November 7th, 2022

Exploring my Senses at Rock Point

I sat quietly in this area of Rock Point for 15 minutes, and there was definitely a lot for my senses to take in. The first thing that stood out to me while I sat here was the noise of the rushing waves. I came on a windy day, so they were louder than usual. I could have spent the entire 15 minutes just listening to the waters of Lake Champlain. I also watched the leaves blow around in the heavy gusts of wind, making their final fall off of the trees, or blowing around on the floor of the Earth. The leaves were very crunchy and mostly consisted of maple leaves, however there were also leaves of oaks, basswood, birch, beech, etc. One specific thing that I noticed was that a lot of the rocks were covered in moss. The moss was very soft and bright green, and it really stood out to me. It was very warm outside, the sun was on my face and the breeze was blowing. Under my hands and feet I felt moss, lots of jagged rocks, clovers, the leaves, tree roots, and the dirt and soil underneath.

Since visiting last, the most prominent change in the vegetation at Rock Point has been the trees losing their leaves. They are much more bare and gray, and obviously the landscape looks much different when the leaves are covering the ground. I noticed that some of the birch trees seemed like they were peeling. Also, only some plants in the understory really still have their leaves. The more I recognized this, the more I realized that the majority of the leaves that are still present and green are on buckthorn plants. The species has taken over in some areas throughout Rock Point.