Phenology in Centennial Woods

Due to the situation that the world has found its self in, the location in which my blog focuses on has had to change. This months post is going to look at the seasonal changes of Adams Farm, a small public forest down the street from my house. Walking through the forest with my dog in late march, it is clear to see the changes that have happened since the last time I was home from college. The snow has all melted and the temperature has been between low and high forties. The signs of changing seasons are not limited to just the melted snow or the warm temperatures. Many of the deciduous trees are beginning to bud and re-grow their leaves. The small shrubs and ground cover plants are beginning to sprout up and show even more signs of spring beginning. Wood frogs also have almost become fully grown and when I walked passed a small pond and it sounded like there were hundreds of them in the pond. There were other observations that I made that don’t involve the changing of seasons that I found interesting. One of the observations that I made was the edge habitat along the power lines. There were more younger trees and bushes trying to grow into the cleared out area. Another observation that I made that was a really positive one was that there was a very healthy hemlock tree not far from the trail. This observation cheered me up because hemlock trees in my area have been struggling with a non native bug that lays their eggs on the needles of the tree and the larva eat almost all the needles they can.

Phenological Changes

My site has gone through many phonological changes in the past month or so. for starters there has been a significant amount of snowfall, which has built up along the sides of the stream. The stream has narrowed as well, causing increased flow rate in the stream. The increased snow has covered most of the shrubs and underbrush leaving only large bushes and fully grown trees. Unfortunately we missed the full effect of the phenological changes because by the time I go to my site there had been a full day of warm warm weather and it was clear to see. My suspicion about the melting was further confirmed by the lack of shallow footprints from smaller animals. However the large impression that was left by a deer remained as well as the tracks it left when it was spooked and ran off.

Wildlife

At my site there was clear evidence of a deer that had rested near the trail. there was some foot prints leading up to the large depression in the snow. On the other side of this depression there was a set of footprints that look a lot more frantic than the others. The prints also get further and further apart as they get further from the trail, I can only assume this meant that the deer was spooked by something coming down the trail. Deer do have predators so it could have been spooked off by a coyote but i think that the most likely reason it ran off is because a person or dog was coming down the trail. There was many spots on the trees and shrubs around the tracts that also suggest that this was a deer.

Deer in the winter remain in the snow covered woods as opposed to migrating to warmer weather. They nibble on bark and any remaining foliage or buds that they can find. They are nocturnal for the most part but occasionally they come out at the day time.

The landscape around my sight in centennial woods has changes a lot from my last visit. the snow has accumulated and there is now about 2-4 inches and the path is extremely icy. I did not see any animals but there was plenty of evidence that they are there, there were seeds dropped in the snow and I could here birds chirping, unfortunately the snow was packed very tightly so I dint see any other tracks besides the ones made by other humans. One of the twigs at my sight I identified as a sugar maple. the original bridge is still down stream from the giant storm we had a while ago however they have put a new bridge in its place. The flow was slower than it had been in the past and there was ice beginning to form on the surface. There were some plants that were fighting through the seasons like a few ferns and some moss.

Over this past thanksgiving break I went back to my home town of Walpole Massachusetts. I have spent the past 18 years living in the same house on the same street in this lovely town. I have a very strong and positive sense of place in and around Walpole. During my time home I took my dog for a walk down my street, as I was walking, I could hear all the little birds chirping in the oak trees that line my street. As I continues the walk down the road a line of school buses and cars came down the street hinting to me that the high school down the street had just gotten out for the day, so I walked my dog all the way there to let him play in the woods behind the school. Whilst we were in the woods, I could see the markings on the trees from the small deer population and the holes and boroughs of the chipmunks and squirrels that call this forest home. Later, during the thanksgiving break I went on a drive around my town to see some of the things that I haven’t seen in a long time. I went left down my street and took a left on to main street, I took a right down winter street and through some winding roads and I go to the pizza shop that I had gone to every Friday after soccer practice for as long as I could remember. Continuing on the road I passed the largest park in town and one of my favorite parks, and I also passed the meeting hall where I was given the eagle scout award. I passed all my closest friend’s houses, my elementary school, my middle school, my high school, and so many other places that are filled with amazing memories and experiences. When I got back home, I was just filled with this feeling of peace and safety. Being away from everything that I found safe and that I used as a tether, has just strengthened the connection, the bond, and my sense of the place in question. I strongly believe that people can become whatever they want to be but there is also no arguing that people are also a product of their environment. This is true for me, I would not be close to the person that I am today if it were not for the places that I grew up in, the people I surrounded me with, and the experiences that I gained over the years. Sense of place is very important to me because I know that I have an unspoken connection to my town and that is a special thing, knowing how the natural and social worlds work together is a key factor. With the experiences I have lived through I think I can map out how these two aspects work together to create my sense of place.

The change of seasons seem to have gotten much more drastic over the past few days and that has affected my place greatly. The calm and rich stream ecosystem that was visible at the end of summer has been completely replaced by a harsh winter landscape. The elegant deciduous canopy of the past seasons has withered away leaving a gruff exoskeleton of what use to be. Almost all forms of animal life in and around the stream had vanished, fish, water bugs, birds, and rodents. The only animal life that we could detect was the faint sound of a nonmigratory bird, and the scamper of a passing chipmunk. The stream at centennial woods is just a small part of a large intertwined system that makes up the forest. As the stream twists and turns across the forest floor it creates even more habitat for a variety of species. I might not have formed a strong connection with the land but, there is clear evidence that the people from the university and the surrounding neighborhoods do. Despite the snowy conditions we saw two families walking their dogs around this area, a bunch of university students going for walks, and a class doing work out in the woods all while I was observing my site. My sense of place is largely affected by time and experience, and unfortunately there has not been enough time for me to grow attached to this place or have experiences there that will last a life time. I have however been here long enough to view changes in the landscape of my area that drastically alter how this ecosystem works. The massive rain storm that we had a few weeks ago changed the stream topography greatly. The stream was at one point wide, slow moving and calm, once the storm came in it almost doubled the flow rate for a few days. Fast moving water brought more sediment down-stream and the aftermath of that is a much narrower and deeper stream which moves much faster.

The characteristics of my sight in centennial woods are vastly different from the last visit for many reasons. Recent storms in the area and the changing of seasons have been the driving force for changing characteristics in my area of focus in centennial woods. The 6 organisms that I photographed characterize my site perfectly. The worm and the slug live in dark wet places upon the banks of the river and the moss just like the worm and slug, it needs moisture. The trees and shrubs that I photographed show that the river cuts through forested lands. The vegetation that I have seen at my site has changed over the past few weeks, the weather has gotten colder causing even more leaves to fall off the trees, and the storm that we had yesterday the grass had been washed out and matted down flat. The banks of the river have changed a great amount too due to the increased amount of storm water in such a short period of time. The bends in the river had gotten much wider and the straightaway by the shore had gotten smaller due to a greater amount of sediment being deposited. while mapping out my place I had to really think hard about the way the land and the river flowed, it helped me deepen my connection to my place because even the little changes like the dead bushes or flattened grasses, I was immediately able to pick up on. When I saw how much my site had changed, I was baffled because it changed so rapidly, the bends in the river looked as though they had widened by almost 3 feet. Also, the storm seems to have affected the wild life because there was almost no evidence of any recent land animal activities.

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My Place…..

The Stream that cuts through Centennial woods is the place that I have chosen to study for this phenology assignment. The area around the stream and the stream its self are showing signs of the seasons changing. Around the stream bank there is a lot of leaf litter and dead grass, and inside the stream its self-there is even more plant matter. About half of the deciduous plant matter in the area had already changed color or had their leaves fall off. Along the side of the stream that I was sitting on, the water was shallower and had a lot of rocks that caused some turbulence and as you got further from the bank that I was sitting on the water got deeper and faster flowing and in the current you could see plant matter being carried downstream. This place has a special feel to it in my head ever since the centennial woods assignment earlier in the year. There is just a picturesque view of the brook and fantastic lighting that makes it feel familiar to me. While I was sitting there it was very easy to notice how tranquil sounding the brook was, babbling through the winding and ever-changing flood plain. To get to my place you need to walk into Centennial Woods and follow the main trail, take a left as you get to the first clearing, then going down the hill follow the set of wooden walkways and once you cross the bridge my spot is directly to the left. You can tell you have arrived at my spot when you can hear the babbling of the brook from all around you. Whilst you are there, at least during this time of year, you can experience the leaves slowly and effortlessly drift into the water and down the stream. The water bugs are still out and paddling around the surface and around the fallen branches. There are the occasional calls of birds that haven’t migrated yet, and the scuffling of chipmunks that are trying to get the last bit of food before their winter long nap.

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