My sit-spot, with my blanket and coffee
My sit-spot is located about 10 feet back from the shore of Carvin’s Creek and about 5 feet in front of the bottom of the hill. There is a light post directly behind me on the top of the hill. On the other side of the road is the soccer field. According to the compass on my phone, I am at 209° SW. I arrived at 9:08 am, and left at 10:12 am and it was about 58° outside. Since it was still early, I was once again greeting by a thick morning dew. I was a little chilly, but there wasn’t any wind, which made it feel much nicer. I was able to take my time, sipping my coffee, and observe what was around me.
During my 15-minute observation, I noticed how quiet it was compared to two weeks
The ivy growing up the side of the tree
ago. There were no birds singing or cicadas chirping. It felt like fall was really starting to settle in. Everything was just so still. There weren’t even many cars that went by while I was there. It was just so peaceful and relaxing.
While observing my three things, I noticed the pile of sticks had fallen over. I went to see if there was any indication as to why the pile had moved, but nothing stood. I assumed it was from the weather or an animal had knocked it over. The ivy growing up the tree appeared just
Pierre the Spider
the same as it did last time. I wasn’t really expecting much of a change. However, when I looked over to where the flower was, the flower was gone. It looked like the area had been mowed recently and the flower was cut down. I was really disappointed that it was gone. It was one of my favorite things about my spot. It was just growing so beautifully and standing all on its own. It seemed so strong and so resilient.
As I walked around sit-spot, I chose, first, to look more closely at the creek. As I was walking along the edge, I noticed that the rocks along the bottom of the creek looked much muddier than they did last time I was at my spot. I assumed that this could be attributed to the
The fallen pile of sticks and branches
rainstorm that muddied up the creek waters toward the end of last week. I also decided to look more closely at the pile of sticks and branches beneath the tree I was sitting by. However, when I got over to it, I became I aware that it was not nearly as interesting close up as it seemed from farther away. There weren’t really any insects I could see or much vegetation growth around it. Maybe it is, after all, just a pile of sticks. These definitely were things I would have looked at more closely, but it was a nice gentle reminder to actually do it and stop thinking about it.
The surface of the creek with water bugs skimming along the surface
I found my first two adaptations pretty quickly, but I had to stretch my mind a bit more for the third one. The first adaptation I found was the water bugs that were skating along the surface of the creek. They probably adapted to being able to walk on the water because of a need to acquire food in the water without using too much energy or being put at a high risk of danger. Secondly, I noticed that the ivy growing up the tree was likely an adaptation to being able to grow in an area with less ground space.
The spot where the red flower was previously located
My third adaptation was definitely my favorite. As I was looking around trying to find something a little more exciting. I just happened to notice a small brown spider sitting beside me on my blanket. I realized his color was probably an adaptation to camouflage to the ground or to trees. This way, he could easily hide from predators. Luckily, he was able to stand out against my green blanket. He sat with me for the entire hour I was there, and we became pals for the morning, I named him Pierre and gave him a piece of my cookie.
The part about you naming and feeding the spider was cute!
It’s a shame that they mowed and destroyed the flower! Someone removed the branch I was observing at my spot, which was also unfortunate, as I wanted to see how it would change and decompose. The spider is also what I believe to be a grass spider, and they are definitely good at hiding and sneaking up on you when you’re on the grass. They also move pretty well across the surface of the water where there is little to no water flow.