Pelicans Making Noise

Once again I thought Jack Turner fell victim to the plague that most writers face, there's just too much description going on. First of all this piece never actually caught my attention because pelicans aren't of interest to me, but loading the work with descriptions that went on and on didn't help the cause. He was very passionate in this passage, and I could tell he really has a liking for these birds. I was also impressed that he could write as much as he did about pelicans making sounds, which he made seem to be a controversial subject in the world of biology. Overall I felt he fit the mold with this book because all of the writers seem to be doing the same thing.

End-of-Semester Schedule

4/13 – FOOD SCIENCE CLASSROOM
Song: Benjamin Juhnke
from A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold, pp. 281-294 *.
(Jessamy Dahlberg)

4/15 – HOOVER 1227
STOP PHOTOS HERE
Guest: Linda Hasselstrom
--
4/20 – HELSER 1510
Casey Project Development
Song: Kyle Lichtenberg
“The Song of the White Pelican,” by Jack Turner p. 835 *.
(Yasmine Sepeheri and Nicholas Dudak)

4/22 – HOOVER 1227 – EARTH DAY
“Millions Join Earth Day Observances Across the Nation,” by Josephy
Lelyveld, p. 484 *.
36 photos, one mounted to display
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4/27 – HOOVER 1227
Casey mapping/research presentations

4/29 –HOOVER 1227
Casey mapping/research presentations

Final – 500-word essay: my favorite reading of the semester, giving reasons and
comparing your favorite with at least two others. Chapbook and/or webpage or eight flash writings, plus a title and cover;
and journal due.


* Readings for journal entries of at least 50 words: one observation about the
writing, and an opinion about the material.

(Your name): When your name appears in parentheses after a reading you should come prepared to lead a discussion of that reading by asking at least two questions and reading a passage from your one-page reader response.

Personal Essay: A Not So Family Vacation

The summer of 2004 my parents, younger brother, and I took a vacation to one of dad’s favorite childhood vacation spots, South Dakota. The plan was to drive the ten hours to Custer, SD and spend two weeks camping at the Beaver Lake Campgrounds. My dad invited his sister, her husband, and their three kids to join us as well. I spent weeks bragging to my friends about my plans to see Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and all the parks we had learned about in our textbooks. In my mind, I was planning an adventure into the wild, or at least as wild as it gets for a fourteen year old. I had my bags packed to the brim and barely had room for all my little disposable cameras. I wasn’t going to miss a single wild moment of this trip. Little did I know but this trip was going to change my life.

Personal Essay Intro Paragraph

It was June tenth of 2008, the day after my birthday; my identical twin, Ethan, had decided to host a party. He was the drum major our senior year and so he thought that to promote “unity in the band”, a phrase which I came to despise, he would have a party to make incoming freshmen more comfortable with the older people in the band. There was a ridiculous amount of Mountain Dew and an abundance of cheap bags of chips. The party was quite a feat, we had paintball, football, and a bonfire planned for later in the evening. Paintball was set up in the grove, about fifty yards west of the shop, where the food and drinks were. Directly across the driveway to the east of the shop was where we had the football field. And just north of the shop was the pump shed where the hose was hooked up to spray random guests. Me, as the antisocial pessimistic twin was under the impression that this party was going to be a complete failure, so I sat inside and watched TV for the first hour. My dad finally had enough of my pessimism and forced me to go outside and socialize. I was furious. To vent my anger I went and played paintball where I got to shoot at all the people that I disliked, which was very soothing for me. After that I moved over towards our makeshift football field and that’s where the entire day went to crap.

A New Approach

The purpose was to capture the opposing team’s flag. This flag was in the form of a brilliant green glow stick. Dressed in all black and camouflage, the teams were split ten on ten. The boundaries were Fall Hall Road and the edges of Robinson Creek circling the camp. It was a drizzly night with only the light of the stars to guide our paths. In the middle of the Northern Wisconsin woods, I became a warrior, army crawling through the unknown territory of the opponent. As the flag guard stood watch, I slyly made my way to his feet without him knowing the difference. Afraid that he had seen me, I laid there silently with my face to the ground until I knew it was safe. As my brain raced with thoughts of tactics to capture the flag, I tried to recall my memory of the land that surrounded me. The land I’ve known so well since I was eight years old was now dark and difficult to maneuver quickly through without getting caught and thrown into the jail cell. It was terrifying, but it was my desire to be the fearless conqueror.

Casey Project

Everett Casey Nature Center and Reserve Project Groups

(see www.ecomfa.engl.iastate.edu)

Habitat Management
Jessamy
Cody
Jarred
Qi

Outdoor-Classroom Plan
Alex
Yao
Nick

Creek Management Plan
Macy
Troy
Mark
Kyle

Prairie-Restoration Plan
Tacie
Ramsay
Crystal
Ben

History
Yasmine
Matt
Wes
James


Project Requirements
• A map
• A four-page-minimum written summary, with at least three outside sources, one of them primary; at least eight concrete steps toward accomplishing the plan; or, in the case the History group, eight specific historical developments
• A visual: a chart, a graph, photographs, etc.
• An ten-minute oral presentation involving all group members.
• The plan should be of professional quality, on a level that could be presented to the university.

Field Trip, Saturday, March 27, 10:00-2:00

Meet at the the Transit Hub in the parking lot to the south of Stephen’s Auditorium and north of the football stadium:
http://www.fpm.iastate.edu/maps


Come prepared to get dirty and wet. You should consider bringing a rain coat..

Bring pen and paper.

Consider bringing:
Field guides
Camera
Lunch

Journal: Smokey the Bear Sutra by Gary Snyder

It seems that Gary Snyder has used Smokey the Bear in order to support his political beliefs such as when he says, “Trampling underfoot wasteful freeways and needless suburbs; smashing the worms of capitalism and totalitarianism;” and also when he says “Wearing the blue overalls symbolic of slaves and laborers, the countless men oppressed by a civilization that claims to save but only destroys.” He uses small gestures from a character and gives them radical meanings. He gives Smokey the Bear a kind, enlightenment in some points like when he says “Smokey the Bear will Illuminate those who would help him,” but then goes on and give the character a violent side directed to people who don’t agree saying “HE WILL PUT THEM OUT.” I think this is an ironic thing to do because he explains that he doesn’t like totalitarianism in the United States but I think in a way he is being as authoritative in his writing as a totalitarian would be over a country.