Notes from Being Outside

#10 Cutting Privet at the Nature Refuge The smiles and bad posture say it all. It's hard work but fun to do with friends.  #9 The Trinity River While not the prettiest sight to see, it reminds me of home. I love having a trail to run on near TCU.  #8 Nazare, Portugal: The Great Wave While in Portugal, I took a day trip to see some huge waves. It was cold and raining sideways but well worth it.  #7 The Duck Pond A great place to hang out with the ducks.  #6 Marine Creek Lake The orange and blue complimentary colors look beautiful next to each other.  #5 Sintra, Portugal - Quinta da Regaleira Colorful tree and moody building. #4 Frog Fountain  A classic.  #3 San Marcos River It looked like a real life Van Gogh painting. Or a peacock feather. We swam in the water too and it was refreshing.  #2 Duoro Valley, Portugal Home of port wine, vineyards here have had the same techniques for the past 800 years.  My Best Photo:  #1 Birds of Paradise...

For this class last week, I got the opportunity to go to one of my favorite places: The Fort Worth Zoo.  My friends and I spent the next few hours meandering through the wonder that is creation. Being there reminded me of Psalm 96:11-12 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;     let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;     let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. This Psalm calls for universal joy and praise from all of God's creation. There are so many things in this world that look designed, and it all points back to our designer - the Lord.  One of the first animals that made me slow down was a small tortoise tucked under some greenery. At first glance, it almost blended into the environment. But the longer I looked, the more detail I noticed—the pattern on its shell, the slow and intentional way it moved, and how calm it seemed in its space. There was something grounding about it. In a...

My perspective throughout this semester has completely shifted regarding the wild, and why I, in fact, do need wild. I think throughout this course, I’ve begun to think about what society would have looked like if “wild” was something we cherished rather than something we tried to destroy. In order for an area to progress in our own minds, we think we need to level the land, put concrete everywhere, and then have a park somewhere else. But what if the utopian society we looked forward to was one where we are with nature, rather than a sci-fi, ultra high-tech, mega-skyscraper city? I think a goal of mine now is to become better in nature. To have more knowledge on how to camp, stay safe, and explore this vast earth. I hope wild isn’t something that feels “out there” to me, but something that one day I feel a part of. Some of my favorite moments this past semester have been the times where I go outside and am intentional about what I’m thinking, knowing I’ll write about it later in my bl...

I used to work in a floral shop and competed in floral design competitions in high school. Since then, flowers have become more of a side passion as I pursue a career in finance. But my appreciation for their beauty hasn’t gone away. I still get excited when I spot something interesting growing out in the “wild.” These are some of the most eye-catching flowers I came across during my trip to Portugal, all taken on the grounds of Quinta da Regaleira. Helleborus: This flower is commonly used in floral design. Its form is cup-shaped, almost like something a fairy could sleep inside. These were a deep purple, but they come in a range of colors. Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae): Another staple in floral shops, especially in tropical arrangements. I’ve seen these planted around the U.S., but Quinta had them everywhere. They get their name from their resemblance to a bird, with the orange and blue “beak” shape. Red hot poker (Kniphofia), also called torch lily: This one stood out immedia...

During my time in Portugal, I took a day trip to explore the quiet little town of Sintra. It’s home to dreamy medieval castles, and when we went, everything was covered in fog. One of the best sites we visited was Quinta da Regaleira. It was built in the early 1900s by a wealthy family. The grounds felt symbolic, tied to religion and secret societies. There was a huge variety of plants, along with hidden paths, caves, and tunnels throughout. My friend and I pretended we were in some alternate fairytale world while we were there, talking about what we would wear and what secrets would be discussed along the hidden paths. One of the most famous features that we somehow forgot to find is the Initiation Well. It’s a 27-meter-deep spiral staircase that goes down into the ground. Photo Source: https://www.quintadaregaleiratickets.com/initiation-well/  What kinds of rituals were they doing down there? From what I found, there aren’t any documented accounts of exactly what took place,...

With the class, I took several trips to the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge. The first time we went, we cut down bamboo, which was unexpectedly satisfying. Each cut sliced neatly through the smooth bamboo. The visual accomplishment was great too, being able to see how much space we cleared up.  On the following trips, we worked on removing privet. I found that even more enjoyable becuase the privet branches off making it more visually satisfying when its gone.  We learned how to become more efficient and that was in teams of two - one person cutting, the "cutter" and one person grabbing and clearing, the "grabber." This collaboration was fun and I enjoyed my conversations with my teammates.  The work felt cathartic. After spending much time inside and looking at screens for school work, I felt refreshed from being outside doing work. Doing something physical always helps with the mental as we've learned from the poems in class.