Oh, Centennial Woods, how I missed you. With February’s cold weather at its peak, Centennial is absolutely covered in snow. I definitely fell a few times because of the ice and snow during my two hikes through the woods (but I didn’t spill my Yerba!).
I changed the location of my phenology spot for this semester to a part of Centennial Woods that’s a bit closer to the trail. When you follow the trail, you should eventually see a large clearing surrounded by trees. The area around this clearing is my new spot. I went both up the hill next to the area (to the right of the path) and the area to the left of the path. Both of these areas are easy to get to because they’re near the path, but far enough that there’s still a chance of spotting animals and tracks.
On my first hike a few days ago, I was unable to find any evidence of animals, but I didn’t give up! In my experience with Centennial last fall, I saw squirrels in the day and when my friends would convince me to visit the woods at night (usually a bad idea) we’d hear bats. Today, I ventured back into the woods and heard the biggest murder of crows above. As much as I looked and looked for animal droppings/tracks I couldn’t find any to my disappointment. However, I did find one strange track. It was a straight line the dragged through the snow for quite a bit. Whether it was a dog’s leash dragging through the snow, a wild animal, or somebody’s item that left the mark is unclear.
That’s all I have to share for now! Here’s to a new semester of woodland fun! 🙂