Sketches, Changes, Pictures

This week I traveled to my place with my friend by bike. It was a 45 degree October day, sunny, and so windy there was white caps on the waves in Lake Champlain.

Last time I visited my place, the sun was setting and the most of the leaves were still on the trees, although most of the deciduous trees had shown signs of leave-color change. This time, I visited my place in broad daylight and many trees had lost about 25%-60% of their leaves. The ground was littered in brown, fallen Red Oak leaves and yellow fallen ash leaves. Orange pine needles were also everywhere. As for animal activity, I did not see or hear much of it this time around. I think that this could be attributed to the high wind speeds. I did see a few chickadees and fat gray squirrels, but no sign of their homes. There was some evidence of woodpecker left behind on some of the trees, which I believe I mentioned witnessing last week.

Below is my sketch of my place. I sketched this from the concrete platform because it is a good centerpiece for this area. This concrete platform appears to be some sort of abandoned foundation for a structure, although this is just speculation. It is in the shape of a what I believe to be a decagon. If you are facing the lake while sitting on the concrete platform, your view is framed directly by Sumac and blackberry shrubs. There is also a pathway in front of you, leading to the right as well as a pathway a little behind you, leading to the left. A few feet in front of the concrete begins a rock ledge. This is also a good place to sit. In front of the rock ledge is another path, and in front of the path are several notable trees. The biggest of which is a Red Oak tree. Neighboring this oak tree are several Eastern White pines. Farther left is a medium-sized Eastern White Pine. Beyond this is sort of a dramatic down slope, which I probably won’t ever explore in regard to my own safety. The slope is covered in Hemlock, Cedar, and Red Oak trees as well as many unidentified shrubs. Directly behind the platform is a row of shrubs that I also do not recognize (which is why I did not include them in my sketch; I was unsure of how to label them). They are planted relatively close together and sort of frame the boundary of the platform. Also behind the platform is a sizable Oak tree and another, grassy path. Behind this is, essentially, a row of sumac. If your back is to the lake, there is a relatively large hemlock to your right. Behind the row of sumac are oaks, maples, and quite a few ash trees. Considering that this is a fairly woody area, I did not list every tree present, just the ones that I found to stand out due to size.