Thanksgiving Break Phenology Spot
⋆｡˚꩜ 🍁 .𖥔 ݁ ˖ This past week was thanksgiving break, and I was able to go home and see my family in our new apartment which was fantastic! However, I was unfortunately sick for majority of break, largely limiting my ability to explore new phenological locations. My dad was graciously really willing to help me out, as he knew a location within the nearby Riverbank State Park. The sheer magnitude of the park is incredibly large, but I settled on a small clearing of trees in one of the designated “picnic areas”. This area was mostly just a bunch of picnic benches and some trees, it still worked and held a bit of natural charm. In comparison to my location in Burlington, they are both drastically different while also being shockingly similar. Locationally, one spot is nestled in a forest while the other is squeezed into a grand park in the middle of New York City. This main factor lead me to believe that the phenology would be incredibly different – but I was shocked with the amount of trees I was able to easily identify in the clearing. While there is no understory apart from small, dying patches of grass the overstory contained many species I was familiar with such as Red Maple, Eastern White Pine, and Green Ash trees. (The pine identification may not 100% be correct, as it was incredibly confusing to decipher.) Seeing these familiar species warmed me, even in such a great metropolitan area. Due to my illness, I was unable to bear any gifts in the sense of the Honorable Harvest, but I made sure I did my part of keeping the city clean by always waiting to toss a tissue in a garbage bin rather than onto the ground. Discovering this new urban natural area so close to my new apartment was exciting – especially with familiar ecology – and I am excited to return to it next break, hopefully in better health.
