Week 6

Week Six, 9/26

            We went to the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge again for our second week of shoveling clay onto our trail. This time, instead of the class meeting at the office, we met at the trail, which was more convenient, with all the tools being brought to us.

            I got to the trail and didn’t see anyone in my group, so I assumed that they had already headed to the parted of the trail that we would be working on. Therefore, I started walking down the trail on my own. At first, I was a little worried to be walking down the trail alone, but the angst slowly went away. The weather was nice and the sun was covered by some lingering clouds, so there was very limited sweating on my part. As I walked, I decided to take advantage of my time alone with Mother Nature. Instantly, I began to feel at peace and one with my surroundings. The trees became more lively, as well as the grass. Rather than just being “things” to look at, they became increasingly important aspects of the envirnoment. I wondered why I had never taken notice of this. I gradually became more and more comfortable, as if I was encountering something familiar.

            I also used this opportunity to snap some pictures on my phone. Wanting to take a picture of any unique plant, I scanned my surroundings as I walked, looking for a plant that would stand out to me as peculiar or extraordinary. I came across a small purple flower with six petals. About fifteen of them were arranged in a small cluster, originating from one stem, and they were surrounded by tall grass. I saw a couple other clusters that looked to be of the same species, but I was specifically drawn to one cluster. I took a picture of it for future reference.

I also spotted two orange butterflies. It was difficult to get a picture up close because if I got to near, they would fly to a different blade of grass. I had to settle on zooming in on the butterflies, even though the resolution was not as great. I continued walking on the trail and examined the pictures I had taken. I noticed that one butterfly was more ornamented than the other. I then assumed that one had to be male and the other female, with the female being the more decorated one. The female had a white and black boarder, while the male had black and orange boarder. I decided to retrace my steps and found the two butterflies in the same location. I resumed taking pictures and noticed that the two always flew together, with the male following the female. It was quite a fascinating sight to openly see such a human tendency of protecting one’s mate play out in these tiny creatures. It was really cute. The female would perch on a blade of grass while the male hovered above it. It was difficult to get a clear picture because both butterflies never remained still, but were always fluttering their wings. Although, I was surprised that whenever they did fly away they only moved about a foot. I assumed they were aware of my presence, especially as I tried to inch my phone closer and closer, but they did not let that bother them.

When I got to the part of the trail we were working on, there was no one in sight, so I was wondering if anybody would show up, especially since I was already late. I started walking back towards the direction I came from, only to see three of my group members approaching. Seeing as the sun had once again made its presence known, I was glad I did not have to walk all the way back.

The man on staff pulled up with the tools and we went to work. The last time we came to the nature center, we took our time, carrying on casual conversation. This time, since we had an official with us, we were more efficient and got a lot more done, with a lot more sweat. I was on shoveling duty for a little bit before I switched to raking, the latter allowing me to relax and cool off. I really wonder how the trails got so bad. Someone could have easily broken an ankle walking down the trail because it was so uneven and unpredictable. I guess it eventually got too bad to handle that they had to solicit help to fix it. The weathering is not something that happened overnight.

Our experience with shoveling clay is over, and the next time we come, we’ll be assigned to another task. I wonder what it will be.