Since being in Austin for about a year and a half now, I have noticed many different things about the landscape here compared to that of my hometown in Southern California. Much of the land here in Texas is extremely flat, which allows you to see land that stretches for longer and longer distances. Another noticeable thing about Austin is that there are many trees all over. When I look off my apartment balcony I can see green fields and trees for miles.
When I wanted to decide where to go to best view nature here in Austin, I decided to view it here on the Campus of St. Edward’s. There are many places a person can go to be alone and just enjoy the nature surrounding them. I finally decided on the water basin that sits next to the student apartments on the eastern most side of campus. I went late one night around 8 PM. Once I was there, there was one thing that caught my attention right away and that was the full moon that was out in the clear sky that night. Living in Austin you very rarely see a clear full moon. Many people say that you haven’t seen a full moon until you’ve seen it away from highly populated cities. Well I would respond to those people by saying I’ve seen a quite clear full moon here in Austin less than 2 miles from downtown. As stated by Aldo Leopold “Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty. It expands through successive stages of the beautiful to values as yet uncaptured by language.” I am truly learning how to appreciate nature and all the little things that make it wonderful.