Author: eamcswee

Today I went to my phenology spot a b it differently than normal. In running club we went on a little 5 miles run around the quarry. It was a muddy one but always love a new experience.

The trees are starting to get their green back especially with the recent rain that we have been having. There is even some small leaves appearing on some trees and the rest have some buds appearing.

The area is surrounded by homes and when I look over the cliff I see trampolines and pools and homes. I always love the walk or run to my spot because the homes are so pretty.

It is cool to see how people have built their homes around this cliff and rocky area. The land seems to be guarded off where the rocks are but any other land is developed on. Though it is a suburb so the nature can still come through. The trees are growing and some areas the brush is overgrown and clearly not touched by any humans. The neighbors however are manicured and have flowers and nicely trimmed bushes.

I think the idea of me being a part of a place is a weird idea. I think that the place is its own and I am simply a person passing through. The trees and the rocks and the plants they are apart of the one place, they have claim and are literally in the ground. I think people and buildings are just simply a thing that is only here for a moment of it. I enjoy the beauty and have spent time and appreciate the land and will always love coming here but I am not apart of it.

Today was such a nice day. I walked out of the library and headed to the bus stop to take a looksie at my tree. The sun was in full golden hour and it gave a bit of a glare in the picture.

The tree had begun to bloom and I am very excited. There catkins that are appearing

Here is a blurry picture of the buds and catkins.

The sky here looks really clear. The catkins are budding in three and I found that very interesting.

No leaves yet but the buds are in full growth.

The trip to my tree was a very pleasant one. It was a very nice day and just based of the nice temperature and short sleeves it made me expect to see some progress on the budding occurring.

This blurry picture that was the best I could get with my iPhone camera and shaky hand can show some progress but still slow. There is no sign of flowering yet but the buds are definitely getting bigger and making progress into the new stage of the tree’s life.

The paper birches are one of my favorite trees because of how much color and life and diversity they can add. I walk past this tree very often and I think it adds a lot of beauty to the space even if people do not know it is doing it.

Here is a screenshot of my iNaturalist post. I checked my first post and am a bit sad that I have no comments on my first birch. I guess that must mean my first post was so flawless that no felt they needed to comment anything.

Back in Mass for some of Spring break. I took my dog for a walk one morning when the sun was rising. We were in the State Park near my house the day after it snowed. It was a very pretty and snowy morning and I tried to get my dog in lots of pictures.

My phenology spot in Burlington is not super similar. Though there are rocks in this forest there are nowhere near the amount in my spot. The rocks also have very different textures and colors. There were some similarities with the tree species. There are a lot of hardwoods in the forest and some maples and oaks. There are a decent amount of spruce and other pines. As you can see in the pictures there is a decent amount of understory which is similar to the entrance area of my spot in Burlington.

There is also a water source throughout this forest. There is a damn and a reservoir that is used for both water and recreation. Because of this added feature, there are lots of tiny streams, beaches, and bridges along the way. There is also a paved road that fragments the trails and the forest as a way of increasing the number of people coming to the beaches and walking on the trails that are deeper in the forest. The snow however made the trails quiet as did the earliness of the walk. The trails had lots of roots and the parts of the ground that was visible were covered with dead leaves from the many hardwoods.

I found a beautiful paper birch tree on the campus.

It was very easy to see and identify because of the distinct features. The white bark and the thin trunk. I knew it wasn’t a yellow birch because the coloring was more white.

There was some early signs of budding on the branches but it seemed to be in the very early stages. There is no signs of flowering

Here is my post on iNaturalist it agreed with my decision that flowering is not occurring yet. It also agreed with me that it is a birch.

Here is a nice picture of the tree next to the bus stop.

I and a few classmates explored Red Rocks. It was a pretty gloomy day weather-wise and very windy especially when we got closer to the water. To find more species and their habitat we went off the trails provided and wandered through the woods. We found few animal species but saw lots of evidence that they were there.

Our only animal encounter (besides the dogs on walks) was an Eastern Grey Squirrel. We saw two of these species on two separate occasions. They were very fat because of the season but what stuck out to us was their big tails. We wondered if that also grew puffier in the winter season so they could be seen in the snow and it would allow for more warmth. In the picture below you can see the back of the squirrel by its big tail.

We were also very happy to find some poop! We found some scat which we identified to be deer scat. The area is where we found had good trees for deer to nibble on the bark especially in the winter so finding poop and next to its some tracks we assumed that a few deer were there.

We also came across a lot of trees that had signs of woodpeckers. Lot of hole carved out for shelter. This one tree imparticluar was riddled with a shelters form the woodpeckers.

First time back here since before break. I haven’t seen it with the snow and it was very pretty and peaceful. Walking down the path to get there it was icy and I was careful not to get too close to the edge of the cliff. In terms of prints I was shocked to see prints going down the rocks.

Though the only prints I saw on my journey appeared to be peoples shoes and I think there may have been a dog with one of them, it was cool to see that they walked up or down the rocks. Especially with how snowy and icy it is around the the edges, I myself was afraid of slipping.

Compared to the last few times I have went the coniferous trees seemed to have lost some color and their leaves have thinned out. The understory in the back was still there, and some grass was peaking out over the snow a bit. Though the grass is brown and yellow. The day I went was a cloudy and grey, it may impacted my view on things.

It is always nice to get back out there. Today I could see through the tree line the lake and the Adirondack mountains, which was very nice view in the snow.

After looking back on the first time, I went to the quarry and noticed many changes. The deciduous trees have lost their leaves, leaving more open space and a more transparent look right into the people’s backyards in front of the quarry. The coniferous trees still have their leaves on the eastern hemlock, which is the most prevalent in the area and looks the same. The vegetation in the back has lost some color, but the grass and the berries are still there, along with the other small coniferous trees and understory are still there.

There is less leaf clutter due to probably decomposing. The last time I went to the spot, the leaf was much more. Looking over the side of the cliff into the edges of the people’s backyards, there are fewer leaves. This could impart because of decomposition and human involvement in clearing the leaves from your yard to have a clean yard.

In my time in the quarry, I saw no animals. I often never do. If I do, I only hear a bird or rustling, never with my own eyes. But this time, I heard or saw no sign of any animals in the area.

I loved my phenology spot. It is stunning and calming to go to, the walk through the path to get there, the view, the pretty rocks. My site was unique, and I liked how hidden it was. It was good that I had an excuse to come and explore this place more than I would have if I did not use this spot. It is cool to have a place I found the first year that I can return to throughout my years here. I can always come here to think and enjoy the view. I like letting others know about this hidden gem in Burlington.

My phenology spot is in my town forest. I take my dog walking here often because it is so close to my home. Similar to my phenology spot, the way I get there is through hidden trails in neighborhoods.

In my spot, there are a lot of fallen leaves all over the trail. There is also some rock fences. There is some fallen trees and branches. The forest topography is hilly and decently rocky. My phenology spot in Burlington also has exposed rock similar to here, but the rocks are clearly different. The red rock at the Redstone quarry is not covered in leaves and is more exposed and the center of the spot.

The rocks at the forest seem to be pilled here in a purposeful way and are covered with leaves and not the center focus of the forest. The trees are also more abundant in the forest. There are newly growing pine trees, lots of oak trees as I can tell by the numerous leaves on the ground.

The trail is a hidden beauty in my town and I did not come across it till Covid. It is a well maintained trail, with bridges, maps and hidden things to find, like an old car or ruins of a home. The trail has altered the woods from the people and animal that walk through it.

Ellie McSweeney

I finally figured out the name of the place. It is either Red Stone or Red Rock quarry. I went on a very nice day and it was a very enjoyable time. Because most of the leaves were fallen my walk through the trail to the quarry was carpeted with yellow leaves. I sat on a rock that was a bit of a climb because it was isolated from the rest of it and just watch and listened. I love sitting and looking around, I was trying to get a view of the Lake and some of the mountains but could only see the top of the mountains. I saw a bird nest on my way in so I was trying to listen for any birds but I heard none. I did however hear the squirrels scurrying to collect their food for winter through the trees.

The deciduous trees have all lost there leaves, but there were lots of coniferous trees that still allowed a view. There was also less grass growing on the rocks. Behind the rocks there was still the understory but the little bits of grass that grow in-between the cracks in the rocks were less apparent.