In front of me lies tinker creek, housing some rather interesting things. The first to catch my eye as I observed at my sit-spot was one the pipes draining into the water from Hollins campus. Its imposing structure lies directly below me, out of my sight when I am sitting and just in view when I stand. This pipe was one of the main reasons that I picked this location because I wanted to see what impact it would have over the time I will be visiting this location. The second intriguing part hiding behind the wall of trees that line the creek is what appears to be a manmade waterfall. Manmade or natural it has smallest constant flow of water cascading down into the rest of the creek. The waterfall was another main reason I decided on this spot and is also a focal point I picked because it seems like a drastic shift, the stiller water housing the Hollins drainage pipe and then the cascading water which begins its tumbling roll.

On both sides of me is a small gap of grassy greenery that I have decided to focus more on as I notice my failure to tune in to this area more.

It is followed by lines of trees, which I will be focusing on in my time here. In this line of trees is also the tree I gathered my sycamore leaves from, making this space feel even more familiar.

Behind me just past the ten to fifteen-foot range sits Oyster pond and its companions, two large trees. The leaves in the trees around me, both those by Oyster pond and those close to my sit-spot, seem to be lacking a lot of the color I saw last year during the falls months at Hollins. While the trees do show signs of the impending cold, the grasses and small plants around the waters edge are still vividly green and seem to be flourishing in the summertime heat that has creeped into early autumn. Overall, this space makes me feel wildly comfortable as if I can fade away into the lush green foliage under tree line without being noticed.

My first remark when I got to my sit-spot was how fall, even in the eighty-degree heat, is showing its signs. The air smells like fall, just hot and humid. It’s thick but the now damp leaf litter on the group around smells like fall, a scent that is so hard to describe but so familiar it feels like home. The hot dense air also carries the scent of the asphalt from the road to my sit spot. It had just rained and was sprinkling off and on while I was at my sit-spot causing the hot pavement to cool. The scent of the cooling pavement is strong and thick, much like the dense air harboring it.

While sitting in my spot, I had been quite focused on the moving water. Its noisy presence from the flowing waterfall has caught my attention every time I have been here. At the base of the waterfall, where the water flows down into the rest of the creek are these small minnows, darting around quite consistently in my times here. One thing I have begun to notice with these minnows is that when I first arrive, I do not see them anywhere. I believe they can see my shadow creeping over the water much like birds, a natural predator of the minnows. When I have been here for a while sitting quiet and still observing, they come out from the edges of the creek and begin to dart around in their small shoal. Another creature that often catches my attention and takes me away from the minnows is the squirrels. Much like the squirrels on the rest of the campus, my presence does not seem to impact them at all. They almost seem to become unaware of me after a while of me observing. I saw two that I was able to separate as individuals. One that has what appears to be a large wound on its side, almost at its shoulder blade. I’m curious to see if this one will make it or if this will be my last time seeing this squirrel throughout my time at the sit-spot.

Once the squirrels brought my attention up to the trees above me, I looked across the creek to see my favorite encounter from my time at my sit spot, a small brown bird. I am not sure of its identification, but it is one of the most precious creatures I have seen. I wondered if it is here for food, but It is not large enough to eat the minnows. The small bird was simply sitting on a branch nestled in the tree line watching the world around it. While watching the bird, I wanted to know if it was looking at me and taking notice of me as I did it. I’m positive it had made note of me, but I doubt I was of much concern at this point from across the creek. The new friend I had found stayed for a short period of time, or at least from when I had noticed him, and then flew off on to its next adventure. Once the small nameless bird left, I started to think about how I saw very limited life the first time I was here. These two experiences at my same sit-spot feel quite different. Today, I have seen so much life all around me and been able to tune out the world beyond my view. I am unsure currently if the increase in life has to do with the recent rain or if today I simply did better at tuning into the world around me, noticing so much more. My second experience is also different because of the time that has passed, although it has not been long, the trees had now changed quite a bit since last time and the creatures such as the squirrel seemed to be preparing for what will be happening as the days grow colder. It was two different days, but you could’ve convinced me they were two different places.