At last, it finally feels like spring. Last week, I took the less traditional route for spring break, heading north towards Maine. I could actually see the temperature dropping steadily throughout the long drive, and even watched the snow banks that sat along the roads increase in size the closer I got to my destination. Needless to say, upon my arrival back at Richmond this past weekend, I was more than ready to embrace warmer weather.
As I journeyed to my reflection spot once again, I could not help but notice that today has been one of, if not the the most, beautiful days we have had this year. As I walked beside the path that circles the lake, the water glistens and reflects the shining sun. It almost seems as if the water is moving towards the commons with more life and energy. As I got closer to my reflection spot, my attention turned to a few ducks taking flight near the bridge by the gazebo; they too seem to be more energetic and excited about the spring-like atmosphere. The colors of the grass and even of some of the trees appear to be more vivid and intense. Right before I was able to get to my reflection spot, I was forced to walk up the hill and take a longer route, as the grassy swamp area near my reflection spot resembles a marsh today and I didn’t like my chances of getting through the area without falling in.
I finally sat down in a dry area out of the shade, but immediately stood back up. I wasn’t in the mood to simply sit down and reflect, but this weather inspired me to wander around the areas near my reflection spot and uncover more from this area than I had the previous few times. I walked closer to where the small creek that feeds into the lake meets the road and the houses perched on the upslope of the hill, and thought back to the concepts of riparian zones that we talked about in class. The sloping banks where the houses resided on the far side of the road, and the sand and rocks and trees on my side of the road clearly resembled what we talked about in class, as I can easily imagine the runoff of water down the hill during times of heavy rain and in storms, such as the rain from the previous two days. It is also easy to imagine how this area acts similar to the riparian zones we discussed in its ability to help filter some of the waste and substances that we have talked about from runoff during a storm.
Even though this is my last reflection post, it will not be my last trip to my reflection spot. I know that there will be many more changes in this environment that I have yet to uncover, and am excited to see the area around my reflection spot grow as time progresses.