This is the event map I made as I walked through my phenology spot. The map is somewhat accurate in terms of the location of things in relation to others. My previous posts and photos have been around the area of my chosen observation location, marked on the map in the upper left corner with a star. I decided to document my trip from my car to my phenology spot this time.My phenology spot is behind a neighborhood in my town. This is one of the roads in the neighborhood that I take before parking just before my phenology spot and walking. This is one of the three condo complexes that back up to my phenology spot. So far I haven’t noticed their impact on my spot, however, there is a neighborhood just behind here that has impacted my phenology spot. This is the path that leads to the tennis court for the residents. There are houses on either side of this path that are just out of the frame of the photo. It is frequently used and this path is a common walking path for residents in the area. I visited my spot on Friday morning when it was about 65 degrees outside. The sky was so blue and there were very few clouds. This photo and those following also show the height and abundance of conifers in this area. This is one of the houses that were just out of the frame of the other photo, shot from the back. This is taken on the corner of the tennis court, just before the path turns to the left before going off into the woods. This is the community tennis court. The doors are always open, but I never see anyone playing here. This tennis court may serve this neighborhood as well as the neighborhood on the other side of the wooded area behind it. This is the smaller path that is off of the far corner of the tennis court. The path goes into more wooded areas from here on out. Along this path there is a cleared area with very few trees. It looks like it has been logged in the past and shows many signs of this. One of these signs is the abundance of smaller trees and stumps that dot the area. Also there are some trees that appear to have had their crowns cut off.Further down the path is this larger path. I have been told that this path used to be an old logging trail, which would reflect the signs of logging and clearing of the trees in the area. Here is a photo of more of the old logging trail that continues on further to the right. This leads out to the neighborhood behind my phenology spot.This is the clearing in my phenology spot. It looks pretty much the same from my other visits. The shrubbery on the ground seems to have less green color and appears to be ready to hibernate for winter. There are fewer leaves still on the deciduous trees than my previous visits. Further to the left of my phenology spot this photo highlights the yellow shrubbery nicely. You can also see the abundance of coniferous trees in my spot.I noticed the large piles of pine cones in this specific area. I’m not sure why they all fell here or if they had been moved by squirrels or other small animals that may use pine cones as food. This area shows signs of deforestation with many stumps and down trees and branches dotting the area. I’m curious about the history of this area and if there truly is a history of logging and clearing through this region.I thought the mushrooms on this stump were cool. I tried to identify them and I think they are xeromphalina cauticinalis.This is the main path further down from my phenology spot. It is wide enough to support the idea of it previously having been a logging road. I heard a machinery noise at my phenology spot and decided to follow it. I ended up at someone’s house that was using a leaf blower. I’m disappointed that them using a leaf blower disrupted the quiet of my phenology spot and disrupted the animals in the area which prevented me from seeing their activity in the area. On my way walking the path back I noticed a garter snake. See if you can find him in the photo.Here’s a closer photo of the garter snake. He was minding his own business and slithered off into the woods. On my way out I took a photo of this house’s recycling bins. A majority of the houses in this neighborhood had recycling bins out and some even had compost buckets out.
