There are some noticeable phenological changes that I observed when I went to my location this week. There is more of an O layer of pine needles and leaves. I visited soon after a rain event most of the island that I was standing on was covered in a few inches of water. This created some new channels around the main island and I could still see some creek chub (semotilus atromaculatus) activity in the deeper pools of the brook. The shrubs north of my spot have begun to lose their leaves. A small sugar maple is almost completely bare of leaves and a young hemlock is missing most of its needles. I assume the hemlock has some sort of sickness because it is an evergreen and should not be shedding as the seasons change. The water temp feels like it is still in the low 50’s to high 40’s—warmer than I expected at this time of year with this air temperature.