A UVM blog Rock Point Phenology

The weather has really warmed up over the past few weeks and there are now lots of flowers popping up through the soil. All the snow has finally melted and made its way back into lake Champlain. Many of the trees now have leaves and budding. My paper birch has now sprouted leaves. I might have missed when it was budding because the branches are so far away, or the budding happened very suddenly in the two weeks since my last visit when there was a lot of rain and warm weather. The weather was particularly beautiful this day as it was the first sunny day after a few days of rain. The wonderful spring weather and close proximity to easter just made the trip even more refreshing. I’m sad that there is only one more visit to rock point because it has been such a place of comfort for me over the semester. I will definitely continue to visit rock point regularly for the rest of my time at UVM.

Over break I visited the west Hampton dunes. It’s near fire island. At the end of the dunes there is a beautiful park called Cupsogue County Park. There is actually a native bird that nests there called the Atlantic Coast Piping Plover. I saw their nesting area. Seal are also common in the bay. I sadly did not see any while I watched the sunset over the bay. There were a lot of ferns and small bushes growing in the dunes. There were also some small pine trees inhabiting the dunes. Unfortunately I was not able to identify the tree.

Rock Point was a balmy 25°F today, but the beautiful sunset that I got to witness made up for the chilly weather. A lot has changed since my first visit to Rock Point, the temperature is significantly colder, the trees are bare, and ice covers some of the rocks and boulders close to the lake, and the sun now sets at 4:15pm.

The foliage has changed significantly from my first visit. The leaves that had painted the trees a beautiful array of orange, red and yellow my first trip, now they scatter the ground leaving the deciduous trees bare. While it is sad that the leaves no longer decorate the trees they have a greater purpose now as they decompose and put nutrients back into the soil for next year. Already this decomposition process can be seen as the leaves are now a dull brown, deteriorating back into the forest floor. The only persistent vegetation are the Northern White Cedars, which don’t loose their needles.

There isn’t much of a change in animal activity except there are not as many birds active in the area. At the beginning of the year there were many seagulls and other small finch-like birds. However, it is quieter now as it seems many of these birds might have started their migration. On the walk to the shoreline through the interior of the peninsula my friends and I heard a howl from the wooded area that could have been a coyote. It definitely didn’t sound like any dog I had ever heard, but that also could have been our imaginations running wild (the most probably case).

In my last trip to Rock Point this semester I was lucky enough to witness a beautiful sunset. The sun cast a golden glow over the Dolostone rocks, illuminating the cliff-line brilliantly. The sunset, in addition to the majestic lake and mountain range, made this my favorite visit yet. These were my favorite aspects of Rock Point, that no matter the weather, time of year, or time of day the view over the lake was so grand that it made me feel like I was part of something so much bigger then me. It took me away from any worries about school, personal life, or just stress in general and allowed me to just exist in a beautiful place. I also love the small hints of adventure I got from my outings there, like climbing my climbing bolder or even just the unpredictability of the weather. Rock Point was dependable and calming and yet provided a different adventure every visit.

This place is extremely special to me because it is my grandparents’ farm. I’ve spent much of my childhood here and have always loved this view. The tree with the bench swing is actually the first tree I ever climbed. Every Tuesday growing up, I used to go to my grandparents’ house after school. And every time I was always in awe of how beautiful the sunset was. Their house sits at the top of a hill overlooking the Lehigh valley. This place is where my love for the outdoors began and I hope you can appreciate the simple beauty of the Pennsylvania countryside as well.

The ecology and phenology of Pennsylvania is not that different from Vermont. Many of the same trees are common in Pennsylvania like red oaks, maples (the one above is an October Glory). My grandparents farm also has an abandoned apple and peach orchard in the background of the pictures. They also have a beautiful sycamore tree in their yard. PA also has an abundance of white tailed deer and a growing beaver population like Vermont. I think the main difference between Vermont, the Burlington area especially, and my grandparents’ farm is the soil composition. Pennsylvania soil is extremely rich, loam soil, where as Vermont soil is a lot rockier and sandier. Agriculture is huge in Pennsylvania for this reason, so while Vermont is mostly forest, PA is mostly agricultural land, especially center and eastern Pennsylvania. The season transition from fall to winter happens a lot more gradually in Pennsylvania than Vermont. The cold air from the arctic jet stream doesn’t hit us as hard so our winters are much more mild. So Pennsylvanias phenological transition from fall to winter, while similar to Vermont’s, happens later and at a slower pace.

Something about the combination of water and a beautiful cliff-lined coast makes rock point such a unique and settling place to be. As I relax and take in the blissful tranquility of nature’s processes around me I feel completely at peace and grounded in my space. My “sitting rock” is a large dolostone boulder that fell off the reverse thrust fault. Its’s perfectly angled so that I can comfortably sit or lay on it to take in my surroundings. Clouds hover over the green mountains that span across the other side of the lake, with rays of sun shining through small gaps, reflecting brilliantly across the water. Rain is in the forecast in the next hour but as of now that couldn’t matter less as the perfect breeze whistles across the lake, cooling me off on this unusually warm November day (71°).

This welcoming breeze brings with it the melodic lull of steady waves crashing into my sitting rock. The tranquil rhythm of the waves is enough to lull anyone to sleep, and I almost fall victim to its comforting rhythm. As I look out over the water and listen to the crashing of the waves I realize thats really all I hear. There is no rustling of leaves anymore as they have all fallen off, there is no chirping of birds or splash of a fish jumping. It seems like despite the warm weather nature is ready for the silence of winter. Rock point is a place where silence doesn’t feel empty, but instead fulfilling and healing. The steadiness of this place provides me with a way to recharge and reset before the next hectic week.

15 minutes is a short time and apparently plenty of time for a rain shower to race across the lake. The distant clouds are now suddenly very near and the smell of rain is evident in the air. The breeze has transformed into a steady gust across the lake and the gentle waves have been whipped into a hectic frenzy. Rock Point is apparently ready for the hectic week too. My time to re-enter into the cacophony of reality has come and I must leave my little sitting rock until next time.

The only changes to Rock Point is that most of the foliage has fallen off leaving barren trees except for the Northern White Cedar, which keeps its needles all years. The temperature of the water is also much colder and I do not suggest dipping your feet in for a swim anymore.