Warm sunlight still blazes my skin and eyes as a cool breeze blows my hair. Bees fly around pollinating the numerous small and delicate purple white tinted flowers. These flowers have around 8-10 petals each and cluster in small clumps in the grass just past the rocky cliffs. There are abnormally small northern white cedars, beat by the constant harsh winds from the lake that stunts their growth. Small clumps of grasses and small plants line the cracks between the rock. Everything is very much alive, healthy, and green by the edge of the cliff, while further back, some leaves on a few of the trees are beginning to fade to yellows, browns, and light reds. A red oak stands small to medium in height by one of many buckthorns and some saplings. The invasive buckthorns are very common here. The lake, many feet below the cliff rages, sending many ripples in every direction. The mountain tops, slightly blurred by mist, are not yet coated by snow.
I chose Lone Rock, a cliff above north beach. I bike there, which takes about 14 minutes, and I chose Lone Rock because out of the places I was deciding between, I felt the most connection to it. I loved the variety of plant life, and I think that Lone Rock is one of the most beautiful places to watch the sunset. I also chose Lone Rock because I think it will be interesting to observe the changes in the water as the seasons change and parts of the lake maybe freeze. There is a diverse ecosystem of forest, cliffs and lake. The rocks are layered with dolostone and limestone, and there are pine trees, cedars, and numerous buckthorn along the edges of the cliff. There are also many oak and maple trees. More specifically, I noticed, red and sugar maple, and white and northern red oak.
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