Today was probably my favorite visit to my phenology site this entire year. Almost all of the trees were blooming at least a little bit and I had a bit of an adventure getting to my site as it was very muddy. The tally on how many times I fell was about 5 and my clothes are now interesting shades of brown, but hiking out there in the rain was very refreshing and there was a lot of bird activity. I specifically heard chickadees and mourning doves.
My site has definitely changed phenologically over the course of this year. This was the first time I had been there were everything was completely green. The brook was also rushing much faster than I had ever seen it and the ground was a lot more muddy when during this year it was usually hard packed and/or frozen.
I have become mostly familiar with the bunker at my site, it’s where I usually sit to sketch and reflect. I have also become unfortunately acquainted with the wooden walkways as I have a tendency to slip off of them. Another landmark I usually recognize is the large white pine near the entrance to Centennial Woods and the Beaver Brook.
Nature and culture intertwine greatly here. I feel very much connected with the entire community of UVM and specifically RSENR because of everyone’s shared experience using this space over their education here. I also think a lot about the past uses of Centennial and the bunker and I wonder what the experiences others who came before me have had. Knowing the historical background of Centennial makes me feel more connected with the history of Vermont that we have learned about in lecture when in the beginning of the year I definitely felt like an outsider in this space. Centennial Woods exemplifies a major theme of the culture in Vermont of prioritizing the outdoors and free spaces for people to recreate and practice experiential learning.
At the beginning of my time visiting my phenology site, I did not feel like I was a part of this place. But as I have continued to build a relationship with it and learned about it and the natural history, I now feel like I am a part of it. I have spent a lot of time at my site even when I wasn’t completing assignments and I feel like I understand the space. This blog is also a good way to cement that I have been there and on the off chance that someone finds it in the future, they will think I was a part of this spot in the future, too.
