My visit to Crescent Woods today to check on my good old American beech tree was incredibly restorative, necessary, relaxing, and tranquil. It was a gorgeous, sunny day; warm enough to wear shorts without a chill. The first thing I noticed when I entered the woods was the lack of wet, squelching mud that was present during my last visit just a few weeks ago. I did run into a few spots where the ground grew soft and slick with mud but last time, there was no avoiding the mud and this time, it was easy to find a solid dry path to follow. Tufted titmouse and black capped chickadees could be heard along with the soft sounds of the creek water flowing.
Beech Tree Observations
Despite the significantly warmer weather, not much has changed about the beech tree phenology wise. The biggest difference I noticed is the main tree had lost pretty much all of its pale dead leaves and had leaf buds on most of its branch tips. The sprout, ever persistent, is still holding on tightly to a small chunk of its leaves, but the majority of the branches without leaves have leaf buds. There is still no evidence of flowering, but new leaves should be expected soon.
Other Funky Observations
As I was walking through Crescent, I ran into some Rubenstein students marking trees with pink material. I asked what they were doing and they explained that they were participating in a trail restoration project, particularly focusing on erosion. Thinking back on my conversation with them, I realize I do not know why they were marking particular trees: Were they trees to remove, trees that play an especially important role in reducing trail erosion or something else? I also thought about how the mud has impacted erosion caused by people walking on these muddy inclines right next to the creek. I also noticed many man made logs cut from trees lying around, and I wondered if this had anything to do with the restoration project.
