Jake Frasier - Noland Trail Class

During our trip to the Noland trail I saw a lot of interesting things that exhibited the constant changes in nature. The first interesting thing that we saw was the presence of domesticated plants. This was fascinating because in order for these plants to be present someone had to have planted them. This means that at some point, this wild area used to be someone’s home. I thought this was interesting because it shows how nature will prevail over man’s modernization. Another thing that we saw was a dogwood tree growing together with a pine tree. This was really interesting because the trees had been growing so close together that they became one. In addition, as we were walking we saw some flowers that had recently been soaked with a light rain shower. Dr. Redick told us that the day before, the same flowers were covered in pollen, making them look much more different. To me this symbolized how in nature there are frequent changes. One day, the flowers are covered in pollen and have a unique appearance, and the next they look completely different; nothing is ever the same. I thought that this Noland Trail class was extremely fascinating because we were able to see first-hand how nature can change and the interesting ways that those changes may influence us.