Phenology Assignment Bessette

Nov, 23, 2019

The area that I explored over my holiday vacation was the woods in my back yard. I currently live in Essex, VT in a house my family built around eight years ago. We live on about three acres of land just bordering the town of colchester. The land itself is very hilly with shallow soil and a large marsh to the left of the house. Over the years, people have utilized the land as a hunting area as well as a place for new development. My own family and friends have used our property for hunting during deer and partridge season. However, the new development of houses has somewhat hampered the hunting in the area. Right up the road is a natural pond called colchester pond. My family, and many other citizens of Vermont, have used colchester pond as a place to hike, fish, canoe, and kayak. Due to places like these and the memories I have of them, they are the first to come to mind when considering sense of place. My house is definitely the most important but places like colchester pond make me think of SOP in terms of scale. Not only are these places important to me, they are also key pieces in the community. Because Essex, VT is a rather small town, people share many of the same areas. Everyone I grew up with had hiked around colchester pond, had passes to Indian brook reservoir, and knew every restaurant in town. Since going to school, it has really made me compare my home to life at UVM. Talking to new people from out of state has made me realize how small my town and community was compared to others. Burlington is the biggest city in VT, and it’s weird to hear people compare it to cities they grew up in like NYC and Chicago. However, how and where I grew up significantly shaped how I am. Im used to a more close knit community comprised of people who like to ski, hunt, and be outdoors. Growing up in Vermont is very different than how other people may have grown up. But, I personally have thoroughly enjoyed how I grew up and the Vermonters I have met.

Nov 12, 2019 — 25° — 11:44

By experiencing the phenological changes of my site, my sense of place was explored. Through observing changes like the leaves going from green to brown, or the water freezing to ice, a feeling of familiarity was formed. I personally noticed the sense of place piece after going on my most recent visit. Seeing the drastic alteration of the environment, from green and brown to bright white snow, really made me look around and notice the changes. By realizing this, I couldn’t help but feel a close association with this place. However, Im sure i’m not the only one who has noticed these changes. Centennial woods is a very popular area around campus. Students can run on the trails, go for a walk, or just go somewhere to get some peace and quiet. The rest of the public also frequents centennial woods. When there, you are very likely to run into some dog owner or jogger. Even in the past history of centennial woods it was frequented by humans. Whether it was sheep farmers or indigenous peoples. Even though I currently am noticing these phenological changes, there are many other people now, and those in the past who also experienced them.

Oct 31st, 2019

While exploring my area, I identified 6 living organisms that I thought characterized my site. These organisms included minnows, burdocks, raspberry bushes, a snail, buckthorn, and slugs. Personally, I feel that the minnows resinate with the site the most due to the presence of the brook. Every-time I have gone you could see the minnows darting back and forth in the water. However, the other living organisms are just as important. The burdocks for example are a key feature that border the walk way when you first arrive. Furthermore, there are countless patches of raspberry bushes spread out across the surrounding area. They are especially noticeable now due to still having green/yellow leaves. To find animals I had to really look, especially because of the cooling weather. One spot I checked was under the rocks in the stream. There I found grey snails, smaller than my pinky nail, stuck to the bottom of the rocks. Another very noticeable plant at this site is buckthorn. I think this invasive also characterizes this site due to being located in many different spots. In fact, as soon as you walk over the bridge there is buckthorn growing from the bank. Lastly, another organism I found were slugs. Because there are fallen down branches and logs around the brook, it’s very common to find slugs either under them or on them when it rains.

When comparing my notes from last visit and my own observations, a variety of changes at the site where noticed. The most apparent was the very little amount of leaves left on the trees. Last time I was there, the leaves were in full fall color and not many trees had started to go bare. Continuing on the pattern of plant color, another change was the weeds and grasses starting to turn. Some, like the raspberry bushes, where finally starting to turn yellow. Contrarily, one thing that has stayed the same is the soil. Each time I have visited the ground has been very muddy and moist. Especially Around the banks of the brook. The soil overall all though is more gravely around the water while the rest is more clay like.

When creating this map, I found that in doing so I discovered a lot more prominent features in the area. I really had to look around and observe my surroundings to find markers that people could follow. Most of the ones I did find I hadn’t even noticed before. The vine for example, that is pictured below, I had never noticed until making this map.

Prominent Features: