Sit Spot #1 – Rachel Hargrove

Time Entered: 2:40pm

Time Left: 3:42pm

My sit spot was a lovely little area located behind Cocke building. It was in the middle of campus, but at the same time it was a little escape from the everyday hustle and bustle of college campus life. Once I was assigned this sit spot project, I knew the exact spot for a quiet place where I could tune into nature away from the distractions of the modern world. I remembered the quiet environment from having class once in the meditation chapel. On my way to class, I remember spotting a little stream and plot of grass with a canopy of trees. I thought to myself that this little garden would be a good place to do homework. This spot immediately came to mind when I got this assignment. So, I grabbed my journal and blanket and walked down to the little hidden stream to begin my observations.

The first thing that I noticed when I got to my spot was this massive tree that was located in the Northwest direction. It’s the biggest tree and it was almost as tall as the building right next to it. This tree splits into three large limbs which are all covered with leaves that radiate green. Directly behind this tree is a stream that runs form the North to the South side of my plot. There are two sitting chairs right next to the stream, which would be great for sitting down and enjoying all of the scenery. To the East, was a stonewall that separates the little hideaway from the Chapel that sits uphill of my spot. In between all of the trees and the wall was a big plot of grass that looks and smells freshly cut.

There were a large number of trees, plants, and flowers that are growing in my spot. Most of the trees are small and surround the little plot of grass, but there was one tree that is extremely tall and massive. As mentioned before, it is located right in front of the stream and is almost as tall as Cocke building. The tree had lots of little holes and it looked like it was a home to a variety of animals. It provided a big portion of the shade for my spot. There was a multitude of shrubbery that varies from all kinds of shapes, colors, and sizes. All of the greenery looked to be healthy and thriving, except for one tree that was located to the Southwest of my spot. The tree was bare, and all of the leaves are gone. It’s the skeleton of a once beautiful tree. Besides the one tree, the greenery is thriving and beautiful. The ground or more specifically the grass looks freshly cut due to the several streaks of different colored grass. The streaks typically mean that grass has recently been mowed. The ground from the stream going in the East direction moves uphill.

There was a lot of wildlife and movement going on in the background if I paid close enough attention. Some examples of the wildlife would be birds, squirrels, snakes, and insects. There were multiple birds that were chirping in the background. There were chirping so frequently that it was like they were talking to each other. There were multiple squirrels but one in particular caught my attention. It was plating in the trees and throwing nuts onto the ground. He was jumping in between a bunch of the tress limbs causes all sports of brush to fall onto the ground. Next up was the large number of bugs that were in my spot. Although there were more than I spotted, the ones that I saw were ants, bees, and mosquitos. The ants were all marching in a line gong towards the same direction. I thought this was cool because they were all working together towards one place. I only saw one bee. It was buzzing around my head. I don’t particularly like the sound of bees, but I love bees because of how small their population has gotten in the recent years. Lastly, I saw and felt the mosquitos in my spot. They would not leave me alone the whole time. The reason that there was so many of them was most likely due to the water that is near my spot. The last animal I encountered, which I do not have a picture of, was a black snake. I was walking around to take pictures of my spot and nearly steeped on a worm sized garden snake. I am not a huge fan of snakes, so I ran the other direction and forgot to get a picture. I can’t wait to see some other animals that may cross my path in my spot!

Some other observations I made during my time in my spot was some other sounds. It was a fairly quiet day, but one other sound I distinctly remember was that of a train horn beyond me in the East direction.

Lastly, the sky on the day I went to journal was absolutely beautiful. It was “sky blue” and had some many fluffy, white clouds. However, to the South of my spot was a more ominous looking sky. It was darker and had heavy looking clouds. It looked as if rain was coming in soon. The sky looked beautiful with the way it was split into two moods. I was sunny on one side and dark on the other.

My first time just sitting in my sit spot and tunning into nature and out of the world. I actually liked it because it was refreshing and calming. It was nice to get away from the stress of college and feelings of being away from home. I enjoyed doing my sit spot assignment and noticing things that I wouldn’t normally notice. I think the only thing that I would want to do differently is wear BUGSPRAY! I can’t wait to do the next one!

My three objects that I have chosen to follow are the following: the massive tree, a plant that has yellow flowers growing out of it, and an orange and yellow colored bush. The massive tree I am going to follow is the one I mentioned before. It’s interesting because it takes up so much space and how it may make the whole spot look different if it changes. The second is a pretty little shrub that has yellow flowers on it. It caught my eye because of the color! I chose it because it is the only shrub that has flowers with such vibrant colors. Lastly, I chose a bush that has an orange color to it. I chose it because of the color as well as the way it looks like its already changing due to fall coming. It is the only one in my spot that isn’t just solid green.