I had a pleasant visit to my phenology site on a brisk November morning. The wind was rustling the leaves of the elm and locust trees that are stubbornly hanging onto their branches. However, the trees are beginning to show color now. The black locust trees are showing signs of changing to their striking golden-yellow color and the elm trees are showing hints of brown and yellow on the edges of their leaves. According to some research, the elm tree is often one of the later trees to change colors and drop its leaves (https://homeguides.sfgate.com/american-elm-shed-leaves-68093.html) I am curious if the hill that my site rests on or its proximity to Lake Champlain effects or insulates the trees here, resulting in their leaves falling later than other trees. It does seem, through simple observation that the trees closer to the lake have more leaves and more green than those farther from the lake. For example, on UVM’s campus there is a section of at least twenty black locust trees. These have all been bright yellow for about two weeks, and have started dropping their leaves; the black locust trees on my phenology site have only just recently begun to turn yellow. One theory I have is that it is generally warmer near Lake Champlain because of the ability of the water to act as a heat sink. The lake changes temperature much slower than the air and holds its heat much longer. This could account for trees changing colors and dropping its leaves later if they are near the lake.
On another note, I saw a murder of crows fly over and a few resting in the trees on my phenology site. One other thing I noticed on the large hill of my site was the paths where water from previous rain had flowed down. The rain flowed in the small depressed area near the broken cement. I wonder if the water would channel and flow through this area if the cement had not been there. The water erodes areas of soil in my site as it flows down the hill and carries the soil into Lake Champlain where it will eventually end up.
Please enjoy the drawn map of my experiences when I visit my phenology site: