I head out to my phenology spot after getting a severe weather alert for tomorrow evening. I realized that I needed to come out before everything was covered by snow. So I’m walking through the heavy mud in less-than ideal sneakers and a thick coat to keep the chill off my skin. It’s not working very well, but I’m too focused on not slipping to shiver.
When I finally get to my spot, its changed. The deciduous trees, most notably the Sugar Maple that stands next to me and the large American Beech in the center of my site are barren, even their last stubborn leaves have fallen to the ground, leaving dark twigs reaching into the air. The Eastern White Pines and Eastern Hemlocks are the same as ever though– just the carpet of pine needles below them have turned brown rather than orange. The ferns are also the same, still green after frost and snow.
Decomposition seems to be the lay of the land right now, the dead trees are damp with moisture and mold while the leaf litter is slowly turning to a dirt color. The world is quiet without any animals being obvious. No nesting, no bird calls. There is a hole in an Eastern White Pine that may be used as a shelter by some animals, but as of right now, there is nothing nesting there. Animal activity has never been obvious in this area, a well-trodden path makes it difficult for animals to make a home nearby, however, there are no more bird calls, there is instead just the silence of the wind.
Final Reflection
This is the final post on this site, which is a little sad. It was really interesting to see the changes in an Eastern White Pine stand, especially since we typically think of Evergreens as unchanging. My site was always calming to me and seeing the way the foliage changed color in the autumn was so interesting to me, as well as the rotting logs in my site. The amount of moisture in Vermont has made decomposition common in my site, which was interesting to observe. I know this site will continue to change, but as of now, thank you for reading this blog. Warm regards to all and happy 2024.