ENVIR 280: Journal #1

Formative Experience:
I have been fortunate enough to have been surrounded by nature at an early age. I grew up in Marin County, next to the beautiful Mt. Tamalpais, where Muir woods was just a drive away and stunning beaches were ample. Nature or passion for the environment was not something my parents found incredibly important or particularly emphasized. In fact, they barely believe in climate change! But ironically my dad introduced me to backpacking, and mountain biking and little does he know, my love for the environment. When I was around ten years old, my dad and brother frequently dragged me along to our local mountain (Mt. Tamalpais) to flying remote-controlled airplanes. Everyone in my family is pilots, so naturally, they enjoyed this outing. But I always dreaded it; I had and still have absolutely no interest in planes and even less interest in remote-controlled airplanes. Annoyed at them for dragging me along, I would wander around, and pick as many different flowers as I could. I would stash them in my pocket, bring them back to my dad, and ask him if he knew the names of the flowers. He knew the names of a few flowers, but not many. He didn't seem to care that he didn't know the names of all the flowers. But I was very eager to learn as many species as I could, to the point that I knew every flower on the mountain. Noticing I took an interest in the nature around me, my dad offered to buy me a native flower ID book to bring when they went flying. From that day forward, any time my dad, brother and I would go to Mt. Tamalpais to fly airplanes, I would bring my flower ID book and identify as many plants as I could. I'm not sure what sparked my interest in identifying these species, but it was something I became very passionate about. Maybe it was because I wanted to be the different one in my family and be passionate about something they weren't. Maybe it was because I just liked the pretty colors of the flowers. I'm not sure. But I'm grateful for whatever it was. To me, it was rewarding to be able to see my progress and identify more and more flowers. I loved learning about why the flowers were certain colors, when they bloomed, where they were grown. It was like learning a new language! I would pick the flowers, and instead of stashing them in my pocket, I would stash them in the correct pages of the ID guide, hoping one day I would fill the whole book with every flower in it. While I never found all the flowers, but I did begin to discover my love for nature and the environment. Now when I encounter new environments, I strive to learn the names of the native species.

Journal #1
Location: Seola Beach, Burien, WA
Temperature: 57 degrees F
Weather: Clear skies, windy
Time: 4:56pm

Today was a beautiful day to be on the beach, however it was quite windy. I am sitting on a wooden bench on Seola beach; to my right is a steep hillside full of conifers (Cupressaceae and Pinaceae) and unfortunately a lot of English Ivy, and to my left is the beach. Looking straight ahead I have a beautiful view of the Olympics, but I am unsure exactly what peaks I'm looking at. At 50m^2 ahead, in the midst of the conifers I see some deciduous trees, however, they don't look very well. They are bare and seem as though they waiting for warmer weather to come around. At the base of the conifers, I spot lots of cones lying around. Besides a few colorful flowers, the hillside landscape is very green. My eye is drawn towards this one beautiful, magenta flower, so I walk over to it and ID it as an Annual Honesty. Just above it lies a Wild Cherry. Sitting on the bench, I am unable to smell what is around me as my nose is overwhelmed with the smell of seawater. I close my eyes and focus solely on the sounds around me. It's funny because, on my right, I hear the calming sound of leaves brushing against one another, but to my left is the juxtaposing sound of whitecaps crashing into one another. At 1m^2 in front of me, my feet are dug in the sand, but the grass tickles my legs. I go to touch it, but its sharp edges cut my hand a bit. Grass. Why is there grass on the beach? Looking through my ID guide, I'm guessing it is Dunegrass (Elymus Mollis) (?). I hear a buzzing sound, and quickly spot a ginormous bumblebee in search of flowers. Disappointed by the lack of flowers, the bumblebee leaves. I spot some empty crab shells in the sand, but I hardly see any wildlife. Usually, at this spot I see seagulls and other birds, but not today. Maybe it's because it's so windy. Close by my feet I notice an herb with purplish zygomorphic flowers and needle-like leaves. I become frustrated and slightly confused as I unsuccessfully spend about 10 minutes trying to identify this herb in my PNW ID guide. Once I smell it, however, I immediately recognize it as Rosemary. This reminds me of warm Rosemary bread from QFC. I take a minute to soak in the sun and appreciate my surroundings. Coming to this spot offers me a place of solitude and calmness, away from the busyness of everyday life. Watching the trees above me sway envokes a sense of ease and relaxation - they are just moving with the flow. As I wrap up and leave my spot, I feel less heavy, more serene and more refreshed.