This did not look or feel like fall to me. This year is different unlike the past years where I would see the whole north fence be completely covered in bright yellow and orange leaves. Slowly, but surely, the leaves started to appear on the north fence. It was almost as everyday a new small layer of leaves would be added to the fence. I can expect the fence to be covered by the end of November or early December, but the park makes no promises, and I should not burden it.
And just like the leaves are slowly falling of the branches of the trees, so is Lucky's coat. His hairs are so thin that I cannot see them brush off when the wind blows against his sturdy body. I just assume that hundreds of tiny hair follicles break off and catch a drift of air that carries them wherever the wind pleases. They sometimes end up in my clothes and other times they end up who knows where. Wherever they end up I'm sure they manage to make it to the ground to decay. They become a part of this earth again. Just like every single living thing on this planet.
Recently the days seem so quiet. Especially being in the middle of the park. Where the only sound that I hear, now, is the chime of Lucky's dog tags and the crunch of leaves with every step that I take. Silence seem to finally cast it's shadow on the park. I enjoy it. It gives me space to think about my thoughts that, during this time of year, seem to rush through my mind so fluidly like a stream of water. Silence is everything and silence is what everything originated from.
Occasionally the silence is suddenly annihilated by F-14's that not only break the sound barrier, but also rupture my ear drums. Other times military cargo planes pass by but they are not as aggressive as the jets. Commercial airlines are the usual inhabitants of the airspace above the park. And when these aircraft do fly by Lucky will suddenly become startled. He tucks his tall in between his hind legs and timidly walks towards me. I have to hug him or do something to let him know that I'm there right beside him. He has my back and I have his.
"The cold weather is approaching. Soon this park will be still. Less people will visit and the trees will be naked. Of course, I'll still be here and so will Lucky." (Field notes 10-31)
I believe that most of the animals in the park are either migrating, like Canadian Geese did just a couple of weeks ago, or are hibernating, like bears do. Even the pesky insects and flies and mosquitoes are gone now too. I see and record the same things over and over again in the park like "fallen leaves from the trees" or "The stillness of the park." I soon asked myself, "Okay, am I going to see anything other than trees and grass? Maybe an animal perhaps?"
Those question were swimming in head for about a day or two until I decided to ease the thought of it by doing some research. I went online to the Nevada department of Wildlife website to see what types of animals stay here in Nevada during fall and winter season. They gave me a list of animals that I doubt I will ever see in such an urbanized area. But, nonetheless, these animals neither migrate nor hibernate which include Mule deer, Pronghorn Antelope, Mountain goats, Elk, and Bighorn sheep. Two animals that I do believe I'll see at the park, if I'm lucky enough, are the Sage Grouse and the Chukar. The Sage grouse diet consist of sage brush leaves and when the snow fall grows to two feet or higher, they will burrow in the snow underneath the sage brush. The Chukar are very small and they have eight to nine vertical black strips that go across their sides underneath their wings. They do not migrate, however, they will head for lower levels of elevation when snow accumulates. (Winter wildlife)
So, now I definitely know what to look out for when snow settles in. Hopefully I catch a glimpse of either birds.
Although the cold seasons, at least to me, feel like they last forever, I do enjoy them to some extent. I enjoy the celebrations and holiday spirit it brings to me. Or maybe I just care about all the temporary things that come with the holidays like gifts and feasts. What ever the reason may be, I still feel, and always will feel, that this period of time will take the longest to pass by. I think the only reason why I like the slowness of days is because I am enlightened by the experiences that come with it. Not so much the cold temperatures, but rather the sensations of the events that occur during fall and winter seasons. The leaves changing color in October, the scents of pies and hams and turkeys being cooking in ovens and the sight of beautiful blankets of pure, undiluted snow that, sometimes, seem to go on forever.
From this slow period of time I do look forward to a number of things in the future. One of these things include a new album by my favorite artist, J. Cole. Not only that, I will also most likely be traveling to Mexico during winter break. But that is still to come. I still have time.
It feels like time is just completely stopping all at once when I'm observing. I lay against the trunk of one of the oak trees and feel the grass with the extremities of my fingers. I feel the cold breeze smack my face. Serenity. I forget about time all together. I forget about the concept of time and how humans created hours, days, weeks, months, years, and millenniums to measure it. Is it incorrect to think that time is only an illusion? I think of time as drawing a straight line on a blank piece of paper that never ends. As the graphite from the pencil sticks to the paper it leaves it's trail behind; that would be represented as past events that have already happened. The past is far behind us. Yet, nothing lies ahead of time. The future doesn't exist. Time dives blindly into the abyss and sooner or later it will dematerialize because there will be no more time left to continue. Like a pencil does after there is no more graphite to continue the line. Every single living thing starts a line and it doesn't end until their life ceases to exist.
Eventually, everyone runs out of time.
Occasionally the silence is suddenly annihilated by F-14's that not only break the sound barrier, but also rupture my ear drums. Other times military cargo planes pass by but they are not as aggressive as the jets. Commercial airlines are the usual inhabitants of the airspace above the park. And when these aircraft do fly by Lucky will suddenly become startled. He tucks his tall in between his hind legs and timidly walks towards me. I have to hug him or do something to let him know that I'm there right beside him. He has my back and I have his.
"The cold weather is approaching. Soon this park will be still. Less people will visit and the trees will be naked. Of course, I'll still be here and so will Lucky." (Field notes 10-31)
I believe that most of the animals in the park are either migrating, like Canadian Geese did just a couple of weeks ago, or are hibernating, like bears do. Even the pesky insects and flies and mosquitoes are gone now too. I see and record the same things over and over again in the park like "fallen leaves from the trees" or "The stillness of the park." I soon asked myself, "Okay, am I going to see anything other than trees and grass? Maybe an animal perhaps?"
Those question were swimming in head for about a day or two until I decided to ease the thought of it by doing some research. I went online to the Nevada department of Wildlife website to see what types of animals stay here in Nevada during fall and winter season. They gave me a list of animals that I doubt I will ever see in such an urbanized area. But, nonetheless, these animals neither migrate nor hibernate which include Mule deer, Pronghorn Antelope, Mountain goats, Elk, and Bighorn sheep. Two animals that I do believe I'll see at the park, if I'm lucky enough, are the Sage Grouse and the Chukar. The Sage grouse diet consist of sage brush leaves and when the snow fall grows to two feet or higher, they will burrow in the snow underneath the sage brush. The Chukar are very small and they have eight to nine vertical black strips that go across their sides underneath their wings. They do not migrate, however, they will head for lower levels of elevation when snow accumulates. (Winter wildlife)
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| "Sage grouse" Photo by Nevada department of wildlife |
So, now I definitely know what to look out for when snow settles in. Hopefully I catch a glimpse of either birds.
Although the cold seasons, at least to me, feel like they last forever, I do enjoy them to some extent. I enjoy the celebrations and holiday spirit it brings to me. Or maybe I just care about all the temporary things that come with the holidays like gifts and feasts. What ever the reason may be, I still feel, and always will feel, that this period of time will take the longest to pass by. I think the only reason why I like the slowness of days is because I am enlightened by the experiences that come with it. Not so much the cold temperatures, but rather the sensations of the events that occur during fall and winter seasons. The leaves changing color in October, the scents of pies and hams and turkeys being cooking in ovens and the sight of beautiful blankets of pure, undiluted snow that, sometimes, seem to go on forever.
From this slow period of time I do look forward to a number of things in the future. One of these things include a new album by my favorite artist, J. Cole. Not only that, I will also most likely be traveling to Mexico during winter break. But that is still to come. I still have time.
It feels like time is just completely stopping all at once when I'm observing. I lay against the trunk of one of the oak trees and feel the grass with the extremities of my fingers. I feel the cold breeze smack my face. Serenity. I forget about time all together. I forget about the concept of time and how humans created hours, days, weeks, months, years, and millenniums to measure it. Is it incorrect to think that time is only an illusion? I think of time as drawing a straight line on a blank piece of paper that never ends. As the graphite from the pencil sticks to the paper it leaves it's trail behind; that would be represented as past events that have already happened. The past is far behind us. Yet, nothing lies ahead of time. The future doesn't exist. Time dives blindly into the abyss and sooner or later it will dematerialize because there will be no more time left to continue. Like a pencil does after there is no more graphite to continue the line. Every single living thing starts a line and it doesn't end until their life ceases to exist.
Eventually, everyone runs out of time.
Works cited
"Winter wildlife." Nevada department of wildlife. web. 17 Nov 2014.
I liked how you compared Lucky's hair falling off like the leaves, and the picture you included as well. Throughout your blog your vocabulary created imagery and your thoughts about time kept me thinking.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you use language. Every thought has so much detail and explanation. Your writing is beautiful and so is your blog. Good job!
ReplyDelete