Changes in the season are prevalent throughout the Vermont landscape. In my site the ferns have turned to a light yellow and brittle. Yellow pine needles cover the ground like a blanket and small white mushrooms peak through the moist ground. The Eastern White Pine trees and Norther White Cedars are still fully covered in needles because they are evergreen trees, meaning they don’t drop their leaves for the change of the season. The site is quieter than it used to be. Less chirping of birds and singing of bugs and frogs. A lot of birds have flown south due to the dropping temperatures in Vermont.

I was sitting in my site observing the landscape and a great horned owl flew onto a branch that stands over Centennial brook. It brought a presence into the space that no other creature would have. The birds in Centennial Woods were spooked by its appearance. Blue jays made long screeching calls and chickadees bounced around in the trees to see what was up. As I was leaving my site, I saw an owl pellet on the ground next to a fallen log, so clearly its not the first time an owl has visited my site.