Monday, November, 11, 2019

12:11 – 1:21 pm

57°F

Sunny and Windy

There were several changes that I noticed immediately as I entered my sit-spot. There was something floating on the surface of the water. As I got closer to the edge of the pond, I realized that it was a Food Lion shopping bag. I removed it from the pond and threw it away as fast as possible and did my best not to disturb the ecosystem in the process. Next, I noticed an area that was marked off by yellow flags. I was curious to see what was being monitored and assumed it was for a science class. The sign attached to the flags explained that the biogeochemistry class was doing an experiment in that specific area. I then decided to take a closer look at the tree that I have been observing. I had already noticed that the tree has about one-quarter of the leaves that it originally had, and most of the leaves that were left on the tree had turned brown and a brownish-green color. But, as I approached the tree, I realized that the tree has maintained little green, ball-like sprouts. Finally, I watched as a small, white butterfly skimmed the surface of the water and quickly disappeared as a ripple took its place, moving across the pond. I quickly realized that the butterfly had become fish food in just a split second :(.

Mr. Wolf Spider is no longer in or on the drain. I did not see him the last time I was at my sit-spot either, so I can only assume something unfortunate has happened to him. The algae has changed from a vibrant yellow-green to a dull greenish-brown shade. When I first began visiting my sit-spot, the algae was solid and continuous throughout the portions of the pond in which it covered. Now, it is more spread out and is in small, more frequent globs. I noticed that some of the algae has sunk to the floor of the pond. I am guessing that this could because the algae has absorbed a lot of water and has become too dense to float. Finally, my tree, which was so beautiful just a couple of weeks ago, now has more twigs and branches visible than leaves. I am; however, happy to see that it has maintained its sprouts.

During my five minutes of tuning in only audibly, I only heard a few things. The first of these was the rustling of leaves and the running of water. I then heard cars rushing by and two people walking by and having a conversation. Finally, I heard crows cawing in the distance, but they soon faded into the distance, so I assumed they were flying in the opposite direction of where I am sitting.

During my ten minutes of focusing on only one organism, I focused on the pine tree to my right. I rarely focus on this tree because I know from previous experience that it does not change much throughout the seasons. The first thing that I noticed about the pine tree was that it appeared to have lost some branches since the last time I had taken a close look at it. This made me wonder if it had suffered damages during the strong winds and storms last week. I then noticed a fungus growing on the branches and circle-like holes developing on the trunk. I wonder if the fungus caused these circles or if they were caused by something else. Finally, when I looked all the way to the top of the tree, I realized that there were a few pine cones only growing at the very tips of the highest branches. Why do they only grow here and nowhere else on the needles of the trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were a lot of major changes since the last time I was at my sit-spot. The most obvious of these changes was the lack of leaves on the trees. The trees were fully clothed in leaves just a few weeks ago. They are now almost naked! Why did this change occur so quickly? Was it because of the fast change from 70°F to 50°F? I also noticed that there was a lot less fish and insect activity today than there was in previous visits. The algae texture has changed as well. It now seems to have a bubbly texture rather than being smooth and it has a lot less leaves stuck to it than previous visits. Finally, I noticed that the water level has reached above the pipe which it comes from. I believe that this is from the large amount of rain we had last week.