Tuesday, July fourth. 5:15 pm. Weather: Before and during a thunder shower. Wet and rainy low 70’s.
Part 1: As damp as the other day, leaves on the ground are glistening, and my feet sank in just like the other day. I went into the area focusing on bugs and insect life trying to look at a pattern of weather and insect presence. Immediately there was no indication of any flying insects nor of any slugs or spiders on the moss like there had been the last time I checked. However, I approached a larger boulder, appearing to be about six feet tall and eight feet across. Moss covered all the surface area that was facing upward toward the sky when I got down to get a closer look at the area that overhung over the ground, I was swarmed by mosquitos and smaller gnats. But, when I went a few feet away from the spot I noticed they did not follow. I went back to look at the site and noticed how much cooler and even more damp the area was than the surrounding area. The moss around the rock were holding a lot of water when I squeezed the moss water came out. When I touched it it left very interesting fur like stains on my hands when I removed them.
I noticed a particular tree I hadn’t before, the insides being gutted out. It was a dead tree the top had been snapped off not fairly recently but not too long ago. I made this assumption because the wood at the top which was almost to the canopy line was very tan and showed little rot but the bottom of the tree had a large tear in it it seemed. about 7 feet up and a half a foot wide it held spider webs and its inner wood was pulpy and falling off in long slender pieces toward the bottom. The water you could tell was getting into it somehow because it had left a trail from the inside out where water was flowing carrying the rotted-out debris of the tree. I did not see any moving animal or insect life in this tree. In this area I also observed some disturbances in the leaves by a steeper slope on the site the leaves were upturned revealing their darker side but not in a patter they were pushed about 5 yards down into a pile almost as if a small object or animal had slid down. There were no signs of disturbance leading away from it or leading up to it.
Part 2:
The thing I wanted to look at is similar to the topic I examined in the first blog post the large beech trees have boils on their bark while the smaller beeches have smoother bark, but their leaves are wilted and dead. I bring this up because in my last report I thought they were doing better but looking at it now at the ends of their branches the leaves are either a light unnatural shade of green or brown and drooping soaked in water pointed at the ground. The leaves closer to the bark were a darker shade. This is interesting to me I am curious if the trees at a young age are particularly susceptible to a certain disease or parasite. At first in my research I thought this could be Beech leaf disease, however, many sources claim it has not made its way to VT so I was looking at other reasons and found it could also be leaf scorch. This is the browning of plant tissue, including the leaf margin and tips it can also lead to the leaf yellowing. It is also the harshest on younger trees which would align with my observations. This would also account for the strikingly yellow leaves that were ill. This can occur on any plant when conditions are favorable for it. It is not cause by fungus or parasites but by high temperatures, wind, low soil moisture. When the water evaporates from the leaf surface the roots are unable to get enough water to compensate leaving the leaves looking like this.
Part 3:
Part 5: I liked taking the photos, like the sketching it allowed me to get close and notice the details of the things I was observing. I did find it was much more difficult than I had previously thought. First finding things that I deemed interesting, and then having the right lighting, focus and angle to properly document and get the important features that intrigued me. I found it was hard to convey these features because of all that had to go right with these different variables, but I felt that the images I was able to collect showed a good variety and I was able to convey what I found interesting about them. It was different from sketching in the sense that I was thinking about different things like angle and light using a different part of my brain, it demanded a different skill set. Sketching was more observation and translating. I found both challenging but fun to work with in the field. The plot was wet again today, I hope it warms up so I can see the impact that it has on a dry environment, and I can get more variety on my observations.