{"id":1,"date":"2023-06-23T17:11:08","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T17:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/jpfessle\/?p=1"},"modified":"2023-07-11T18:13:08","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T22:13:08","slug":"hello-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/jpfessle\/2023\/06\/23\/hello-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Wonder Blog 2023 – Jack Fessler"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Entry #1, Lake Champlain, 6\/22\/2023, 8:00 PM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It’s a warm sunset here on the eastern coast of Lake Champlain, with temperature averaging around 70 degrees and clear skies, the conditions made for a perfect time for observations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned above, I am located on the eastern coast of Lake Champlain, around a 15-minute hike from North Beach and just past Lone Rock Point. This stretch of the coast of the lake is my personal favorite as there are numerous spots to hang out on the elevated lake-side and watch the sunset, and each spot just keeps getting better and better the further you go. I can see all the way to the New York side of the lake, along with the infinite amount of flies and nats just feet from my face. I can hear all of the birds surrounding me constantly talking to each other, and the smell of campfires extends to my spot from the beaches. I am currently sitting in a tree that is almost shaped exactly like a seat, which begs me to wonder if any outside influence occurred from humans or if this is just the way the tree grew. Below me is a large rock that has moss on almost every inch of it. Below that is a mixture of gravel and dirt. What stuck out to me was the lack of a certain size of stones. Not large in the sense of boulders, but not small in the sense of pebbles, but rather somewhere in the middle, a size that can fit in one’s hand but is not too small. The only conclusion I can draw from this would relate to the hobby of rock-skipping, and the popular trail route gives the supply of human interaction required for this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lake Champlain, June 22nd, 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Question Marathon: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. What is the current water temperature?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. How does the presence of micro-plastics affect the plant life? <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. When is the most popular hour for visible wildlife activity?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. How much has the shoreline changed due to erosion?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. What types of rock can be found in the area?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Which plant species dominates the area?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. What is the biggest threat in terms of invasive species?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. How does human presence affect the habitats of wildlife? (Hikers, bikers, passer-bys)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. What is the impact of climate change on this area?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. How does human urban development affect the habitats of wildlife?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. Is agricultural runoff on phosphorus visible in the lake’s levels?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  12. How does the slope of the land effect species of wildlife and plantlife?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  13. How does the % of coverage of dead plantlife differ along the coast?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  14. How has the vegetation changed over the years?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  15. What steps are being taken against invasive species?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  16. How does wildlife differ the further from the lake?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  17. What causes the difference in height in trees?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  18. How does the soil differ?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  19. Why does the soil differ?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  20. What are the effects of the difference in soils?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  21. What role do the seasons play in wildlife for land-animals?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  22. How have the species of fish in the lake changed over the years?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  23. What causes the change in species in the lake?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  24. What animal is on the very bottom of the food chain for this area? Top?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  25. What role does competition play within the wildlife of the area?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  26. Where is the biggest input of water to Lake Champlain?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  27. How much do fishing laws\/regulations\/seasons protect the various species in the lake?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    How have the species of fish in the lake changed over the years?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Over the past two centuries, there have been many changes to the species of fish in Lake Champlain. These changes come from physical, chemical, and biological alterations of the Lake that have led to the loss of two species, addition of 15, and the endangerment of 16 different species. Lake Trout and Atlantic Salmon were both lost before 1900 as a result of new dam constructions that cut off access to critical spawning areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (https:\/\/www.lcbp.org\/publications\/history-fish-fisheries-lake-champlain\/#:~:text=The%20lake%20currently%20supports%2072,(Sander%20vitreum)%20are%20declining.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I had a great time observing the coast of Lake Champlain during sunset. I have spent a lot of time down here for sunsets before but always for social reasons. This isolated experience allowed me to really take in much more of what surrounds me, and helped me remember that there is so much going on EVERYWHERE! Under every rock or dead log was an entire world within itself, with different types of bugs, soils, and plants. I would definitely like to go back and really examine everything that is going on under a single log.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Entry #2, Lake Champlain, June 28th, 4:00pm <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    I am visiting my spot alongside Lake Champlain again and the weather is fairly similar to last time. It is a little bit warmer, with the temperature being around 74 degrees with good visibility (able to see mountain range in NY).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Upon return to my spot alongside Lake Champlain, I was greeted with the familiar sounds and smells of the area. This time, I hiked an extra minute or two to another spot along the cliffside with an amazing view of the lake. Since I am relatively familiar with this area, I decided to do something a little different this time. I decided to isolate a single tree and really inspect all the life that crosses its path. What I mean by this is watching out for bugs and animals. However my presence scared away most animals, which left me just to the bugs. The first bug I saw was some sort of black ant, which had 6 legs and was fairly large for an ant. I did a little more research into it and made the educated guess that I was looking at a Carpenter Ant. I followed it for a couple of minutes, allowing me to see its questionable paths that it decides to take. In an effort to cover around 3 feet of distance along the bark of the tree, the ant made various turns and variations to his path, almost seeming as if it were trying to take the longest route possible to its destination. While this is questionable to me, it is also very possible and probable that this ant is not focused on its destination, but rather searching for something along the bark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Having spent a lot of time in Vermont myself, I am very familiar with Maple Trees. However, when it comes time to decipher different species of maple, I feel hopeless. I decided to change that by researching the specific maple tree that I was observing in the part above. First, I made a lot of observations and remarks about the size, leaves, and color of the tree, as I was not able to do the research on the spot, but had to depend on my observations later on in order to conduct effective research. After many comparisons of leaf size and color, I am drawn to the conclusion that I was observing a Silver Maple, or acer saccharinum<\/em>. My favorite fun fact about Silver Maples is that they have helicopters (seeds). You know, like the ones we all used to throw up in the air as kids, and watch it spiral down in an imitation of the aircraft’s propellers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Sketches<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"
    1. This is a leaf from the Silver Maple (acer saccharinum<\/em>) I was observing. It’s seemingly simple yet complicated pattern interested me and I wasted no time debating whether to sketch it, but rather spent a lot of time debating how to sketch it. It is labeled in the sketch as unknown because at the time I was unaware of it’s type.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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    2. This is a segment of the tree I was observing. To be completely honest, I was impressed by my first sketch and wanted to challenge myself with a harder object to sketch. I thought bark would be the right challenge, but it ultimately reminded me that I am no artist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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    3. I followed this Carpenter Ant (Camponotus<\/em>) around for a couple of minutes and wrote about it above. It was large for an ant so it made it easier to sketch and depict different body parts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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    4. The last object I sketched was a simple pebble that was one among thousands surrounding my feet. It caught my eye because many of the other pebbles were jagged and sharp on the edges, while this one seemed to be rounded down from weathering. This questioned me as I was around a hundred feet above Lake Champlain, which made me shift my thinking to rivers, streams and rain carrying it to my location.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    This was a very relaxing activity for me and even sparks interest into drawing and sketching as a hobby. I have never been good at sketching but I also have never put more than 5 minutes into it before now. I am quite happy with some of my sketches and had a lot of fun trying to get right proportions, lighting, and sizes. This enabled me to stay focused as I was genuinely interested in what I was doing, and I have ADHD so that does not come often. I think next time I am going to try to focus more on some of the roots of the trees, as many pop up from the ground in weird but incredibly cool places. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Entry #3, Sugar Pond, Hastings, New York<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Unfortunately for this project, due to the holiday, I had to drive down from Burlington to my hometown in New York. While this was a great time spent with my family, it did thrown a small wrench in the consistency of my wonder blog locations. It was a very hot day on July 2nd, with temperatures in the high 80’s, and a scorching sun above with little to no clouds, due to the timing being around 2:30pm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    While everything about this location was new compared to my old blog’s location, there were still many new aspects that caught my attention. It is important to note that I have been coming to this pond around once a year or so, making it a relatively familiar place for myself. However, during my most recent time here, I found myself paying attention to far different things that I usually do. The first thing was the tadpoles, and the sheer amount of them. While I have seen them from time to time as a kid, I found myself sneaking up on less-visible spots of the pond and then jumping out to see how many swim away from my shadow. There must have been hundreds, all swimming in unison away from my daunting figure. While I attempted to capture a couple photographs of this occurring, the required surprise factor made it impossible to keep my phone still enough for a valuable photograph. One of the most interesting aspects of the pond has been the added species of large koi fish, around 1-2 feet in length, easily being the largest animals in the water. During my time observing, I was thrown back to a distant memory of years ago where I caught one of these koi fish with my friend. It was in that moment where I connected the dots: the koi fish was in the exact same little cove that it was in around 7 years ago, making me guess that the very same fish I caught so long ago might be the same fish I am looking at right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The biggest natural history mystery stems from my experience at this location. Like I mentioned above, I have came here before a couple of times, most of the time for fishing. During all of these times, there are 3 possible different species of fish to catch: sunny (pumpkinseed), small catfish, and the added koi fish. The presence of koi is a direct result of human interaction with this habitat, and the other two species can be found in every other small pond in the area. What is a mystery to me is the lack of a single species that is in every other small pond and even bigger bodies of water nearby: bass, specifically largemouth. Why are there no bass?<\/strong> In every other pond and body of water, bass is the number one option for species to fish for due to their abundancy, but not at Sugar Pond. While my first reaction was to point fault towards the koi, upon further research I realized this was not appropriate. Koi are a peaceful species and do not harm other species of fish, immediately eliminating them off the suspect list. What I believe the main culprit to be is limited connectivity. There are very few streams that flow into Sugar Pond, while also having a lot that flow out. This led me to believe that Sugar Pond could be isolated and thus eliminating the possibility of a source population being nearby, leaving the only chance for the presence of bass to be up to human involvement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    1. This was the first photograph I took upon arrival at the pond. While I was unhappy with some of the lighting of the picture (specifically the bright rock to the right), I am happy with the timing as I was able to capture not just one but two tadpoles in the light. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"
    2. This tree immediately caught my attention and was begging to be captured in a photograph. You can see the natural process of this tree’s downfall represented in the bottom of the tree, while seeing the human’s process of this tree’s downfall on the top, as it has been perfectly cut.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"
    3. This was my favorite photograph that I took during my time. It worked out where this frog was directly under my outreached hand and camera while standing on a bridge. The timing was also incredible because, and I am not kidding at all, but as soon as I took this photograph, the frog submerged back into the water, as if it knew it had done it’s job for the photograph. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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    4. Originally, I was going to make this photograph about the path, specifically it’s cross-section with a small stream. However, upon more thought about this picture and its lighting, I decided to crop it slightly so it is more focused on the tree in the sun, and how it almost seems to be a lamp in a shaded area. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"
    5. This was as I was leaving the area, and under the assumption I was done and liked the photographs I had. However after just a single glance at this, I knew I had a better option. With all the surrounding plant life and a perfectly clear sky, this dead tree positioned perfectly in the center demanded my attention. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Everything about my thought process was different when I was in photographer mode. The most dominant thought in my head was lighting, I tried to find objects, animals and pretty much anything that caught light rays from the sun yet had a dark surrounding. After I while of this and a handful of successful finds, I switched it up and focused more on timing, as I believe that is the most interesting aspect of a photo (in my opinion). That led me to the frog and tadpole photographs, which I am happy with. It was similar to my thought process during sketching but last time I was much more focused on the small detail, while this time being more dedicated to the overall aspects of a specific item or animal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Entry #4, Lake Champlain, Burlington Vermont<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Now that the holiday weekend is over, I am back in Burlington and at my original wonder blog location. However, since this is the final installment of my wonder blog, I decided to switch it up a little. Rather than returning to my spot on the edge of the lake near Lone Rock, I did not go as far and instead stayed on the Waterfront Park. I walked all around at first, somewhat aimlessly but also with a very open mind, which added an aspect of difficulty in finding a new spot to report about. After a bit, there was one thing that I could not take my attention off of for personal reasons: Jerry William’s “Amphibians” sculpture. For those of you who have never seen it or just don’t know the name, here is a photograph from the Library of Congress:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/item\/2017882873\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    For the past two years, I have been venturing down to North Beach via the bike path along the shoreline of the Lake Champlain. And for the past two years, I have paid little to no attention to this sculpture, until today. Upon me discovering my interest in it, I took it upon myself to do some research about the sculpture and find out more about its creation and inspiration. After a little bit of digging through Burlington City Arts’ official website, I came over some pretty interesting information. It was originally designed to have a specific orientation in order to symbolize a solstice marker, but instead was placed without regarding the calendar aspect of the sculpture. The two salamanders on the sculpture symbolize “our dependence on clean waters and man’s amphibious origins. After coming over this interesting information, I knew I was going to sketch the sculpture, but was unsure about how. Here was my thought process: if I only sketch this sculpture and nothing else around it, it seemed as if I was only appreciating the aspect that relates to humans about the piece, as it would be focused on our origins. What made more sense to me was to keep the sculpture small in the sketch, and include a lot around it. I see this as a representation of how small humans are in the world in reality. If one (who is aware of the meaning behind it) were to look at the sculpture from 2 feet away, they would focus entirely on how the sculpture relates to them, I wanted to do the opposite. I also understand that I am not the best artist, but the hidden meaning I put behind this piece is something that I am proud of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Highsmith, C. M., photographer. (2017)\u00a0Jerry Williams’s “Amphibians” sculpture on the Burlington, Vermont, waterfront. United States Vermont Burlington, 2017. -10-01. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/item\/2017882873\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Weizenegger, M. (n.d.). Amphibians<\/em>. Amphibians | Burlington City Arts. https:\/\/www.burlingtoncityarts.org\/amphibians<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Entry #1, Lake Champlain, 6\/22\/2023, 8:00 PM It’s a warm sunset here on the eastern coast of Lake Champlain, with temperature averaging around 70 degrees and clear skies, the conditions made for a perfect time for observations. As mentioned above, I am located on the eastern coast of Lake Champlain, around a 15-minute hike from … <\/p>\n

    Continue reading “Wonder Blog 2023 – Jack Fessler”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8714,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"jpfessle","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/jpfessle\/author\/jpfessle\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/jpfessle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/jpfessle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/jpfessle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/jpfessle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8714"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/jpfessle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/jpfessle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/jpfessle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions\/35"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/jpfessle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/jpfessle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/jpfessle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}