Catherine’s Blog #1: 9/6/2020, 5:00– 6:10

Here is the tree I want to look at throughout the semester

My attempt at drawing my sit spot view

Leaves of the ivy growing along the tree I’m observing

  

I have chosen a spot on campus along the creek, west of the practice field. The leaves around me are green and intact with those on the floor at different stages of decomposition, showing brown and orange shades. The plants are all leaning southwest, with the flow of the creek. The ground is dry and compact with rocks scattered all around me, mixed with dead leaves, dry, light brown roots. Behind me rests light, loose sand with imprints from tire marks.

I chose this spot along the creek because I love listening to the sound of running water and it is a little walk away from my dorm room. I thought of sitting at the pond which is a little ways downstream, but chose this spot instead because it was a little more secluded, and is easy to get to.

The leaves found on the tree I’m watching

The ground has many black ants ranging in size from about .25 to .75 of an inch. I have seen squirrels jump from tree branches across the creek northwest (to my right). As they landed, the branches would crack under their weight, rustling the nearby leaves. I also heard the cicadas raise their sounds then suddenly go silent. I can hear some animal making the sound of an electrically charged, lower pitched marbles hitting one another. I can hear the whistling of a far off bird to my left, just south of me. I hear the occasional buzzing of a large, bee-like insect high in the trees. From a distance, it looks to be about an inch or two long. Mostly black, with yellow stripes along its back spanning its sides.

A view of upstream where the squirrels would jump across to get to the other side

Every 10 to 15 minutes I can har the leaves about 20 to 30 feet above me rustle in the cool, soft breeze. The air smells of insect repellent and feels clean. No smoke. No car exhaust. It’s refreshing. The air feels cool with small, hardly noticeable breezes. The air doesn’t feel dry, but you are able to smell the moisture. The sky is clear with some wispy clouds slowly disappearing through the canopy openings.

This is the rock I want to watch and compare the water height as the semester continue and as we head towards the winter

Overall, I am excited to be able to see another side of our campus, where we aren’t worried about being socially distanced, and am able to just disconnect from my worries and be at peace. I want to be able to continue to use this space throughout my time at Hollins to just relax and be calm when times get stressful.

The tree directly in front of me is one I will follow throughout my sit spots. Just along the creek, light green leaves on a vine slowly ascend its trunk. The trees bark is a light grey color which is cracked all throughout the tree. From about a fourth of its height up, its covered in thick dark green ivy. The dark green leaves have 3 different sized extensions along each leaf. I will also observe a lone rock sitting in the river. There is no algae growing in this section of the creek, and I can observe how much the creek rises throughout the semester. Lastly, I want to observe the schools of fish as they grow and try to identify what species they are, they are brown with darker brown or black fins and are about 2 to 3 inches in length and the more I focus on them, the more I see.