Nature Journal: Part 13

For my thirteenth nature journal, I decided to write about my experience in the quiet section of Mary Couts Burnett Library. Specifically, the quiet section with vaulted ceilings and large arched windows. I usually spend my mornings before mammalian physiology lecture sitting at a table in the back corner. Unknowingly, I have always left for class before the sun made it over the top of Sid Richardson Hall. It was not until dead days that I noticed the rays creep in through the windows and ignite the room like a fire. I have spent the past several days watching the sun slowly climb, brick by brick, over the top of the Sid Richardson Hall. From inside the library, I watched as the beams of light slowly engulfed chairs and tables until the entire South side of the room was blanketed in its power. Although the light often reflected off the glossy surfaces of the tables, it was the heat the forced me to move. After sitting in the presence of the sun’s rays for ten minutes, I felt like I was going to overheat. The temperature of the room increased noticeably. However, as I looked back outside, I noticed the sun reflecting off the leaves of the trees. I started to think about the way the trees outside use the energy of the sun and convert it into sugars for their own use. Furthermore, my fascination in the world around me was reignited in the same way the sun lighted up the room I was in. Humans build structures to protect themselves from the sun while plants and animals of earth bask in its presence as a way of life.