Welcome back to Ethan Allen Park! It’s been just over two weeks since our last visit to this beautiful park, and boy have things changed since then. Almost all the leaves on every tree have fallen, except for a few large white oaks, and the forest floor is completely covered in a yellowish-orange blanket of decaying leaves. Because the trees have lost their leaves, we can now see deeper into the forest and have discovered an entire patch of common buckthorn. The presence of this invasive species is quite apparent now, as it remains a brilliant green and pops right out of the barren background. It has completely taken over both sides of a section of the trail to my spot, and there is a good amount of individuals within a 10-meter radius of my spot, but they are much younger than those on the trail. This discovery was quite shocking, as I had no idea whatsoever that this species was at all present in my spot, and now it’s everywhere.
I also discovered something amazing this week that I had no idea even existed in the park: a large section of cliffs that drop 100-150 feet to the forest floor below. Again, because the leaves have fallen, I can see deeper into the woods, and when I walked up towards the little fort, I noticed a small trail that went below the fort and wrapped around the hill. I decided to check out where exactly this trail led, and it put me right out on the edge of the cliffs. The view from this spot is breathtaking. There is only one tree in the middle of the view, but the rest is completely clear, and since it was such a beautiful, crystal-clear day, I could see all the way across Lake Champlain into the Adirondack Mountains. I was completely flabbergasted by this discovery, as I had no idea you could see even the lake from Ethan Allen Park. I was slightly disappointed, however, because there is a large clump of buildings (I believe it is the Ethan Allen Shopping Center) right in the middle of the view and you cannot see the lake or the mountains without having this eyesore in sight. It is very disheartening that such a beautiful view is ruined because of a shopping center that could have been built anywhere else, or even not at all.
Just as last week, I only saw one grey squirrel during my visit to my spot. However, just as I was leaving I saw 10-20 black crows (at least that’s what I think they were) all fly west towards the lake, squawking the whole way. I also checked out the large fallen tree at the fork in the trail and believe I found some animal’s home. There was a good-sized hole that had rotted out of the log, and it was lined with old leaves and pine needles that looked as though they had been sat on many times before. Additionally, as I was walking around my spot, I noticed more fallen trees, and many of them had holes bored into their trunks, which I believe is evidence of the presence of woodpeckers.
I eagerly anticipate my return to Ethan Allen Park next week, and I hope you have enjoyed watching the seasons change over the past few weeks as much as I have! TTFN!
