Hide and Seek

For hide and seek I initially thought I might hide out in the swale out beyond the Binky summer 2015 hide, the area between the monilophyte hiking trail and the ridge I had once hoped to turn into a running trail. Tuesday evening I went down trail behind agriculture and hung a left out into the swale, an empty area of tall grass. Half way through the swale I thought I heard a grunting sound. I froze, although the only large animal in these parts would be wild swine. Then a young man popped up off to my left, hurriedly fixing his pants. I could hear concerned murmuring from what I presumed to be a female partner still hidden down in the grass. I apologized for startling them and said I was only scouting for plants - which I also do when I move about on campus. I know he thought no one would wander around that area, but with an ethnobotany professor on staff, there are no truly secure places on campus. I could turn up anywhere looking for this or that plant.

I decided to hide in a not too difficult location near agriculture.

I would set the GPS off of palm next to the forest, but took cover just inside the forest,

I was within three or four meters of this location.

I nestled in next to a tree trunk surrounded by fallen logs. The relative darkness inside the canopy up next to the tree and the relative brightness of the midday sun meant I was very hard to see.

The view out from my hide, the bright sunshine washing out the presence of students out on the lawn.

The exercise went well and, as usual, those who held the GPS units learned the most about latitude and longitude.