1/29 Phenology Spot Posting
My last visit to my beautiful hemlock grove in the middle of Centennial woods was just after some of the first snowfalls of the season. Tips of green ferns were still peeking out from under the white blanket, and a layer of White Pine needles and browned Sugar Maple and Red Oak leaves were spread out on top of the layer of snow, indicating the trees still losing their leaves into December. Now, in late January, the entire ground was undoubtedly covered in snow, leaving no room for a peak of the river or any green sprouts, but covered with signs of humans and their dogs treading through the area.
As beautiful as the Eastern Hemlock-White Pine grove still was, there was something about seeing it after first snow that was just breathtaking, that had since lost part of it’s magical touch due to the dreariness of the winter dragging on. Something that I instantly noticed was that a good proportion of number of trees that I had observed to be significantly old and decaying last time were horizontal on the ground. There had definitely been some fallen trees beforehand, but now a good amount of the ground space at my focal spot is filled with rotting trunks.
Tree trunk which I don’t recall seeing in my previous visits. Trunk not clean cut, making me assume that it was dead and fell rather than getting cut down. 
The tracks in my specific phenology spot were relatively disappointing- nothing that I could see other than human footprints alongside dog paw prints. However, I went a different route than I normally do to get out of the woods and came across a few tracks some ways away from my designated spot, but I thought they were fascinating and figured that I would include them!!
I’m inferring that these are deer prints due to the two hoofed toes that can clearly be seen in the second picture, and the snow kicked up behind behind the legs as they walk. So cool!
Can’t wait to continue to return to my focal spot for the rest of this semester, and see it start to bloom again in the spring!
-Dani