As the semester is comes to a close, and everyone on campus has gone home for the holidays, it is now time for the NR001 students to find a new phenology blog spot close to their own hometown! I have chosen the lovely NATURE STUDY WOODS, located a 30 minute bike ride or 15 minute or ride away from my house. I am extremely familiar with this location, as I have plenty a time taken hikes and walks with friends and family through here, and have even gone fishing a few times here with my boyfriend. It is located directly behind my high school.

In terms of comparing Nature Study Woods in New Rochelle, NY to Crescent Woods in Burlington VT, they have a lot of similarities, and a lot of differences.

To start with similarities, both Nature Study Woods and Crescent Woods have a source of water running through them. While Crescent Woods has Englesby Brook, Nature Study Woods has the Hutchinson River, named after Anne Hutchinson. Both are also located in an area surrounded by residential neighborhoods.

In terms of difference, Nature Study Woods is a lot larger, as it is a 3.5 mile trail that is relatively flat, unlike Crescent Woods that is smaller but with a much heavier embankment. Nature Study Woods is expansive, and easily has a lot more foot traffic, with wider packed trails and more evidence o human interaction such as footprints and litter. Nature Study Woods also does not have as much of a drastic leaf color change as Crescent Woods likely because of its more southern location.

With similarity and difference in mind, Nature Study Woods holds a very significant place in my heart as it has for my whole adolescent and now adult life, and it will only grow as I continue to track its pieces, patterns, and processes even further.