Some Mesquite Misfortunes

Today marked our third class day spent at the Fort Worth Nature Center, and it continued our hands-on outdoor learning, although it was a bit more painful than our past two Nature Center outings. Our first day, we used picks and shovels to dig trenches in the mud for a big water tank, and the second day we used large clippers to clean up the bison observatory deck. Today, however, we got to go a bit more into the ‘field,’ literally. We were tasked with clearing the mesquite trees that grow in one of the bison pastures. We gathered up our tools, the clippers and mini-saws, and got to work. Each Nature Center outing has involved a new type of physical activity that exercises my body in ways it has not experienced before, and this excursion was no different. I quickly discovered that many of the mesquite trees were too thick for the clippers, so I switched to the little saws. I worked at the trees, sometimes moving quickly from one to the next, and sometimes getting hung up on a particularly thick one. No matter at which speed I moved, however, I would break into a sweat and breathe heavily. I do not know if it is a result of how out-of-shape I am, but if someone check my heart rate they would probably think I was running a marathon. I never knew such an activity was so rigorous. My arms pushed back and forth, sawdust shavings dusting more and more of the stump, until the little tree would topple over with a woosh. I ultimately came to find cutting through the wood quite satisfying perhaps because it was tiring and I had to work for it.

However, this week’s project did bring me a few misfortunes. At I sawed away at one particularly stubborn and thick tree, I felt my ankle start to tingle and pinch. I looked down, and fire ants covered my shoes and ankles. I was standing on a giant anthill. I frantically swiped at my ankles, trying to get them off, and ran up the hill away from the pile. I took off my shoes and socks to get the majority of the ants off as I watched little white bumps fire up on my ankle. I swiped at my skin, pinching the ants off of me, and scoured my socks and shoes until I was sure it was safe to return them onto my feet. Despite growing up going to our family farm, I have had a rather sheltered outdoorsy upbringing. I have never had a tick bite, bee sting, gotten poison ivy, or had ant bites, so this was a new and rather unpleasant experience for me. I also am not the dramatic type that likes to draw any attention to myself, so I wanted to attempt to get through the experience with as little ruckus as possible despite my internal panic. After a while I managed to get my ant situation under control and returned to cutting down the mesquite trees, this time with a vengeance and, especially, more vigilance. After all, it was my own fault blundering around with no attention paid to the home they worked so hard building. Also, wearing leggings that covered my ankles would have helped. I have duly noticed this for our next Nature Center trip. 

Despite my scarring ant experience, I enjoyed today because each time we go to the Nature Center, our activities build more and more on lessons I learn with each outdoor experience. Doing dirty, sweaty work with my hands is satisfying and rewarding. I can see the earth I moved, the trees I felled, the leaves I cleared. These jobs we do are also things I have never done before. I have not done much yard work except for helping my mom in the garden, and so I do not have experience getting my hands dirty like this. It has given me a new way of experiencing the outdoors in which I become actively involved in it rather than just observing it or playing in it. No matter how tired or hungry I am at the end of our day, being outside in this way has been consistently putting me in a good mood. Maybe it is the fresh air, the company, the exercise, or a combination of all of those. 

I also decided that my ant experience today was good for me. It was painful and stressful for a little while, but I survived. The pain went away, I watched out for more ant piles, and went on. Experiences like these at the Nature Center show me that it is okay to get dirty and be uncomfortable. It is all just new experiences that build who I am, and who knows what I will discover or observe about myself and my surroundings. I have observed my fear of the unexpected lowering and my confidence growing, because each day just brings a story to tell.