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EcoLit 313
![Anne Dalke's picture Anne Dalke's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-39.jpg)
Welcome to the on-line conversation for Ecological Imaginings, an English, Environmental Studies and Gender and Sexuality course @ Bryn Mawr College in which we are re-thinking the evolving nature of representation, with a focus on language as a link between natural and cultural ecosystems.
This is an interestingly different kind of place for writing, and may take some getting used to. The first thing to keep in mind is that it's not a site for "formal writing" or "finished thoughts." It's a place for thoughts-in-progress, for what you're thinking (whether you know it or not) on your way to what you think next. Imagine that you're just talking to some people you've met. This is a "conversation" place, a place to find out what you're thinking yourself, and what other people are thinking. The idea here is that your "thoughts in progress" can help others with their thinking, and theirs can help you with yours.
Who are you writing for? Primarily for yourself, and for others in our course. But also for the world. This is a "public" forum, so people anywhere on the web might look in. You're writing for yourself, for others in the class, AND for others you might or might not know. So, your thoughts in progress can contribute to the thoughts in progress of LOTS of people. The web is giving increasing reality to the idea that there can actually evolve a world community, and you're part of helping to bring that about. We're glad to have you along, and hope you come to both enjoy and value our shared explorations. Feel free to comment on any post below, or to POST YOUR THOUGHTS HERE.
![Anne Dalke's picture Anne Dalke's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-39.jpg)
End-user expectations
Many of you probably saw (if you didn't, please read!) the lead article in this morning's NYTimes, Power, Pollution and the Internet, which makes it clear that our thinking we are being "green" in this class, by being paperless, is worse than an illusion; what we are actually doing, as we meet virtually each weekend, is helping to waste vast amounts of energy: "what’s driving that massive growth" is "the end-user expectation of anything, anytime, anywhere.”
![Srucara's picture Srucara's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1126.jpg)
"The Swifts, Conflict, Decision-Making, and Following Dreams" - Just wanted to share this lovely piece!
Hello Everyone!
I just read this amazing post from wordpress and I absolutely love this quote and just wanted to share this!
"So, I guess my lesson is that sometimes going and watching the swifts is just a nice way to pass the time, but sometimes watching animals live out their purpose in life makes us question our own and helps us better understand our true nature. Fear is an amazingly powerful thing that can bury us under its weight if we don’t keep it in check. If the swifts were afraid of coming home to roost because of the peregrine falcons that prey on them each season, then the whole ecosystem would collapse. The swifts don’t avoid their journey because of the battle that awaits them at that chimney, they show up every year without fail and remind us that the journey is hard, but we have to go on it anyway."
I am a firm believer in the lessons and teachings of the natural world and this is a beautiful one.
Hope your weekends are swell,
Sruthi
![froggies315's picture froggies315's picture](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/1cf8ee34fbc942ecfa942183e29bfb4d.jpg?d=https%3A%2F%2Fserendipstudio.org%2Fexchange%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2FSerendipStudioAvatar.png&s=85&r=G)
“I just can’t get the poetry of the trees”
As was visible from class on Wednesday, I was pretty frustrated with the Bohm reading and our conversation about it. I interrupted a bunch which is immature. I am sorry. I thought about Wednesday’s class when I was at my sit spot yesterday evening and into today. I think I’ve figured out two causes of my frustration:
![sarahj's picture sarahj's picture](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/8677dfd40888c5ca340f68264da0938d.jpg?d=https%3A%2F%2Fserendipstudio.org%2Fexchange%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2FSerendipStudioAvatar.png&s=85&r=G)
The Symphony
As I stood in the garden adjacent to Perry House the sounds held most of my attention and although many of them came from man-made instruments, it was the sounds that came from the leaves, wind and non-human life that were most memorable. To illustrate my response to my environment I am providing the following video. It captured how musical and harmonized the outside "natural" world sounded to me that afternoon. If I could find a piece of music that had a few instances of man-made sounds such as people talking, cars driving by and airplanes overhead, I would add that. Maybe I'll keep looking.
![Nan's picture Nan's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1129.jpg)
The Garden
Musical Ecology: Sonic Preference or Prejudice?
There is a chortle out the early morning window that draws me outside. Any creature laughing, or even approaching a giggle or a chortle, has my ear. The robin with its eager uneven step, deliberate always, allows us to think it has a jovial disposition because of its call, its cocky head, its ruddy-breasted hope.
Against an ostinato of crickets, their thick insistence blanketing the morning, one crow sounds as angry as the robin is jovial, that is to say probably not at all. Still its raucous dark persistence from that branch grates on my attuned ear. My ear is well-tuned to a well-tempered scale not a crow’s ill-tempered screech of simplistic percussive rhythms.
The tuning system of the well-tempered scale, like all tuning systems, is a system that is arbitrarily devised based on the choices of a particular culture. What sounds harmonious to my ear, the particular pattern of whole steps and half steps, the chromatic increments that sound pleasing are what I have been taught to find pleasing. “You have to be carefully taught.” (Of course that song from “South Pacific” is about being taught racism.)
![mturer's picture mturer's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1137.jpg)
Italicized Distractions
I have had a nursery rhyme in my head all day that I haven’t heard in years. I have discovered that having a song stuck in one’s head makes observation of nature very difficult. I have been trying to observe, but I keep being interrupted by the lyrics.
Au clair de la lune, mon ami Pierrot
Prete-moi ta plume pour ecrire un mot
Ma chandelle est morte, je n’ai plus de feu
Ouvre-moi ta porte, pour l’amour de Dieu
![hirakismail's picture hirakismail's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1142.jpg)
Reflection on the Rheomode in Nature?
While approaching my site to make my observations, I realized it was difficult to at first recognize the exact tree I had in my memory. I wanted to sit under a particular cherry blossom tree, but in finding it, I had to locate it by looking at the surroundings, and remembering which tree others were sitting under, what view I had of the fence, etc. This time, of course, it was not in full bloom with floating cherry blossoms, so I had to use other methods to recognize it. On my way down to the tree, I had taken off my shoes because it was easier to descend the hill that way, and when I finally sat down, it felt more comfortable to keep them off. I wanted to make sure I was using as many senses as possible, and so I wanted to touch my surroundings with both my feet and my hands.What was very apparent to me was the amount of animal sounds I could finally pay attention to and hear. There was some thudding from the tennis courts to my right and some light conversation from the window behind me as well, but for once, the major sounds I heard were of insects. There was a squirrel jumping from from post to post on the fence in front of me, and since I was sitting still, it came closer. I noticed the pond was looking very full today, probably because of the rain, and it had so much greenery within it's waters, small growths were covering the top of the water, clover-like. The marshes were partially in the shade, partially in the sun, as was most of the pond.
![sara.gladwin's picture sara.gladwin's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-966.jpg)
Observations and Reflections
Things I wrote down while I was observing:
-Lawn mower is so loud
-Girl went past on a scooter
-Everyone is walking so fast at this time in the morning, including Max who is afraid she will be late to class
-Seeing Max reminds me of where the wild things are
-This spot makes me reminiscent
-Why would I pick a spot so noisy, so full of distractions
-I guess I like the distractions and welcome them
-All the landscaping is so clearly defined
-Uncomfortable in the sense that your back will always be vulnerable to something, to being watched. I wish that I could be all seeing.
- I keep picking at fragments of conversation. I’m feeling rather voyeuristic; I am both interested in the talk that is happening as people walk by and at the same time I feel like an intruder.
-Turning to look at Thomas and my view is obscured by trees.
-Should I be trying to observe in Rheomode?
-Stop trying to analyze
Reflections about my space (which I also made while sitting there):
![krysg's picture krysg's picture](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/674f57ecae4b093c9107a5c0c4eb575c.jpg?d=https%3A%2F%2Fserendipstudio.org%2Fexchange%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2FSerendipStudioAvatar.png&s=85&r=G)
Red Sky at Night, Sailor's Delight.
Screeching along its tracks, the R100 is visible looking from the rooftop, chugging along as it carries passengers, burdened by their weight. The clouds are whispy and the air is cool. Air, moving along underneath them, carries the condensing dust and water particles in the same direction that the train races. Tops of smoke towers, peaking out above trees along the horizon, hinting at the factories to which they connect, foreground the sun as it sets to the west and begins to bleed the sky. Philadelphia sunsets are beautiful. Before coming to the city, there had never been another sunset on par with those particular to the Philadelphia area. Maybe LA is just too smoggy. The smoke is constantly clogging the sky, invading and changing the chemical composition of the clouds, turning sunsets bleak black-grey. The temperature grows colder. Galloping starts, it's the cat racing across the roof --THUD-- pouncing on a flittering bug. Is it a stick bug? A praying mantis? Should it be saved? Are they not endangered? Off pops its wings. Chewing disappears its thorax. Swallowing. It's done. Ethical crisis averted.
![ekthorp's picture ekthorp's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-866.jpg)
360 Degrees of Rhoads Pond
In order to fully understand my spot, one has to understand the context in which it lies.The best way i could think to do that was in a video. I wanted everyone to see how my location lies between the borders of our campus. It is far away from the interior castle, yet is not quite on the outside. WHile I feel incredibly isolated there, I am consistenly followed by the presence of people. I can see the Rhoads Patio, where several students emerged while I was sitting, and encoutered several landscape works who cut the grass around me. I am in an indealised locaiton between the exterior and interior of the campus, not quite apart from the center of the school, but not quite away from it either.
![r.graham.barrett's picture r.graham.barrett's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1127.jpg)
Stephen R. Miller Memorial Bench Observation 1
Today was my first observation period at the Stephen R. Miller bench, located in the North West corner of Haverford’s campus. The bench is located on a hill in a section of the campus/Haverford Arboretum known as the Ryan Pinetum, and provides an excellent view of the Pinetum’s field and the college Nature Trail. As I was settling into the bench I began to debate by myself of whether the spot would be considered an isolated section of campus or not. There is plenty to suggest that it is relatively accessible, including a trail leading from the Nature Trail that passes right by the bench on a loop of the Pineteum’s field, the occasional hiker and jogger passing by (including one who had left his running shoes on the bench while he ran in the field), and the Haverford field hockey field being 100 feet behind the bench. But at the same time, there existed multiple signs that contradict the notion that the bench is not isolated including, the overgrown weeds and plants surrounding and beneath the bench , the great distance I had to walk from the main part of campus to the bench and the pine trees surrounding the bench which blocked the bench from view from most angles. Besides debating the question of whether the spot was peaceful isolated or not, I also took in how the sights and sounds that I was able to perceive at the current moment might not be there as autumn progressed.
![Srucara's picture Srucara's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1126.jpg)
Meditations in Taft Garden - 1
"And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair" - Kahlil Gibran
SIGHTS
Yellow little sunflowers
Sparkling rocks
Sunlight blanketing treetops and bushes
Dead leaves
Falling leaves
Students in hats, carrying books
Hazy sky
SMELLS
Grass
Roses
TOUCH
Wind on face and in hair
Grass in my fingers
Chills (shoulders, spine)
TASTE
Watermelon (just came from lunch)
BEYOND THE SENSES
Foggy mind (need more sleep? too much concentration?)
Slight fear of upcoming Organic Chemistry Lab (in 10 min.)
Thoughts on how to improve mental clarity and improve mental endurance
![Smacholdt's picture Smacholdt's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-783.jpg)
An Exercise in Poetry
I began my first observation this morning at the Conservation/Wildflower Area by simply observing what I could see right in front of me. But as the hour wore on I began to think more about two things- the rheomode that we talked about in class yesterday, and the multitude of sensory input that I was getting, just sitting on a bench by the garden. I decided to try to use the rheomode and to play with the idea of the five senses. I only realized later that by using the five senses to describe my experience I was negating a big part of the rheomode itself by being so anthropocentric. I also noticed that when I’m trying to write in the rheomode, it’s easiest for me to use passive voice. Anyway, a poem in the “rheomodist” style:
Streaming, inviting, bright morning light looks warm
Sounds of moist, chilly dew
Ugly, grating sound of traffic
Vibrant, bright colors of flowers feel beautiful
Open, inviting, exciting, the taste of the view from the platform
Cold, smoldering with damp, the sound of the air
Rough wooden bench smells of mold
Sounding warm and damp like bells- the flowers
Whooshing, swaying, verdant breeze
Tasting the sparkling light
Seeing the hulking lawnmower- an intrusion on the scene?
Flying, fluttering, turning like tops- freedom of birds
Rough and sad concrete platform
Dark, inviting, peaceful shade
Interacting with the bright morning is good for the soul
![et502's picture et502's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-977.jpg)
beyond ideas
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there. (Rumi) I saw Eternity the other night |
I See Clouds playing tricks on my eyes and disrupting a sense of stability. I am reminded, suddenly, as clouds uniformly pass over - not hurried, but neither are they slow - that we are positioned on a rotating globe - it is only because it is so large (like a carrier ship in the tides of the ocean), that we do not sense the movement. staring at the clouds (which I know are moving) I can, suddenly, reverse, see the negative - as thougth the sky was a backdrop we rolled by. |
![Anne Dalke's picture Anne Dalke's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-39.jpg)
Our "rheomodic" poem....
At the end of class today, I asked each of you to write--in the "rheomode"--a description of "what was happening" (then, there). Here is what we wrote, and then read to one another...a collective poem:
delving converse deconstructing familiarity
crawling across the chairs are the ants
rustling trees make hearing hard
making this area cool, the shade
sitting, enjoying with intentions for learning
the blowing of the breeze is moving the trees and rustling papers being written on by students
talking is going on
air moving
rethinking thinking know
circulating
re-communionate
writing, intending to disorient
negotiation and re-negotiation and irre-negotiation
breathing
![rachelr's picture rachelr's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-696.jpg)
My Secret Place
Week One: obervations
Faint outlines of soaring birds through the foliage above
The off-and-on sound of chirping cicadas
A cool breeze whips up an already cool morning
Sheets of light grey clouds move the rain of yesterday away, revealing a pale blue sky
The squirrel at the base of the tree behind me does not seem happy to have a guest
The grass, trees, bushes are green with only the faintest hint here and there of a light yellow creeping into the leaves
I see Anne walking to the gym, a few voices break my musings as they make the trip to breakfast
People may see me but they seem to pay my presence little mind- I am much more awake of them- I feel miscible
Suddenly a hawk is almost crashing through the tree branches, halting only momentarily on a branch before leaping back off, back into the sky
The sound of a truck, the peripheral view of the Pepsi logo catches my attention to the right
Overall though, the sounds of humanity are muffled here at this “early” hour
Here is the sun, reaching me through the clouds and leaves
The hawk flies back the other way as birds croak the alarm from tree to tree
I am a passive observer but I feel less intrusive than when I was walking
Groundskeepers are here, picking up the downed branches from the rain and wind of last night
The effects of nature are being tidied up, the manicured paths returning from beneath the ruble
The siren of an emergency vehicle is growing fainter