Outdoor fun!

AN OUTDOOR ADVENTURE 

This past week in class, we went on a scavenger hunt at the Tanglewood Nature Center &Museum. I have been to nature centers before but none like this. Before my acknoweldgement that all the answers on the scavenger hunt list were inside the nature center, we ventured off into the woods where I got to come across new looks of life. At the beginning of this trip I was not so sure how I was going to like it. The mud was not bad however, the first real animal I had contact with was a family of geese (mom, dad, and a couple babies). One of the items on the list was baby and I was the photographer of the group so I had gone up and approached the family in hopes of getting a picture, then... all of the sudden I found myself being hissed at. This brought me back to a childhood memory of getting attacked by a family of geese. So at this point you can probably guess that my next thought was to run but the competitive streak in me did not run until I got a picture. 

Another interesting experience I got to endure was being able to experience all the beautiful qualities of nature. I know that sounds very cliche but while I was taking pictures of items that were on the scavenger hunt list I did not see real beauty until I looked under a rock and saw a worm (yes, a worm). Who would have thought that one of the ugliest, grossest, slimmest creatures in nature would be seen in a photograph as beautiful? Not me. This picture is so simple, yet we are able to see so many of nature’s beautiful qualities just by the simplicity of this photograph. Not only do we get to see all these assorted colored rocks but we are able to see what living creatures hide under these rocks as well. This photograph captures just how beautiful nature really is. I would not look at this picture and say “Ew, gross, a worm.” When I look at this photo I am actually impressed with myself because I don’t see a gross worm, I see a beautiful creature of nature. This photo brought me back to my youth when I was able to appreciate nature more because I was not distracted by technology. I have never been one to think worms were gross in general, when I was little I used to have a pet worm named “Sherbet” after my favorite type of ice cream. When I was younger, I was always outside playing in the mud, not being afraid to get my hands dirty, and enjoying exploring new qualities of nature. I miss that. 

Going on the outdoor adventure this week was fun and surprisingly stress free considering that we were in a competition. As these past couple weeks of gone by I am already so surprised about what I did not know about nature, or what I had forgotten about nature which in my opinion is very sad. I decided to try to make a goal for the summer to do at least one nature activity so I can continue to expand my knowledge of everything that mother nature has planted for us. 

Sincerely, 

(newly cautious about the environment) Tiffany