Hello to the Sietch community. In an attempt to gain confidence in the written word, I would like to share some of my thoughts on life on Earth. Fall is truly turning out to have quite the number of surprises as I come to my final days here at Clark University. Worcester does indeed have moments of natural beauty that aid with my longing for the fresh air of the Cape. Tonight, in fact, I was walking Main St through a warm blanket of air, hinting at the possibility of an Indian summer after all the chilly days and nights of September. It really was a soothing experience to balance the rapid firings of my mind from pending exam reflections and my now constant inner thoughts of my master’s project.

With thoughts of the fall at fingertip, I am reminded that today the dining hall supported local agriculture and food industries by having a Local Food Challenge at lunch. Signs and labels were plastered all over the walls and counters nearby the trays of food. Within the hall itself, a large projector enabled the diners to view a film about organic food as they enjoyed their chosen lunches. My favorite of what I chose was hands down dessert: maple custard with blueberries and raspberries from Lunenburg, MA (shout out to Double). As great an effort this was, it would be more impressive to see more consistent local selections being served. More importantly, on a few occassions that I have dined there, I have been hesistant to believe that items have been correctly labeled as supporting local farms with their chosen Farm to Fork labels.

As the leaves slowly burst from greens to reds, yellows and oranges, monitor the progression of the foliage season. With thoughts of jumping into piles of leaves and apples overhead, I hope I have slowly begun the path to becoming like my favorite environmental writers: Carson, McHarg, Goodall…