Naturalist Essay- Cora Marquez

I am always walking around Chicago and Lincoln Park area whether it is to go to class or to go to a friend’s apartment. For this nature walk I decided to just get lost in the residential area surrounding my house and take turn down streets I have never ventured to go before. The nature that I encountered while walking around Chicago and Lincoln Park area was mostly many trees on residential street surrounded by small plots and squares or grass. Some areas had lavish gardens and landscaping. I also passed a few parks with open fields and tall bushes. The wild life that I witnessed was a few birds and rabbits but not many at all. I did see a rat on my walk home in the alley, which is always fun to find. A few things that I noticed while walking for this assignment that I usually don’t notice was the variety of trees in Lincoln park as well and the exotic flower arrangements. People tend to care a lot about the appearance of their small grassy plots and put lots of money into them. I also was surprised that I did not see any squirrels because I am so used to seeing them everywhere at home in St.Paul. Minnesota. I love being out in nature and especially appreciate it way more then every while living in the city. Even though I live in the city at home we have much more green space then there seems to be in Chicago. I feel relaxed and peaceful when I am surrounded by nature and I try not to worry about the future life all of these plant species will have due to the entire crisis being discussed. My feelings do not change about nature whether I am inside or outside, I love it and wish I could always be in a huge forest or at my farm in northern Minnesota looking over the lake in our canoe. I ride my bike everywhere around the city; it is my main transportation .By riding my bike I am interacting with nature everyday and constantly whenever I leave my house. I ride past parks, animals, sunlight, trees, grass, flowers, insects and so much more everyday and notice strange bumps in the road and leave everywhere in the fall. I feel as though my walk was a mix between both the authors’ writings. I did tend to think about things on a scientific level as Kuo’s writing was about the science of the trees where as Muir's focused on the surroundings and turning the nature into a story and giving each animal and plant a character and new life. I tend to do that as well, think about the lives the animals have and how they act and move as well as the nature surrounding them.