Place Based Phenology Project

Since my last post the buds on the trees have become more visible and definitely more green. The shrubs have started to grow back again as well. No real sings of return of wildlife, I didn’t see my duck friends from the beginning of the year in my early posts yet but I bet they’ll be back soon. My spot is kinda cool because it is a cross section of nature and culture. It’s right off of the bike path so plenty of people are riding around walking dogs and what-not. It’s also a pretty cool looking spot so lots of people tend to explore around the peninsula. There is also a beach to the side of the peninsula so people often run around and explore on the beach. At this point I feel like a part of my spot as I’ve been visiting so much. I also spent a lot of time exploring down by the waterfront near my spot at the beginning of the year. At this point it feels kinda like one of the cool hangout spots I had as a kid in the woods and it feels pretty homey. I’mm gonna miss it over the summer but I will definitely be visiting it again when I return in the fall.

The snow is all gone from my spot on the water at this point! The ice is gone in the lake by now too. The trees have started to show signs of little buds poking out on the trees but not a whole lot yet and they are definitely pretty small. The grass is very green just off of my peninsula too. I noticed a snowdrop growing just off of my peninsula by a tree as well, but nothing is really growing on the peninsula that I can see yet.

Over spring break the phenology spot I chose was in my backyard in Middlebury Vermont. The Area used to be a sheep farm, this is evident through the relatively young forest and the old stone walls way back into the woods. The woods in my backyard are predominantly made up of white pines but we do have a few scattered sugar maples and I was able to find a couple birches and a red maple near the edge. It was hard to see if there were any animal tracks as my dogs have done a pretty good job tearing up the woods leaving a ton of tracks and scaring everything off. I was able to find a couple squirrel tracks and what I think may have been a rabbit track but it looked pretty old. This is a very different area than my phenology spot in Burlington. The most glaring difference was that there was no lake in my backyard. Secondly, the ground was a lot more solid than the rocky material of the peninsula. Lastly, there are certainly more animals living in my woods than on my peninsula and the trees and plants are a lot denser in my woods.