I originally chose this spot because it was easy access and I thought I could make many good observations to add to my blog, but I have really grown to love this part of Centennial Woods.

My favorite part about it is all of the wildlife activity. I often got to see squirrels and chipmunks as well as many different types of birds. I hope that I will be able to see traces of more “rare” animals when we come back from winter break.

It was also just a nice place to sit for a while and spend some time at. It was very calm, with the wind blowing through the large pines and the gentle bubbling of the nearby stream. I will definitely want to come back to this spot throughout next semester when I’m feeling overwhelmed or need a quiet place to think.

Today I wasn’t able to see any animals, most likely because they are preparing to hunker down for winter. But I did see evidence of them through tracks in the snow. Below are many pictures I took of the tracks. I think most of them are squirrels and there are a few bird tracks as well. I heard a couple birds, but it was much less than I normally hear-this indicates that many of them have migrated.

My place is mostly filled with Eastern White Pines and because they are pine trees, they keep their needles all year long.

There were a few other species near the river that had a few leaves still left on them. The leaves that were still on the tree were yellowed and looked close to falling off. Those species were:

• American Beech
• White Oak
• Norway Maple

There were also some ferns that were still green on the forest floor. Since it had just snowed, they were all covered in snow. They also seemed more compressed down than usual. This may be because of the snow weight or because they are beginning to die.

I also noticed that there seemed to be a lot more leaf litter on the ground. Or at least the branches and other plant material were more noticeable. Since many of the leaves are gone, you can see through the forest much easier now.

I kept seeing this weird configuration of ice on the ground. I’m not sure what it is or how it forms but when you step on it, it crunches and shatters into many smaller ice pieces. It definitely has to do with how cold it was today (about 20 degrees) because even the mud on the ground was frozen.