It started to rain as soon as I arrived at the trail entrance to East Woods. I had looked at the forecast, and knew what I was in for, but there was no other time this week for me to make the trip and I promised myself I would find the time to go every week.

It was immediately apparent that the woods looked thinner, in that most of the deciduous trees shed their leaves since last week. The group of Eastern Hemlocks that I noticed last time were even a bit more bare, leading me to believe that the wind and rain lately weren’t kind to them.

This was the first visit where I could see my breath. It was finally seriously cold. I noticed that almost all of the American Beechs I saw last time around my spot were either brown-leaved, or bare. I was proud of myself being able to spot this change so quickly.

In only a week the appearance of the spot changed substantially. The maples in the area were completely bare, as were the towering Northern Red Oaks. The Eastern White Pines, Eastern Hemlocks, and remaining browned Beechs were the only trees still clothed.

I also noticed an increase of moss on the fallen trees, since last time (during which it had increased from the time before). I could hear less birds but that might’ve been because of the rain. I’m enjoying taking the same panoramic photo each time and adding them to the randomized header, but I realize it might be difficult to tell the order, so I will make a separate post for them.