November 1st, 2021 (51°)
Yet another beautiful day to observe my phenology site! I can feel the temperature slowly decreasing these past few weeks but that’s Vermont! And along with this colder weather comes the shedding of leaves from the trees. Just within the time span of two weeks, my site has lost almost all of its green. Almost every tree is yellow, orange, red, brown, or even barren. I examined my site in more detail today, trying to discover new species I have not seen yet. Although I still saw the common Sugar Maples, Red Oaks, White Pines, and Buckthorn, I discovered Barberry, Green Ash, and a Basswood with the biggest Basswood leaves I have ever seen (view below). I also found an area in the understory that had an abundance of a species I was unaware of. After researching I confirmed it to be a type of Goldenrod. It is an amazing time to witness my site as each plant is at a different stage. This creates quite the color pallet for fall!
Today, I chose a spot in the center of my site to sit and observe. Because of this experience, along with my patience, I was able to observe aspects of my site that I had not considered before. As I sat there silently, I could hear the breeze running through the trunks of the tall trees along with the shake of their leaves. As I breathed in the fresh and brisk air, I could smell the Earthy outdoors scent. I would look straight upwards to witness a collidoscope-like view of the canopy: yellow Sugar Maple, orange/brown Red Oak, and finally dark green Eastern White Pine. It was a natural masterpiece.
