4/28/2020 - 4/30/2020
I was surprised how engrossed I could get in just a 6x6 ft patch in my own backyard. Our landlords’ grass is just starting to come up, along with common dandelions and common blue violets that can be seen from my upstairs windows. I went outside during my Working From Home lunch break to see what else might be out there, and to see if iNaturalist (or its real-time ID app Seek) could help me identify some cultivated Rosaceae family trees.
After taking probably a dozen photos to finally ID a callery pear, I turned my attention to the ground at my feet. I could immediately tell there were dozens, if not more, species of flowering weeds, grasses, and mosses right there. One, I had already learned, was ground ivy, and I could easily spot white clover, but I was lost on the rest. I crouched on the ground, taking pictures of everything I could see, sometimes struggling to isolate the plant I was looking at, and trying to get more or better angles. I still haven’t finished uploading them all to iNaturalist!
Last week, Tia asked us to focus less on identification and more on pure observation - but I’ve found I struggle with that. When I see a plant, I immediately want to know its name, its place in the plant kingdom, whether it is native or introduced here, what makes it one species and not another, what its personality is, for lack of a better word. With Seek or iNaturalist in hand, it’s almost irresistible to use those tools to find out. Sometimes I get into what I think of as a “Pokemon” mentality: I feel like I “gotta catch ‘em all!”
I recognize that these are expressions of curiosity, and not necessarily bad things; they’re part of what drives me to get outside and explore. Still, I think I’d like to put my phone away more often, and practice the skill of observing directly. It’s something I can keep working on.
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