Author: cbrown15

Although a complete change of place is disorienting, I could imagine that similar phenological changes are still occurring in my new place as well as in Centennial Woods. I choose for my new place to be my yard around my house. Although it isn’t deep in a wooded area, there are still clear signs of phenological changes all around, especially during this time of year. Throughout the harsh winter, seeds and many other organisms have been hibernating, and trying to survive until the warmth of spring comes around, and life flourishes once again. Throughout march, these changes have already begun.

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The first signs of life that I noticed were various plants that had began to sprout out of the ground due to the warming weather, bringing a contrasting green to the uniformly brown ground (Figures 1 & 2). But as I walked outside, the other thing I almost instantly noticed was the songs and noises of the many birds coming from all around me. From my time spent at home during winter break, this was a noticeable difference in both the amount of noise as well as the diversity of the sounds.

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After closer inspection of my surroundings, I began to notice that many of the trees around me had started to bud, and even began to open (Figure 4), the first of which was in a tree that I believe to be a cherry tree. While I was walking around my house, I also noticed something sprouting in our garden. Upon a closer look, I realized it to be a rhubarb plant, coming back after a whole year (Figure 4). All of the plants noted, and many more are perennial plants, plants that grow back every year, and inhabit much of our yard. Although it is limited, life has started to grow once again, marking the end of the harsh winter which we all know too well.

Upon first arriving at my sight, I accidentally scared off a gray squirrel that ran up an oak tree, not unusual since oak trees are where squirrels get much of their food from.While I looked around my sight, although I saw numerous small divots, it was hard to discern any actual tracks since it had been a while since it last snowed. After more searching, I found a hole that some animal had dug (Figure 1). Upon first seeing it, I believed it to be a hole dug by someones dog that smelled something and left the trail to try to find. But upon remembering my squirrel sighting, I believed it possible that this hole was actually a nut cache made by squirrel in preparation for the winter. Before winter comes, squirrels collect nuts and seeds and bury them beneath the soil, so that when winter comes, and trees stop producing nuts, the squirrels will have some source of food to help them survive the cold. During the night, this consumption of food is important because it helps them to survive the bitter cold night huddled up in their dens (Agency of Natural Resources). On days that it isn’t too cold, squirrels will go outside and forage or go to nut caches, being careful for predators like weasels, hawks, foxes, and even domestic dogs. They must be wary during the nights for raccoons who are at the peak of their mating season during this time (Holland).

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Compared to the last time I visited my sight, not much has changed. All the vegetation is leafless and barren, although the only vegetation with some color is a dogwood shrub (Figure 3) that has turned bright red, very easy to see in contrast with the white snow. Another noticeable change is the amount of water flowing through the stream (Figure 2). This is due to the couple of days of warm temperatures, previous to when I visited, that melted the snow, adding water to the stream.

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Upon arriving at Centennial Woods after a few weeks, it took me a minute to realize where my site really was. The place had become much more barren and open, nearly all the brush his died off for the winter or has been buried in snow. But after finally settling, its familiarity came back. As I moved further from the trail, I was able to see more wild tracks and influences, instead of human and dog footprints. As I walked along the stream, I saw a small animal, which I thought to be a mink, cross the stream in front of me and go into hiding. Although i tried to be hasty, I couldn’t get a picture but I did take a picture of his tracks (see Figure 1). Although it was hard to distinguish individual digits in the feet, the habitat, size, and foot size all matched with that of a mink. Although I don’t know for sure, it did look like a mink, weasel, or other smaller kind of animal like a muskrat. I also found tracks that looked like they were from a cottontail rabbit (see figure 2), due to the measured straddle, and foot size, although in that specific picture, the bunny might have been sitting, explaining the presence of the smaller feet in the front instead of behind the larger feet.

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One major change on all the trees is the growth of new twigs that will soon become branches as the seasons progress. This new growth is easily detected due to the difference in color from the rest of the tree. I was only able to identify one of the twigs that I found (see Figure 3), many of the other trees around were much older, with twigs far out of reach.

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From the last time that I went to my site, much has changed, and some has stayed the same. The vegetation at my sight has almost completely died off, all deciduous trees are completely barren, without a leaf in sight, the trails have become complete ice, and snow now covers almost all of the ground. But at this site, birds of different species can be heard still chirping, and the small brook that is a key defining feature still flows despite its partial freezing. Although much has changed, there are still certain features that keep it the way it was.

Refrences

Massachusetts Audubon Society, South Lincoln MA. Watts, May Theilgard. 1943. Winter Twigs.

Levine, L. (2014). Mammal tracks and scat. East Dummerston, VT: Hartwood Press.

My hometown, Seekonk, Massachusetts, is where I spent this past thanksgiving. My home is a relatively rural area, with woods just behind my house, and a nature reserve only a short walk away. These natural areas had a massive impact on me throughout my childhood. I spent countless days in these woods with my friends or brothers building forts, drawing maps, and exploring. It had a massive impact on my appreciation for nature and grew my connection to this place. I can remember vividly certain parts of the woods that I used to go to, and often I think about those places when I want to relax or fall asleep. But it seems that these areas were only a vessel for memories and experiences to be made. Although I believe the true connection to this place comes from all these memories, feelings, and experiences I made in this place. It truly gives a sense of home and safety that I haven’t experienced anywhere else. One of these feelings that has become especially prevalent when I return home from college or from a vacation somewhere. As I reach my town, I begin to get a strong sense of comfort from the familiarity of the things that I see and recognize from years of living there. But this familiarity is deeper than simply recognizing a place, I would pass schools I went to, houses I have biked and driven past thousands of times, each with meanings and familiarity, different than anyone else’s. One thing that has changed is the people that live around this place. Some families moved away as their kids grew up and moved to other places, and as this happens, other new families move in to raise new kids in their place. But although I may know less of the people around me, my true connection to this place isn’t derived from its people. Of even less importance to me, is the political economic influence on my perception of sense of place. Although this undoubtedly impacts my feeling of sense of place, it is almost subconscious and is not what I think about when I think about my sense of place with my home. By going from living and going to school in this town every day to visiting it every couple of months has greatly impacted my sense of place. Whenever I go back, I feel as though I have lost my connection to this place to a certain extent. As I notice new things around town, no matter how subtle they may be, it gives me feel more distanced to this town that I grew up. Yet over any other place on Earth, I still share a closer bond to this area.

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Over the short period of time that we have done this phenology assignment, the change observed has been immense. Over these past couple months, I have observed a variety of phenological changes including the turning and shedding of leaves, the change in the course of the stream, and many plants slow preparation for the impending winter. These plants are truly remarkable in their resistance and ability to change with the seasons. For decades, these plants have survived year after year of harsh winters, violent storms, and deadly droughts, forming the place that I see today.

Although gradual, these changes are noticeable, and reciprocate the changing environment around them. In many other places in the area, similar phenological trends occur, like the changing of foliage, and slow decay of shrubs and tree growth in preparation for winter. These kinds of foliage changes and natural greying of the environment is something that I have experienced my whole life in the North East, so it gives me a sense of home and connection to the land and changing season. For some this “greying” of nature may have negative connotations since it means a long cold winter, yet for me, it is something special since I have spent every year playing in and enjoying the snow and enjoying these winter months as much as I can.

To many these woods may look like they have been around for years. But before they grew back into a forest, they were used to be pastures cleared to raise cows and sheep. Later being bought by UVM, Centennial woods were able to grow back into an area that can be enjoyed for its natural beauty. Beyond its relatively recent history, Centennial Woods itself has changed on a much larger time scale. Every aspect of this area has taken years to grow and build up into what it is now, countless numbers of organisms and processes as well as erosion and meandering of its stream, contributing to what we are able to see today. 

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Upon arriving to my site, the change could be immediately noticed. The night before going to my site, there were torrential downpours and flooding, and this was very evident at my site. The thing first noticed was the absence of the bridge that is used to cross the brook, which had been pushed downstream by the flooding. Once I got to my site, I also began to realize that almost 4 feet of the brook bank had eroded away due to the flood waters, and the brook had almost doubled its width. The sides of the bank had also been eroded, although some grasses and other vegetation had held much of the soil together, creating somewhat of a cliff. Around my site, I had noticed that much of the vegetation had begun to turn brown and die off. Many of the trees had completely lost their leaves, including the green ash trees which was one of the last trees to lose its leaves. Now only the red maples were left with yellow tinted leaves. I also saw multiple chipmunks gathering nuts and other materials to prepare for the winter. Surrounding the site, many Eastern White Pine trees stand tall with all of their needles, ready for the harsh winter, a factor nearly unchanged by the coming of fall. The fungus pictured represents the circle of life that occurs throughout my sight and plays an equally important role as any other organism at my site. The act of mapping my sight really made me think about and picture what I have seen many times. By drawing a map before, it brought out my perception of my site, based only on how I remember it, forcing myself to think about every rock and plant at my site. This activity made me more focused when I visited it next because I was looking for the details I missed when trying to map it from memory, changing how I observed my site.

Written by: Collin Brown

Centennial Brook