Today was my last visit to Trinity Woods- at least for this semester. It’s been super interesting to see it change throughout the seasons of my first year at UVM. The sites changed drastically with the seasons, and some of the landmarks I’d grown to be familiar with looked completely different under a blanket of snow than it did on a rainy day. My favorite of these landmarks is probably the fungi-covered log, something that has been continuously documented throughout my months here.

You can definitely see the changes just on this one log when looking back at old posts, making this my favorite piece of the landscape. Over time, Trinity Woods has largely remained pretty similar geographically, but watching much of the color fade from the overstory as winter came was fascinating. Now, as Spring is just starting to ramp up, we’re seeing some of that bright green return to the site. It’s cool to see new understory growth and development, mainly by a variety of maple species:

Although it was super rainy today, I still took the time to return to my sit spot and sketch it (the best I could, at least)

Compared to how it really looked:

It’s definitely interesting to see how the culture intertwines with the nature here, just seeing that there are so many obvious signs of human traffic. Often, I can see ashy spots with burnt logs where someone likely held a campfire, and of course, there’s the frequent trash. It can be frustrating that this is the evidence of our “culture” here, but the only thing in my power is to clean up what I can and reduce the damage done.

I don’t personally consider myself a part of this space, but it has certainly grown to be a part of me. Since I don’t live on Trinity, it’s not really an area that I explore often, and it can be a little out of the way at times. I’m glad I’ve grown closer with Trinity Woods, and I don’t personally need to feel like a part of the setting to feel a connection to it. Until next year!