White Oak Bayou Impressions (Day 1)

Kell Sullins

Date: Friday, January 24, 2014,

Location: White Oak Bayou three sample sites

Time spent on site: 1:45-4:30

Team members: Scott Owen, Sally Entrekin, Environmental Practicum Class (2014)

So my very first thought about the White Oak Bayou: "So this road just dead ends here? Wait...Oh." I'm a bit slow sometimes. But I came prepared for a cold day out, and by prepared I mean the usual cold weather gear plus an unusually large camera. I intended to take numerous photos of the White Oak Bayou (WOB), but unfortunately very few turned out that great. Specifically the animals in the area seemed to have a sense for when I was about to snap the photos, and they literally moved at the last second to prevent me from getting any good shots of them. There were some deer in the distance, birds in the tops of the trees and passing overhead (there is something very cool about seeing a large shadow before you see the bird it belongs to), and signs of other animals as well.

There were also signs of people, such as crushed beer cans, a destroyed and abandoned couch, and some sheet plastic discarded near the entry site (Ali took up the task of collecting as much trash as she could along our journey, an admirable effort to say the least). It may be something to consider to include park sized trash cans and/or recycling bins (perhaps some like the dual purposed ones UCA uses) in both the degraded area and at the accessible areas of the construction site once the road is underway. Another thing that I am pleased with is how much of the area stands out perfectly in my memory. Anybody that knows me knows I have no sense of memory, and yet I can recall almost perfectly what each area we went to looked like. I can even remember the distinct smell of methane near pre-impact site 1, with the frozen dragonfly and the beautiful trees nearby. Frankly, half of the pictures I should have taken were so mesmerizing that I forgot to use my camera.

I honestly can't wait until the weather warms up and I get a chance to hear and hopefully see the amphibians that are my focus in the project. I look forward to working alongside Scott, Dr. Entrekin, and the rest of the class (and anybody else that happens to join in).