We have come into winter. There is snow all over the ground, although not so much in the trees. The trees have lost most of their leaves, so there is not place for the snow to sit. The trees are darker in look and have more scarred bark. The snow though is giving them some great warmth and fertilizer come spring. The sounds of animals now are limited to just birds. I saw no animals at all except one glimpse of a bird. The river is partially frozen, although it is flowing very smoothly, even under the ice. Most of the flowers and little plants are hidden. You feel guilty just walking around because the odds of stepping on something you do not see is so high. I slipped down the path a bit because of all the ice. I cannot imagine that this freeze is doing good things for the plants if I almost hurt myself in 20 min down there while they just have to sit and take it for 4 months.
Overall across Vermont snowfall is happening much earlier than normal. The temperatures are dropping fast, and ice is creeping up. Vermont all over has snow like this. Each and every tree has to deal with it. The lake is also going to get colder, forcing fish and animals like them into hiding as well. In Seattle when we started having these record falls the city would get shut down, and thousands of dollars be put in to getting rid of the snow and ice. The Centennial Woods have no city to protect them in this way.
This site is in the future. We are expected to have record breaking snowfalls and low temperatures this year. Likely due to climate change. But enough about that. Centennial Woods have lasted for likely thousands of years, or at least the part of them we know. It has dealt with winter so many times that it feels like a fight it cannot lose. If anything, the woods get more and more adapted to living in ice. Although climate change might come onto fast for them.