Phenology Update:
Now that its early November, there are barley any leaves left on the trees and all the vegetation has gone dormant for the winter season. Comparing the area now to what its used to look like back in September, animals seem to have gotten hard to spot and plant life has dwindled down significantly. More specifically, on my most recent hike in Centennial Woods , which was right after the first snow of the season, I observed a notable decrease in the number of squirrel and and chipmunk sightings compared to hikes earlier in the semester. This change is an exemplification of the influence that temperature changes have on the phenology of an ecosystem.
Centennial Woods Event Map:
Poem and Photo Gallery:
Maple
As cool summer winds whisper through the air, together stands the mighty Maple and child.
Her eyes are blue as morning skies and hair as black as a raven’s feather. Maple whispers sweet nothings as the girl lays beneath her strong mighty roots, hoping to stop the moon from stealing the day away.
But as skies grew darker the trees begin to sleep, until only Maple remained. And still, even with only a single leaf clinging to her branches, Maple whispers sweet nothings to her beautiful child: “flow forward like the water, be gentle as a doe, and strong as a tree.”
And as her last leaf fell and she began to drift to sleep, Maple watched her blue eyed girl trot away like the sun at the end of a perfect day, and whispered “Until snow melt, my sweet babe”.
