The trees are no longer barren and still, now holding new life. Many trees are beginning to fill out with dense greenery and others are beginning to bud. What isn’t already alive and ready for the summer is beginning to wake up and bloom. The canopy is full of chirps from birds and the rustling of foraging squirrels. Although the forest floor is still littered with fallen leaves, the browns mix with the greens from the buckthorn shrubbery and the patches of moss on the large fallen tree that lays in the middle of my spot.
Nature and culture intertwine here through nearby human influences. While this is a place seemingly untouched by all things outside of it, upon closer inspection human activity can be seen. Trash left behind and noise pollution from the nearby road, as well as domestic animals trespassing on the land. However, it can also be used as a place of quiet reflection and a chance to be enveloped in nature. I consider myself a part of this place. I have been coming here almost the entire academic year and have seen this place change throughout the seasons. I have used this phenological spot as an escape, a place to think peacefully and just be in nature. Every time I have come here, I have made sure to respect it. Never leaving anything behind and being careful to leave the nature undisturbed.
