September 5, 2017
I was amped
to go to the Botanic Gardens for class today because of how beautiful the Botanic Gardens are. The
City of Fort Worth makes an incredible effort to ensure that the Gardens are
always pristine. I hadn’t been to the Gardens since I was a freshman at TCU,
taking headshots for my sorority. I also came prepared and excited to talk
about our readings for the week. Sitting in the circle with all of my
classmates, with birds chirping in the background and a breeze blowing through
the air was ideal. Only at TCU would you be able to find a class and professor
who appreciates nature and wants to change up the classroom environment. The
Botanic Gardens seem so serene because of their closeness to the heart of Fort
Worth. The ability to get away from the hustle and bustle of Texas traffic and
college life is so intriguing, especially because people seem to find colorful
flowers and green grasses extremely peaceful. I love how anyone can walk around
and find a spot to take some deep breaths.
Out of the readings for this week, the
Meriwether Lewis writings stood out to me, in particular. His descriptions of
the beautiful scenes were spoken so well, especially the scene about the waterfall.
On page 102, Lewis says the waterfall is “flying up in jets of sparkling foam.”
Although I have only seen smaller waterfalls in person, I do wish to one day go
to Niagara falls, or the falls that Lewis was depicting in his journal. Lewis
also describes the land in the Western U.S. as being completely covered with
elk, buffalo, deer, “woolves,” and antelopes. In Kansas, they are hundreds of
miles that are purely covered by just the Great Plains. I wish I could have
lived in a period where we probably wouldn’t be able to travel without coming
across thousands of buffalo, just seeing it with my own eyes. It’s sad to know
that humans are the sole reason for the near extinction of our native animals.
Lewis also speaks a lot about being
along a river, which I have a lot of experience doing whilst fly fishing in
Colorado. Every year, we go to a ranch in Meeker, Colorado, which is the North
West part of Colorado. The ranch covers thousands and thousands of acres of the
flat top mountains that haven’t been developed, so when you go a couple miles
upriver, you’re embarking into nature’s world. Although the land isn’t covered
with herds of buffalo and elk, thousands of acres are privately owned and
protected. While walking to a fly fishing beat, you can spot elk herds, deer,
bears, moose, chipmunks…you name it. My favorite picnic spots are those where
you just plop down a lawn chair and a cooler and have lunch right by the river.
Although it gets pretty hot in late July in Colorado, the chilly 55 degree
river water cools you down pretty quickly. Going to the Ranch is my go-to get
away for clearing my mind and soul. Because the land has been so well taken
care of, you are definitely a guest of Mother Nature, not the sole owner of
her.
No comments:
Post a Comment