Game of Thrones references aside, it appears that winter is coming to Vermont, and my site is feeling it. It seems like my site is already shifting to more winter style vegetation. The Eastern Hemlocks, as expected, haven’t changed since the first visit. The vegetation underneath, however, has already begun to wither and die. The jewelweed for example, which at one point, lined the banks of the stream with abundance, has largely wilted and died. The Buckthorn and Barberry has also continued to yellow and lose its leaves. The stream itself has appeared to increase in volume again, following another rainy week in Burlington region. There were now some appearances of white water in the riffles of the stream that I hadn’t noticed before. The extent of the water had also increased, flooding the rocky bottom stream bed at the northern part of the site.
Notice the appearance of white water as an indicator of greater stream volume. (McHale, 2016)
A southward facing photo from the first week. (McHale, 2016)
The same shot, three weeks later. Notice the greater stream volume and yellowing of vegetation. (McHale, 2016)
A shot of the wilting jewelweed. See you next spring! (McHale, 2016)
The more water appeared to flood the rock and gravel bed, and form a small pool adjacent to the running water. (McHale, 2016)
This week I also sketched an event map showing some of the thoughts I had at my site and some of the events that occurred there, in an artistic manner. Please enjoy!
The “Event Map” of the Potash Brook tributary. (McHale, 2016)
