“I don’t think names tell us much of character, essence, meaning. Einstein thought that the most mysterious aspect of the universe is what he called its “comprehensibility.” (50 Watching the Birds)

I like this quote because I have always wondered why we are forced to have to recognize different species, everyones name in a room. It also made me think about The Fantastic Mr. Fox where they are naming the different species in latin.

“The most mysterious thing about the universe is not its comprehensibility but the fact that it exists” (51 Watching the Birds)

I think this is an interesting analogy and it offers a different way to look at the world. It reminds us to think about the magic that is hidden in nature and simply why things happen the way they do”

“In the spring the wish to wander is partly composed of an unnamable irritation, born of long inactivity; in the fall the impulse is more pure, more inexplicable, and more urgent. I could use some danger, I suddenly thought, so I abruptly abandoned the creek to its banks and climbed the cliff. I wanted some height, and I wanted to see the woods” (249 Dillard)

I like the comparison of spring to fall because of the cyclical nature of the seasons. I also got this feeling about hiking in the fall. In the spring I feel like everyone is just going out after waking up after their long winters nap when they are hiking and exploring through the woods. In the fall you go exploring because it’s more of a fun thing to do and less of a necessary activity.

I have a little dinky tree that is growing in front of my off campus house. Some drunk hooligan decided to post a beer can on the stake that supports the tree. This made me think about our relationship with nature and alcohol.  When we were floating down the Delaware River we passed a bunch of men who were all on floats and drinking. Why do people feel the need to drink while interacting with nature?

TransCanada, the Canadian company behind the Keystone XL pipeline, asked the U.S. government on Monday to suspend its permit application, throwing the politically fraught project into an indefinite state of limbo, likely beyond the 2016 U.S. elections.

After an expected rejection from President Obama on the bill, it seems like TransCanada is just waiting it out hoping that a GOP candidate will take office in 2016. All Democratic candidates are against the pipeline, while all of the Republican candidates are for it.

So is this a win for environmentalists or just dragging out a loss if a GOP candidate takes the White House? It’s hard to say. Without a complete outline of the pipeline, it’s honestly hard to say what impact it would have on the environment. Even environmentalists cannot deny that most American infrastructure relies on fossil fuels. As candidates continue to fight it out for the presidency, it looks like the Keystone XL debate is going to be dragged out a little bit longer than expected.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/transcanada-requests-suspension-of-u-s-permit-for-keystone-xl-pipeline-1446507279

“If we knew all the laws of Nature, we should need only one fact, or the description of one actual phenomenon, to infer all particular results at that pint. Now we know only a few laws, and our result is vitiated, not, of course, by any confusion or irregularity in Nature, but by our ignorance of essential elements in the calculation. Our notion of law and harmony are commonly confined to those instances which we detect; but the harmony which results from a far greater number of seemingly conflicting, but really concurring, laws, which we have not detected is still more wonderful” (Thoreau 314).

“What I have observed of the pond is no less true in ethics. It is the law of average. Such a rule of the two diameters not only guides us toward the sun in the system and the heart in man, but draw lines through the length and breadth of the aggregate of a man’s particular daily behaviors  and waves of life into his coves and inlets, and where they intersect will be the height or depth of his character. Perhaps we need only to know how his shores trend and his adjacent country or circumstances, to infer his depth and concealed bottom” (Thoreau 315).

“In 1906, fifty white tails from Michigan’s remnant herd were delivered to Pennsylvania and released in specially created refuges there. Eleven years later, Pennsylvania’s deer managers were being blamed by commercial foresters, farmers, and orchard owners from “too many deer.”Aldo Leopold, a US forester conservationist, asserted that in 1931 Pennsylvania had an estimated 800,000 deer but a habitat capacity for only 250,000. In the winter of 1935-36, one biologist reported, anyone who wanted to take a walk along some mountain streams could see fifty to one hundred dead deer in less than a mile. They had starved to death” (Sterba 98-99)

I think this quote really illuminates how large the white tailed deer population explosion was. It puts a disturbing image in people’s heads, which sometimes, is the only way to get them to do anything.

“We went up north because that’s where the deer were. I assumed that’s where they belonged. I associated them with the pine forest and cedar swamps up there, a place that looked natural and unspoiled, certainly wilder than the open country where we lived in the southern third of the state” (Sterba 99)

This quote really made me think about how the deer lived in the woods we now inhabit thousands of years before our civilization came and ripped their homes apart. The deer were here long before humans. We just assume that the deer like to live in the woods upstate, rather than humans kicked them out of the regions they once inhabited.

“Meanwhile, the magnificent white-tailed deer, a visual treasure to behold, becomes a long-legged rat” (Sterba 117)

This quote highlights that we value certain species more than others. Why is a rat seen as less valuable than a deer? It is all in your perception of the rat that makes it something bad. If you can change the way you see the rat from a pest to a furry little fat creature, your view of it completely changes.

“introducing the World’s First Smudge Stick! Check out the advertisement we created for it. We’re pretty sure the owners of the house we smudged are really happy to see their home smudged. And you can be happy too! Just Smudge those windows you’ve cleaned with Windex and keep them dirty and good looking”

I saw this commercial as I was watching TV this afternoon and found it comical and at the same time disturbing. What this commercial fails to advocate for this that most birds that run into glass windows do not survive. These birds are in a sense advocating for their lives by advertising these “smudge sticks.” I think if groups like The Audubon Society and The National Bird Conservancy saw this they would be utterly disturbed. Humans who are ignorant to the issues of birds constantly flying into windows would view this advertisement as funny, when there is a much bigger issue at hand.

The second video I found when I searched for this commercial on Youtube was even more disturbing. They mock the movement to protect birds who fly into these windows through an advertisement for glass cleaner. If I was the member of a bird conservation group I would be boycotting windex.

This morning I went on a nature walk with my best friend Kannie (Kristina). We like to go walk the KSAT whenever we are feeling stressed out or are avoiding our homework. Even nature that is close to campus can provide a much needed escape from school.

6:12 AM: Alarm goes off, eat my cheerios, regret signing up for this class and going to bed a little too late the night before.

6:59: Fall asleep on Tessa.

10:37: Arrival, cold.

10:38: Start hiking, too many layers on, hot.

10:48: See cute puppy, lots of cute puppies, and lots of people attached to them.

11:05: Elevation getting steeper, regretting my many layers and running out of places to fit them into my backpack.

11:31: nearing the top, can feel it getting colder and elevation getting less steep, less vegetation, more rocky and trees have fewer leaves still attached to them.

11:37: Arrival at vista, very beautiful overlook. Cold again because we aren’t moving

I think people very easily forget why we hike and do things in the outdoors. Yesterday, Professor Smith talked about how we constantly have to explain why we do the things we do and why they have value. The class seemed to be rather stumped by this question, mostly because he was preaching to the choir. I know when I looked out over that edge, besides being completely freaked out of people falling off of it, I didn’t appreciate it simply because it was beautiful. I appreciate nature and scenes like it because it reminds me of how small I am compared to the world around me.

This idea of being small reminds us to be conscious of the impact we have on the world. By thinking small, we minimize our footprint, be careful not to take more than you need from the world around us. Sometimes we are so obsessed with reaching the peak of the social ladder, that we forget what it takes to get there. The impact we are making on our community and the people in our lives, as well the resources around us. It’s important to take a step back and appreciate, take time to minimize your impact on the world and make sure you are always working towards the greater good.

12:01: I am very hungry; eat my food, really cold now.

12:15: Finally we keep moving, got to keep the blood flowing

1:12: We turn around, conscious of the time we do not reach the top. Instead we have a teaching moment and students are able to reflect on the journey.

1:20: back down, slippery back down because of the leaves, much more cautious.

2:16: sites look familiar, walking back down we pass some people who are just starting up which seems to be rather late in the day.

2:37: Arrive back at vans, ready for a nap, cold again.

3:12: promise of food, spirit rises after an exhaustive experience.

4:02: FOOD

4:48: Back on the road, heading back to school, fall asleep on Tessa.

While on the Quad I saw many different kinds of trees. I think its very valuable to be able to identify species of plants and trees because it gives us a greater connection to our environment. It is the same as when you don’t know another persons name and once you know their name you feel a much greater connection to them. 

I think we talk a lot about how technology disconnects from nature, but can also connect us to it. Using apps like Leaf Snap allows us to get to know more about the world around us (even if it doesn’t work very well). This tool can be used by pretty much anyone of any age. It opens the door to more knowledge about nature in the environment- which is never a bad thing.

Earlier this semester I posted the picture of the morning glories on the left. They were beautiful in full bloom, even though they had taken over the front porch. Unfortunately, in cold on Sunday and Monday my morning glories did not survive. This vine is now a very sad sight.