Though I believe both Site Beta and Site Alpha are beautiful and inspire awe in their own ways, I think my Site Beta inspires more awe for me than Site Alpha. I think this is because Site Beta incorporates a body of water (The Duck Pond) into it which causes more types of animals to be involved. There are ducks and geese in Site Beta and I find serenity in birds. There is a cluster of trees including a weeping willow. During less busy times in the Public Garden, I find Site Beta quiet and relaxing.
The article "How to Cultivate Awe with a Walking Meditation" relates to how I feel about Site Beta. I am someone who occasionally practices meditation and I can see myself doing it at Site Beta. Though I would sit in Site Beta instead of doing a walking meditation, I can imagine it inspiring the same type of awe as a walking meditation through a forrest would. The article "Can Awe Boost Health" did not surprise me much. I place a lot of value on spending time in nature because it has always made me feel better in an endorphins sense. When I read this article about how it can improve immune system health I know now to place even more value on spending time in beautiful nature in order to have positive emotions such as awe. Living in a city, it can be a little difficult, but with places like the Public Garden and the Esplanade, and even Harvard Yard, it can be a little easier. Though these places aren't forests or mountains, they still are beautiful parts of nature.
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I visited my Site Beta for this assignment. Since my Site Beta is in the Boston Public Garden, there are usually the sounds of human activity. However, there are moments where there is little to no human sound and I can hear the nature.
I can hear some birds chirping, and the occasional goose sound or duck sounds. I also can hear some water trickling, as my Site Beta is right by the Duck Pond. When wind blows, I hear the leaves on bushes rustling, but when there is no wind the leaves do not make any sort of sound unless interacted with by a human or animal. The Public Garden is a pretty vast space and there aren't really any buildings directly next to it causing the sounds to bounce off the exterior walls of the building creating extraordinary acoustics. Also, since it is a city, there are no mountains causing this either. W When the human noises are subdued, it sounds similar to sitting in a vast open field in the suburbs. (NOTE: The link provided on the class blog to help with this challenge did not work, so I googled soundscape ecology and did my best on this challenge based off of what I was able to find) Reference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soundscape_ecology A species often seen in my Site Alpha is Sciurus carolinensis, or the Eastern Grey Squirrel. This is the species I have chosen for this challenge.
1: A picture of the eastern grey squirrel in Site Alpha 2: A picture I retrieved from my research about red squirrels 3: A picture of a black squirrel I retrieved from my research References http://focusingonwildlife.com/news/gray-squirrels-versus-red-squirrels-the-facts/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/10886477/The-rise-and-rise-of-the-black-squirrel-caused-by-genetic-mutation.html http://www.answers.com/Q/How_many_chromosomes_do_squirrels_have Date: 4/23/2017
Time: 3:00 pm Weather: Sunny, 55* F I returned to Site Alpha to observe the tree's status of budding/blooming and found a pretty significant change. The tree (a bur oak) is beginning to bloom in most parts of the tree. It is pictured above. Explanation of photos 1: A full shot part of the blooming branches 2: A close up of the buds Where: Site Alpha
Date: 4/14/17 Time: 3:05pm Weather: Sunny, breezy, 55*F I am using the tree in my Site Alpha for this challenge which is a Bur Oak. When doing my first assignment on Site Alpha, I learned that this tree blooms in April so I thought using this tree would be good for this challenge. Though I haven't noticed much change in the tree since finding Site Alpha, I am hoping there will be some blooming soon. Hopefully next time I visit there will be a change. Explanations of pictures 1: This is a photo of the branches from April 2nd 2: This is a photo of the branches from April 14th 3: This is a photo I pulled from the internet of what a fully bloomed Bur Oak tree looks like References https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=quma2 |
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