I arrived at my sit spot mid-day 12:21pm, November 11, 2020. I had not observed my surroundings at this time before, so I was eager to see all that I could find. It was quite nice outside despite the fact it had been raining since the night before. The air was a comfortable 64 degrees Fahrenheit with a light breeze, the perfect temperature for me. On my way to my sit spot, I noticed how flooded the general area was with rainwater. This intrigued me, as I was curious to see how the weather affected the plants and wildlife. I chose to visit my sit spot at this time of day because I was curious to see what creatures, if any, I could find that were active at this hour, and I was not disappointed with the results.

Once I arrived at my sit spot, the first thing I noticed was the raging creek, water levels high enough to submerge my normal seating area. I was forced to sit several feet further from where I typically do. The sky was overcast, grey, and dull from the hours of rainfall. I personally do not mind the rain, so I was not affected by the gloomy weather much. My first encounter with wildlife during this session was a tiny snake that was curled up under a flat rock I had moved so I could sit. Unfortunately, I did not get a very good look at it because it swam into the creek and was washed downstream. However, from the glance that I got, it looked to be a brown water snake. It could have very much been a juvenile copperhead too, so I did not try too hard to get a better look at it once it swam into the creek. My second encounter with wildlife during this session was the birds. There were so many of them, far more than I had previously experienced when coming later in the day. They filled the sky with their song, which was somewhat difficult to hear at times due to the murky, rushing creek. My final experience with wildlife during this session was a squirrel who hopped from branch to branch overhead. I noticed how much easier it has grown to spot wildlife within the trees now that they are nearly bare of leaves.

Within the short amount of time between sessions #4 and #5, so many things had changed drastically. Many of the taller trees had lost most of their leaves, making the sky much more visible to me from the ground. The large sycamore tree I sit in front of still held some leaves, but they were all mottled with browns, oranges, and yellows. The terrain was also considerably different due to the rainfall. The ground was muddy with countless puddles and the creek was the highest I had ever seen it in that area. It was so rough; I do not think I could have easily crossed it on foot. About 20 minutes into my session, a light fog began to roll in over the creek. I thought it looked quite beautiful. I noticed the air smelled a bit of sulfur, but I was unsure as to why. Maybe there was a sewage plant nearby or runoff from the roads caused the creek to smell.

I believe songbirds at my sit spot tend to be more active during the day rather than dusk because there were so many of them within the area. I believe even more creatures may be active when it is not raining, so I will have to come back at this time of day again. It was very cool to see a snake, despite how brief the encounter was. I hope to find another if the warm weather keeps up. I left my sit spot at 1:18pm very wet, but overall satisfied.