Being in a man-made environment evokes many different feelings as opposed to being in a natural one. It was much easier to find a place predominantly influenced by the hand of man than to find one that had not been altered by humans. I chose the courtyard at Albany University as my man-made environment and one of my favorite spots, The Nine Corners Lake as my natural one.
             One of the first things I noticed while sitting in the courtyard was the number of people. After thinking about it for a few minutes, I realized that people tend to gather in man-made environments much more than natural ones. It seemed strange that humans find it so easy to deprive themselves of personal space. I also noticed the placement of trees, the fountain's sound of rushing water, and the openness of the central area to the sky...the need in humans to attempt to provide a feeling on nature even in the most unnatural of places. It made me wonder why, with all the advances, with all the beauty we feel we create with our highly evolved minds; do we look to the most basic of Earth's gifts to make them truly appealing?
             I contrasted my time at UAlbany with a short hike up to Nine Corners Lake. I think I may have found the answer to why humans tend to prefer human-altered terrain. There were no concrete steps to ease the uphill incline and no hand-rails to steady the footing. Sometimes one must bend to go under or climb to step over. Sometimes, especially after such a rainy summer, one must put one's foot in a sloppy puddle of mud. The mosquitoes were happy. That can only mean we humans would not be. I noticed that the dampness of the shaded forest intensified the smell of decaying humus. I saw the beginnings growth of pine trees that had found a sunny spot through breaks in the canopy. I saw the pointed stumps left by busy beavers. I found a scarab intently working at a pinhole in a tree trunk. I noticed a swarm of black flies but didn't bother to see what th...