7:45 - 9:00PM
Sunny. High 50's.
This is week 10 - the last week. I'm feeling a little sad that this is coming to an end because it was a lot of fun to see how much everything changes week to week. It was especially difficult to leave this week because of all the amazing stuff I saw. It's as if the nature in Yesler Swamp knew this was going to be my last time there for awhile so they threw me a grand finale. When I got out to the lake there were baby mallard ducks with their mom. They were nibbling on stuff in the water and the baby ducks were able to run across the yellow lily pads. I don't go throwing the word 'cute' around much, but baby ducklings running on top of lily pads definitely earns the description as cute. Suddenly things got not-so-cute. A bald eagle came soaring over the inlet and even started to descend a little bit. All the ducks in the inlet went absolutely crazy and got to cover immediately. The bald eagle backed off and found himself a branch to perch on above the inlet. I had a great view of him. After a couple minutes of calmness on the lake, some beavers came out and swam around. Every time they would come out they would swim over toward husky stadium, so I didn't get to observe them a whole lot. A few more minutes later another bald eagle came and joined the first one on the same branch! They started making really loud calls back and fourth and after about 5 minutes the first eagle flew away, only to come back with a ton of sticks and twigs! I couldn't believe how much it was carrying. I'm not sure I would have even been comfortable carrying a whole lot more, but seeing it fly through the air may have skewed my judgement. After seeing all this, it's hard for me to not miss this place!
The assignment this week was to describe a plant, a bird, and anything else without using scientific vocabulary. We had the options to write poems or do whatever really. I'm making the choice to leave out what I'm describing, but feel free to comment and ask me if you wish.
Plant:
There seems to be a coat rack in Yesler swamp. It stands tall and has arms going out in a methodical way just asking to take your hat. It’s strong and sturdy and doesn’t stand out – unlike the other beauty of the swamp. But there it stands, with a purpose at hand – natures great coat rack.
Bird:
Running on the trail ahead of me and looking back every few
feet,
If left to its own device, it would much rather stand there
and eat.
It has a yellow shovel that it uses to dig and eat
All of the slimy critters that it comes to meet.
He makes a happy noise
Very cheerful an loud
But the murder he commits
Is nothing to be proud.Another organism:
The submarine of Yesler swamp
Gliding through the lake,
Sometimes going unseen.
Any sight of it you’ll take,
This brown submarine.
Little periscopes of sound,
And the ability to go up and down,
Make this sub quite a sight,
And surely a treat to be
found.Lastly, here is some final reflection.
1.) How has your perception of your observation site changed throughout the quarter?
To answer this I went back and read what I wrote in week 1 to try and remember my initial thoughts. From what I read and what I can remember I think at first Yesler Swamp may have been a little overwhelming. With all the plants and bird calls around me that I couldn't identify it was easy to not slow down and really observe things because I didn't have the resources to eventually put a name to them. Over time, once I became more comfortable using my guidebook and after our class went to union bay natural area, I was able to start piecing some things together and making the swamp as a whole more manageable.
I also didn't think about how much change would really occur. I saw Yesler Swamp as homework more than a nice getaway. It was always easy to stay on top of blogging because going to the swamp was something I wanted to do by about week 4 or 5. Being there as much as I have been over the past 10 weeks has given me some kind of greater connection with the swamp. When I'm there I don't feel a sense of surprise as much as I feel a sense of home and belonging almost.
2.) How has your sense of the Puget Sound Region changed throughout the quarter?
If Yesler Swamp showed me how much change and diversity can be found in just a small location within the city, then I can only imagine how much the whole Puget Sound region as a whole can offer. Before when I thought of the Puget Sound region I limited it to the Seattle area and the San Juan islands, because those are what I have been most exposed to. Our class field trips to the Olympic Peninsula and the East Cascades really showed me that there is so many different kinds of habitat all within this region. Due to the uniqueness of having mountains creating rain shadow effects, elevation gradients, and having the Pacific Ocean and Puget Sound right here set up an amazing opportunity to see a number of different ecosystems that you wouldn't necessarily have the opportunity to see if you lived somewhere else. I always have thought that I'm not very well traveled and haven't seen much, but now I know that there is so much right here at home that I can go see for a much cheaper cost than a plane ticket.
3.) What does it mean to intimately know a place?
To intimately know a place, you obviously have to spend a lot of time there. You have to know it not only by sight, but by touch, sound, and smell. I would argue that I currently intimately know Yesler Swamp, but if I don't return in the next few weeks then I will no longer know it intimately outside of how it is during the Spring. I claim to know Yesler Swamp intimately because I can take a step in any given part of the trail, and without looking down I know how it's going to feel based on how much it has rained lately. Some parts of the swamp your foot will sink in, some parts are somewhat dry and if you're trying to move quietly the sticks may snap that you step on and cause noise. I know that as I go through one section of the swamp, there are going to be swarms of little flies buzzing all about. It's the little things like this that show that you know a place intimately.
