It’s almost time to go home for the holiday season, but I squeezed in one more visit to the Sea Caves. The land is preparing for winter—trees are finishing losing their leaves to conserve energy and the pond is freezing over. Only a few trees are keeping grasp of their leaves, primarily American Beech. The undergrowth seems to have died off leaving the forest looking far more bare. The grasses that once stood tall around the lake have passed and now are relaxing down into the earth. Some berries and grapes persist through the cold but are beginning to shrivel. The leaves that once covered the trail seem to have been removed or relocated, likely by park management. However, the leaf litter that remains on the side of the trail is well on its way to decomposing into organic matter. Over winter, the nutrients from the leaves will work into the soil, providing a nutrient rich land for new plants to grow upon.
The presence of critters at the Sea Caves seems to have remained nearly the same. There wasn’t much activity before the season turned, and there still isn’t much now. A couple of birds flutter around landing on tree branches, but they never stay long enough for me to identify them. A few squirrels scamper around, presumably burying any last food sources for the long winter to come. This land is neighboring many urban areas which may be the reason I have yet to see any other creatures like deer and rabbits. The pond seems to still be fighting some algae growth which still aligns with my suspicion that it is cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria is able to fight against cold weather by fortifying its membranes against freezing. The smaller pond has slightly dried up, but I assume it will refill once the snow melt begins in spring.
I’ve loved visiting my phenology spot over this semester. It provided me a space to decompress and reconnect with the land around me. College is a fantastic opportunity to explore a new area, yet at the same time, it can be challenging to find a time to get off campus. This project gave a necessary reason for me to get out and enjoy Burlington. The sea caves have a little bit of everything, water, grasses, and forests. It was cool to enjoy all the different phenological changes in one area! Seasonal changes are always happening around me, yet for all these years, I have gone without noticing most of them. Now, I am fully immersing myself in the seasonal changes, and I have been finding similarities in how I and the land change and prepare for the changes in weather. Additionally, I’m excited for the hopeful promise of ice skating on the pond next semester!
- The now clear trail that is surrounded by decomposing leaves!
- The dying and thinning undergrowth and wilted grasses.
- The Beech and berries that persist even as the temperatures drop.
- The frozen ponds! The second photo shows the pond that has begun to dry and is still fighting algae.