ryankim135's Journal

Today, I started off with the objective of finding a lot of different insects. Because I knew that insects could be anywhere, I walked all around campus in hopes of coming across some either under rocks or on the trees. I was able to come across the ant when I was kneeling down looking at the ground however in general, it was very hard to come across insects. I believe it was due to the weather today, it being very chilly around 40 degrees. No matter where I looked, I was unable to find anymore insects. After I gave up on finding insects, I made my way towards the reservoir and along the way I was able to find a sparrow in the parking lot. At the reservoir, I took photos of the birds on the water which happened to be the Canada goose and the American Coot. Despite the weather, there were many still in the water swimming around. Finally I went back to my friend's dorm on campus and when I was there, I was able to catch a picture of the mouse that's been living in their place for a while. I noticed about the ant that it was very hard for me to spot, and taking a picture of it was even harder because it blended into its environment very well. With taking pictures of moving organisms in general, I had to focus a lot more and there were times I was unable to capture the picture because I was too slow. Connecting it back to class, it was interesting seeing the geese and the coots interacting with one another and living in the same habitat but both coexisting.

Today I walked for around 30 minutes around the Pine Tree nature path next to the Plex and halfway around the Reservoir. Today's weather was a bit chilly however it was sunny with a slight breeze. It was nice enough for a lot of bees to be flying around. While I was walking the nature path, I noticed a lot of cool plants that weren't in bunches but just individually in a certain area. They were very easy to spot except the fairy ring marasmius. The fungi I found today was hidden in a lot of grass and I found it interesting that a lot of fungi grew in groups and only in certain areas. The path was very navigable and after the path I went onto the Reservoir trail. There I found the really cool berries that were in colors that I did not know was possible. The colors really fascinated me because they were light blue, purple, and almost yellow. It reminded me very much of Easter. It was a great experience and I had a lot of fun looking at all of these plants and organisms.