Stu Visser trails field study

   Date/ time:   11/16 13:48 Present climate:  Sunny, no wind                                                   Temperature:  42F Length of day: 9hr 42 minutes   Organisms smelled, felt, heard or seen:  There were barely any sounds but I did see a couple birds resting on tree branches. It is much easier to spot the birds now that the trees are not full of leaves and I observed quite a few more than I did on other visits. There were not a lot of sounds except that of leaves crunching under my feet and the stream flowing slightly.  Changes noticed:   The trees are a lot more bare compared to last time. More plants have gone beige and almost all the leaves on the ground are brown compared to last time where they ranged from yellow to red. What's left on certain trees are wilted and comple...

  Date/ time:   10/30 16:40 Present climate:  Sunny, N-NW winds at 5-10mph Temperature:  43F Length of day:  10hr 17 min Organisms smelled, felt, heard or seen:  There are birds that occasionally made sounds. It had rained the day before so the ground was quite damp and muddy. More leaves have fallen to the ground since the last visit and the ground was completely covered. Despite that, lots of green leaves remain on trees but a significant portion of them are yellowed.   Changes noticed:   Yellow flowers observed in the first visit is completely withered, leaving only the dried up and brown stems with some fuzzy white things on the tip of the branches. Grass on the path that was green during the first visit is now brown. Fallen leaves that are further away from the dirt path are dried up.  More leaves are yellow. The air feels colder, sharper and drier. It is noticeably quieter than previous visits. More visible footprints or distu...

Date/ time:   10/3 19:33 Present climate:  Partly cloudy, moderate winds at approx 5-8 mph Temperature:  50F Length of day:  11 hour 20 minutes Organisms smelled, felt, heard or seen: I heard cicadas, observed squirrels and birds on nearby trees.  Small, short, white wildflowers grew along the path. A significant portion of the green plants have turned beige.  Changes noticed:   Some plants turned beige and some trees in the surrounding area had reddish/ yellowish leaves. The cicadas were quieter and I observed birds migrating at this time. Furthermore, despite going to the same location at the same time it was much darker and the sun was almost completely set. It was also much colder than it was during the last visit.    The yellow flowers that were observed on the previous visit were gone completely.  

Date/ time:   9/25 19:24 Present climate:   Sunny Temperature: 64 Length of day: 12 hours Organisms smelled, felt, heard, or seen: There was a faint scent of damp soil, likely due to the rain from the day before and the stream I found on this visit. There were lots of tall yellow wild flowers that grew sporadically in the forest. Green plants of various height and species were observed. One specific plant was quite prickly.  Sound map:  The most prominent sounds were the cicadas and water. The sounds of people walking and birds chirping can be heard at a distance. Any other data or impressions from the observation time: The rainfall on the day prior to the visit likely contributed to the white mushrooms I found growing on fallen hardwood trees. Worms and bugs were crawling over them.  Any experiences, questions, thoughts related to awe and stewardship: I was with my dog on my first visit to my field study location so I had trouble going into the path further. I...

September 8th marks my first visit to my chosen location. Date and Time: 9/8 5:55pm Present climate conditions: Sunny, 6mph wind Temperature: 64F Length of day from sunrise to sunset: 12 hours 49 minutes Organisms noticed: Squirrels, various flowers/ plants  Overhead view of my location:   \ General layout of my location: