Entry #2 – Nox’s Wonder Blog!

Abandoned Railroad Tracks, Westtown, NY 10998

Today is Friday, June 30, 2023, at about 2:45 p.m. The weather is quite hot, around 80 degrees or so, but it is not muggy like last time. The coverage of the trees made the walk comfortable.

This time around, I accidentally walked all the way to the end of the trail looking for a clearing that I remembered from my childhood. Time has reclaimed the clearing so much that I cannot even remember where it was if I saw it. I am glad I went further this time because I got to see so much more of the trail that I had forgotten. I noticed the farther down you went, the more holly berry bushes there were to see. I also found three snails at the edges of the path and creek. Speaking of the creek, it is so deep now because of the heavy rains we have been experiencing for the past week that some local children were swimming in it. I have never swum in the creek before but seeing them inspired my dog and me to check it out ourselves. My dog actually knocked my pencil down the creek so I was glad that I had finished my sketches beforehand.

I believe that this plant is a Lady Fern or Athyriumfilix-femina. They are one of the most common species of fern in wooded areas of New York. I noted this plant’s light green color, with ellipse-like fronds and tapered edges.

Large Shelved Mushrooms: I chose to draw these mushrooms because I was curious as how I could use the defined lines in my drawing.

Large Feather: I always find feathers on my walks and I wanted to study them more closely.

Small Shelved Mushrooms: I decided to draw these because they are the most common mushroom I find at my site and I wanted to study them more closely.

Snail on Leaf: I decided to draw this because I do not find snails very often on my walks and I found three today so I wanted to capture that moment.

I really enjoyed sketching because it made me look at minute details that I otherwise would have glossed over. I forgot how much I enjoy drawing and this reignited my love for traditional art. I also enjoyed the process of finding interesting patterns in my subjects to make the composition more interesting. A lot of things in nature share similar patterns and you can see that in my drawings, especially the mushrooms. I will definitely be using this practice outside of class again.