Just walking into the woods, I can already feel and see the changes that fall is bringing to Centennial Woods compared to my last visit in early September. Leaves fall and crunch beneath my feet and are a plethora of beautiful colors. The air is crisper, and with the rustle of the wind acorns threaten to knock me in the head as they fall to the ground.
That being said, these are just some general observations I made about my place as I went there for the first time and acquainted myself with my spot. There is not a ton of vegetation or organic matter in my place; it is mostly leaf litter and pine needles. There are a few ferns scattered about, as well as some herbaceous plants I was unable to identify. I was able to identify a few poison ivy plants however, and will make sure to keep my distance from them! I did a quick test on the soil texture, and it was very sandy, with a little bit of loam. If I had to guess, the soil’s pH would fall on the acidic side due to the presence of the pine needles.
I was happily able to identify almost all of the trees that exist within my place. The list goes as follows: a LOT of black cherry, red maple, Norway maple, sugar maple, eastern white pine, american elm, and an american beech.