Its bulbous neck twists and turns with the curvature of a snake
Tattered chest drapings appear stringy like a feather duster; against the smoothness of its grey flyer
Soundless, motionless save for the quick motion of its long pointed snout snatching a small fish from the water
Standing amongst reeds and cattails
Humpback; graceful
Stands on two pillars preening its interior folds
Arms folded open in a heart shape to reveal its openness and it's symmetry
Tall, when neck erect
Great Blue Heron.
Disguised as one plant to the ignorant eye, yet emerged as another to its humble students
Marsh, wet growth, tall success
Achieving height for its production: a delicate crown on the giant beanstalk
Tissue paper, a song, streaks on its petals and greens
Yellow Iris.
Analogous to the Pacific Northwest
A symbol of freedom
Common, counted, awed
Connections to my island while visiting another
Great Bald Eagle.
Reflection
My perception of the observation site has fluctuated throughout the quarter, first towards feelings of annoyance and then towards achievement. My first visit to Marsh Island was really enjoyable, but I was nervous about finding enough species to document. From that point forward, dread seemed to crop up whenever I anticipated "needing" to do a sit spot. In reality, my time there would be inevitably enjoyable, but the act of enjoying nature because it was required rather than spontaneous was not appealing. Those feelings eventually faded as I started visiting the site more regularly, and I found a certain connection with the places and species I was observing. The scientific language aspect had turned me away, but I found new connections with this assignment especially. I did these poems while floating in a canoe around the island, and it was the most successful way (so far) to get me in touch with the natural history of a place. I left Washington with strong feelings of appreciation for Marsh Island and all of the plants and animals I can now identify!
My sense of the Puget Sound region is overall more confident and more intimate. I had grown up enjoying the natural world quite often, but never on the level of knowledge I now have. Even during my short time thus far in Sitka, Alaska -- I have used my plant and bird identification skills to help me better acquaint myself with this new place. The Puget Sound region had re-opened itself to exploration for me. From the humanities perspective, it has also inspired me to continue artistic endeavors that I had lost the time for recently. Watercolor painting and journaling in a non-scientific manner is still a wonderful way to experience natural history and learn things about a place.
Intimately knowing a place (like Marsh Island, Seattle, or even Sitka) takes trial and error, frustration, practice, and love. This is applicable in a city, small town, and even the forest. Interestingly, I still do not feel like an expert even in the places I have spent many hours. I believe that my level of intimacy with my sit spot can develop as I continue to canoe and walk around it.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Monday, June 3, 2013
Week 8
Date: Monday June 3, 2013
Weather: Sunny and very warm
Temperature: ~ 74 degrees F
Time: 5:00 pm
Location: Marsh Island
Walking the path on Marsh Island today truly felt like summer. The island is swamped with water, perhaps a result of the increased activity of watercraft in the Arboretum. The waters on both sides of the island were crawling with canoes and kayaks. Brian and I visited the site together and shared photos in an attempt to prepare for the final project. There are still many species we need to identify around the Arboretum, and this visit proved that there is still some exploratory work to be done.
I observed a huge growth in yellow iris and pond lilies. The amount of greenery is immense compared to only a few weeks ago. The air was alive with photosynthesis! There was algal growth in the murky water, and the yellow iris were blooming beautiful flowers. I heard and observed several birds, including crows, great blue heron, gadwall ducks, bewick's wren, American robin, and marsh wren. There were still a lot of red ants in the mud, which unfortunately I felt the effects of in my bare feet. (The mud was so deep that I had to take off my shoes to avoid sinking.) The Scouler's willow and Pacific willow were so much larger than during April, it was almost surprising how abundant the leaves were. I noticed some foliose lichen on the trunks of trees, common horsetail growing thickly along the path, and tall grasses identified by their nodes. The cattails looked like true fuzzy cat tails, and this is where I saw the Great Blue Heron nestled. I noticed some flies, and identified one as a diptera individual. The blackberries were in bloom, as were a few other types of flower that I had trouble identifying. One yellow flowering plant looked like it could be subalpine buttercup. I noticed paper birch and black cottonwood, and a lot of new growth on the lady ferns. There were some new species I hadn't noticed before and was unsuccessful in identifying, including a medium size tree leaning out over the water and a shrubby tree -- both I presumed to be invasive species.
Weather: Sunny and very warm
Temperature: ~ 74 degrees F
Time: 5:00 pm
Location: Marsh Island
Walking the path on Marsh Island today truly felt like summer. The island is swamped with water, perhaps a result of the increased activity of watercraft in the Arboretum. The waters on both sides of the island were crawling with canoes and kayaks. Brian and I visited the site together and shared photos in an attempt to prepare for the final project. There are still many species we need to identify around the Arboretum, and this visit proved that there is still some exploratory work to be done.
I observed a huge growth in yellow iris and pond lilies. The amount of greenery is immense compared to only a few weeks ago. The air was alive with photosynthesis! There was algal growth in the murky water, and the yellow iris were blooming beautiful flowers. I heard and observed several birds, including crows, great blue heron, gadwall ducks, bewick's wren, American robin, and marsh wren. There were still a lot of red ants in the mud, which unfortunately I felt the effects of in my bare feet. (The mud was so deep that I had to take off my shoes to avoid sinking.) The Scouler's willow and Pacific willow were so much larger than during April, it was almost surprising how abundant the leaves were. I noticed some foliose lichen on the trunks of trees, common horsetail growing thickly along the path, and tall grasses identified by their nodes. The cattails looked like true fuzzy cat tails, and this is where I saw the Great Blue Heron nestled. I noticed some flies, and identified one as a diptera individual. The blackberries were in bloom, as were a few other types of flower that I had trouble identifying. One yellow flowering plant looked like it could be subalpine buttercup. I noticed paper birch and black cottonwood, and a lot of new growth on the lady ferns. There were some new species I hadn't noticed before and was unsuccessful in identifying, including a medium size tree leaning out over the water and a shrubby tree -- both I presumed to be invasive species.
Foliose!
New tree growth along the north side
Pond lilies
Birch tree
Blue flowers we could not identify
Tree we could not identify
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