Take a Hike

It is only six weeks in and I have already had an incredibly exhausting semester. Between clinicals and classwork, I feel as if I am slowly slipping away from everything that I love. After a particularly rough week, I decided to go hiking at the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge. With my fellow nature-loving friend Aleah, I willingly woke up at 8am (early in my book) to hike the Cross Timbers Trail. We decided to leave for the hike early in an effort to beat the scorching hot temperatures of mid-day. Unfortunately, we were not able to evade the omnipresent presence of humidity; after approximately five minutes hiking, it genuinely felt as if a blanket of perspiration covered my entire body. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the hike. In a moment of quiet beauty, we saw a lone deer gracefully bounding through the forest. 

We also went on another equally beautiful trail on Greer Island, where we experienced a delightful encounter with the TCU Director of the Pre-Health Institute and ecology professor, Dr. Matt Chumchal. As part of a national survey for the U.S. Geological Survey, Dr. Chumchal was collecting dragonfly larvae to examine mercury contamination of the environment. After watching Dr. Chumchal and a group of high school students wade through the water with giant nets for an exorbitant amount of time, we decided to move forward with the hike. The main attraction of Greer Island seemed to be spiderwebs; they covered multiple branches on nearly every tree. Like small clouds that drifted down to land upon the trees, they captured an assortment of tiny insects. 

Translucent spider web on Greer Island

On our way out of the park, we decided to stop and take a moment to admire the seemingly peaceful Bison sleeping alongside the road. My initial thought was bewilderment; they do not seem real to me. They are like history come to life in front of you. As I sat there looking at them, I thought of the passages we read from "Nature Writing;" I thought of entire herds driven over cliffs and groups of six men sent out to kill one bison. I also was surprised by the large number of calves; the Forth Worth Nature Center's website says only five were born this year. We were easily able to single out the lone adult bull just by his sheer size, especially compared to the majority of females.