I thought I was done using my hand warmers, yet the Vermont winter continues to test my strength. For this week’s Phenology assignment, I buddied up with my NR002 friend Emilia and we explored the Intervale area. We have both been to the Intervale natural area in our Intro to Environmental Studies class, so we followed a path down the Winooski river we once explored back in October.
While on the walk, we had our eyes peeled on both the ground and sky to see any sightings of winter life. Using the iNaturalist application to look at different flora species, we identified two fungal species growing alongside a black cherry tree: violet-toothed polypore and enoki, both of which are native to the greater Vermont area. We also encountered many lady ferns that were poking their way through the melting snow in hopes of spring.
It was not far from the lady fern in the gallery below that we spotted a faint trail left behind in the snow. After gathering context clues of the speed, size of foot, and spacing between each step, we proposed that we encountered the markings left behind from a cotton-tail rabbit. We tried to follow the trail to see if it would lead us to any cotton-tail rabbit scat, but we were unfortunately out of luck. However, we did find bird feces camouflaged within the snowy landscape. We spotted a group of robins nearby so we predicted it was left by s robin, yet we were unable to officially identify what bird species the scat was tied to.
All in all, it was a very pleasant trip to the Intervale, and both Emilia and I agreed that the walk in the fresh away and away from life’s distractions was what was needed for our mental health at the time. I hope she and I can go out to the Intervale again, but maybe a time when we don’t need a ridiculous amount of layers.
Evoki Fungi. 
Violet-Toothed Polypore Fungi. 
A group of robins perched in a tree.
Cotton-Tail Rabbit Markings. 
Bird Scat Left by Unidentified Species.