(Arrived at Sit Spot 11/04/19 at 10:20)

Before I had started my sit spot, the weather was shown to be 49 degrees Fahrenheit. During my first 15 minutes, I was cold–or at least, my hands were. It was an odd sensation. My body was hot because of the direct sunlight while my hands with their terrible circulation were freezing. The plants seemed to feel this weather more than me. While they wilted as fall transitioned into winter, some grasses couldn’t help but give off vibrant green colors because of the abundant rain and sunlight they had been receiving in the past couple of weeks. This wasn’t all of the plants though. Those who weren’t shining vibrantly green were already dead if not having one foot in the grave already. The vines were twisted into dry braids that chose their final spots alongside the empty, clear stream water that was void of any signs of living creatures except the pond skaters who although were greatly decreased in density, still skated with their task to eat at hand.

As for the three things I chose to follow, they looked greatly different. The stream that had a strong flow, algae growing alongside it, and little fish, crayfish, and other organisms seemed almost empty except for some weird trails that left clean lines behind the dirt covered leaves at the bottom of the stream. (could these be gilled snails?) The large stump that was rooted into the soil on my left had tiny, thin dead trees that had tried to branch out and been hit with the fall weather. Other vine-like plants grew along the left side of the stump, leaving a little row of leaves for every vine successfully rooted into the stump. The vines that originally rested at the side of the stream had long died. Their youthful spring look a couple of months back was replaced with dry stiff vines that created a skeleton of the shape the vines once took. It was weird how seasons could have so much effect on the characteristics of nature and the organisms that live within it.

Closing my eyes, it was surprising that the usual nature sounds were still and gone. There were no birds chirping or cawing amongst themselves and the sound of fruit falling to the ground from the tops of trees ceased to exist any longer. The only sound I could hear were the sounds of the cold winds passing across my ears and the sound of the stream moderately flowing. Maybe it was my imagination, but the sound seemed emptier, as if the water life had somehow been contributing to the sound of the stream.

I decided to watch the small tree stump I sit on to observe things. It was weird how much of a contrast it had since I had last seen it. The cobwebs and ants that crawled alongside the stump had gone, and the saw dust had almost once again integrated into nature like a compost. The tiny organisms that once cohabitated within its shadow had long begun to hide for the cold days to come. Maybe this was the case, but maybe it was also because of the time I decided to visit. Could it be that both species were more active in the later evenings?

Though I listed a lot of changes in the answers above, I would say that overall, the main changes are within the plants and organism density in my location. Besides the grass and weeds growing off other plants, the majority of the plants have begun shutting down their systems and losing leaves in order to conserve their energy for the spring. I wonder how many of these plants will actually survive though. With global warming happening, plants are starting to bloom earlier and having to face the consequences of the cold biting into their new leaves because of the unusual fluctuation in weather climate change causes. A lot of animals have started to disappear as well, probably to find a burrow to suffice them over the summer or somewhere to hibernate through the entirety of the winter when it comes.

The five minutes I spent just enjoying the environment was nice, a bit cold for my hands though.

(Left Sit Spot at 11:20)