Over break, I promised my little brother I’d drive him where ever he wanted to do some photography. He has been getting into nature photography, so we drove 20 minutes and a few towns over to get to Tinker Nature Park. A perfect spot to compare to my phenology place here in Burlington. Located a short drive from the heart of Rochester, NY, Tinker Nature Park features “fairy houses” and a few nice walking trails.
Above are a few maps showing the land and location of Tinker Nature Park compared to the Greater Rochester Area and Burlington, VT.
The ecosystem is similar to that of Rock Point, however the seasons have changed drastically since I’ve last been to my location in Vermont, making this a bit difficult. I selected a place surrounding a small segment of the trail, similar to my place here. There were only a few leaves remaining, standing out in the greys and browns of fall. The most common trees which kept their leaves looked almost like immature black cherry trees, the branches speckled with little black berries. There were also barberry bushes scattered around and caught our eye for photos with their bright red berries and red-orange leaves. I am not too great at identifying trees from their bark, so I had a tough time deciphering the overstory species without their leaves. There was an abundance of coarse woody debris, much of it covered in “scales” or shelf fungi. I also noticed some burls on trees, which was super cool to see in person after hearing about it. We came across this one tree stump missing some of it bark to reveal a swirly pattern carved on the wood inside, likely from an Emerald Ash Borer.
I used to visit Tinker as a kid on field trips as they have a little nature center on the property too. I really enjoyed my time outside with my little brother, even if my toes were frozen and I couldn’t really feel my face. I pointed out the things I recognized from class in the ecosystem, and the things which I had no idea about. Being with family this past week has helped me understand how truly grateful I am for my opportunities here in Vermont.
Regarding an “Honorable Harvest”, I chose not to leave anything behind as the location is a shared space. There is a sign at the head of the trail saying “leave only footprints behind and take nothing but photographs”, and I wanted to respect that wish. The land’s gift to me was a lovely day spent with my little brother.
