October 7, 2022
Hi there! I chose to pick a spot in Centennial Brook for my phenology project just because I’ve walk to it a few times this year and have already started to see changes before starting this assignment. From the entrance to Centennial woods you basically take the trails that veer right until you get to the part of the forest where there are mostly large pine trees. I chose a spot on the brook where the trail meets this little board walk over the brook. There are signs mentioning beavers so over the course of this project I hope to find evidence of them being around the area.
This area has lots of eastern white pine trees where the brook meets the forest, I’ve found other species like Norway maple and red maple trees as well. There are smaller plant species like ferns, common reeds, and mosses. There are lots of dragonflies, and other cool insects too.
November 5, 2022
When I returned back to the site I noticed the water level had gone down, I think this is a result of not having much rain the past few weeks. There were also fewer insects either because of the drop in temperature or less water. As a was sitting there I noticed there weren’t as many bird sounds as earlier in the year. It was very calming as and the weather was beautiful even if it was warm for November. There was far less foliage this time around and even looked as if there were less reeds in the water.
I also noticed these heron tracks near the boardwalk of the trail
November 17, 2022
I decided to visit Morgan Higgins’s phenology site which was also in Centennial Woods but in a different location. Her site was closer to the entrance and there was a difference in the species of trees compared to my site. This site had more maples trees while mine was surrounded by Eastern White Pines. Both of our sites had a body of water, her site has a small stream while on my site there was more of a pond.
November 28, 2022
Over Thanksgiving break, I took a walk to Apponagansett Bay. The phenology here is very different from the spot in Centennial Woods from the trees, soils, and species. The beachy area has a sandy shore with a few long grasses and shrubs. There are a few trees that were hard to identify. Its special to me because my family and friends would spend a lot of time over here as kids, hiking the nearby trails and walking to get ice cream. Over the years I have noticed that some areas on the beach don’t look the same as they did 10 years ago and the tides have probably changed the landscape a bit.
My sisters and I took some time to pick up some trash that we found around the area to show that we care for the bay and wanted to leave having it be better than when we came. After reading “The Honorable Harvest” I felt more appreciation for growing up so close to so many trails and coastal environments like this one.
There was also this Northern Red Cedar tree that had some berries on it which I thought was really cute and ties in with the chapter on how the earth exchanges gifts.
December 7, 2022
There were no trees left with leaves in this area of Centennial Woods, only coniferous trees like the northern white pine. There is a lot more leaf litter around the area and the water level of the pond seems to still be low compared to the first posting. there is a lot of decomposing litter in the pond as well making it look a bit gross. There are also no bugs like dragonflies or gnats flying around.
While observing the area some signs of beaver were spotted. This yellow birch had been gnawed down by one of the beavers in the area. This could be used for shelter or for food as they stockpile edible sticks for the winter.
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