Today I had planned to investigate the pH of the water in the wetland area and of the soil and rock, but I don’t have a soil pH kit yet and I forgot to bring test strips for the water. I spent an hour or so walking around and observing the quarry anyways.
Most of the changes I observed had to do with the foliage. A few Buckthorn plants had lost their leaves, and a few others had turned yellow, but most looked only slightly wilted. The ones with yellow leaves were all on the far side of the wetland, closer to the base of the cliff – I wonder if the soil quality or bedrock makeup had something to do with their leaves turning earlier. The leaves of the willow, Basswood, and beech trees were also turning yellow. Most of the asters had wilted and turned brown, and many of their leaves had turned yellow and red. The needles of a coniferous tree part way up the cliff face were turning brown and falling off. Next time I’m there I’ll try to identify it more conclusively. The tips of the leaves of a few Juniper trees had turned brown, but their bases were still green – I wonder what process this is. The leaves of the White oak saplings have turned a deep lustrous red. Many of the leaves of a plant I was unable to identify last week are also turning red. In addition to the changing foliage, I also noticed a deciduous tree that had half fallen over. I’m not sure how recently it fell (maybe it was a casualty of the recent rain and wind), and I wasn’t able to identify it.
Aster Conifer losing its needles
Juniper leaves turning brown Oak sapling
An unidentified plant A partly fallen tree
A murder of crows passed overhead while I was observing the plant life. I don’t think crows migrate, so they were probably just traveling locally. I also heard chickadee and bluejay songs, and saw a small tan-colored bird with a tufted head flitting between the branches of a beech tree.
While climbing part way up the cliff to get a better view of the whole quarry I noticed an distinct pattern of red, orange, and white stripes in the rock. The rock looks similar to the Dunham Dolostone I observed at Rock Point, but I’m caused the stripes. I would like to do more research into the site’s history as a quarry – jagged breaks in the rocks raise questions about the style and extent of mining.
The small tan bird perched in a tree Stripes on the cliff face
All images: Walsh, E. J. (2020). Redstone Quarry [Digital photograph].