Before the Storm

Since I first choose my site, it has gone under one of the most rapid changes in its yearly cycle. The transition from fall to winter seems to happen overnight but there are many stages as plants and animals begin to embrace winter. The bugs of summer begin to fade away, migratory birds began their descent south weeks prior and those who remain have already begun to stock up food, fat and fur for the winter. My site was near a patch of maples and beech trees that were highlighted during the peak of leaf changing season because of their bright, yellow coloring. This week when I returned a patch of Eastern White Pines stands out because of the snow on the needles. This week was also the beginning of a lack of wildlife friends during my visit, the snow has the ability to make the world go silent. Where my site is in centennial woods is just one patch of forest in a state full of places that resemble almost the same exact place. I think that is why my place is special to me because it is not only what I am seeing but how I feel when I am visiting my spot. When I am at my place I am able to think deeply about recent events in my life but the longer I live the more I can lose myself into free thoughts and daydreams. While I may consider this my place now, others in NR could call this same place their spot or even those who just choose to walk through centennial woods may feel a connection to the particular spot. My spot is constantly changing from day to day, year to year, century to century. Centennial woods serve many purposes throughout its history such as a ski jump, home of a bunker and old hospital dumping grounds.These practices interrupted the natural balances of the woods that existed when the Abenaki tribe originally roamed the Vermont forest. The impact I want to make on my site in a positive one where I can leave the spot better than the way I found it so more people can enjoy the site for years to come.