of vegetation that live in it. There is a lot of algae in the water, and it seems totally swampy near the boathouse. This is because the incredibly strong current of the river is blocked by a landmass that sits between the river and a small inlet that the boathouse floats in. It is really interesting how drastically the area changes when the current does not go through it.
Picture courtesy of http://www.coremediagroup.org/core/?p=5

Observation Oct 3

Phil Colburn
3 October 2008
Weather: Cloudy Time: 1200-1220 hours
Location: Small park north of Baxter

The daffodil like flowers in this park that I mentioned before are no longer blooming. There are only a few flowers left, and the petals are dropping off of them quite quickly. This means that they have reached the end of their blooming season. If they are annuals, they will bloom again later, or if they are perennials, they will die. The leaves on the trees are turning yellow and orange, another sign that winter is coming soon.
Picture Courtesy of http://centaurcunningman.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/daffodil.jpg

Observation Oct 2

Phil Colburn
2 October 2008
Weather: Cloudy
Time: 1030-1050 hours.
Location: Millstream

Today I decided to sit on the edge of the millstream facing towards the UC. It was very relaxing in the shade from the trees around me, which looked as if they were of the species Oregon Ash. I was unable to find any animals in the area around me other than the extremely common grey squirrels however. The stream still has the same eelgrass-like stuff in it as well as a few mallards. The mallards are still very sociable to people and will allow me to get quite close before spooking.

Picture courtesy of http://www.geog.ubc.ca/~brian/florae/images/OregonAsh-closeup.JPG

Observation Oct 1

Philip Colburn
October 1 2008
Location: Under the Star Trees
Time: 1450-1510

As I was sitting under the Star trees, I heard some chirping coming from birds that I could not see in the branches of the trees. I also heard the background noise of crickets and frogs, which surprised me because usually they do not start making their song until darkness falls. The trees looked the same as usual, as did the ground under them. Other than the crickets and frogs that were making noise unusually early, there was no change in the area from the observation that I did a few weeks ago. Maybe the noise of the crickets and frogs indicates that the ecosystem is acclimating to the construction both north of it at the state capital and east of it by Baxter.

Raccoons and Morning Glories

Observer: Eloise Bacher

Date: 30 September, 2008

Time: 1203-1225

Location: Botanical Garden

Weather: Cloudy with occasional breaks of sunlight.

The raccoon tracks are still here, although blurred and some obliterated by water from the sprinklers. Now they're raccoon paw shaped pools. The domestic dog one is almost completely gone though. What made that one more easily destroyed? Is is because it's right next to, almost on, the path? I can't find any new tracks, but if I check often enough there should be some; a gardener said that he'll put out sunflower seeds for them and that they move through this area. Up ahead there are Morning Glories, and they look like they're glowing in what little sun there is. They're an ultraviolet, but with pink, blue, and white. I'd love to be able to reproduce that color on paper. It's hard to believe that they're invasive; they look so delicate and pretty. Maybe it's just on a smaller scale than Himalayan Blackberry?

Blackberry season over?- 10-5-2008

Time: 13:22-14:03

Date: 5 October 2008

Climate: about 60 degrees and overcast

Location: All over Bush Park near the water

A friend and i decided to take a walk to Bush Park again but this time to see if there are any Blackberries to pick.  We walked along the edge of the water finding a bunch of blackberry bushes but most of them were either picked off already, still super green, or shriveled up and not something you would want to eat.  This made us sad because we only found about 10 actually edible blackberries in total.  This means that we are definitely going into winter... That is depressing because summer and fall has been so beautiful and now we're going to have cold and rain.  There is something cozy about the rain but everyday it gets a little depressing.  Blackberry bushes, lacking in berries, are all over however.  They are taking over everywhere.  They are in every bush we saw.  They are unwanted in many many places so while blackberries are delicious, they are killing off many other native plants.  This is not good for people trying to grow different wildlife.  The blackberry bushes are merely taking over.  While they give off fruit they are not a wanted species.  Coming from PA i am not used to this so i love going to pick blackberries and seeing them all over.  But natives are not very thrilled with them because they are not good for the biodiversity in forests.  

http://www.birdmom.net/WildflowersPink/Blackberry,Fruit.jpg

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KSLE/2008/10/5/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA

Observer: Eloise Bacher
Date: 3 October, 2008
Time: 2200-2215
Location: Kaneko side of the skybridge.
Weather: Cloudy, alternating between rain and misty sprinkles.

The weather keeps changing it's mind. One minute it's almost pouring down rain, then a few minutes later it's windy and clear, at least until you get to the heavy cloud cover. I can almost see the community garden that's next to TIUA and Mill St., and I wonder if the plants are going to actually produce useful fruit, although they did get all that sun that doesn't usually persist this long. Right now the weather is windy, but there doesn't seem to be too much of a wind chill factor, it just feels like the perfect temperature, somewhere between 60 degrees and 70 degrees. It'll probably get really cold later though.

Botanical Garden- 10-4-2008

Time: 22:13-22:44

Date: 4 October 2008

Climate: about 52 degrees and cloudy

Location: Botanical Garden

It's dark out and my friend and i are walking around in the Botanical Garden.  We start to notice a bunch of hidden benches around the garden.  There are some that aren't quite hidden but in obscure places and then if you walk up the side of the garden there are some against the wall of the Sparks Center (i believe).  They look out onto Matthews Hall over a fence and into a parking lot.  It is quite hidden up there.  It is nice because you're surrounded by nature and yet nobody can see you unless of course they come up to where you are sitting.  Its private but somewhat scary at night.  It is nice to be alone but when it is dark and you do not know the area very well, there is something very uncomfortable about that.  My friend and i sat on one of the benches, it was all wet and covered in a mossy type wet wood.  It was kind of gross and made out hands get dirty with a blackish brownish green coating.  It is super quiet and you can watch people coming out and going in to Matthews.  People stumbling through the parking lots not knowing that anyone can see them.  There are big groups of people wandering around and cars pulling in and out of the parking lot.  A campus safety car went by and 3 girls quickly ran inside.  I like sitting here because there is so much to watch and so few people to both you.  While it is dark right now, i'm sure it would feel just as secluded in the daytime.  The trees almost act as a shelter from the drizzle but then you also fall victim to the wet leaves that sprinkle you with water when the wind blows and it is not currently raining.  I like this spot, the smell of nature, the location, the surroundings.  It is nice.  

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KSLE/2008/10/4/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA

Ducks outside of Goudy- 10-4-2008

Time: 1253-1335

Date: 4 October 2008

Climate: about 61 degrees and overcast

Location: looking north out onto the Mill Stream from the small dining room in Goudy Commons

I was sitting at brunch with a group of people and we all noticed the ducks in the Mill Stream that is only about 15 feet from where we were sitting.  There were 2 male mallards and 1 female mallard.  They looked relaxed and unprovoked just paddling around in the mill stream.  One thing that i notices about them was that the current kept seeming to change and every time it changed they would swim in a circle.  This was really interesting because it was almost like they were perfectly content with the spot they had chosen to wade in and they didn't want to move.  The mill stream didn't seem to have a steady current.  It would seem very calm for a bit and the would seem to be moving very quickly.  This is most likely due to the wind blowing since it is slightly windy and cool out.  I am not sure what appealed so much to the ducks about this chosen spot but it really seems like they chose it on purpose.  They really did not want to relocate so their morning consisted of circling around in the water to keep from moving down the stream.  

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KSLE/2008/10/4/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA

Leo Castillo
3 October 2008 from 11:00am-11:30am
Location: Chinese garden. Between Art building and Olin
Weather: 72* Sunny.
I wanted to seen if the Chinese garden had gone through any changes since the last time I was there. As I stepped into the jungle I saw a little shade with a bench where I could site and make some observation and see If I could tell if there where any changes. If you look up at the top of this picture, you too can see that I am under a shade. Then if you look from the right to your left you will first notice the shrub that leys on top of that semi big boulder. This shrub is dark green it seems to be in its prime and a young looking shrub. Then behind that we have eight brown walls that give it that Chinese look and keep things out. Next to that is a little bamboo tree that is against a brown wall and it seems to support this bamboo tree. In seem to me that if you look close enough you can see a little window in the wall and you can look out. After that there are tree long skinny trees that split into about five steams that mainly go straight up and don’t go out to the sides. Looking back down there are little shrubs that if I could I would make little miniature trees. If you look hard enough you can see the green generators from the pervious observation. There is a trail that you can fallow and you can walk and see the whole garden and it’s covered so it a nice way to hide from the sun. Another thing you can notice is that fall leafs on the floor and how dry they are.

Bush Park- 10-3-2008

time: 14:17-14:43

date: 3 October 2008

Location: Bush Park on the far side of the football field from the Willamette University campus

Climate: about 60 degrees drizzling to light rain and overcast

I decided to take a walk with a friend because both of us wanted to get away from campus for a little.  I figured this would be a good time to do an observation.  We walked to Bush park and kept walking through the trees on a little path. We came to a bridge that had a sign near it that said Pringle Creek.  We decided to take a left and go up a little hill.  While we were walking i noticed something big and unusual (to me) on the ground.  I stopped and said "EWW GROSS".  My friend laughed at me and said "cool! a Banana slug!!".  This slug was huge to me.  I've never seen one so big.  My friend told me when you lick them your tongue turns numb which was very weird.  He then told me it doesn't happen to him anymore when he licks them because he has so many times, which was weird. I'm not used to slugs being so big! Its drizzling a bit so thats probably why its out.  Well i am just making an assumption based on what i know about worms and how they are more likely to be out after it has rained.  We kept walking and i noticed a maple leaf that was about 8 inches wide which is huge compared to leaves back in philadelphia.  Maple leaves are really big but this one was perfect, it had no holes or marks on it at all.  I though this was pretty cool but once again my friend was not phased. After walking a little longer i looked up and notices how big and beautiful all the trees are.  There are tons of Oregon White Oak trees and i love oak leaves.  They are so cool because they have such a distinct shape.  Its the kind of shape that if i were to draw it, people would most likely not believe it was a leaf.  The colors are so pretty here.  They are starting to change and it looks so nice.  

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KSLE/2008/10/3/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA

http://wdfw.wa.gov/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8670&g2_serialNumber=2