So blessed are we to have all the most intricate of creations to marvel at.
For the month of November, I returned to Wild basin to see the seasons change and all the beauty that comes with it. Though a little rainy and cold, I was privileged enough to have the opportunity to smell the delightful scent of a Lady’s tresses orchid. I find it fascinatingly mind blowing that orchids were one of the first flowering species to arise, yet they are so incredibly complex. I attended a Texas trail tamers workshop in which we were taught the power of water. A lot of trail maintenance deals with diverting water off your trails.Duff and sediment build up all rushed downhill after a sort can cause serious damage.
Because I am oh so incredibly excited to be taking geology next semester, I was finally able to appreciate the beauty of history that lies within rocks. Nonliving history books condensed to tell the story as long as the earth has existed, preserving records of life and natural progression of all beings that ever breathed. Thinking forward, in the context of the current anthroposcene and the history of life immortalized in rock which we will never have the honor of encountering brings me to Aldo Leopold’s quote, “For us of the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television, and the chance to find a pasque-flower is a right as inalienable as free speech” . I find its troubling that one day we could find ourselves in a world entirely different from the current one. A world where no lady’s tresses survive to be smelled again. I understand that this is a part of progression of nature, what I cannot accept is the fact that people expedite this loss in search for empty economic gain.
A very powerful moment during one of my visits was when one of the leaders recapped erosion. He said, big chucks of rock near the waterfall had fallen partially because carbon dioxide in the air builds up into rain clouds, decreasing the pH of rain, increasing acidity. When the rain falls, there is a greater degradation of rock; ” you are seeing the effects of climate change before your eyes”. What I find more bewildering is the fact that most people feel disconnected from this issue, yet it really is happening under our noses
The interconnections between the earth’s cycles and ourselves are far greater than we could ever fathom. The world of academia is a fascinating natural place. I would give anything and everything to be immersed in all things natural, My respect for math and all the sciences grows exponentially every single day. It governs our world as close to how our limited human brains can grasp. The greatest challenge ever presented: how on earth does anything function. I would say, If God isn’t real neither is anything else. Those who question the world, not just the human world, are closer to God because they realize we are a part f something bigger than ourselves. That is enough to bring any pompous being down a whole lot of notches.