On this rainy day I ventured into Centennial woods to takes notes on the newfound life since it it spring. The last time I visited here I did not document it on this blog, as I was simply passing through with my dog, but I noticed some water striders wading in the stream. It was so nice to see life return after the stream was frozen for so long.
The ground was extremely muddy, and as the rain fell down it was only getting muddier. Despite this, I began to circle my spot, looking for signs of regrowth in the leaf litter. I noticed many dandelions beginning to come up, in several places across my site. Wild strawberry was also a common site, normally coming up in the same areas I saw the dandelions. Though no flowers bloomed yet, there were several plants that had buds. Red Dogwood Osier’s red stems were covered in buds. On the ground, seeds littered the site. When I looked up to see the source, a red maple budding in the canopy was my guess as to what was falling.
Here are some photos that I took of the species I observed at my phenology spot:
Red Osier Dogwood. Taken by Emily Johnston.
White Ash. Taken by Emily Johnston. 
Turkey Tail moss. Taken by Emily Johnston. 
Dandelion. Taken by Emily Johnston. 
Strawberry. Taken by Emily Johnston. 
Red Maple. Taken by Emily Johnston.