Ecology Sit Spot Morgana Costanzo

My sit spot is located in the garden between the Cocke building and the Chapel. My spot is on a white, wooden bench that sits right along the stream that cuts through the garden. To the north of the bench is the stream and a section of overgrown plants, grasses and weeds. The stream lies about four feet in front of the bench, and the patch of plants are on the other side of the water. To the east lies a wooden bridge that crosses the stream, as well as a large oak tree and a couple young trees. To the south is the wide-open portion of the garden, covered in freshly mown grass with a few trees dispersed throughout. To the far south is a stone wall that marks the southern border of the garden, however, that is not within 15 feet of my sit spot but is visible. In a previous visit I saw a skunk above the wall while sitting on this whit bench by the stream. To the west sit two large shrubs/bushes and two baby trees, one of which is either dying or recovering. It looks dry and dead but has small green growth on the very top. The ground surrounding my sit spot at a close distance is soil, same gravel, and long, dead pine needles. About a foot or two behind the bench, the soil ends, and grass begins, extending to the south border of the garden.

I chose this spot because it was comfortable, relaxing, and interesting. When I discovered the garden, I began to spend a lot of time there, even making phone and FaceTime calls to my family from its benches. Throughout the time I spent there, I felt very relaxed and in tune with nature, and saw many critters. Since my first visit I have seen numerous squirrels and birds, a skunk, frogs, many insects, and a crawfish. I noticed even more creatures while logging my first sit spot journal entry, with the baby turtle being my favorite. After a couple visits to the garden I knew I wanted my sit spot to be there somewhere. I chose the white bench because it observes the stream and the land, is between multiple plants, and is a comfortable spot. It also isn’t in direct sunlight most of the time but does experience variation throughout the day. The only struggle I had with this spot was battling the bugs that thought I tasted good. After my most recent visit (before my first journal entry) I left the garden with 13 bug bites down both of my legs and woke up to 15 the next morning. Luckily, I was able to combat this issue with a heavy dose of OFF bug repellant spray, which did the trick and kept me bite free during my journaling.

During my first visit to my sit spot in which I logged my observations I had a very successful experience. I observed all of the plants surrounding me, of which most looked very lush and healthy. I noted the large oak to my left, the bushes and samplings to my right, and the large patch of overgrown flowers and weeds across the stream from me. Of all of these plants, I only noticed a small handful of dead weeds, and a few dried-up leaves on one of the tall grasses. I observed the stream with close eyes, but also paid attention to the area surrounding me for movement and sound. I noticed many small water bugs skipping across the calm surface of the stream, and at least four large dragonflies with shiny, iridescent blue-green bodies and wings. Upon entering my sit spot, I witnessed two medium/large red birds bickering with one another, and then fly away. I am uncertain as to whether they were cardinals or not, as I only got a brief view of them. I also observed a small brown bird hopping from branch to branch in the canopy of a tree to my southwest, almost like a little video game character. He chirped as he jumped around, making my chuckle, and then he settled down and disappeared. I saw two frogs during my time sitting by the stream as well. One jumped in as I sat down upon my arrival, and the other floated his way down the stream, his legs dangling beneath him, about ¾ of the way through my time spent observing. He dove down and bolted upstream when he saw me. While sitting and logging my observations, a large bumblebee, about an inch in length and ½ inch in width buzzed over to my leg and chilled a moment before flying away. I also observed a wasp fly by and settle by the stream, then crawl into the rocks that bordered the water. One of my favorite and most exciting observations for the day was definitely a baby turtle that swan down the stream and under the rocks straight ahead of me. It was dark in color and its shell was about 2 inches in diameter. Its tail was probably about an inch long, and it had small paddle-like feet that it used to propel itself forward. I believe it was a hatchling snapping turtle, but I cannot be certain because I only saw it for a few seconds before it hid under the rocks. The little turtle was adorable and made my whole day.

The sky was originally clear and bright when I first arrived at my sit spot around 2:15 p.m., showing the garden in sunlight. However, over the next hour after arriving the sky became cloudier and grayer, with some blue sky showing in scattered intervals across the clouds. By 3:25, the sky was dull and covered in a blanket of clouds, and the only blue sky visible was peeking through the clouds to my far west over the chapel walkway. Despite the cloudy sky, the temperature remained steady and the weather nice. I almost expected rain, despite the heavy rainfall the day before, but none came. The clouds made my observing easier by keeping the sun out of my eyes and from reflecting on the water. Because of this, I was able to see straight through the stream almost the entire time I was there, which helped me to more accurately see the organisms settled and passing through there.

I feel like my first focused sit spot was very relaxing and successful. I become tuned into nature fairly quickly and immediately became aware of my surroundings. The longer I sat there, the more in tune I became, noticing small details like insects and small movements in and around the stream. I was able to rely on more than just my sense of sight to observe my surroundings, listening for sounds of movement and paying attention for changes in smell. I heard birds moving around in the trees and the leaves rustling and could smell the scent of the plants and water surrounding me. I was able to complete a full journal entry in about an hour and 15 minutes and learned how to develop my observation process further for next time. I feel like the experience went very well, and I am very happy with my results.

The three objects that I chose to follow up on are the shrubs/bushes/baby tree to the west of my spot, the oak tree to the east of my spot, and the stream to the north. In hindsight, I realize I should have chosen something that was quickly subject to change as well. There were no spider webs or similar objects within close view, so I chose larger objects. Currently, the stream is at a higher water level due to the large rainstorm that occurred a day prior to my observations. I chose to follow up on the stream because expect that the stream water level will change over time, as might the algae and plant growth within and around it. As the season progresses, I expect many of the organisms that I observed will become dormant, and the water may even freeze over at some point. I chose to follow up on the shrubs because I noticed they have small spots on their leaves, each of which are just a bit darker than the leaf coloring. I cannot tell if this is natural or an effect of something in the environment, so I want to follow up on the leaves and see if they change at all. I also know that as the season progressed these shrubs will lose their leaves and become dormant. I am also curious to check on the tiny dead-ish tree that it situated with the shrubs, and see if it recovers or dies completely (hopefully it will recover!). I also chose to follow up on the large oak because it looks very healthy right now, and I know it will undergo change as the colder months approach. It is close to my sit spot and is easily observable.