I entered my sit spot at 10:25 am on October 28. The sky was a cloudless blue and 61 degrees. The weather was different than today’s weather in only one week. The first 15 minutes of tune in was the most uneventful of all of the sit spots we have done so far. I had a very hard time concentrating as we just received our exams back before I went to my spot. I saw a small kettle of Turkey Vultures to the north in the sky, and presumably the same Blue Jay as last week flying back and forth again. Other than that, not much else happened. There was almost no other birds and very little activity from squirrels.
One of the first things I noticed when I entered my spot was that the Poke berry bush was loosing its color. The purple was draining out of the stems, making me think of a person being drained of their blood by a vampire. You know, being this close to Halloween and all… Where the purple had left, only and ugly brown was left. Curiously enough, I noticed a totally healthy and vibrant bush to my far left that I hadn’t seen before. I think it is very odd that one seems to be succumbing to the weather change but the other is completely unaffected. The fountain grass I have been following did not seem too changed from the last time, but it was even more wilted. I believe it isn’t getting enough sun. Lastly, the dead tree I have been following was the most visible it has been so far. I learned that what I thought was left over leaves from not dying completely was actually thorny vines that made their way into the branches, looking like leaves.
During the time that I sat with my eyes closed, there wasn’t much more sound apparent to me than when they were open. I already have practiced my skills of tuning in from when I took the bird class with Dr.Wilson. That is normally what I am focusing on the most, since there isn’t much to look at in my spot. I heard three different sounding crickets, the distant yet too close highway, and a chainsaw started up midway through.
Next, I decided to watch the concrete pad behind me closely. For the first half of the time I spent watching, not much happened. Then, I finally saw the invertebrates I expected to see when I picked this spot. Ants. There was a whole line of them going from the grass to a crack by the door of the building. Since I know it is mostly abandoned, I know they weren’t after people food. I wonder what their motive was for going back and forth. Shelter?
This sit spot experience was over all the worst of them so far. The animals are settling down for the upcoming winter, and the once beautiful plants are browning. I can only expect it is going to get quieter, and colder, from here on out.
I had a kind of similar experience with my sit spot as well! With it getting colder I’m positive most animals despise being out in the cold just as much as we do and are sticking to only being out when they need to be.
I like the mushroom picture. I’ve noticed the same species of mushroom on campus. Do you know what it’s called? The details you included about the plants were enjoyable to read. Even if you didn’t see much wildlife, at least you made interesting observations about the plants in your sit spot.
The sound of traffic can be dominating – good practice to try and hear beyond it! Nice photos
The bushes seem to very interesting. I wonder how they will continue to change in the future. It’s also interesting how to weather can change so much even within one week.