My First Experience With Nature at Penn State

At first, I was quite skeptical about going to the arboretum. Although I enjoy the outdoors, I would hardly consider myself a nature-lover. I like going fishing and being outside, but when I pictured the arboretum, I imagined it as just a flower garden, which isn’t really something that sounds interesting to me. After making the trip there with the class, my mind was changed.

            I found the arboretum to be a very peaceful, scenic place. One of the most interesting spots I came across there was the small man-made pond. Colorful bunches of aquatic plants littered the water between the floating lily pads. In the center, the tallest of the plants stood higher than six feet out of the water. There were even a few larger lily pads two or three feet in diameter scattered around the surface. The thing that intrigued me the most about the small pond was the bright orange goldfish that you could see meandering through the underwater garden. Some of the plant life I saw here even reminded me of the plants that I saw in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. It’s truly amazing to me that people were able to get such a diverse range of plants to grow in an area that they are not native to.

            One other characteristic of the arboretum that caught my attention was the diverse amount of flowers and plants that you can see when walking through the gardens. On one side, giant bulbs hanging from plant stems six or seven feet off the ground fence in the paths. The other side is filled with a colorful array of flowers that look like they should be on an island in the Caribbean. Another interesting plant that you can find at the arboretum is the palm tree like shrub that is near the man-made pond. It looks like a miniature palm tree that you would see lining the streets in Miami or Las Angeles. This really amazed me that a plant like this could be found in the fall in central PA. At the end of the arboretum, there is a giant white canopy overlooking the forest in the distance. One bare tree stands before the large expanse of fields bordering the gardens. In my opinion, this was the best view offered by the arboretum.

            Overall, I would say my experience visiting Penn State’s arboretum was a positive one. It was my first time even hearing about it, let alone visiting it, and hopefully I’ll be able to make it back there sometime soon. Would I recommend visiting the arboretum to my friends? Of course I would. It may just be one of the most scenic spots on campus. Whether you are a nature person or not, it is definitely worth the trip. The arboretum could be a great spot to go check out on a not so busy day, especially since it’s only a few minutes walk from East.

My First Experience With Art at Penn State

Artist: Utagowa Hiroshige

Title: Gotenyama hanami (Flower Viewing at Gotenyama)

Materials: Woodblock Print

Description: A white sky is the backdrop for the wooden ships sailing close to the shore. A few more sails are visible over the horizon. The blue ocean almost blends in with the grass that seems to drop off steeply before the water. The land is littered with people both standing and sitting on blankets with their eyes focused on the white cherry blossom trees. More people are still piling into the area to try to get a spot to sit. Among the cherry trees are also taller slimmer trees that look as if they could be pine trees. On the right side of the grass field, you can see a banner of some sort hanging between a tree and a wooden shack or hut.

            This woodblock print was created between 1838 and 1843, as part of a series of woodblock prints. The artist was simply depicting a common scene during springtime all over Japan. What caught my eye in this art was the extreme detail. There’s a lot going on in the picture. It gives me a feeling of peace and sets a calm mood. To me, this piece is reminiscing on the way things used to be for these Japanese people. Less than ten years after the artist created this print, the Gotenyama area was destroyed to make barriers for war. Such a simple tradition is shown in this picture, and knowing that the tradition is no longer alive at Gotenyama because of war sends a strong message to me. The art seems to be making the argument to stop war and preserve traditions.

            Utagowa Hiroshige began making “landscape” style prints in the middle of his career around 1831. His small-scale landscape prints were some of the first of their kind. This specific piece of art was made prior to the land at Gotenyama being destroyed. So when Utagowa made the print, I think that he was trying to persuade his audience to preserve traditions and nature, while still depicting a great time of celebration for the Japanese people. The massive amount of spectators gathered in the picture just illustrates how big of a tradition this is among the people living in Gotenyama. Seeing the picture now, and knowing that the area is no longer there, this really sends me the message that we should appreciate traditions and natural occurrences like that because one day, they might be gone.

            I never really was a “museum-goer,” and this trip to the Palmer Museum of art was my first time ever inside of one. I pretty much knew what I expected the inside of the museum to be set up like. Rooms with pictures on the walls and occasional sculptures where there was space. However, I did not know what kind of art to expect to see inside of the museum. I was pleasantly surprised by the different pieces that I got to see. Almost every room had more than one picture or sculpture that I found to be interesting. I would definitely encourage anybody who hasn’t yet been to the museum to try to get there at some point. Maybe I will even make another trip there to see everything again.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Blogs

Template: For my blog, I wanted to choose a background and color scheme that made it easy to read. I felt it would be more effective if the writing was the focal point, not the background. I ended up going with the simple "off-white" color. I didn't want my blog to be too boring, but I also did not want it to be too loud or overbearing. When it came to the layout of the page, I just wanted it to be organized, so that things would still be easy to find once I started to add more posts to the blog. The color scheme, while simple, still reflects Penn State. I made it that way to show that I support the school and I'm proud to be a part of it.

Title: This blog will be used for English 15S assignments, so it only made sense to me to include the name of the course in the blog title. However, I needed to add a personal touch to it. By adding the "We Are," I not only made an eye catching title, but I also expressed my support for Penn State.

Font: The font used on a page can make or break it. If it is too loud or hard to read, it will be ineffective. If it is too bland or boring, it will be just as ineffective. For my title, I chose the font "Puritan." To me, this seemed like a casual font that invites the reader in. The font in my writing however, is a little more formal. Since my posts will be significantly longer than the title, the font will need to be easier for the eyes to read.

About Me: I just wanted to use a brief section of my blog to give the reader a little information about myself. I may continue to add information to the about me as I spend more time on my blog.

Other Content: Among the other features I included on my blog is the Penn State Nittany Lions Logo. Once again, Penn State Pride, you can never have too much of it. There's also a follow by e-mail gadget, in case anybody is really into my blog and wants e-mail updates. I included a link page on the top of my blog. At the moment there were no links that I felt necessary to include, but as the year goes on I'm sure I will find helpful or interesting sites that I can share with everyone via the link page.