Trevor Morgan
Dr. Harris-Cox
English 1102
November 16th, 2023
Exploring Legacy Park
Turning into Legacy Park with my car, I finally arrived. It was a beautiful Thursday afternoon. The trees were slightly swaying waving at me, this was the place I had grown up. Greeted by the muddy yet memorable lake with a massive fountain in the middle. It was lined with rock faces on each side. This made me think of jumping off those with three of my best friends, we all thought we were on top of the world. Making my way around the massive circle that is Legacy Park, I arrived at where I wanted to be. The main park, parking next to the trails that winded through the green space. I jumped out of the car excited to wind down after a long day.
I had never really done anything like this before. Observing and taking notes, focusing on what was going on around me in nature. Legacy Park was a great place for this located in Kennesaw GA. I decided to go there because it’s a special place for me. I was excited to try it out and this was the perfect day. It was 65 degrees at about 5 PM and there was a slight wind. I started down the small gravel trail that seemingly led to nothing. The woods that encased it were dark. It was as if there was a complete change in time by stepping in. Walking at a slow pace, the first thing I noticed was the abundant wildlife squirrels chasing each other around. Like kids playing tag. I heard the melody of different birds in the background. A woodpecker trying his hardest to take down a tree. But the sound that overpowered them all was rushing water.
Looking up I recognized a bird on the branch of a low hanging tree, the bird looked like it was wearing a black baseball hat. It was as if it was going to see a local baseball game! I recognized this bird as a Carolina Chickadee. These birds are native to north Georgia and are very common “Backyard Birds.” Cruff states in her article “25 Back Yard Birds in Georgia” that “Chickadees are tiny little birds that are very easy to recognize because of their “black cap” and black bib (Cruff).”
I looked through the dense trees and a large creek was revealed, it had rained the night before, so the water level was very high. The water rushed almost as if it was racing something trying to get to the finish line. The sun reflected off the water like glass. Water rushed over pebbles in the water making it appear to bend. I crouched down feeling the wet gravel under my feet move as I did, I got on eye level with the water to confirm was I was seeing. It was the water was bending over the rocks in a hypnotizing way.
Exiting the creek side, I had to walk through the forest, there was no path for me. Surrounded by a tantalizing green color I looked up to my surprise at a massive spider web. The biggest I had ever seen stretched between sturdy trees. A maze of web, I thought to myself “This must've taken forever to build.” Startling me, the owner of the web came running down angry at me for being at his home. A spider that was probably the size of a quarter. I had so many questions “Is this its web?” “How would it had built this?” “Is it going to kill me?”. Then my eyes focused on it, it was all yellow with red rings going around its body. I didn’t know how it felt looking at me with its million little eyes, so I decided to leave it alone.
This was a Joro spider, and they are not native anywhere in the United States. These spiders are native to Japan and were brought here. Now these spiders are very invasive and stretch all the way across the East coast of the United States. The thing that separates these spiders from the rest is their size. Joro spiders are very large which makes it easy for them to prey on other smaller spiders. The Joro's also create massive webs which sometimes stretch to powerlines! There have been some large concerns with this invasive species Beeson writes “The study found that despite their similarities, the Joro spider has about double the metabolism of its relative, has a 77% higher heart rate and can survive a brief freeze that kills off many of its cousins (Beeson).” This worries many researchers as this poses a threat to allow these spiders to move to the West coast of the United States.
Starting back out on the trail I heard a noise overhead. It sounded like a plane that was flying right over me. It was the first unnatural sound I had heard while being here. Which is surprising considering there's an entire road that surrounds the green area. Naturally I looked up but surprisingly saw nothing with the dense trees overhead I really couldn’t see anything but specs of blue. I started to focus on the thick brush overhead. As the plane sped off in the distance, I looked in the direction of the setting sun. Small beams of light shone through the thick brush. At first glance you wouldn’t be able to realize, but it was as if someone had a flashlight, and they were shining it at me through the leaves.
I wanted to stare at this forever but there was so much more to be explored I had only just started on the first trail! Very soon after keeping on the trail I came across a massive tree with thick long outreaching branches. The first thing it made me think of was the tree from Harry Potter. The Womping Willow I was hoping it didn’t have the same intentions as the one from the film. Hitting students and picking them up. But I guess I was lucky. This ancient tree was very peaceful and a conveniently placed park bench under it is where a decided to jot down some notes on what I had already experienced.
END.
SCENE 2: Fun in the Sun
My second day at Legacy Park took place on a Saturday. I wanted to see what the difference would be compared to when I had gone on Thursday. My focus of this day was to try and observe the pool and tennis court areas more. To get into the pool I had my friend bring me as one of his guests.
The biggest thing I noticed between these two days is the amount of people. On the first day the place was like a ghost town, I only saw a few people. On Saturday it was like a whole different place. People were packed everywhere. Especially families which I think is the most common in Legacy Park. It seems like a very family-oriented place, and I great place to start or move your family to.
Upon arriving at the pool, it was an entirely different atmosphere than two days prior. Today there were tons of people. There were many kids, luckily behind the main pool they had a small waterpark to keep them entertained. Many people were just laying out enjoying the sun. The weather was great, it was 2PM on a Saturday. It was almost 80 degrees, and the sun was baking. This was the perfect day to go to the pool.
My friend and I selected a seat right in the middle of the action. Sitting down on the lawn chair was painful, it was burning hot from soaking up the sun all day. I laid down and put on my sunglasses, so everyone didn’t think I was staring at them. The first thing I noticed was the diversity. There were people from all different walks of life. I liked this a lot the whole place had a welcoming feeling.
I listened to people conversations one couple was chatting “What're we doing about dinner tonight?” her husband replied, “I'll probably just throw something on the grill and invite the neighbors.” This made me happy. It seems like such a kind tight knit community.
After sitting there for only about 5 minutes a group of boys came up to us. They shouted, “Do y`all want to play some football?”
We both responded in unison “Heck Yeah!” So, we hopped in the pool. I was nervous at first because I didn’t know how cold it would be. I decided to just jump in to get it over with. My whole body was filled with a cool sensation. The instant change of baking in the sun to being in the cool water really woke me up. I opened my eyes under the water to see the sunshine through. I wondered if this was what it was like to be a fish and see our world from their perspective.
Coming out of the water my body had become accustomed to the temperature and now it was time to play. They explained the game to my friend and I because they had made it up. Their faces were giddy with excitement as they explained it to us. I could tell they were excited to have some people around their age to play games with. The rules of the game were where one person got the ball and had to start on one end of the pool, he had a teammate; they had to make it to the other end of the pool with the ball and touch the ledge. They had to do all of this without letting the other team get the ball. Each team that made it across got a point. Pretty simple and I was excited it was time to play!
The first round we flipped the football in the cool blue water to determine who went first. Surprisingly my friend and I were chosen. Nervous but excited we went to our end of the pool. Everyone around us wasn’t fazed, it's like they had seen this every day. The sun was shining down on my shoulders burning them, but I didn’t care. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. As I was sitting there trying to take it all in, I got a ball hurled at my face.
I instantly sort of regretted my decision seeing the look on the boys faced they meant business. This is very common in teenagers' competition is in our blood it dates back to as long as there are humans. This is especially true in teens. On top of this we were playing football. This is a common sport to bring out the “competitive side” in people, this often leads to aggression. Talking about students playing football Klein states “they were 40% more likely to be aggressive, on and off the field. Athletes of other sports showed no association with aggression (Klein).” This shows how football brings out an aggressive part of teens even off of the field.
Not only in football does this occur though. We are wired for competition. Farhana states in her article “Competitive Teens” that “Teenagers are more intent than ever about winning at all costs. They want to win in all areas of life (Farhana).” This shows teenagers want to win no matter what even if there isn't a game involved. Another factor was that we were in their territory, we were at their pool. They were challenging us to be able to assert dominance.
All 4 of them start taking off down the pool at full speed. It's like they have done it a million times. The water was flying off them as they cut through. Splashing people around us but no one seemed to care. I took off as well swimming straight at them I take the squishy soaked football and throw it at my friend. As the ball spirals water is flying off it mesmerizingly. My friend catches the ball, but it was too late the boys all wrapped him up and muscled the ball away from him, like a pack of dogs. It was an embarrassing start for us, but we still had a lot of games to play.
END.
Blog Link- Exploring Legacy Park!
Works Cited
Beeson, Leigh. “Joro Spiders Likely to Spread beyond Georgia.” UGA Today, 24 Mar. 2022, news.uga.edu/joro-spiders-likely-to-spread-beyond-georgia/.
Cruff, Melanie. “25 Backyard Birds in Georgia (Pictures & Facts).” Bird Feeder Hub, 11 May 2023, birdfeederhub.com/backyard-birds-in-georgia/.
Farhana. “Competitive Teens.” PORTAL MyHEALTH, 20 Oct. 2016, www.myhealth.gov.my/en/competitive-teens/.
“Home.” Legacy Park, 16 Apr. 2022, www.legacypark.org/.
Klein, Yael. “Are Certain Sports Making My Teen Aggressive?” Evolve, 21 June 2023, evolvetreatment.com/blog/sports-teen-aggressive/#:~:text=In%20other%20words%2C%20football%20and,or%20otherwise%20blocking%20the%20players.
Dr. Harris-Cox
English 1102
November 16th, 2023
Exploring Legacy Park
Turning into Legacy Park with my car, I finally arrived. It was a beautiful Thursday afternoon. The trees were slightly swaying waving at me, this was the place I had grown up. Greeted by the muddy yet memorable lake with a massive fountain in the middle. It was lined with rock faces on each side. This made me think of jumping off those with three of my best friends, we all thought we were on top of the world. Making my way around the massive circle that is Legacy Park, I arrived at where I wanted to be. The main park, parking next to the trails that winded through the green space. I jumped out of the car excited to wind down after a long day.
I had never really done anything like this before. Observing and taking notes, focusing on what was going on around me in nature. Legacy Park was a great place for this located in Kennesaw GA. I decided to go there because it’s a special place for me. I was excited to try it out and this was the perfect day. It was 65 degrees at about 5 PM and there was a slight wind. I started down the small gravel trail that seemingly led to nothing. The woods that encased it were dark. It was as if there was a complete change in time by stepping in. Walking at a slow pace, the first thing I noticed was the abundant wildlife squirrels chasing each other around. Like kids playing tag. I heard the melody of different birds in the background. A woodpecker trying his hardest to take down a tree. But the sound that overpowered them all was rushing water.
Looking up I recognized a bird on the branch of a low hanging tree, the bird looked like it was wearing a black baseball hat. It was as if it was going to see a local baseball game! I recognized this bird as a Carolina Chickadee. These birds are native to north Georgia and are very common “Backyard Birds.” Cruff states in her article “25 Back Yard Birds in Georgia” that “Chickadees are tiny little birds that are very easy to recognize because of their “black cap” and black bib (Cruff).”
I looked through the dense trees and a large creek was revealed, it had rained the night before, so the water level was very high. The water rushed almost as if it was racing something trying to get to the finish line. The sun reflected off the water like glass. Water rushed over pebbles in the water making it appear to bend. I crouched down feeling the wet gravel under my feet move as I did, I got on eye level with the water to confirm was I was seeing. It was the water was bending over the rocks in a hypnotizing way.
Exiting the creek side, I had to walk through the forest, there was no path for me. Surrounded by a tantalizing green color I looked up to my surprise at a massive spider web. The biggest I had ever seen stretched between sturdy trees. A maze of web, I thought to myself “This must've taken forever to build.” Startling me, the owner of the web came running down angry at me for being at his home. A spider that was probably the size of a quarter. I had so many questions “Is this its web?” “How would it had built this?” “Is it going to kill me?”. Then my eyes focused on it, it was all yellow with red rings going around its body. I didn’t know how it felt looking at me with its million little eyes, so I decided to leave it alone.
This was a Joro spider, and they are not native anywhere in the United States. These spiders are native to Japan and were brought here. Now these spiders are very invasive and stretch all the way across the East coast of the United States. The thing that separates these spiders from the rest is their size. Joro spiders are very large which makes it easy for them to prey on other smaller spiders. The Joro's also create massive webs which sometimes stretch to powerlines! There have been some large concerns with this invasive species Beeson writes “The study found that despite their similarities, the Joro spider has about double the metabolism of its relative, has a 77% higher heart rate and can survive a brief freeze that kills off many of its cousins (Beeson).” This worries many researchers as this poses a threat to allow these spiders to move to the West coast of the United States.
Starting back out on the trail I heard a noise overhead. It sounded like a plane that was flying right over me. It was the first unnatural sound I had heard while being here. Which is surprising considering there's an entire road that surrounds the green area. Naturally I looked up but surprisingly saw nothing with the dense trees overhead I really couldn’t see anything but specs of blue. I started to focus on the thick brush overhead. As the plane sped off in the distance, I looked in the direction of the setting sun. Small beams of light shone through the thick brush. At first glance you wouldn’t be able to realize, but it was as if someone had a flashlight, and they were shining it at me through the leaves.
I wanted to stare at this forever but there was so much more to be explored I had only just started on the first trail! Very soon after keeping on the trail I came across a massive tree with thick long outreaching branches. The first thing it made me think of was the tree from Harry Potter. The Womping Willow I was hoping it didn’t have the same intentions as the one from the film. Hitting students and picking them up. But I guess I was lucky. This ancient tree was very peaceful and a conveniently placed park bench under it is where a decided to jot down some notes on what I had already experienced.
END.
SCENE 2: Fun in the Sun
My second day at Legacy Park took place on a Saturday. I wanted to see what the difference would be compared to when I had gone on Thursday. My focus of this day was to try and observe the pool and tennis court areas more. To get into the pool I had my friend bring me as one of his guests.
The biggest thing I noticed between these two days is the amount of people. On the first day the place was like a ghost town, I only saw a few people. On Saturday it was like a whole different place. People were packed everywhere. Especially families which I think is the most common in Legacy Park. It seems like a very family-oriented place, and I great place to start or move your family to.
Upon arriving at the pool, it was an entirely different atmosphere than two days prior. Today there were tons of people. There were many kids, luckily behind the main pool they had a small waterpark to keep them entertained. Many people were just laying out enjoying the sun. The weather was great, it was 2PM on a Saturday. It was almost 80 degrees, and the sun was baking. This was the perfect day to go to the pool.
My friend and I selected a seat right in the middle of the action. Sitting down on the lawn chair was painful, it was burning hot from soaking up the sun all day. I laid down and put on my sunglasses, so everyone didn’t think I was staring at them. The first thing I noticed was the diversity. There were people from all different walks of life. I liked this a lot the whole place had a welcoming feeling.
I listened to people conversations one couple was chatting “What're we doing about dinner tonight?” her husband replied, “I'll probably just throw something on the grill and invite the neighbors.” This made me happy. It seems like such a kind tight knit community.
After sitting there for only about 5 minutes a group of boys came up to us. They shouted, “Do y`all want to play some football?”
We both responded in unison “Heck Yeah!” So, we hopped in the pool. I was nervous at first because I didn’t know how cold it would be. I decided to just jump in to get it over with. My whole body was filled with a cool sensation. The instant change of baking in the sun to being in the cool water really woke me up. I opened my eyes under the water to see the sunshine through. I wondered if this was what it was like to be a fish and see our world from their perspective.
Coming out of the water my body had become accustomed to the temperature and now it was time to play. They explained the game to my friend and I because they had made it up. Their faces were giddy with excitement as they explained it to us. I could tell they were excited to have some people around their age to play games with. The rules of the game were where one person got the ball and had to start on one end of the pool, he had a teammate; they had to make it to the other end of the pool with the ball and touch the ledge. They had to do all of this without letting the other team get the ball. Each team that made it across got a point. Pretty simple and I was excited it was time to play!
The first round we flipped the football in the cool blue water to determine who went first. Surprisingly my friend and I were chosen. Nervous but excited we went to our end of the pool. Everyone around us wasn’t fazed, it's like they had seen this every day. The sun was shining down on my shoulders burning them, but I didn’t care. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. As I was sitting there trying to take it all in, I got a ball hurled at my face.
I instantly sort of regretted my decision seeing the look on the boys faced they meant business. This is very common in teenagers' competition is in our blood it dates back to as long as there are humans. This is especially true in teens. On top of this we were playing football. This is a common sport to bring out the “competitive side” in people, this often leads to aggression. Talking about students playing football Klein states “they were 40% more likely to be aggressive, on and off the field. Athletes of other sports showed no association with aggression (Klein).” This shows how football brings out an aggressive part of teens even off of the field.
Not only in football does this occur though. We are wired for competition. Farhana states in her article “Competitive Teens” that “Teenagers are more intent than ever about winning at all costs. They want to win in all areas of life (Farhana).” This shows teenagers want to win no matter what even if there isn't a game involved. Another factor was that we were in their territory, we were at their pool. They were challenging us to be able to assert dominance.
All 4 of them start taking off down the pool at full speed. It's like they have done it a million times. The water was flying off them as they cut through. Splashing people around us but no one seemed to care. I took off as well swimming straight at them I take the squishy soaked football and throw it at my friend. As the ball spirals water is flying off it mesmerizingly. My friend catches the ball, but it was too late the boys all wrapped him up and muscled the ball away from him, like a pack of dogs. It was an embarrassing start for us, but we still had a lot of games to play.
END.
Blog Link- Exploring Legacy Park!
Works Cited
Beeson, Leigh. “Joro Spiders Likely to Spread beyond Georgia.” UGA Today, 24 Mar. 2022, news.uga.edu/joro-spiders-likely-to-spread-beyond-georgia/.
Cruff, Melanie. “25 Backyard Birds in Georgia (Pictures & Facts).” Bird Feeder Hub, 11 May 2023, birdfeederhub.com/backyard-birds-in-georgia/.
Farhana. “Competitive Teens.” PORTAL MyHEALTH, 20 Oct. 2016, www.myhealth.gov.my/en/competitive-teens/.
“Home.” Legacy Park, 16 Apr. 2022, www.legacypark.org/.
Klein, Yael. “Are Certain Sports Making My Teen Aggressive?” Evolve, 21 June 2023, evolvetreatment.com/blog/sports-teen-aggressive/#:~:text=In%20other%20words%2C%20football%20and,or%20otherwise%20blocking%20the%20players.
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