Hello Everyone, and Welcome to Ethnobotany
I am excited for this new semester, and even more
excited for the coming of Spring. I love Spring in Athens - when the weather
warms up. I like seeing the small green buds form on deciduous trees as they
emerge from winter dormancy. The bare skeletons of all the big oak trees around
here fill with thick green leaves. It always happens so quickly, and all of a
sudden I am surrounded by silky white dogwood flowers, blooming pink azaleas,
and the familiar buzz of bees doing their pollinating. Spring happens fast
here, so it is nice to stop and notice all the changes before the oppressive heat
and humidity of summer in The South takes over.
Our class is going to focus a lot on plants and
culture, but along with more knowledge we hope to give students a better
appreciation and understanding of the natural world. So, we are going to ask
you guys to select a Sit Spot for this semester and write about it as we
progress into Spring.
What is a Sit Spot? A Sit Spot is a quit, natural
spot where you will be silent and notice all the things around you – trees,
grass, weeds, bugs, squirrels, bird calls. It can be in your back yard, or
Memorial Park, or a quiet place on campus. You will sit there and observe the
world for about 10-15 minutes. You will do this every few days, or maybe once a
week in the same spot. And occasionally on this blog we will ask you to write
about it and how it changes with the seasons.
So for this week I would like you to choose a spot
and tell us about it. Please describe what you see – and if you wish to post a
picture or a drawing of the spot that would be awesome too. Please post in the comments section.
-Sam
I chose my spot based on proximity- it's actually my backyard. It's not exactly deep in the woods like I would like for it to be, but I think the convenience has value.
ReplyDeleteI've got a lot of leaves on the ground. A lot of acorns. They make the ground wobbly like marbles on a floor. Think- Home Alone. It all looks very brown and wet. I've got some houses around me, so the three big beautiful live oaks look especially powerful against the little houses.
For the sake of convenience, I chose my back porch as my sit spot. Affectionately dubbed "Pride Rock" by my roommates, my back porch somehow remains in the sun all through the day. There are a few oak trees, two firs, some magnolia trees, ivy, and quite a bit of bamboo. It seems secluded even though it is relatively close to a busy street. There isn't much wildlife, besides a few squirrels and my dog.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by how green my sit spot is, even during the winter months. With the exception of the oaks, everything else retains their leaves. On this sunny, warm day, the greenness doesn't feel out of place, like spring has already arrived.
I found a spot in my backyard too. Despite the number of fallen leaves, large but decrepit vine-covered trees provided a great deal of green and shade. Vines extend across the leaf-covered ground, and patches of bamboo crowd a partially remaining pathway. Some bamboo, twice as tall as me, leaned with the nice breeze. I found one stalk growing oddly at an acute angle, but it is thicker than the rest. The bird bath was empty, but squirrels leapt from tree to tree, scaling fallen limbs and fence lines. Cars and trucks came to a stop at the red-light beyond the trees, and I basked in a brief moment of natural silence. Birds chirped in every direction, and the wind rustled the leaves. I'll try to do my observations earlier in the morning to avoid human distractions, but today's sit was sunny and peaceful.
ReplyDeleteMy backyard is surrounded by trees on all three sides, and my yard is about an acre and a half. Right behind my back porch will be my designated sit spot. I already have a place there where I like to sit and watch all the different songbirds that come by to visit. Currently there is a birdbath, a suet cube, and a seed feeder all in place that are frequently used. There is also a yellow rose bush and a gardenia bush nearby, which both smell amazing when they bloom. There are plenty of squirrels and deer that roam around back there, and last spring a couple of red foxes made a den under our shed and raised four kits there. There are hawks, owls, and chuck-will's-widows that sit in the larger trees. I'm going to do some planting back there when it warms up, and I'll document whether or not I can raise a small garden.
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty quiet now except for the crows cawing and squirrels scurrying. Most everything is brown, but the pines and some shrubbery under the trees are both green. The flower bushes also have green leaves. There are pecan trees with leftover hulls on the ground under them. There are also plenty of oak leaves, acorns, and pine needles littering the ground.
DeleteMy sit spot is in my apartment complex, but off an undeveloped side of a street. In my spot there are several large oak and pine trees, and leaves and acorns litter the ground all around me. I can already hear what sounds like hundreds of birds calling in the trees above and around me. Squirrels scurry by leaping from branch to branch in a hurry to attend to squirrel matters, and a few unseen critters, maybe chipmunks or mice, clamber by in the undergrowth. The oak trees look like bare skeletons starkly contrasting with the sky in the background, but the pines and some grasses around still give the area some green.
ReplyDeleteI visit home on the weekends so I decided my spot would be my family garden. Right now some things like the blueberry bushes, fig trees, mulberry tree, and almond trees look like they are sleeping. They're leaves, flowers and fruit are gone. Most of the herbs to. Broccoli and spinach is growing right now and they are bright green. There are really large pecan trees growing all around and lots of birds and squirrels running and flying around them. The soil in one plot is turned over and a cover crop is just peeking up. The soil is really dark and rich. There are chickens rooming around looking for food. There is a nice breeze and you can smell the mint in the air.
ReplyDeleteIn my neighborhood there is what can only be described an ornamental bridge (as crosses the entrance drive, but goes from nowhere in particular to nowhere in particular), but it reminds me of a bridge by Port Meadow in Oxford and so I've chosen the far side of the bridge as my sit spot. there is a low stone boarder around the crown of the hill that the bridge ends on, creating a small circle clearing. Right now the grass is brown, but after sitting for a time I began to notice small mosses and weedy plants that were green and growing around the rocks and under the grass. The clear part of the ground was covered with acorns. My favorite plants (there are small oaks, larger evergreens, and a few ornamental trees and what I think are azaleas) are the birch trees with their pealing silver bark that shone against the darker evergreens in yesterday's afternoon sun. The animal life seems to consist mostly of squirrels and the ants who have constructed a mini-ayers rock of an ant-hill on the far side of my clearing.
ReplyDeleteI chose a spot that is on the route where I walk my dog off Riverbend. It's right off of the side of the road so a car may drive by every couple of minutes. There are trees that create a canopy over the road. Right now, only pines seem to be adding any green to the covering. There's an owl that nests in a very tall tree. There are a lot of birds and they're always chirping. On the ground, there's tall, untamed grass and lots of weeds. This time of the year, there's no fragrance of vegetation but I get excited with anticipation of springtime flowers and plants that will flood the area. I hear a lot of rustling in the fallen leaves, probably from squirrels.
ReplyDeleteFor my sit spot I am sitting next to my herb garden in my front yard. Most of the plants that I raised this summer are dead and gone but a cabbage has sneakily raised its head already this year. The grass is dry but the ground is cold which makes it feel damp. I can hear my next door neighbor offering her kids books to read and showing them branches, "isn't this a cool stick that mom found? what should we do with this stick?" There's still blood spots on the ground from skinning that coyote but luckily the smell has faded. I can, however, smell some dog poo from my wild man, Freddie Mercury. The weather is so perfect I can hardly believe it. T-shirts in January. A steady wind is blowing and rustling dry leaves all around me. I have a hard time clearing my head. There's still some whiskey pumping through my veins from the night before and I'm probably late for work.
ReplyDeleteMy front stoop sits 70 paces from the street, and in this space, a browning stretch of grass is interrupted by the horseshoe of our gravel driveway. Vines cover the fences to the left and right, and into these, my cat escapes and scowls from the ground. Various shrubs that measure up to my waist sprawl, some having gone purple from the summer's bright green. Seven trees, most taller than the apartment complex neighboring us, line the sides of the yard. Most have shed their leaves, but some have begun to bud, I assume prematurely, in our room-temperature winter. (I seriously lack botanical ID knowledge, but I might eventually figure out some plant names.) A few birds flit in the higher branches and the occasional squirrel scampers by. I think my cat has done a pretty great job of refereeing the wildlife out.
ReplyDeleteOriginally I had planned to find a sit spot somewhere in the Botanical garden, but then reality caught up with my lofty goals and I realized that I wouldn’t want to drive all the way out there that often and ended up choosing a spot in my backyard. I brought my big picnic blanket out and laid it in the grass in a spot where I have a good view of the trees and plants all over my yard. As soon as I sat down I immediately noticed something I’ve never noticed before. Someone has carved an old tree stump to look like a sort of wood elf or something. It’s absolutely beautiful and I’ve decided he is now the guardian of my sit spot. As I sat there trying to quiet my mind I started to notice all kinds of things I’ve never noticed there before. There’s a thick layer of ivy growing all over the ground in one area and the trees look like wintery skeletons, cold and naked. When the wind blows, it makes a crackly sound as it flows through the last few dry leaves which haven’t given up yet and let go. I heard a bird squawking which caught me off guard because it sounded like the wild parrots I grew up hearing in my childhood backyard in South Florida. Overall, it was a great beginning. I found it difficult to sit still at first, but once I started really looking at everything around me it became easier. It will be interesting to see how my spot changes with the seasons, and how I change along with it.
ReplyDeleteMy sit spot lies in the Mary Kahrs Warnell Garden, a small courtyard situated near the Ecology building and the Warnell School of Forest Resources. There is a small, man-made pond that I enjoy sitting beside. Concrete slabs surround the pond and the center of the garden. Weeds and moss are currently growing in the two-inch cracks between the square slabs, but much of the plant growth is also brown, dormant grass. This dormancy is also reflected in the numerous trees surrounding me - largely lacking any signs of foliage, and tousled birds' nests high above tell tales of abandonment. The lone animal noise, a turtle dove calling in the distance, seems to add to the desolate feeling. This is countered by life in the pond, however. Grasses, although tainted with yellow and browning tips, seem to thrive in the shallow water. Several bushes also reach out of the water and grass mounds, and all contain sparse foliage. There are many turtles (my favorite thing about this spot!), some basking on the grass mounds and others swimming through the murky water. There small black fish and few large fish that appear to be albinos - they are about two feet long and completely white. Leaning over the edge of the pond for awhile, the turtles and fish eventually swim over. Perhaps they think I will feed them. I flicked in a ladybug, but that didn't seem to draw any interest. A fountain bubbling at the rear of the pond added added to the calming atmosphere, drowning out the constant drone from the campus buildings and the distant traffic. It will be a great location to sit and enjoy changes throughout the coming spring.
ReplyDeleteI live pretty close to North Campus, so I decided to make my Sit Spot one of my favorite spots on campus—the Founders Memorial Garden. Once I sat down on the cold grass, which is dry at the moment, but which will turn bright green in the spring, I noticed that almost all of the trees surrounding the garden are magnolias. That means that while the grass may be dry and discolored, the area around the garden is very green. It is a dark green, too, which contrasts nicely with the open sky above the garden. The ambient noise is very pleasant, and luckily, the cars on Lumpkin Street blend into a sort of background noise, so they are not too distracting. The primary sound you can hear is the little fountain at the entrance to the garden, which creates a soothing, steady noise. While observing the water rise and fall, I noticed that although it is is constantly running, there are differences in the sounds depending on the way the water falls. Other sounds that can be heard include chirping birds and the occasional squirrel darting around. I observed all of this on a Sunday afternoon, so I am sure the ambiance changes depending on time and day of the week. I could tell just from two people who walked by that it is a nice reprieve from the concrete of university buildings, which, despite their proximity, do not detract from the natural feeling of the spot. I’m excited to see how the garden changes as the weather gets warmer.
ReplyDeleteI picked a spot at UGArden, which is one of my favorite places in Athens. There is a wooded area behind the barn that I've always loved, where the high ground of the garden stops, and the woods start to slope down again, eventually bottoming out at the river-whose-name-I-don't-know-behind-the-Bot-Gardens, a few miles away. This spot used to be covered in privet but the garden's volunteers have worked hard to keep most of the privet at bay, to make room for mushroom logs and the Polaris, and room the think! Standing around are sweet gums and poplars and oaks - not very many evergreens, which explains why I like the ground out here: it's thick and peaty with layers and layers of leaves in various states of disrepair. A little-black-beetle-whose-name-I-don't-know crawls over my toes, and there are little sharp chirps in the woods from a few birds, but mostly it's quiet and just still enough. You can't hear the cars from South Milledge if you go down the hill a ways, where Ivy vines are securing scattered old tractor equipment to the floor, and out there are the ruins of an old jeep, now the same color as tree bark. I like this place the most because you can really watch the seasons change in this wide panorama of leaves and limbs, as the ground slopes down from most sides. Next time I hope I can recognize some of the little forest plants that are underfoot. I always confuse wild ginger with another much more boring heart shaped leaf, and I get a twinge of disappointment.
ReplyDeleteI live on South Campus and the area I chose for my Sit Spot is by the Veterinary school. I think what first attracted me to the area is it was one of the few spots on this area of campus that is still green, even in January. There are some picnic tables there so I just sat and looked around for a while. There are several trees around. I think they are oak and there is also a newly planted pine tree. I saw a few squirrels and heard a few birds. I think there will be more birds there as we move into Spring. I saw evidence of several old bird's nests so it appears to be a popular location for that. South Campus is so full of buildings it is hard to find a quiet spot. Here, while I could still hear the cars going by it was at least a break. I look forward to seeing how the area changes as we move into spring.
ReplyDeleteMy spot is a strip of grasses between my back door and the tall plastic fence beside the road. There is a spot of branching purple-green nodes growing over the concrete of the porch, laying over the yellowed bermudagrass moving toward the black ceramic grill. Two red maple seedlings stand in front of the white fence. The first is about 4 inches tall and has a single yellow-red leaf with browning lobes and the other stands a bit higher, with four brown leaves laying beside it. An inch-long snail and another half its size sit above the top of the taller seedling at the base of a fencepost. Small pools of water sit at the base of some knee-high broomsedge at the other end of the fence.
ReplyDeleteI was glad for the mild weather today. Was able to get outside and start raking the backyard, turned the compost pile, planted some perennials... and then realized... oops! I need to sit and be still. By far the rewarding yet challenging part, but then again, most challenging things are worth the reward!
ReplyDeleteOkay, sitting. The neighborhood kids are enjoying the weather and playing outside, I hear their shrieks of joy. Smells damp, and piney. I have four enormous pine trees in my backyard.
There is a lot of activity on the ground, lots of little ants scurrying about with very important tasks to do that can't wait. I hear the rustle and see the movement of the 'baby' deer that lives in my absent neighbors overgrown wilderness. I appreciate that they have safe haven and encourages a whole herd to live nearby and eat my Pansys.
I do see the corner of my vegetable garden from my spot and notice some lettuce bolting and feel the shame of the waste from not harvesting it sooner. Ah, but the holistic view tells me that I now have more material for my compost pile... gotta go turn the compost pile...
I’m going to use my front porch. I know it’s not the most exotic location but there is an empty lot across the road that’s full of all kinds of life. In the past I have seen everything from birds looking for seeds and bugs to rabbits eating fresh grass. Sitting on my front porch you have a perfect view of the lot. It’s almost like I have my own little Garden of Eden that makes the constructs of modern society around me disappear. Not to mention I usually sit out here at least once a day to read or talk with the neighbors and roommates.
ReplyDeleteSo in my spot I notice that everything seems to be slightly wet. It makes the old looking limbs look heavy on the grey trees. I don’t notice any new growth, still too early for that yet. But I like how you can see each individual stem protruding off the main stock of each tree. The grown in covered in the dark leaves of the past year, nothing too special about the decay. There are a lot of birds, little black ones. They all seem to be together, going from tree to tree, and they’re making a hell of a racket. With everything looking so grey I know this place has great potential to grow.
I have two spots between which i am deciding which to choose. The first is a rock that overlooks the river at the Athens Botanical Gardens. It's a beautiful vantage point from which you can see a picturesque view of the river itself as it meanders around a bend and all of the beautiful Georgia foliage that surround the riverbank. Not only does the rock provide a beautiful spot to sit and watch the wildlife in the area, but it also is far away enough from any roads that no sounds can be heard except that of the rustling of leaves as the wind lethargically passes through them, the occasional splash of a sun-fish surfacing in the river to swallow a drowning fly, and the peaceful silence that comes with sitting out in nature. It's the perfect spot to relax and rid your mind of any demons, and to reflect on any decisions that you may have made that have been haunting your memory.
ReplyDeleteThe second spot from which i may observe the changing seasons is in my backyard in the quiet town of Madison, Georgia. From the hammock i recently strung between the two hanging trees in my small vegetable garden there are many peaceful sights to be seen. To the left is the small 'Cluckingham Palace', the chichken coop which my dad and i recently built for his girlfriend. I find it amazingly serene to sit and watch the three remaining chickens peck around in the garden. To the right is the small 'orchard' consisting of apple, peach, pear, and plum trees which we planted when we first moved into the house. Between the rown of trees are three beehives (as my dad recently undertook the hobby of bee keeping). At first i was afraid of getting too close to the hives but as i have spent more time around them i have come to realize that bees are much like people - if you don't mess with them they will, for the most part, leave you alone. Although it is now winter and i am not able to lay outside in the hammock, during the spring time it is amazingly peaceful to lay and listen the bussing of the bees as they go about collecting their pollen and doing whatever they do during the day. To make the scene even more picturesque, straight ahead is my lake (or at least that's what i call it, My friends say it's a pond as it is only an acre and a half large). A giant Oak tree looms over the lake which is now dead as it was struck by lightning the year we moved into the house. Despite the fact that it is dead many different animals have decided to make it their home, including woodpeckers, squirrels, and a few other species of birds. If i could attach a picture to this post i would, though for some reason i am unable to. Here is a link to the spot at the Botanical gardens at which i feel most at peace in Athens, and i will attach a picture of my backyard in Madison when i next go home.
If anyone knows how to post pictures in a comment on this site please let me know, i have a couple i would like to upload. Thanks
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