1/19/2025
This was the first time i’d been back to my spot since the last assignment for NR1010 last semester. In my absence a lot had changed at my bend in Centennial Brook. When I had left, there had been snow on the ground but now much of the top of the stream was frozen especially in the shallower areas.
The snow wasn’t new as it hasn’t been warm enough recently for a thaw. The snow seemed to have frozen to have a granular texture. There were tracks from some mammal that was larger than a squirrel but smaller than the average dog. The tracks were old though so much of the detail of them had disappeared and all that remained was the patterned depression in the snow.
Intersecting the larger set of tracks was a smaller set of tracks probably a vermin of some sort. The area was much more exposed than previous times as there were no leaves on the trees around and this area wasn’t inhabited by conifers. This led to more sunlight reaching the area which may lead to the snow melting faster once the temperatures increase above freezing. At the end of winter, this increase in sunlight may lead to an increase in the productivity of the plants as they begin to bloom for spring.
