I went out to my sit spot on October 17th at 18:48-19:03 (which is when dusk hits on top of Bent Mountain). It was 46ºF out there, so I was glad to have flannel and one of my hunting jackets on (I really need to remember to wear gloves during my next session though). I was grateful that the wind wasn’t really blowing, so the temperature actually felt like the upper 40s instead of upper 30s. I haven’t been out here at this time of day and I chose to because I know there’s a bit more wildlife activity and it’s the time when I’ve normally been on my way out of the woods when hunting, so I’ve never really stayed long enough to see how this area can change.

The ferns I’ve been watching are all dried up or gone. There’s maybe eight left, none of them have a healthy color. They’re tan and brittle looking almost as if they would disintegrate if touched. The moss I’ve been watching hasn’t changed and I don’t blame it. If spreading is going to cost it too much energy to maintain homeostasis in this type of weather colonization isn’t worth it. My spider friend is officially gone (probably due to the cold), so I guess I’ll watch the foliage above my head. It’s strange looking up at it realizing that I can actually see part of the sky now. The leaves are change color from a normal green to a light green to yellow. From what I can see of the sky it’s changed from a pinkish-blue color to a blue that is darkening as time goes on and the sky loses its light.

On my way up here, I startled a deer which was off trail above my position. It didn’t really panic it just trodden way. It must not have a history with what humans in the forest can mean. That was all I encountered until I got ready to leave. Just as I was getting up, I heard something heading for me. It was too dark at this point to see anything without light and I only had my phone on me, so I could only see maybe ten feet ahead of me. The fact I couldn’t see them didn’t matter I grew up hearing that specific footfall and I can’t help but feel the adrenaline, excitement, and the disappointment that I left my flashlight at home. I point my phone in their direction and can only see the glint of the light bouncing off of their two pairs of eyes. They’re kind of low to the ground, so they must have been a pair of yearlings (which have been a little shorter than usual this year). Which would also explain why they didn’t really care to go too far when I actually did leave my sit spot.