Nature Journal

To experience nature in its most natural habitat, you have to move some bits and pieces first sometimes to see it!

(the picture below is from the Fort Worth nature center)

The fort worth nature center is known for its wild buffalo, but over the years, unfortunately, nature has taken over the viewing site, making our project this week to clear out all of nature that has grown over the viewing deck.

It was a hot one, thats for sure. The sun was beating down--mother nature was creating a challenging environment, as if to tell us "leave my vines alone." But we went on, and started our project, we weren't going to let any sun stop us.

The first thing that I did was help to cut down a tree. I have never done this before (being from Chicago the trees are specifically and strategically planted for aesthetic appeal, there is no need to cut down trees unless they are dead), so this task was difficult for me. It took some time to cut down this tree, using a hand saw was a lot harder than I would assume using a chain saw would be. But, I will say it was a lot more rewarding because I did it on my own.

Next, I began to remove vines that were covering the fence and disallowing people to be able to view where the buffalo roam. It was so amazing to see how the vines have wrapped around the fence and started to be intertwined in the growing trees that were growing around the fence as well. The vines, though thin, were strong making it difficult to tear the vine away from its very comfortable home: the fence.

The vines were as harsh as mother nature's challenging sun; they were both pointy and prickly. Its stubborn branches had small thrones that would poke me as if resisting their move. Eventually, after some tugging and chopping, most of the vines came down.

In the end, though, the hard work was worth it because now, people will be able to view the buffalo up close and personal.