“Some of the paintings show landscapes full of the tree stumps. The stumps were symbols of progress and points of pride… To let precious land, cleared by backbreaking labor, go untended, unprotected from an invasion of trees, was the opposite of progress” (Sterba 36).

This passage was a very interesting insight to some general thoughts of people from the past. Now in a conservationist mentality, I was surprised to think of the labor that went into removing the forest and the pride that people must have felt for being able to do that.

“Sometimes the forest isn’t what it seems to be. All sorts of outdoor entrepreneurs offered forays into the “wilderness” beginning in the 1980s…This wasn’t bad. It was just deceptive- the equivalent of restaurants that offer “wild” game that was farm raised because, as we shall see, it is illegal in the United States to sell real wild game” (Sterba 42-43).

I enjoy this comparison. It gives a new spin on the idea of how wilderness as most Americans choose to experience it, isn’t really what we would define as true wilderness.

“There was only a narrow slit between their lids, by which eyes, looking out from the land of dreams, and endeavoring to realize me, vague object or mote that interrupted his visions” (Thoreau 289).

I don’t think that Thoreau is saying anything particularly important here, I was simply impressed by the construction of this sentence.

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.

Aaron and I had a lot of fun walking around campus to identify trees.

Our first tree was out in the back of the library. We were unable to detect what tree this was from as the app couldn’t tell us much, but we are pretty sure it was the same leaf that Professor Brandes showed us in class, the Eastern Redbud. We noted that on the handout with all of the trees marked out that this Redbud was missing from the list and concluded that it was probably because it was a new tree.

After looking at the Redbud we made a b-line to the famous Japanese Maples behind Colton. Aaron was particularly interested in the trees that were insured on campus. This tree was particularly hard to identify. At first we tried using a single spoke of the leaf with no avail. We realized our mistake and tried using a whole leaf that fell on the ground. However, this leave was red and mangled which also yielded no results. Finally, we picked a leaf off the tree that was flat and green. Then the app was able to identify the type of tree.

Our last tree was outside of Kirby Hall and we are pretty sure it is a Black Locust that we identified by the seeds.

While I did work with a small group for our leaf hunt in class yesterday (which was a lot of fun), I was the only one with an Android phone and not an iPhone. It was a very good thing we all collaborated because my app was frustrating and often gave imprecise or inconclusive results. For a few leaves, we would identify them positively on other phones, but my matches for the same leaf would be entirely different. Although this process was a bit frustrating and confusing with my app, I found myself just appreciating the leaves and the trees they came from more. The varied colors of fall, the smooth or jagged edges, the clear or spotted surfaces, the holes from bugs, and the parasites were all simply fascinating.

And I just attempted to upload the images from the app. But the website gave an error message saying that the files could not be uploaded for security reasons, so they are also in an odd format. The images would have shown 2 leaves that had inconclusive matches that did not align with what we knew about the trees and 2 leaves identified generally as oak and maple.

As I walked around campus looking for leaves to take pictures of, I found myself becoming very interested in the phone app, Leafsnap. At first it was very frustrating, any shadow or lack of light could result in the picture not working. As I became more familiar with the app I started to enjoy it more. After having collected a few species I decided to explore the app even more.

I started looking at my collection when I got back to my house. Before I knew it I was exploring every possible option the phone application gave me. I started to feel a little like a citizen scientist. Sharman Russell’s Diary of a Citizen Scientist soon hit me on a different level. I started to understand the joy Russell received doing the work.

Don’t get me wrong, I realize there is a huge difference in the work Russell was doing. I don’t mean to trivialize her work studying the Western red-bellied tiger beetle by comparing to me analyzing a leaf to discover which type of tree it belonged to. My point is to express how I finally understand the desire to be a citizen scientist as opposed to just being a casual observer. Yesterday’s little self-excursion was extremely enjoyable.

What struck me most about walking around campus while paying specific attention to the trees was how oblivious I am. I had been told that lafayette had a ton of rare and different trees across its campus. Despite knowing this, I realized that I have never really paid attention to the trees while I have walked around. While I had noticed they were different shapes and sizes, I had never taken the time to truly appreciate the variety and different types of beauty. When I walked around yesterday afternoon I was struck by how beautiful some of the trees are, and hope to continue to notice them as I walk around campus.

Joey ritter and I walked from acopian to farinon and then around behind Pardee. While we looked at many trees and tried to determine what they were from the pamphlet, we paid extra attention to three of them and tried to determine what they were from both the guide and from leafsnap.

The first tree that really caught my eye was this one on the edge of the quad. What was interesting to me was that the tops of the leaves and the ones that seemed to be exposed to more sunlight were far redder than the average leaf.

We tried to put this leaf into leafsnap to determine the tree but got no results. It seemed to be a maple potentially.

The third tree we attempted to put into leafsnap came up with a few results, but we were unable to determine which was correct. It listed White Ash, Corkscrew Willow, and English Elm as all possibilities for this leaf.

Erik and I walked towards Farinon and looked at the trees that were facing the building on the quad. We decided to choose these trees because we thought it was interesting that we walk past these trees everyday, but we do not know what they are, what purpose they serve, and their effects on the environment, whether or not they are indigenous to the region. Leafsnap informed us that the leaves come from either a white ash tree, or a corkscrew willow.

I think this app is incredible, and that it is actually an example of technology bringing us closer to nature. Having the ability to recognize a leaf right away would bring vast knowledge to any person trying to find out more about their surrounding world.