Friday, November 6, 2020 at 12:41 p.m. —-  During the walk to my sit spot, I noticed all the fallen leaves on our campus. They all began to fall a few weeks ago, so they are brown and brittle and fun to walk upon as they crunch satisfyingly. Though it was fairly warm today, it felt more like Fall than it has at all this semester. This walk put my in a good frame of mine as I approached my sit spot. I’ve been distracted recently by the overwhelming amount of schoolwork I have this semester. But the nice walk into Beale Garden put my in the right head space to be in the present and fully engage with the nature around me as I began observing and taking notes for this semester’s fifth sit spot.

When I arrived to my sit spot by the creek in Beale Garden, the first thing I noticed was that the creek bed was higher than usual. The water level of Beale Creek has been consistent each time I visited my sit spot. This was the first time it rose at all. Not only was the depth higher, but the current also seemed to be stronger.

Another thing I’ve been following each week I visit Beale Creek has been the noise of animals in the Garden. This has also been consistent, as each week I have heard dozens of different bird and insect species. I noticed that the current was faster because the water in the creek itself was louder, and all of the animals, in comparison, were quieter. I only heard one insect (I think a cricket) chirping and then the occasional bird.

Across the creek, when I first visited my sit spot, was a large patch of different shrubs and bushes. I first decided to follow the flowers on these shrubs as time progressed, but last week, all the flowers had died. This week, the entire swatch of shrubs and bushes was flattened. It didn’t look natural. I think they were mowed, for some reason. This may be why there is less insect activity, as I think all of the insects I was hearing each week predominately lived in this cluster of bushes.

On this day, the sky was completely clear. During my ten minutes of sky observation, I did not see a single cloud. Instead, I noticed a clump of some kind on one of the trees in Beale Garden. I first thought it was mistletoe in the branches, but later thought it could also be a bird’s nest. While watching the sky, I also noticed an airplane passing. And as I took another chunk of time to observe the sounds in m sit spot, I also noticed the sound of passing airplanes. I noticed these passing planes along with the single insect and occasional birds, that I mentioned earlier. I also noticed the sound of a squirrel running through the loud fallen leaves, the cars passion on Williamson Road, people walking around campus and front quad, and a student practicing the trumpet by the chapel.