Category: Poems/Musings/Reflections

It’s my final visit to my phenology spot!

Over the year, I have watched my site bloom, die, and rebirth. By returning again and again, as spring rolls around, I have a newfound appreciation for some of the sprouting greenery. It was much missed during the winter months!

Many things have remained unchanged though: the downed tree that students often sit on, other snags with accompanying woodpecker holes, and ravine where my friends have gone digging for young ostrich ferns to eat are aspects of this landscape that despite the changing seasons, remain. Year round, I have observed students and other locals use the Trinity Woods for dog walking, smoke breaks, small walks with friends, dates, and a relaxation spot. It is clear that the local community values this place as a small bit of green forest in an otherwise mostly unwooded suburban landscape. I do consider myself a part of this place, and have made many memories here with my friends and roommates. This has been a little safe haven for me.

Thank you Trin Woods!

During the Bioblitz I visited Essex, the UVM campus (including trin woods) and the Waterfront. I had trouble finding the bioblitz on iNaturalist BUT I still had fun taking pics of/identifying plants in the Greater Burlington area. I found close to 20 species including Mullein, Wild Violet, Dandelion, Queen Anne’s Lace, Red Oak, Paper Birch, some sort of berry, and Honeysuckle.

Upon returning to my site, I found that the shrubbery had started to leaf (namely a few honeysuckle bushes and some others that I could not identify. There were also fiddle heads in their early stages along the sloped side of the trail. At the trail entrance for my site, I saw some robins and a black capped chickadee, and while walking the usual trail, I heard a few other bird calls that I think are attributable to a sparrow and a jay of some sort. In the ravine next to the trail, I noticed some water (it appeared to be stagnant) that I did not see in the fall semester or during the winter, and in general, due to the melting snow and recent rains, the ground was much damper that it had been at previous visits, though not quite muddy enough to distinguish tracks.

Returning to this site after the break, there is a thin dusting of snow on the ground and all of the deciduous trees have dropped their leaves. I did a little bit of tracking, and found some deer tracks and a really interesting print of a bird landing to (I’m guessing) prey on a smaller animal.

Changes:

There are no leaves on the trees, save for the needles of the white pines and hemlock trees, and most of the leaves that were vibrant and colorful are now brown on the ground of the greenspace. After a wet spell here, the ground is very damp and the trees look especially dark and stark against the overcast sky. The ferns and Mushrooms are still thriving. One Birch tree in specific has seen a good amount of decomposition.

Nests or signs of animals:

none that are apparent. There are some tracks ion the mud of the path but I am almost certain that they are attributable to dogs as this is a very popular greenspace for trinity and other neighboring residents.

What does this spot mean to me:

Throughout the course of the semester, as this spot is so close to where I live, it has been frequently where I go to relax or get a breath of fresh air. I’ve taken may walks here with my roommates and sometimes I just go and sit and breath in the outside air as the dorms can feel very stuffy. It’s a very small amount of land, but it is special, and well loved by Trinity Residents.

Musing:

I am sitting on the felled Birch Tree at Trinity Woods. The log is slightly damp, and today it is feeling more like fall than most other days. I feel like I can smell the leaves turning, which may be attributable to the early stages of decomposition of the leaves (the leaf mold has a very distinct scent. The sky is clear, and I can hear the rumble from Colchester Street in the near distance. Here is a small and unrelated poem that I am writing while sitting here:

Haiku Love Sequence

I feel that maybe

The sky here is prettier

Than it is at home

But it doesn’t have

The usual birds and bugs

Which I miss dearly

The two of us are

A pair of gulls on the coast

Suspended in wind

The two of us are

Like glacial stones to the sea

Smooth and warm and strong

The two of us are

Stars that aren’t touching yet

But soon will collide