Natural Aesthetics

What are aesthetics? It is the study of our minds and emotions with regard to when and where we feel a sense of beauty (Dictionary.com). We are each entitled to our own notion of the beautiful, the sublime and the not so much so. I find the tree above, which stands in Duke Island Park in Bridgewater NJ, pleasing in all seasons. We are all free to form our own opinion and this freedom can shape our perceptions and thus our everyday lives. Want to be happy? Try gazing at a beautiful vista. Need a moment of tranquility, or even an hour perfect peace? A lotus blossom, a sunset, or trees in the summer sunlight can provide us with such emotions.



Of course, the turn of the seasons will also influence our relish of the outdoors. Which do you like best? Mine is autumn, because my birthday falls in early October. Here it is photo of a place called Iona Island at Bear Mountain State park in Bear Mountain, NY in November of last year.


In this next shot, it is winter at Washington Valley Reservoir, in Bridgewater township. I understand that temperatures will be low enough this weekend to cover the entire reservoir in ice.


As much as I enjoy the outdoors in all conditions, I must say I am missing the warmth and bright colors of spring and summer. Here is a species of Magnolia in full bloom at Colonial Park in Franklin Township, NJ.


And here it is summer at the Sourland Mountain Preserve in Hillsborough/Montgomery townships, NJ.


The only thing better than a beautiful vista in solitude is some company, and the best sort for the intrepid hiker is wildlife. I believe this is a Blue Huron (Ardea herodias) and below are some Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) at two different visits to Colonial Park.




I can’t resist sharing this chipmunk (Tamias minimus) I encountered in the Washington Valley Reservoir, just down the trail from the Hawk Watch Area (Newmans Lane off of Vosseller Avenue in Bridgewater, NJ).


While not everyone’s favorite reptile, snakes impart a particular thrill for me on a hike. I believe this is an Eastern Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis sauritus sauritus) I was pleased to be fast enough to photograph in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Morris County, NJ, back in 2007.


Do you find snakes beautiful and exciting? My mom sure doesn’t! Some shots that I have in my archives are difficult to classify as aesthetically pleasing or otherwise. What constitutes a natural aesthetic? We’ll stick to scenes that are arguably pleasing for this discussion. This next image is the man-made pond in the Rudolf W. Van der Goot Rose Garden at Colonial Park. Is this goldfish a part of a wild or natural vista? I understand goldfish are a species of that has been domesticated, like cows and chickens, for thousands of years (Wilkapedia, “Goldfish’).


What about this lantern? This particular spot no longer exists, as the Duke Gardens (Doris Dukes’s personal greenhouses full of display gardens) permanently closed on May 25, 2008. I visited these greenhouses many times before the end, falling in love with the exquisite scenes created by the perfectly arranged flowers, plants and trees. I love gardens, and I miss these greatly. Does the roof of the greenhouse in the background remove the aesthetic from a natural vista, shaped primarily by wind and rain, to an entirely man-made one, the same as a cityscape?


The distinction between natural and man-made aesthetics is enormously important to the environmental movement – Beautiful scenery is a major benefit of woods, streams, prairies, mountains, etc. A landscape that is pleasing to the eye is a major argument for keeping natural areas natural or at least undeveloped (when other reasons aren’t enough). Environmentalists often face the argument that almost every spot on earth has at one time or is currently actively influenced by humankind (so another shopping mall won’t matter).

I would say, some human influence doesn’t stop me from enjoying any particular scene. This is New Jersey – perhaps not the nature capital of the world. If a bunch of trees are growing close together and there’s a squirrel living there, you’ve got viable wildlife habitat. If a park has few preserved acres of forest, it is enough for me and the proximity to human habitation does not mar the beauty of the benevolent trees. But to put in the strip mall, it will all have to come down. What is the correct road to take between human needs and the preservation of natural areas? In my next post, I will examine how philosophy has helped me to understand our own harmonious existence with the natural world.

(Twilight, Colonial Park, NJ 11/29/08)

Environmental Aesthetics

Aesthetics, specifically environmental aesthetics, are of great interest to me. Environmental aesthetics is the investigation of the aesthetic appreciation of natural environments (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2008). It is the division of philosophy that examines why and how we appreciate the environment. In some circumstances, it is even extended to encompass the aesthetics of everyday life.

Sometimes I pause, and think about what philosophy is. WordNet Search defines philosophy as "the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics." But what is it's purpose? And why doesn't something as important as the nature of reality touch our everyday lives more often? A wonderful article entitled "The Purpose and Importance of Philosophy" can be found here. Ms. Stephanie Paey goes over how philosophy "does not exist as a means to an end; it does not have a particularly defined purpose.” And yet…”there must be some question that the philosopher is trying to solve, some understanding that he is trying to reach (“Themes” 8-25)." I love philosophy - it makes me feel so intellectual! Philosophy is a sustainable resource – we will never run out of areas to examine, or puzzles to unravel.

A common problem in philosophically inclined essays is that they begin to sound like stereo instructions - or for the stereo inclined, like some incomprehensible text about a subject you've never heard of. I’m sure if you read and think about philosophy every day, things begin to seem clearer until one can’t help but string together one complex thought after another. But I will endeavor to be clear to the non-philosopher, a title I probably qualify for myself. Environmental aesthetics is where our minds open up to the beauty of the world around us, to the reality of our everyday lives, to all the wonder nature has to offer. In my next post, I will illustrate opportunities for the aesthetic appreciation of nature using photos of the outdoors I have taken over the past few years. Together we will explore the New Jersey outdoors to see the best it has to offer.

Citations:
Smith, John E. Themes in American Philosophy: Purpose, Experience, and Community. Harper Torchbooks: New York, 1970.

Hiking in New Jersey in Winter

Location: Washington Valley Park, Newmans Lane Trailhead, Bridgewater, New Jersey, USA.

Here are my thoughts on a few hikes I took around the holidays this year.

You would think no one goes hiking in winter. It is mostly a summer activity, where droves of folks hit the trails while the sun shines. I don’t know that a great many people brave the great outdoors at all after the temperature drops below 40 degrees. And even then, there is probably some great natural wonder rewarding their endurance. Yet when I hit the trail in the rain a few weeks ago, the ice had frozen over a fair number foot prints, as if a crowd (including dogs, deer and a few other animals) had walked in front of me minutes before.

On this particular Saturday, I was bundled up in many layers, with my trusty Under Armor and waterproof hiking boots on. The temperature was between 30 and 40 degrees and the rain had been sheeting down since before dawn. There was a cold dampness in the air - the cold felt like water, like I was swimming through it as it surrounded me. I remember I even had to carry an umbrella to keep from getting soaked, and that I had to watch the trail to avoid slipping on the water covered ice. Every tiny creek I passed was unnaturally swollen – we’ve had several floods and heavy rains all this year (2009).

It amazed me that so much water could fall from sky without melting the ice and snow from earlier in the week, but the cold that the ground collected each night must allow the landscape I have below.

I walked down the trail along the water, adding my footprints to the deer tracks that seem to cover the whole woods. I tried to capture with my camera the precise grey of the lake reflecting the rain-filled sky.

The downpour showed no signs of abating as I walked. I noticed that the rain, with no leaves to patter off of, was running straight down the tree trunks in interesting, vertical rivers.


I must admit that I cut short my hike on this particular weekend. After getting thoroughly soaked and chilled while attempting to take pictures with my umbrella closed, I called it a day and returned to my vehicle. However, I was lucky enough to return one week minus a day later – weather conditions had not changed much, but the rain had stopped.

A sizable snow fall had visited us on Dec. 31st. Temperature on this weekend was closer to freezing, but without wind and rain falling, it seemed much warmer than my last visit. The lack of flooded streams to cross allowed me to proceed farther down the trail.

In the fresh powder, the trails were still a bit slippery, but I always feel the snow cover makes the landscape especially beautiful.

As I commented to Aengus, my fearless companion and boyfriend of several years, it was pleasantly quiet in the woods that day. The snow makes everything seem soft and subdued under the grey roof of the sky.

I was fascinated by the shapes the ice had formed on the reservoir's surface.

This looks like an alien, right? I am a big fan of that movie.

The highpoint of every hike for me is viewing wildlife. On this trip, some ducks enjoy their own beach of ice.

I look forward to my next excursion in fair winter weather. I hope this posting made you feel like you were right out there in the cold with me. It has been very cold and/or rainy since New Year's Day. In liu of a sudden warm spell, I may work up some posts on hikes I took in warmer weather, just to pass the time this winter. That’s all for now – see you on the trail!

Got faith?

I would like to write a blog about hiking. Hiking is an excellent activity. It requires few resources - only some footwear and trail to walk down, and I have both readily available. But my interest in hiking stems from my love of nature, which is a complicated matter.

The world is filled with environmentalists these days. I went to school to study ecology, and ended up with a Bachelors of Science in Natural Resources, and a Masters degree in Environmental Science. I wanted to study ecology because I thought it was an environmental science that would incorporate the big picture - that it would include people and landscapes, biotic and abiotic parts of the earth. I thought I had hit on the part of the environmental movement that would maintain some perspective from an aloof, scientific vantage point in an emotionally charged science.

Let’s just say that things didn’t work out the way I thought. I did learn a lot about the environmental movement though, and I can confirm that there is a lot of debate both over what environmentalism is, what environmental problems there are and, of course, the best way to solve them. But this is no hindrance to writing a blog – in fact, the environmental movement has spawned thousands of blogs already. The real problem I have is whether or not to include my religious beliefs in my posts.

This is a big decision for me. I have a lot of faith, and I’d like to share it with the world. But I don’t want to detract from my environmental subject matter with constant explanations of exactly what I believe. I’ve been wrestling with this question all week and I’ve come to the conclusion that my meditation, Reiki and countless other New Age activity teachers all have the right idea: its best to practice your craft publically while leaving religion to each individual. So my personal beliefs will remain, for the purposes of this blog, undefined. This way there’s no worries about resolving every theological issue before things can move forward. I hope you don’t mind. I have it in mind to create an entirely independent blog completely devoted to alternative religion, but that is for the future. I think it’s time to hit the trail.

Up.

Up. For me, it answers a lot of questions.

Such as, where should the amount of money in my savings account be going? I want it to go up. Where should I be moving on the corporate ladder? Up. When we move from a good place to a better place, we call it movin' on up.

But other things move up to. Such as, what is happening to my total amount of credit card debt? It goes up every month despite my best efforts. Also, what is happening to my age? Let me tell you, it's going up - I wasn't completely ready to turn 30 this year. Maybe we look up and think of flying, but we're still on the ground thinking about it.

So up can be where we wish or don't wish to go. I can say that looking up, moving up, is still moving and where there is movement there is change. And change is eternal. If I have to move, I want to keep moving up.