Picture of sit-spot view, but in daylight
On Wednesday the 23rd of September at 8:00 am, my second sit-spot commenced. It was 54 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny. To get here from the main doors of Tinker, walk the paved path towards the tennis courts. Cross West Campus loop and walk onto the field. Head NW with the pond to the left. Walk the crest/ridge until reaching the benches. Turn left to go down the crest. There is a clearing in the line of the trees. On the right side of this clearing, step over bushes and trees, walk to the rocks that start a slight rock pathway that crosses the water. After rain there is higher water running, it is always good to wear shoes that can go in the water or are easy to take off.
My item of a branch with twigs and duff.
My item of creek line with rocks, if they have not moved then the difference lies in the change of water.
When taking in the world during quiet observation, it was hard to ignor
e the volume of the sounds around me. However, during daylight hours, I was treated to a chorus of birdsong. The water was babbling and put me into a tranquil awareness. I was thankful that there was not loud traffic, frankly, I barely noticed it. There were no gunshots, the only thing around to startle me was a squirrel just hopping along. It was curious to see that the cluster of berries I am following had no berries anymore. All the twigs and duff seemed greener and overall fewer amounts of them. I’m pretty sure that the rocks in the creek have slightly moved and I’m curious what might have done that.
My branch item with berries, but there are no berries!
Some berries!
When I walked along I went to the tip of the rock peninsula (S) and was amazed that just a slight change of positioning changes the whole view. I spent some time trying to see if I could spot anything under the water. I didn’t, but I did see what I believe to be fish poop! Farther N on the peninsula I was super happy to see some more berries! I placed my hands in the water and loved that it was not as cold I thought it might be.
A fishing hook/bait I found, way too big to work in this creek!
I do come to this spot often, mainly because it feels so secluded, and I often bring my homework to do as its easier to do when I feel relaxed. But it is only when I spend the time specifically for journaling that I notice that there is more to pay attention to then I can wrangle my attention span into viewing.
What pretty growth in the water!
It was really hard to notice three adaptations, I felt so unsure of how to identify what specifically was an adaptation and what it was adapting to. I did realize that water skimmers have definitely adapted to the density of water as they float on the surface. I wonder if they can do this because of the ways their legs are? Once, I started to look for adaptations to the water I started noticing more. On the west side, I saw quite a bit of what I presume is algae growth of some sort. I’m unsure what its specific adaption is but based on the way it moved in the still water I’m sure it has also adapted to water density. I also noticed that there were small plant sprouts right up near to water. They’ve had to adapt to the nutrient supply because given their size and the rocks and sand they grow from what they would be otherwise is not in this place.
Some pretty moss? lichen? I saw
Just a pretty photo of the creek from this place
Hey Merrit! You did an excellent job describing your sit spot this week; I felt that you did an amazing job describing exactly where your sit spot was situated (you provided very clear directions on how to get there). As I was reading through your post, I did have a few questions for you. Primarily, could you potentially identify the type of berries in a later blog post? I wonder if they’re poisonous or if they provided sustenance to the organisms living by your sit spot. Furthermore, I was wondering if when you went walked around your sit spot, if you ended up wading through the creek (you mentioned bringing shoes to walk in the water with)? Finally, when you wrote about the algae’s adaptation to water’s density, it may have produced oils that allowed it to the top of the water in order to undergo photosynthesis.
Hi Merrit! I love your pictures! they are so pretty! The creek is very beautiful!
Your pictures are great! We went to our spots on the same day, but had very different experiences. My spot was very quiet, as compared to all the sounds you described. I wonder what the difference was along the creek between our spots. You’ve found a beautiful secluded spot!