September
Zilker: This past Sunday a few friends and I decided it was a good day to go and enjoy the outdoors. It was a solid 75 degrees and partly cloudy. We thought it was a perfect day to go for a bike ride to Zilker Park and then go paddle boarding near Barton Springs. Soon after we got there we started kicking the soccer ball around. Storm: Minutes after our arrival, a storm came out of nowhere and it rained for about 30 minutes. The storm basically blindsided us because hefty winds ranging from 30-40 MPH hit us from the east. These brutal winds pick up loads of sand and dirt and sent it west, all over the grass and into the Town Lake. This got me thinking about many of the animals that call Zilker their home. There are usually many crows and squirrels, but on this day there wasn’t a single one in sight. Land Ethic: I had never seen Zilker so empty and I realized how pleasant of a place it really was. I’m glad that the city of Austin chose to reserve this land because it’s an important aspect of land ethic. I admire this quote from Leopold when he says, “Conservation is getting nowhere because it is incompatible with our Abrahamic concept of land. We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” I now understand the importance of land preservation. We are eroding and polluting the lands that are very diversified.
Zilker before the Storm
Town Lake
Greenbelt: At the end of September I decided to go to the Greenbelt because I had heard stories about how the river that runs alongside a trail. The Greenbelt is not too far from Barton Springs or Zilker Park so the terrain is relatively similar. There is a lot of tree cover so the land stays relatively damp. Though the trail is damp, the river that once existed is almost completely empty. The drought in Austin has taken its toll because most of the river is dried up. The Greenbelt has more biodiversity because there are less interactions between humans. Compared to Zilker, there were more animals that I could hear and also see.
I Should be Under Water
Nice Little Trail
What’s Left of the Water
Luscious Trail
Scared My Friend: He thought I actually got arrested when he exited the trail