A UVM blog Spring Phenology Blog – Wichita Keen

Hello again, and welcome to my final blog for the year. I had an amazing time getting to know my phenology spot and connecting with it on a deeper level. During my very first visit of the year, my site was DEAD – the grass was brown and dried, the trees had lost all of their leaves, and there was no sign of life anywhere in the area.

Luckily, upon returning to my site just the other day, life was abounding! The trees were in full bloom, all of the surrounding grass and vegetation had grown back and was as green as ever, and many Squirrels, Robins, European Starlings, and Seagulls were foraging around and enjoying this return of spring.

The water level of my pond seems to have stayed relatively the same, although there a quite a few more rocks in the water that I am able to see clearly now that I did not see before.

The major landmarks in my spot are the two bigger spillway pipes on either side of the pond, and the large rocks placed in and along the ponds edge. All of the trees and shrubs in the area are also pretty central to my site! There aren’t a whole lot of minor landmarks though, as everything is front and center at my site.

I have a unique site due to how urbanized it is. This site is a constructed water reservoir, built by UVM over winter. My site has many different foot paths leading to various places around it, so it experiences a lot of human interaction. For my space, culture and human interaction are very prominent in the functioning of the ecosystem. Students pass by this spot constantly, and the use of the nearby Amphitheater as a spot of relaxation, connection, and recreation adds to the intertwined-ness of human/nature interactions at my site. My site is also pretty aesthetically pleasing, so I’m sure students stop by every once and a while and admire the spot.

Overall, I would consider myself as part of this space. For me, I feel a lot more connected than other people might because of how often I see it/walk past it every day and how close it is to where I live on campus. Walking past my site every day enhances the feeling of connectedness I have with it; I know that at any time, I can walk a few meters out of my way when going to class and sit down to enjoy nature at my site for a couple of minutes. I have found definite significance in this place, and I think I will continue to feel so in the rest of my years on campus.

Well, this is Wichita, signing off for the last time. Have a great summer, and make sure to get outside!

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For this week’s blog post, I had intended to return to my phenology spot and document the new signs of spring. I, unfortunately, was met with a huge dump of snow when I looked out my window on the day that I planned on venturing out. I was nervous that this sudden, last hurrah of winter had eliminated all possibility of being able to identify the signs of spring. And although the frigid conditions and snowy landscape might’ve hidden spring for my sight today, I am lucky that I walk by my phenology spot almost every day, so I am still able to recount the past week or so before it got cold again.

I often saw small sprouts of green popping up around the pond, and many squirrels scurrying around the perimeter, looking for the acorns they buried oh-so-long-ago. I also heard and saw some crows circling in the sky above me as I walked, and several other chirps from some birds unknown to me. Although I am not able to remember exactly what vegetation might have been budding at the time, the trees and shrubs surrounding the areas definitely began to look much livelier than they did in the cold winter months.

Overall, the sudden winter-wonderland we were all greeted with on Saturday morning was a nice surprise and reminder of how much power nature has over itself, and that you can never rely too much on the seasons to make up their minds! I can’t wait to return to my phenology spot once all this snow has cleared, but for now, I’m going to enjoy all the winter activities I can before it’s too late!

Signing out,

Wichita <3

P.S. Because of the snow, there was not much to document visual-wise, so there are unfortunately no pictures for this post. ):