Phenology :)

It’s a new semester and a new look has come upon the spot in which I consider a little escape from reality. Here there has been snow recently and boy is it crunchy! Although it has been quite warm out recently, the snow has come back with some rain that has turned the ground into a snowy but also a frozen muddy mess.

However, there still has been some activity throughout this little getaway. Some fat gray squirrels have been having some fun in the snow, leaving their heavy tracks in the snow around the base of the trees. I found one today that was munching on an acorn or some type of nut for a midday snack.

Here the trees have lost their leaves except for the conifers and the American Beech which doesn’t lose its leaves very quickly. There were a couple branches from the Sugar Maple that had fallen sometime in the recent past before I got there.

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As I have said before, my sense of place isn’t just because I am in a certain place but with who I am with and the feel I get from being where I am with them. Sure, there are places around me that I could describe as a place that is somewhere I feel the most at “home” however, I feel that the most when I am around my family. They say home is where the heart is and I believe that to be true. The past three months I have been up in Vermont, a place I had only been a couple times before deciding to live there for the next few years. I love it up there but I still am working on my sense of place there. Coming home for the break has allowed me to feel like I know exactly where I am and who is around me. Being surrounded by my family and getting back to the things I grew up doing have given me the feel of just being able to relax and not stressed. I realized what I missed doing and being able to do those things brings so much happiness back into my life. 

            One of those things is going for drives with my brother. We play all sorts of music and just drive around with no real destination. Most times we are looking for a spot to take pictures as he is a photographer (see some new pics below from our latest outing). I find that traveling with my family is a big part of my sense of place here because whenever we travel, we drive so it gives us time to talk and fool around with each other. I also missed being with my dogs and especially sleeping with my big baby, Koda. He’s a pit bull, lab, retriever mix that was a rescued from the streets of Baltimore City. It is likely that he was bred for dog fights as most are that are rescued by BARCS. Him and I bonded right away. As soon as we met, we were attached. I can’t imagine how it must have felt for him when I left… 

            Being back home has provided me with a wealth of much needed relaxation. It has given me the chance to slow down and think about what everything really means to me. My home is in Arbutus, a small town in the suburbs of Maryland. Here there are still leaves on the trees and there’s not a single chance of snow in the near future. The grass is dry and brown as there hasn’t been rain in a bit. The skies are blue and the sun is shining. Not much has changed around here since I have left besides the temperature. 

            This year my family is hosting Thanksgiving dinner. My mom and I will be up to our necks in all sorts of foods prepping for Thursday. This is another thing that really drives my sense of place home, baking and cooking with my family and just being able to see them all at once. My mom’s side lives around us and this is one of those times of the year when I get to see them all at once. It’s so nice to just be around everyone that you know and love. I have also been able to see some of my friends from home as they go to different schools than me. We’ve been able to catch up and talk about all the new things and people in our lives. 

            Getting back into the things I used to be able to do like driving, being with old friends, and being with my family at home have really been beneficial for me. I needed the time away from the business and drama of college life…

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Sense of place is not a sense but rather a feeling. Unlike nature and humans, I don’t believe that your sense of place changes much or at all. It’s a feeling that comes and goes as time and location changes, but it in itself doesn’t change. 

            Since the first time I laid eyes on my site, there have been mainly physical changes to the area. However, these changes can cause a mental state change as well. What I mean by this is that even though the color changing of the leaves and the snow are beautiful, when those are gone, the trees are bare and desolate. The area looks dead and desolate which can put my mindset into a tizzy. Like I said before, most of the trees have lost their leaves at this point and the colors of the last tree with leaves are gorgeous but can’t really compete with the bare trees that surround it. The squirrels and chipmunks were storing up for the winter, but now I hardly ever see a squirrel and the chipmunks have all disappeared. My area gets cold pretty fast too because there is nothing to block the wind anymore and it’s hard to stay out there very long. These factors have changed my liking for being there, which in turn alters my sense of place there because it is not somewhere enjoyable to be anymore. 

            I don’t know much about the history of my place besides the fact that it is a part of campus. I think that if a place does have a history however, it is more enjoyable and you can think about the different factors that led to the spot being what it is now. You can imagine how this place was when whatever happened in the past happened. I think it would give a place more character and bring it to life a little more, especially in the barren winter. 

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Going back to my location and seeing how it has changed is always fun to do. As it is, I can walk pass my spot everyday if I wanted to, but I usually don’t stay because I am off to class or its cold or nasty out. Either way though, I notice new things each time I go. Some days I’ll see more squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) than chipmunks (Tamias striatus) but other days I won’t see any at all. On my last visit I didn’t see any chipmunks but saw nearly seven squirrels. They’re all getting ready for the snowy months ahead. Recently, some folks have come in and planted new shrubs/bushes in the garden next to the Norway spruces. To name a few, there is the Bar Harbor Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Bar Harbor’), the Purple Leaf Sand Cherry bush (Prunus x cistena), the Cheesehead plant (Potentilla fruticosa ‘SMPFMY’), and the Spilled Wine plant (Weigela florida ‘Bokraspiwi’). These new additions to my area I believe will brighten up the place, although I am not too sure how they will do being freshly planted and with the snow on the way. Anyways, they each have either colorful leaves naturally or will have bright flowers later on in their growing period. As I was walking, I also noticed a holly bush (Ilex aquifolium) there too because the red berries popped out against the barren area. That’s another thing, now the Sugar Maples, that are a large part of my area, have lost all their leaves now! However, the still unidentified tree behind the bench, I’ve tried my best to identify it but have no luck, is starting to turn a vibrant orange and yellow. The way it is turning is from the top right corner of the tree onward which is interesting. 

            Mapping the area was a new prospect for me. I’ve made maps before but doing this one was different because it was a way to record the fact that this is my spot. It was a bit challenging to do because when I was doing it, it was very windy and cold outside… However, it made me more aware of how close and where everything is. Plus, I found new things while I walked around tried my best to replicate where everything was. 

My phone died while I was out there last time so I don’t have pictures of all the plants or animals. Also some just weren’t there when I was out taking pictures.

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Although my location may not be in an area secluded from many people, it has its own charms and is what you make of it. The area, that I consider my own, is adorn with two large maples that, especially at this time of year, are grand and beautiful. Resting beneath one of the maples, next to a tree I have yet to identify, there is a sweet little picnic bench. At said picnic bench, I have enjoyed many days simply sitting and watching the multitudes of chipmunks and squirrels run around finding various nuts or chasing each other up the trees. For me it is a treat to see so many chipmunks because where I am from it is a rare occurrence even in the state park…

My location is not one that is particularly hard to find as it is right on campus where anyone can find it. If you couldn’t already figure out exactly where my space is, let me say that you’re in the right place if you walk out of the side entrance to Marsh Life right across from the lecture hall. 

When I had first found this spot as a place of solace, it was still early in the semester and the leaves were green and there was warm air and sunshine. Now that the temperature has changed quite a bit, the leaves have been changing too and boy is it amazing! It is a very calming place to sit and do homework or just be with yourself and the world around you.

Some might say that rainy days are no fun, but I honestly love them. In particular the hour or so right after it has stopped raining because there’s just a whole different feel. The colors are more vibrant, the air is chilly, and it smells like rain and it smells clean. It is a comforting feeling. There has been more rainy days lately and although I love them, the leaves on the trees surrounding my area have depleted rapidly… One of them is completely bare now and is prepping for the coming winter, but the other with the bench under it, still has bright orange leaves. It’ll be sad when the time comes for the whole area to be bare, but then there will be a blanket of white and it will still be gorgeous. 

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Welcome to my lil slice of the phenology project :)

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