{"id":61,"date":"2019-11-12T12:54:04","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T17:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/esjaffe\/?p=61"},"modified":"2019-11-12T12:54:04","modified_gmt":"2019-11-12T17:54:04","slug":"phenology-and-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/esjaffe\/2019\/11\/12\/phenology-and-place\/","title":{"rendered":"Phenology and Place"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This trip to my site was quite different from ones in the past. Snow-covered the ground, so the usually green path was a blanket of white.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The snow cover changed my site quite a bit, the central area next to the footbridge that used other tall grasses growing now shows those same grasses that have turned brown and are weighed down by snow.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some areas that still had green plants but they seemed like they were starting to fade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sense of place in my site has changed, different animals are now active, plants in different states of life now dominate the ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is obvious that there is a lot of water or snowmelt moving through the floodplain into the stream below. The footbridges are covered in snow and there were puddles of water on either side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me I feel my strongest sense of place in forests, so spending time at my phenology site definitely makes me feel connected. However, this was my first time being in a forest during the winter, while there was snow in the air and covering the ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So while the forests have always had a strong sense of place to me seeing a forest covered in snow disconnect me from the location. The forests I am used to remaining green year-round, so exploring the snow-covered forests is a new experience that I need to get acquainted with to establish a stronger sense of place.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My place has had many phases in its lifetime. And I’m sure that it sense of place has changed quite a bit as its uses changed. When Vermont had lots of sheep grazing and centennial woods was a part of that. My site would have been missing many of the characteristics that give it its sense of place.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Large trees would have been removed and the floodplain would have been described and grazed which would have inhibited the ability of the floodplain to drain correctly.
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