This week, I walked down to Centennial Woods to check in on the changes in the trees, wildlife, and other ecological patterns. When I first found my sit spot, I immediately noticed the number of leaves that had fallen since the last time I’d visited. The entire ground was covered in leaves, specifically sugar maple, red maple and birch leaves. Much of the canopy of the area had been cleared of leaves, however, the leaves that still remained mainly belonged to oak trees, specifically white oaks, with a few sugar maple trees still hanging onto some of their leaves.

During my time in the woods, I tried focusing on the sights and sounds around me. I mainly listened for animals, although I caught the occasional car or motorcycle engine popping. I heard a few different bird calls, including chickadees, many Golden-crowned Kinglets chirping back and forth, and a woodpecker pecking at a tree in the distance. There wasn’t much human activity, and the wind was mostly still.

Finally, as I was leaving, I noticed the colorful mushrooms that I had found on some of the fallen logs when I was in the woods last were gone. Most of the fallen logs were covered in just moss, if anything.