It seems like nearly every day I wake up and there is a new sign of spring. Although I can really only see these signs in my backyard and my neighborhood, they still give me great promise for the warm weather to come. Over the past three weeks, spring has sprung in spurts, with a few days of sun and warmth, then a few days of rain and wind, and even, two weeks ago, a day of snow (pictured below).
A light coating of snow
My mom and I have been walking our dog almost every single day, and nearly every day we walk we seem to find a new tree that has bloomed or more flowers sprouting along the sidewalk. Often we see daffodils, forsythias, azaleas, and countless more species we cannot name. One of our neighbors has a beautiful, tall tree with white flowers that we believe to be a magnolia. It seems that every day we walk by it has blossomed even more (pictured below).
A magnolia tree blooming in my neighborhood. A bright patch of forsythia is visible in the background.
The return of many familiar species of birds has also signaled the coming of spring. I’ve seen countless robins bouncing around our backyard, flashing their orange chests, and giving hope for warmer weather. The other day while I was sitting outside doing homework, an American goldfinch landed on the chair right next to me. I had never seen such a colorful bird up close before, and luckily I was able to take a few pictures before the bird flew away (pictured below).
An American goldfinch perched on a chair
Overall, it is becoming increasingly clear that spring is coming. Some days it feels like spring is truly here to stay. But on others, it almost feels like winter has returned. This being my eighteenth spring in New England, I am not surprised by the drastic range of weather that usually occurs in March and April. However, I am still fascinated by it, and hopefully by my next entry spring will be here for good. (notes below)
Welcome back to my phenology blog! This blog, like nearly everything else at the moment, has changed. I took the picture above on my way back from moving most of my stuff out of my dorm at the end of spring break. I wanted to capture this beautiful Vermont sunset, knowing it would be a while until I saw one again. The coronavirus crisis has forced UVM into remote learning, so I write this from my home in Acton, Massachusetts. Many times in high school I complained about how “boring” Acton was and how there was nothing to do, but during social distancing, the suburbs are a pretty nice place to be.
I have been walking the dog and running around my neighborhood pretty frequently since social distancing began, and I have been really noticing the natural environment around me. The picture above was taken in my backyard last week. My dog is really enjoying everyone being home all the time! Although the trees in this image look mostly leafless, I have started to notice buds and blooms in my recent walks around the neighborhood. In the left of the foreground of the above picture, there are some forsythia bushes that are just starting to bloom, even though you can’t really see it. I suspect by the next blog post they will be bright yellow and in full bloom. I have also noticed some crocuses and other small flowers poking through the soil next to the sidewalks.
These little signs of spring have been giving me hope in these difficult and confusing times. I have always found the natural world to be a healthy escape from day-to-day stresses and hassles, so I find myself going outside (and maintaining social distance!) more and more often these days. One of my favorite signs of spring is the sunset getting later each and each day. I have always loved sunsets, and until I can see another UVM sunset, this not-too-shabby view from my backyard will do.
Welcome back to my Phenology Blog! It is now the end of January, which means that the inhabitants of my place are trying their best to endure the bleak cold of winter in hopes of spring. Since my last visit, my site has not changed in many obvious ways, but there are some slight differences. The snow is much harder and icier due to the recent freezing after a week of thawing. The flow of the creek is slower than it was in December, as more of the water has turned to ice, especially by the banks, as you can see above. There are nearly no leaves left on any of the deciduous trees, while in my last visit some of the Norway maples were still hanging on to the last of their leaves.
Deer tracks in the snow.
As for signs of wildlife, there were many animal tracks visible near the trail next to the creek. First, I saw what appeared to be deer tracks (pictured above), which I identified based on the hoof-shaped indent, length of the stride, and diagonal walking gait (Levine, 2014). However, the most interesting part of my visit was a trail of frozen blood surrounding various different tracks and deer scat, pictured below.
Deer scat and blood in the snow.
The area surrounding the scat and blood was trampled, making it hard to identify individual tracks. This implies perhaps multiple animals or the injured deer stopping to rest. However, the scat makes it clear that a deer was involved, and was most likely the injured animal.
Boxelder and sycamore twigs.
As for trees, I was able to identify a few deciduous species, namely, boxelder, Norway maple, and sugar maple based on the Winter Twig Identification Guide (Watts, 1943). A boxelder twig is pictured above and to the left, which I identified based on its whitish downy buds, opposite branching, and dark stem. I have also seen boxelders throughout my site since the beginning of this blog, so the identification makes sense with my place. To the right, I took a photo of a twig that I have identified as a sycamore because the leaf scar encircles each bud of the twig. Below I have included a sketch of a boxelder twig along with my field notes from my recent visit. I am looking forward to seeing my place start to show signs of spring as the months go by!
Works Cited
Watts, May Theilgard. (1943). Winter Twigs.
Levine, Lynn. (2014). Mammal Tracks and Scat Life-Size Pocket Guide.
My hometown is Acton, Massachusetts, a small suburban town 45 minutes west of Boston with about 20,000 residents. Acton holds a special place in my heart because, until the start of this semester, it was the only place I had ever lived and ever truly known. As a result, my sense of place there is very strong.
Acton lies next to the intersection of Interstate 495 and Route 2, two major highways in Massachusetts. Acton relies heavily on cars and has essentially no forms of public transportation besides school buses. As a result, nearly every family in Acton has at least one car, with many families having two or more. Although this is obviously bad for the environment because of the emission of fossil fuels, I have a fondness for cars because many of my memories in Acton come from time spent in cars. In high school, having a car of your own was a sociocultural thing: as an upperclassman, having a car was almost the norm and gave a higher “status”, per se, and an added sense of freedom. My own car, a 2005 Toyota Matrix, is not the most fuel-efficient, but, as a student, I could not afford a car that was better for the environment. I feel a strong connection to my car because I associate it with my sense of place in Acton.
The red star in the map above marks my house. As is clear from the previous maps, Acton contains lots of green space. Much of this is residential developments surrounded by forested areas. However, there are also many designated natural areas in Acton where residents can connect with nature and strengthen their ecological sense of place. For example, the Acton Arboretum is an area very close to my house with walking trails, picnic tables, and beautiful scenery. However, also very close to my house is the public high school I attended, a manufacturing plant, and two strip malls. Both areas are important to me, and both have shaped my sense of place in different ways, with the arboretum shaping my ecological sense and the high school and commercial areas shaping my sociocultural sense.
The picture above left is from August 2019, during a walk with my dog on a local rail trail next to a small pond. Rail trails are flat, paved walking trails constructed on top of abandoned railroad tracks, which are popular throughout New England. This one is the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, which is a short drive from my house and offers views of some very pretty natural areas in Acton.
Acton also has constructed green spaces, like the grass island and mulched beds seen in the photo to the right above. They add to the aesthetic sense of place even though they are not explicit natural areas, and help break up the commercial development and roadways. The area photographed is an intersection near the high school with a Starbucks and a CVS, making it a popular place for students and adults.
This is my neighborhood. It is a very New England style area, with treed streets and colonial houses. Many residents in the neighborhood are families with children, as the school system is the biggest draw of Acton. You will almost always see someone walking their dog, as I was in this photo. I feel at home in these streets.
This is my house, the only house I have ever lived in. This is where my sense of place is the strongest. I think I have spent more time in this house than I have spent out of it, which is scary to think about. But, it encompasses all the aspects of sense of place. It is surrounded by the woods where I played as a child. It has history: our property lines are still marked by rock walls from centuries ago. Socially, it is where I learned to interact, first with my family, and later with friends. Culturally, it is where all our family traditions happen, like decorating the Christmas tree and hosting Thanksgiving dinner. Sometimes, I feel sad that I’ve only lived in one place in one town my whole life. But now, I realize that I got the benefit of an extremely strong sense of not only place but also home.
Winter has arrived in Vermont! My spot in Centennial Woods looks drastically different from my previous visits in the fall. I visited during the most recent snowstorm on Monday, November 11th, and I was ecstatic about the start of winter. Early winter is one of my most favorite and magical times of the year and seeing these changes occur in my spot is strengthening my sense of place there. During my last visit, I was quite sad to see most of the greenery gone as most of the leaves had fallen already, leaving the area seemingly barren. However, the blanket of snow covering almost everything in sight on the landscape brings back fond memories of wintertime and its pristine magic. The white pines still have their needles and the Norway maples still have their yellow-ish green spotted leaves, making for a nice contrast of the white and brown landscape. The lack of other deciduous trees made it very easy to spot bird nests, like the one pictured below. In this visit, I could hear birds chirping, something I hadn’t heard in past visits. The chirping combined with the snowfall made for a very pleasing, yet very cold, visit that strengthened my connection and sense of place with my spot in Centennial Woods.
Norway maple standing amonst snowfall
Bird nest visible in barren trees
With the addition of snowfall, my place reminds me of my hometown of Acton, Massachusetts. Often times in the winter, I would walk my dog through the snowy woods and enjoy my winter surroundings. These woods too were often filled with Eastern white pines and similar brooks and streams, so seeing these similar characteristics in the area I have chosen to visit in Centennial Woods reminds me of the strong sense of place I have back home. This makes my spot feel a little bit like home, which makes me connect with it even more.
Eastern white pines standing by the bank of the stream
Although my spot seems to be remote at first glance, the impact of modern human development is prevalent in many ways. Behind the bright sounds of birds chirping, the low rumblings of nearby traffic and the hum of machinery from nearby businesses like the DoubleTree hotel are ever-present. This makes me think back to a time when perhaps the sound of the birds and the stream and the wind were the only sounds present at my spot. We’d have to go back a long way in history in Vermont, before the interstate, before the University of Vermont, before the timber industry. This place is becoming constrained by human activity, even in the sense of this project. This place is a project for class credit and grades now, even though I do enjoy its natural beauty. Despite all this, I am still very excited to continue to observe its changes throughout the seasons!
In my most recent visit to my site in Centennial Woods, I noticed a significant change in vegetation and overall liveliness of the area. Most of the leaves have fallen from the hardwood trees surrounding the brook, such as Norway maples and boxelders. A few large Eastern White Pines and various smaller plants keep the area somewhat green, but the majority of color has left the site. As for animals, I encountered an abundance of earthworms in the soil surrounding the bank, as well as a colony of ants that I was not able to photograph or identify further. I had trouble finding chordates at my site, but I did spot a squirrel at the edges of the woods on my way out. I also spotted invasive garlic mustard growing in between the trail and the river bank. These organisms together help characterize my site because they help to demonstrate the combination of human and natural influence in the area. The hardwoods and pine trees represent the typical forestry of Vermont and help foster a healthy ecosystem. Earthworms and ants also are good indicators of ecosystem health. However, invasive species and lack of chordates show the impact of humans on the area. Humans bring invasive species and the nearby human development likely drives away most larger chordate species.
Boxelder
Garlic Mustard (invasive)
As for the topography and soil of the site, I did not notice many changes from my previous visits. The brook was running a little slower than in the past but it still remained at the same level in the banks. The surrounding area appeared to not have changed significantly in topography. In finding earthworms, I found the soil to be more fertile than my past visits due to the increased accumulation of leaf litter and organic material. I am looking forward to seeing my site change even more in the upcoming months!
Earthworm
Norway maple leaf
In making my map, I became more aware of the various different pieces and patterns influencing my site. I realized that there was a difference between the forest on the trail side of the brook and the forest on the opposite side. It also made me think about the various interactions between the brook and its various surroundings, of which I will be more cognizant in my future visits.
Welcome to my phenology blog! The place that I will be visiting throughout the rest of the year is located along a small brook adjacent to one of the many trails in Centennial Woods. In the panorama above, you can see the trail, various different types of vegetation, the brook, and a small clearing behind the forested area surrounding the water. I am very excited to observe this spot because it is at the intersection of many different natural habitats that will be changing drastically with the seasons. My spot is also very interesting to me because of its proximity to human impact. Below, I have included a photo of a teepee set up next to the trail adjacent to the brook. Not only is this a good marker of my phenology place but it also is evidence of the human ties to the habitat of Centennial Woods. I am looking forward to documenting my ecological and social observations of this place on this blog!
