A UVM blog Phenology Blog

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The Salmon Hole is a popular spot in Winooski, Vermont, where many people go to fish, walk around, or just relax by the water. I chose this place for my phenology blog because it was one of the first places in the outdoors I visited when I came to UVM, and I love fishing so I have gotten a few chances to fish there. The Salmon Hole is a very relaxing and quiet place, especially when there are not many people there. The combination of the woody areas off the bank of the river, the rocks next to the water, and the flow of the river is especially captivating to me.

Some of the woody plants present at the Salmon Hole include:

• Red Oak
• Red Maple
• Sugar Maple
• Buckthorn
• White Birch
• American Beech

Late Post from November 6, 2023: It is starting to cool down at the Salmon Hole, and birds are less active. It is still quiet and tranquil, I saw a chipmunk on my walk down the slope to my spot as well. Some of the buckthorn at the Salmon Hole looks like it will spread; this would be very detrimental to the spot because buckthorn grows fast and steals light from other plants.

This drawing of a Birds Eye view of my phenology spot shows the river on the right, a stand of Red Maple trees on the left, and buckthorn growing above the Red Maples.

Late Post from December 5, 2023: I visited the Salmon Hole one more time right as the sun was setting to make a post. It was very cold and ice had already formed on much of the rocks and dirt in the area, but none of the river has frozen yet. The leaves on most of the trees had fallen off already, even the buckthorn was missing its leaves. It was still as pretty as it always was, and it was even better that I got to bring a few of my friends along with me. They enjoyed visiting the salmon hole as much as I always do. It was a little weird seeing the trees bare, because the whole place seemed much quieter and almost dead. There were still some signs of life though; the few bushes on the ground with some green on them, or one of the few Eastern Hemlock trees with some leaves still left on it.