Today my friend Marina and I visited our phenology spots in costume for Halloween!
It was a fun time. While there, I drew a map including prominent species and landmarks.
I also sat quietly for 15 minutes to observe my surroundings. During this time, I heard the rushing water of the river, the wind in the branches, the chirping of birds, and the roar of cars passing by. I saw the sparkling of the water in the sun, the movement of the trees’ branches, and the natural colors of the dead leaves littering the ground. I felt a sense of peace and appreciation for the nature around me.
I also had a lot of time to reflect on how my spot looked different than last time. All of the leaves of the overstory trees (such as basswood and boxelder) had fallen, and the branches and twigs were now bare. The understory plants hadn’t quite lost their leaves yet, but I noticed that they were changing color. Specifically, the buckthorn leaves were browning and the silver maple leaves were yellow. Dead leaves completely covered the ground. I didn’t see any chipmunks, which I saw on both of my past visits.
This was a fun visit!
