The site I visited during Thanksgiving break was in my own back yard! Growing up, my family would always take walks through the woods in our backyard that lead to Baiting Brook and then eventually Callahan State Park. This year, I was a bit concerned for the health of the brook because of the drought Massachusetts experienced for the past 2 months. Thankfully, my hometown experienced some rain in the recent weeks, so things should be getting back to normal. The water levels were pretty low still, but I hope that with time the brook will return to a (relatively) healthy state.
In comparison to my spot at the Intervale Center, I’d say there wasn’t much of a difference in the ecology and phenology. Many of the tree species present in my backyard were the same as those found at my spot here in Vermont. There was an abundance of Red Maple, Eastern White Pine, and White Oak in my backyard, which is similar to those I observed for my previous phenology posts. It was so refreshing to go out and feel a connection to UVM while at home! Similar to the Intervale, there were a lot of fallen leaves on the ground, but the path was a lot more visible than the one I walked on a couple of weeks ago. A big difference, however, was the lack of sound pollution in this new spot. In my visits to the Intervale, sound pollution from airplanes was quite noticeable and very disturbing. Here, there were more animals that I saw (squirrels and birds) and a lot more peace and quite.
My favorite thing I found while looking around this new phenology spot was a heart-shaped cluster of lichen on this tree. How adorable omg. I couldn’t believe how perfectly shaped it was! This was a perfect gift to me, so in return, I gathered as many rocks as I could find and placed them at the base of the tree in the shape of a heart. I hope that when I go back to visit this spot the hearts will still be there!