Eating Local

In Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, her husband Steven Hopp writes short interesting essays that she includes in many chapters. In the first chapter on page 5, Steven writes "If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country's oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week." With each barrel holding 42 gallons of oil, we could save a lot. Eating more locally grown produce is something I can start doing right now and help change the earth for the positive. My food choices have shifted greatly over the years and now I consider vegetables one of the more enjoyable foods to eat or at least complement my main course with. From the way Kingsolver describes homegrown vegetables I anticipate I may like them even more than the store bought varieties.

In my Our Place in Nature class on Tuesday I will be visiting the Farmers Market to purchase fruit with my group members to serve at a small gathering. it will be a nice introduction to the farmers market and hopefully Ill get some idea of something I may want to purchase on a later date. I have not been to the market since I was little and am excited to see how things have changed. i am excited to sample and view what local foods the farmers have to offer. Oftentimes I want to make a difference but don't know how, this is a great way to start, not only bettering the local farmers but bettering my own health. Though I know they are not farmed I am hoping someone will have some Paw Paws or Springer berries for sale. I am sure I will report home one of my future Farmers Market shopping experiences will go on this blog.

Sneaky Trees

I saw a beautiful tree today, one of the first I have noticed this season. I cannot believe how many of the trees have changed already. The tree I noticed is a large maple tree that is right outside my bedroom window. The tree towers above the conifer trees that are in the yard, it has large branches going every which way, and its leaves are a peculiar shade of yellow. Until a couple years ago I never appreciated the changing of the leaves from healthy and green to the varied intense yellow, orange, red, purple, and everything in-between that come about as the chlorophyll escapes the leaves as they prepare for death. I used to dread the fall family walks I was forced to go on even if I always had fun passing the football with my brothers. I feel blessed to grow up  in an area where I can see spectacular foliage every year without even really trying. I feel this year the leaves have begun their annual process of preparing for winter without my notice. The walks with my little brothers dog that were so common last year just do not seem to fit into my schedule. Ironically I am writing this blog instead of being outside enjoying a beautiful fall day but I never would have noticed the trees today in the first place if I hadn't been desperately searching for a nature topic to write about. Then BAM it was right in front of me and everywhere else too.

Sometimes I need to realize how spoiled I am that even on such trivial journeys such as to and from school I pass a variety of trees, bushes, flowers and other undergrowth I cannot identify. It is finding the beauty and pleasure in small things of day to day life that help me keep my passion and love for nature alive during the long stretches when I am not spending decent time submersed in the outdoors. Now the trees have a jump on my this year but I am determined to catch up and let my eyes feast upon the spectacle of their preparation for winter. I must remind myself that more exists than just my own schedule and when I feel overwhelmed a quick glance at the spectacular natural process of the world puts me in my place and makes me realize that most of the things I do are truly trivial and not he end of the world as I sometimes feel. I am going to make an effort to go outside tomorrow and enjoy fall while I still can.

Bikes!

Biking was one of my first loves. It was my first mode of transportation where I could cover serious distance quickly and have to rely on nobody but myself. As I flew down hills, learned to pop curbs, and ride no handed, I was free. I would ditch my un-cool parental required helmet at the end of the block and ride fast loving the feeling of the wind flowing through my hair. On my 16th birthday what did I get? A trip to the bike shop for a brand new bike! Not the present I was dreaming of but all the same a great set of wheels that still serves me to this day. After I became "mature" enough to drive in my parents eyes I was allowed car access and biking became a thing of the past. Three Years later as a freshman in college I once again had no car access an was back on the bike. I began to ride, just to work and class at first but had so much fun that I decided to try pleasure biking. Fort Custer is a somewhat local outdoor area that was recommended to me and I enlisted a good friend to drive there with me and go for a ride. It was great, I soon had a season pass and I was in love with biking again. Even short rides to and from more serious things like class can be an adventure on a bicycle.

Today I have a car that I use as little as possible, partly for fear of a breakdown and partly to save on gas, opting to bike whenever I can. Oftentimes such as today I find myself inappropriately dressed for the weather. The hint of sun that showed promise in the morning was nowhere to be found by mid afternoon, so there I was in shorts and a t-shirt biking home in the cold rain. I had a small pity party as I climbed onto my soaked bike seat and it only got worse as I felt spray from the tires soaking straight through my shorts as rain pelted my face and assaulted my barely open eyes. After riding just a short distance including up a decent hill I warmed up and had a complete change of feelings. I slowed down and relaxed, I let the rain hit me the way I would when I was younger and didn't worry about such things as being wet and out in chilly weather. I thought about rain and the water cycle and what a miracle it is. Our planet is regularly showered with the one essential ingredient for life and instead of celebrating in this miracle I usually hide away and wait for it to pass. My forced encounter with the rain was only because I chose to bike that day and leave myself exposed to whatever the earth threw at me. As I walked into my cold, drafty, dirty, and creaky house that shelters me from the rain, I remembered how good I really have it.

Nature Center

Tuesday October 5th like every other weekday I find myself painfully crawling out of bed at the last possible moment, rushing through my morning routine, shaving time from my departure anywhere possible. However this was no average Tuesday at 11:30 I reported to the Nature Center instead of my usual classroom and immediately recalled fond memories of previous school and family trips involving picnics, games, looking through the microscope, and feeling the animal pelts which were soft and fun to hold just as I remembered. The class and I listened to a short speech about the core values and the mission of the nature Center which to my disappointment did not include rehabbing injured animals anymore.

By this time I was wide awake and excited to get outdoors. We were taken through tall grasses that let one imagine that there was nothing but boundless wilderness on all sides. In the sea of grass it is easy to notice the beautifully colored small purple and white flowers that decorate the edges of the path. After the initial walk some students had to return to face more to their responsibilities for the day. The luckier students and I remained and walked down a nice trail in the woods under some railroad tracks and across a boardwalk to view the Kalamazoo river which looked calm and inviting. Unfortunately even at a place such as the nature Center you are confined to the trails and I obeyed the sign that told me not to go down the steps to the water though I wanted to.

Though I did not want to leave the Nature Center my next class is not one that I can miss. I had a quick walk out of the woods back to my car and back to my everyday life, which seems to be busier than ever as I have lost all time management skills over the long summer. Escaping into nature even just for a couple hours changed my whole day. I was more relaxed and peaceful throughout the rest of the day and so grateful that places like the Nature Center exist and that I am lucky enough to visit them.