Rippled Reflections

The past few days have taken me on a dizzying series of adventures, and I wish I could recall everything I noted in nature. Perhaps my most important discovery, in my mind at least, was the one Erin enlightened me to. Apparently the water of the Mill Stream is regulated, hence the fluctuating levels; also, ducks are bought and injected into the thing every few years. I cannot express how horribly saddened I was by this discovery. Is there nothing truly 'wild' left on our campus? The stream is shaped, molded, and the water level controlled by humans. I began to eye the campus critically. How much of it was there before, and how much did we landscape to fir our personal taste? The bushes outside Goudy, orange and flaming: were those planted deliberately? Probably. There are trees with nameplates, "In memory of so-and-so" or "In appreciation of such-and-such." Well, fine; if I were to gain some of nature in appreciation for my deeds, I would want a piece that was untouched. Not to say the campus is not lovely; it certainly is, and I'm very fond of it. But... I suppose it truly is an 'urban wilderness', one where humans have quite firmly made our marks as parts of nature.

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