10-1-19. 87 degrees. Mostly Sunny. Time: 3:09-4:17 PM.
For my sit spot, I’m sitting in between an Oak and Appletree while staring in the Northeast direction. In front of me slightly to my right is a sizeable bush-like plant that has many leaves and burr like flowers. Little ways beyond the bush are some tall grasses towards the ground, but otherwise, the only thing of interest to note is a small stump. Further out towards the horizon, and past most of the long grasses, there are a few more bushes to the right which while still being Northeast were a little bit more to the south. Then on the left side, more in the North direction, there are a couple trees that are sticking up; and slightly to the left of those trees is another bush. At my feet, there are a lot of fallen leaves, most of them being brown while a few are green. These leaves sit on top of a mixture of grass and moss patches on the ground.
I chose this space partly because of easy access. Since its located in my front yard, I can get to easily and quickly. I also chose it because there are several plants that I can focus on in my observations. I feel like I decided on the right spot for myself to do observations in.
During my observations, I observed many things. One of the most exciting things I saw was a black crow that was flying nearby, in the South direction. At first, I could only see the underside of the crow, but when it flew back around, I was able to see the inky black feathers on its back. I was able to hear other birds, mostly in the South-Southwest direction though I did hear a couple in the trees above me. While I do not know the exact species of each of the different birds that I heard, other than that of the crow, I know that there were three different birds as each of them had a different call. Likewise, when I heard various bugs, such as crickets or cicadas, I didn’t actually get to look at them. However, with insects, it’s easier to tell what they are by the sounds they make.
I also looked back at the first bush-like plant that seems to have branches sticking straight up. In this, I saw that several leaves had turned brown and rolled up on the bush. While they hadn’t fallen yet, it was clear that the leaves were heading towards that point. There also seemed to be less of the flowers present on the plant than there was the first time I was at my spot. On other plants, such as the large Oak tree in my vicinity, there were a lot more brown leaves both in the tree and on the ground, than there was the first time I had come out to my sit spot.
One way that my second experience differed from my first experience was the weather. The first time I sat down in my sit spot, there were a lot more clouds in the sky, but this time when I sat down in my sit spot there was maybe one big cloud in my general vicinity, but for the most part, the sky was a lovely vibrant blue. Also, this time was the first time I actually saw an animal other than a small bug. Another change, which I mentioned in the previous paragraph, was that there were a lot more leaves that went gone brown due to the turn of the season.
As asked, I chose three different items to follow each time I go out to my sit spot. The first object I chose was the bush that was directly in front of me. This is mostly because of the bush’s size, as I’ll easily be able to notice changes in the bush when I go back for my next sit spot experience. While I don’t know the name of it yet, I hope to find that out before the conclusion of our sit spot activities. The second object I chose was a short, but thick, stick that was partially covered in moss. The main reason I chose this object was because it caught my attention, and it was interesting to look at. I’m also interested in how the moss on the stick will be affected as the weather changes. The third object I chose was a small stump that while being a little farther out than I would like, shows signs of weathering as its been partially chipped away over the years. I am curious to see if it will visibly weather away even more as I sit in my sit spot.
Nice details in your blog
Hey Rose! I enjoyed reading your post, and I too wonder what will happen to the moss in the stick. I wonder if it will die in the winter or if it will be able to survive, if so what mechanisms has it developed in order to survive. I experienced something similar with the difference in weather in my first sit-spot journaling versus my second. The first time, the sky was clear in the evening. The second time, it rained for 20 minutes, then the sun came out, and it got very humid. It’s interesting how your sit spot can feel so different just because of the weather on a given day.