Day one

 

        Date: May 16th, 2014
        Time: 3:30 PM
        Location: River Street Park, Lansing MI – the dock

 

The temperature of the air is warm, the sky is partly cloudy, there is a mild breeze.

 

The bench I sit on is cold, a hard metal, but oddly comfortable.

 

The murky brown water of the Grand River flows to the SW. I find it funny how I needed to use the GPS on my phone to figure out the direction it was flowing. I should thank technology more often.

 

Two bikers casually ride by on the path across the river.

 

I can only tell cars are passing over the bridge behind me by the sound they make.

 

Several apples are scattered around the grass on the nearby shore. I find it odd, as there is no apple tree nearby. Someone must have been here recently and lost their appetite for fruits. 

 

Several pieces of trash lay along the shore of the river.

 

A curious little squirrel is nearby taking advantage of the free apples. I look away for only a second, and when I look back the squirrel has dissapeared...weird.

 

A man wearing khaki’s and a black coat walk by, wearing a backpack. He is probably finished with work as he appears exhausted.

 

A crow is eating something orange just out of my sight (orange peels?).

 

Squinting doesn't help.

 

As the crow flies away, three robins come and start to pick at the orange object.

 

The squirrel is now in sight again, this time with a friend.

 

I can barley hear this annoying intermittent sound that seems to be coming from the dock. Upon standing up and looking down, I see a piece of styrofoam being pushed by the river's current up against the dock as it cycles between sinking underneath and then emerging from the water and hitting the dock again.

 

A female jogger runs by on the river path.

 

A CATA bus in the distance has been stopped at the park's entrace for about 10 minutes now.

 

Now I can count three squirrels...

 

The sun periodically wins versus the cloudy day.

 

A random apple floats down the river.

 

Now there are four squirrels...

 

 

 

 

          Day two

 

          Date: May 17th, 2014
          Time: 12:20PM
          Location: River Street Park, Lansing MI – the green bench on the shore

 

The weather is almost identical to yesterday, yet it seems to be a bit breezier.

 

The bench I sit on is warmer compared to the one yesterday, and more comfortable.

 

The setting is not much different, although currently there are no squirrels.

 

The view from the bench is not much different that the view from the dock. A little less watery I suppose.

 

An old man is seen about 300 feet away on the nearby road walking his three little dogs. Each dog has its own leash, each being a different color. The man looks happy.

 

From the bench I can actually now see the cars that are passing over the bridge behind me. The atmosphere is dominated by the sound they make.

 

Looking down at the bench I notice a spider web and immediatley become irrationally scared of being bit by a spider. I think that everyone has a little arachnophobia in them.

 

The first squirrel of the day appears.

 

The apples are still here from yesterday, but they are fewer in number – I suspect the squirrels.

 

The river still flows in irregular patterns. I catch myself spacing out looking at the ripples for a good minute or two.

 

A couple of joggers run by on the river path.

 

The lone squirrel is brave enough to come up to me. It is about 10 feet away from me. But it then grabs the apple to its right and runs away. It seems my hypothesis was correct.

 

About 3 feet away from me, a small dandelion sticks out of the long uncut grass, refusing to be covered up.

 

The sun reflects off the nearby car’s windshields and temporarily blinds me.

 

A black bird with a blue head fly’s in front of my vision.

 

A homeless man is seen walking along the path, his vision seems to be fixed upon me. It's time to leave.

 

 

 

 

         Day three

 

         Date: May 18th, 2014
         Time: 1:30PM
         Location: River Street Park, Lansing MI – the dock

 

It’s sunnier compared to the other two days, although clouds still cover areas of blue sky.

 

No sign of squirrels...yet...

 

A man and a woman slowly walk along the path across the river.

 

I notice that two pigeons seem to have made the bridge their home. Must be a very noise home with the cars constantly driving overhead.

 

A fly continuously buzzes around my area.

 

Looking down at the dock, there are six areas of foam that seem to be bubbling up from holes in the dock. Looks kinda gross.

 

A CATA bus waits at the stop for what seems like a half an hour. I do not see anyone getting on or off the bus.

 

The radio tower in the sky flashes its white light every 2 seconds.

 

A large group of bikers, all dressed up in their cycling gear, ride along the path.

 

I lay down supine on the dock's bench, fold my fingers across my chest, and close my eyes to rest for awhile. I can hear the current of the river, the cars driving by on the bridge to the left of me and the periodic chirping of birds. Sight is not the only sense that you can observe your surroudings with.

 

 

 

 

         Reflection

 

Still even on day three I was noticing things I did not notice the past two days that were there at the time. Readers of Perec’s book noticed how he became exhausted himself in his descriptions, as he was trying to exhaust his surroundings instead. Even though I saw little human activity during my observations, there was still so much going on around me. Beauty and meaning can be found in the things that humanity considers to be insignificant.