{"id":121,"date":"2023-04-20T22:19:55","date_gmt":"2023-04-21T02:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/?p=121"},"modified":"2023-04-20T22:19:55","modified_gmt":"2023-04-21T02:19:55","slug":"final-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/2023\/04\/20\/final-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"Final Visit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Redstone Quarry has become a part of my routine, and a place for me to find solace from the constant pressure of campus. I first visited this place during parents&#8217; weekend. My dad drove me to the base of the quarry and stood against the car as I walked across the slippery redstone. My parents have never been outdoorsy, and markedly have never made an effort to get me into the outdoors. I think walking across the bridge into the ravine and up to the rock face, while my parents stayed behind helped me fill the gap between where I was before I came to UVM and the places that I was going to go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"782\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9086-782x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9086-782x1024.jpg 782w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9086-229x300.jpg 229w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9086-768x1006.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9086.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>From that first visit, the quarry has gone from new and exciting to familiar and comforting. From slippery and wet, to icy and snow-covered, to leaf laden and muddy, the quarry has morphed through the seasons. Stark red maple leaves turned brown and stuck to my shoes and the birches grew bare and gray for a while. The winter can often seem never-ending and all-consuming, but over the past few weeks, I have witnessed the quarry&#8217;s natural communities spring back to life. While things aren&#8217;t like they were in September, green signs of life are poking through. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"943\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9085-943x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-123\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9085-943x1024.jpg 943w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9085-276x300.jpg 276w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9085-768x834.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9085.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 943px) 100vw, 943px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I did not take much notice of animal life when I first visited, or really until this semester. I&#8217;ve become acutely aware of what is moving around me, and am much better at identifying what those things are. I&#8217;ve heard the birds return to these trees and watched the squirrels start scurrying around again. This past visit, the birds were particularly active. In the past, I mostly only noticed Cardinals and Robins. But this time, I heard Black-capped Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, House Finch, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, and Goldfinch in addition to the Robins and Cardinals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/2023-04-19-1316.wav\"><\/audio><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Short clip of some birds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I have come to know the path that winds down from Ledge Road all the way to the pond quite well. I mark each trip with the view from the top of the cliff as well as the view back up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"843\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"125\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9089-843x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-125\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9089-843x1024.jpg 843w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9089-247x300.jpg 247w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9089-768x933.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9089.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 843px) 100vw, 843px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"775\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"126\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9087-775x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-126\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9087-775x1024.jpg 775w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9087-227x300.jpg 227w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9087-768x1015.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9087-1162x1536.jpg 1162w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9087.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 775px) 100vw, 775px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A new surprise found me on this final visit though as I walked towards the Paper Birch tree I was previously observing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"901\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9088-1024x901.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-127\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9088-1024x901.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9088-300x264.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9088-768x676.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/files\/2023\/04\/IMG_9088.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I am forever grateful to Redstone Quarry for connecting me with the natural world beyond and within Burlington. This has been a great project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I can see myself revisiting this space many times before I leave Vermont as it has become a safe haven for me throughout this year. I think it provides this comfort to a great number of people, as the neighborhood surrounding it clearly takes advantage of the paths for recreation. I love that this spot can foster ecologically and socially beneficial environments. This place has become a part of my experience at UVM and has shaped the way I view natural areas, I hope to impact this space in as positive of a way as it has me. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Redstone Quarry has become a part of my routine, and a place for me to find solace from the constant pressure of campus. I first visited this place during parents&#8217; weekend. My dad drove me to the base of the quarry and stood against the car as I walked across the slippery redstone. My parents [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8341,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"gcwang","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/author\/gcwang\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8341"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions\/128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/gcwang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}