Salmon Hole Phenology

I’ve found my favorite mushroom of all time… such a beautiful fungi.

Leaves that shimmer

Shine and whisper

Through the trees

You hear us shiver

The cold air comes and with it rain

It pulls us down

We wince in pain

Is it time already?

We’ve just begun

All this weather has ruined our fun

I thought our colors had time to last

In prior years

Autumn was vast

As climate changes

So do we

Don’t take for granted

What you see

For soon you won’t

And nor shall we

The colors of

The Autumn tree

Visit 2!

Since my last visit here the leaves have begun to fall at a much higher rate, and the ground is covered in multi-colored leaves of all types.
I have noticed a few more mushrooms popping up around the bank and on tree trunks, indicating a more moist environment.

Back at Salmon Hole!

There are even more mushrooms than the last time and leaves are already changing and falling to the forest floor. The woods are beautiful this time of year, I am noticing so much plant diversity right before it begins to die for winter.

This is a location at Salmon Hole!

I chose this specific spot because of the vegetation, rocks, and water. I think it will be really cool to be able to see this spot change as the seasons change and as time progresses. It is relatively accessible from where I’m living; As shown in the map it is a short bike ride away.

Some common woody plants I found here include; American Beech, Paper Birch, Basswood, Black Cherry and I noticed some smaller shrubs like Barberry and Honey Suckle, both of which are invasive to the area. Along the waters edge, there was clear evidence of significant erosion surrounding many of the exposed tree roots and trunks. The bank of the river was loose soil and crumbling rocks.

There is also a highly concentrated population of mushrooms in this specific area of Salmon Hole. Mushrooms of all sizes are clinging to the damp or dead standing trees and poking out from the grassy understory.