Today I went to my phenology spot to do my first blog post! It was parent’s weekend, so I went out to my site with my mom. It was a good morning hike. To get to my phenology spot from campus I make my way down to the waterfront via Main Street or College Street. From there, I take the bike path out towards Rock Point and North Beach. At North Beach, I hike along the water up towards the fence and along the trail. There is only one trail from here and it is pretty easy to find and follow. The trail leads to an intersection at a prairie where I turn to the right and then hang left, following the signs for the outdoor chapel. There is a clearing at the outdoor chapel, but the path continues behind it. Here, the path goes along the cliffs on the north side of Rock Point. There is a small clearing on the left of the trail as you come from the chapel. It’s not super obvious right away, but it is the first small opening. This is where my phenology spot is! There is a large white oak tree that also helps me recognize the spot each time. In addition to the large white oak tree, there is another smaller one at my spot as well as a few smaller American beech trees and many (in the area that I consider my phenology spot I counted 11) northern white cedars. The forest floor at my spot has many fallen white oak leaves and beech leaves (the freshly fallen ones were a beautiful yellow), and a few golden rod plants. There are also a couple of buckthorn plants at my site. When looking at my site, the vegetation is fairly dense, but it is not too hard to see through it. When standing at my site, I can see the lake through the trees. The lake and the cliffs on which my phenology spot are up on are part of the reason that I chose it. I knew that I wanted my phenology spot close to water, and Lake Champlain and Rock Point offered a great opportunity for this. I chose my particular spot on Rock Point though for the northern white cedar trees. I really love those trees, and they remind me of Lake Michigan and the property where my grandparents live. The spot really reminded me of that area of home to me, so I think the familiarity of it drew me to the spot in the end. I can’t wait to keep visiting it!
My phenology spot looking away from Lake Champlain.
Picture is mine.
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