Week 7

Date: Tuesday, November 17^th, 2015

3-4 PM

Weather: Rainy, windy, cloudy

Temperature: 48°

Having not been to my site in two weeks, I expected a lot of change. The trees are almost completely bare, with only a few leaves holding on at the top, I’m assuming because the lower leaves get knocked off by higher leaves that fall on them. I can now see clearly through the trees and a lot more light is penetrating the forest. I used to feel pretty hidden and tucked away beneath the canopy, but now, the forest feels a lot more open and exposed. Sounds carry much easier now that they don’t have to penetrate through foliage. The ground cover, which used to be a green carpet of cute little plants is now covered in decomposing leaves that will help restore nutrients to the soil. Speaking of the soil, I looked at it more closely and was surprised that it is actually really sandy, and doesn’t seem like the ideal soil for a forest to grow in. However, I don’t know much about that. The weather this visit was very extreme and there were a lot of fallen tree limbs littering the forest floor. I’m assuming the weather is also why there were no birds to be found, as they were probably hiding from the wind and rain.

A lot of fallen branches from the windy weather.

The current ground cover.

My site now that we're well into fall. 

Trees are very bare, with the last of the leaves concentrated near the top.

The evolution of my holly tree as it goes through the process of producing berries. The big cluster is now separating into individual berries. The first two pictures were taken earlier in the quarter.

Lichen appears to be brighter than before. It's probably just the contrast from the moist wood, but I also wonder if the lichen is thriving in this moister climate, giving it a glowing appearance?

It’s pretty cool to be actively observing the seasons change and how it affects the landscape! I’m really enjoying this opportunity, and plan to continue practicing natural history after this course.

Invertebrates

The only time I could get out to my site was on Tuesday during the stormy weather. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay long since I was getting drenched and the wind was making the forest pretty hazardous. I did manage to get the 5 invertebrates required. I would have liked to have stayed longer and search a bit more if the weather had allowed it. 

A "common black ground beetle" I found under a log. The order is Coleoptera, and I'm guessing this beetle is pterostichus melanarius, given the black shiny exoskeleton, the burrowing behavior and the grooved wings. In the insecta class.

Common woodlouse found under loose bark. It is in the class crustacea.

A slug I found. I found the class (gastropodia) and phylum (mollusca), but the order is hard to find, and I think the only way I'd find it is to actually identify this species of slug and then backtrack to find the order. I do see these slugs a lot so they must be pretty common.

Earthworm found among some fallen leaves. In the class Clitellata,

And now, a poem...

I scale my tapestry like a mountain climber

and then I bungee jump

When I get tired I sit proudly in the center

until I feel a bump

I think, it's a bad day for you, but a good day for me.

Then I cast another line, and go back to my spot 

With so much waiting I daydream a lot

Dream of being something cute and not spiky

not so thorny and angry and hunched

I'm all angles, too many angles 

Eight 45 degrees in all

A ninja star, or barbed wire

I bet you hate seeing me on your wall.

(It's a spider.)