Florence Fun

For spring break I had the opportunity to visit my friends studying abroad in Florence. I had never been to Italy and the picture I had of it in my mind was a lot different than reality. Walking around the city the streets were crowded and bustling with tourists. Although the city center is where I got to see beautiful sites such as the Duomo and Michaelangelo's David, I began to notice the complete lack of any green spaces, trees, or flowers. Instead of parks they have Piazzas. The streets are so narrow that they can barely fit a sidewalk, let alone trees. Florence has such a rich history that I imagine hundreds of years ago they weren't as concerned with landscaping. 

Now I am not trying to dog on the city completely. Reflecting on my trip I realized that my favorite part of the week was one morning when I walked to Piazza de Michaelangelo on the edge of the city. It was early and no one had awoken yet. As I walked further away from the city center I was surrounded by grasses and trees. For the first time I felt relaxed and was able to breathe in clean air. I spent the next couple hours sitting on steps overlooking the city and exploring the nearby Giardino delle Rose (rose garden). The gardens had beautiful flowers and unique trees I had never seen before. I walked through and observed all the different species of plants and took note of the numerous pollarded trees. One tree, however, caught my attention and stopped me in my tracks. I took a photo and figured out that it is the Cedrus libani 'Pendula' or the Weeping Cedar of Lebanon. 

Although I did not return to the gardens for the remainder of the trip, they stayed on my mind. When I was overwhelmed by the crowds and tight sidewalks I thought about the gardens and how peaceful they felt. 

Cowtown Half-Marathon

This Sunday I ran the Cowtown half-marathon for the third year in a row. The first two times I ran it I spent months training, but this year I found myself busier than normal. I had signed up a long time ago but had not run more than a handful of times in the weeks leading up to the event. As a result, I ran it slower than normal and wanted to share how my outdoor experience was altered. 

The course has remained the same each year. I find my favorite part of the race to be when I am in the neighborhoods surrounded by grass and trees rather than when I am running through downtown surrounded by tall, concrete buildings. Although some argue that the stockyards and downtown are their favorite parts since there is so much more to experience visually, the quiet and relaxed neighborhoods are when I feel most comfortable on the run. Over the course of my blog this is a trend that I have started to notice: I enjoy myself more when I am in a peaceful natural environment. I could really focus on how the air felt in my lungs and the humidity on my skin. 

Of course, as I got towards the end of the race, what was at the forefront of my mind was wanting it to be over. My friends think that I am crazy for wanting to run it every year, but there is a reason I always come back. I get to be outside for an extended period of time exploring wonderful Fort Worth with an amazing community of runners supporting me all around. Although the running itself is not my favorite aspect, I find that the memories I get from it are priceless. After it was all over, I sat in awe on the Trinity river watching the full marathon runners run by.

Leopold Reflection

This week I have been learning about Aldo Leopold, specifically, his book A Sand County Almanac. Learning about Leopold's background and how it influenced his perspectives is interesting. He spent his weekends and vacations living in a “shack” in the Wisconsin wilderness, fully immersed in nature. His time spent there most likely had a great influence on his “Land Ethic” that he discussed in his book. 

What particularly stood out to me in the reading was the chapter “How to Think Like a Mountain.” As a biology major, I have taken ecology classes and learned about the effects of how overhunting wolves changed the ecosystems at Yellowstone. Leopold’s backstory involving actually shooting a mother wolf and seeing the light leave its eyes must have had a profound impact on him. I like the idea of thinking like a mountain because it really challenges humans to think beyond the scope of themselves and into our future generations. I think a lot of people would treat nature differently if they were looking at long term impacts instead of just the current day — especially with issues such as global warming. 

The idea of Leopold’s “Land Ethic” has challenged me to look beyond how I have previously thought about ethics. When I took an ethics class in high school we focused mainly on how individuals act with other members of a community. This discussion did not particularly focus on how individuals should act towards the environment. This goes beyond just how one should treat other animals too. He has challenged me to look at land beyond property and act in harmony with land (just how people strive to act in harmony with community).