It’s been a while since I’ve last been here, and so much has changed. One of the most significant changes is the groundcover; there’s snow! Granted, there isn’t more than an inch and it’s only off to the side of the trail because the trail, due to heavy usage, is pretty much a sheet of ice. It was a struggle to get to my spot, and if I hadn’t worn my microspikes in, I’m not sure if I would’ve made it. The second major change is that now, all the leaves are off the trees. There are still some beech trees with a few leaves on it, but that’s not abnormal, and other than that, all the other trees have dropped their leaves. This is a change that I think probably should’ve come last semester, but the unseasonable warmth prevented that from happening.
In terms of wildlife activity, there isn’t much. I heard a bird, but it was only one, and I’m not entirely sure what it was. It was difficult to find wild animal tracks, but once I ventured a little bit off the beaten path, I managed to find a relatively well-formed deer track. While there weren’t many signs of wildlife activity, there were plenty of dog and human tracks, which is probably one of the reasons there isn’t much wildlife.
When it came to tree identifications, it’s definitely a lot harder in the winter. I had some difficulty even trying to find the twigs on the trees, but even when I did find them, it was still hard to get positive identifications. Also, I tried to take some nice close-up pictures of the twigs that I did find, but my phone camera isn’t the best at close-ups, so they might be a bit blurry. The trees I was able to positively identify by twig are Red Maple and American Beech.