Nicolas Maxim: The Noland

When on the Noland we started off by looking at the lake and analyzing the differences between a medium and far prospects. The medium prospect is a view where the land only allows you to see a restricted amount of the lake because it encloses you in. The far prospect is a view where the land is very open and allows you to see a majority of the lake. With these prospects come various feelings that can be associated with them. When at a close to medium prospect one may feel more claustrophobic and enclosed. This can be a little overwhelming to some people who do not like to be enclosed in a tight space. The far prospect is open so it gives a more relaxing feeling and a sense of comfort for those who are not use to living in the woods.  For people who are comfortable in the woods the far prospect and thinning of the woods may give a feeling of vulnerability being that they are more visible to their surroundings. For me it felt like the far prospect was more safe because I could see anything coming in the distance and did not feel enclosed.

When looking at the lake I saw a couple ripples in the distance, but did not see what it was that caused the ripples. The unknown cause of the ripples was what I considered sublime, mainly because I was not sure what caused them. This got me curious and interested as to what animal or thing cause the ripples being that I saw nothing. The ripples also evoked a feeling within me that changed my mood from my previous feelings. The feeling was a sense of peace that overcame me and left me speechless.

Later on the Noland we talked about how nature sometimes has to be observed with different senses in order to see all of what nature has to offer. The Lotus blooms that we observed were very beautiful and appealing to look at, but they also had a very sweet fragrance that could only be noticed if you got close. The different species pine trees were right next to each other but were hard to tell the different between at a first glance. Only after touching the bark and observing the needles was it obvious that they were different species. The first bridge had a smell of dead fish that was extremely noticeable when walking, however, it could not be proven because no one could see the fish. Without the use of all of our senses it would be nearly impossible to completely understand nature.