The Campus Saunter

By TJ Jahns

          An aspect of sauntering outside is that no matter how many times you repeat the route it is never the same walk.  Having taken Chris’s Nature class last spring, the walk we took Thursday was rather familiar.  It was not in any way boring because of its familiarity. I was able to look for things that had changed.  Also all the walks from that class were in the afternoon; now I could see how things looked in the morning light.  We are in the same season but this is Wisconsin so no season is ever really the same.  I could pick a path and walk it every day for a year.  If I leave at the same time and go at the same pace, I would still end up with 365 different walks.  The sky would look different.  The air would feel different.  Mother Nature is fantastic at the game “Spot the Difference”. That is why the outdoors will always be my choice for sauntering.

Women, Nature and Science

This could be an alternate title for my Natural History course. The next series of exhibits at the Lynden Sculpture Garden will encompass these subjects.  The artists deal with them either directly or indirectly.  The first one up is Sheila Held.  She does these tapestries that look like paintings.  I will be checking it out tomorrow.  The Lynden  fulfills a circumstance I mentioned in an earlier blog.  The one about being a tourist in your own town.  I have been driving by this place for years, aware of it because of the beautiful barns with large sculptures out front.  But I had no idea it was open to the public. As they say on the website their sign is pitifully small.  I learned about it in my art history class.  Essentially it is a large park with lots of sculptures.  It has indoor gallery space as well.  Check it out.

http://www.lyndensculpturegarden.org

If I have a chance I’ll add to this post how the experience went.

First Outing with NH Lab

First time out with my Natural History class and we lucked out. Despite it being January in Wisconsin it was 58 degrees out. We checked out the on campus stream and wandered around the outside of the parking structure and the sports fields. After a quick break inside we stepped off campus and crossed Morgan to checkout some other water and wildlife in the cemetery then meandered a bit into the subdivision there. We were back before the end of class time. It felt like a practice run; going over what kind of observations we might make, taking notes in my new-just-for-this-lab journal, and using my phone to take picture (I miss my camera but like not having to carry one more thing). It was warm but wet and muddy and on the side of the parking structure, where you were on an incline, just a tad treacherous. The most dramatic thing we saw was in the cemetery where the water flow had cut through the earth. Most plant life was dormant. We did see one rabbit take off running at the beginning of our walk. I expect there will be more to see as springtime comes but as far as first run goes I thought it went well.

Connecting to the Outside

Growing up in the OC (that’s Oak Creek-Go Knights) I had fields, woods, ponds, farms and of course the creek to play in and explore.  I climbed trees, dug in the mud, waded through water and to the annoyance of my mother, collected rocks.  Rock collecting was something her father, my grandfather did.  He was a farmer by trade and in the course of working the fields was always finding cool looking rocks.  Plus he and my grandmother liked to travel, wherever they went he would bring back pieces of where they had been.  The farm was out in the Whitewater area and gave me more fields to get dirty in, plus barns, pens and all the animals you would expect to find on a Wisconsin dairy farm.  My father’s family built a cabin in the “north woods” on Big Bearskin Lake.  They camped on the land for years before building the cabin when I was five.  It is, without question, my most favorite place in the world.  We are up on a hill (it is 107 steps down to the pier-fun going down not so much coming back up) and so have a fantastic view from the deck of most of the lake.  There is an island which depending on the season you would have to know is there to pick out.  We saved bread crusts and stale crackers to feed the ducks when they visit our boat lift.  The sound of loons on the water is the eeriest and coolest noise you can experience.  Our bird feeders attract squirrels,  chipmunks, flying squirrels, raccoon and  bears….oh and birds too.   I am NOT a camping girl but if I have a decent bed and a hot shower to come home to I’ll spend all day and on some occasions all night outside.  I did tent camping as a kid; I was a girl scout but as an adult I do what my family calls resort camping-the cabin, a deluxe camper or an actual resort is required.  I was taught by my family to respect the land and all the plants and animals that live on it.  We are connected to the natural world because we inhabit it.  I find all of it fascinating…especially the rocks.