Field notes 10/29/2025

 Date: 10/29/25

Time of day: 4:15-4:45 PM

Present climate conditions: Dry and partially cloudy with some wind

Length of day: 10 hours, 25 minutes

Temperature: 56 degrees Fahrenheit

Feels like temperature: 50 degrees Fahrenheit (because of wind)

Map (corresponds to data table, now updated through data set #4):

Changes since last visit:

- I did not see any of the pin mold and the location that previously had only leaves on the riverbank.

- LOTS of new leaves on the ground. Between this visit and my last, nearly all of the trees and plants have changed color, and many have shed their leaves, and those leaves covered the ground. 

Here is a picture of the leaf-clogged river near location 1:

The leaves falling also landed on top of the Periwinkle you see in the background of the picture above and more clearly in the picture below:

- Leaves changed color (mentioned above), although some were still green. 

Here are some pictures of the tops of the trees near the river:

Here's a picture of two different types of ferns next to each other that look very different in this season:

Another example of leaves changing color - this Northern Spicebush has fully yellow leaves, and it was also one of the closer plants to the water. I wonder if proximity to the water impacts how fast leaves change color?

- There were also more branches in the river than before. While there were always trees, small branches like the ones in the picture below were not as common as they were when I went out there. 

Organisms smelled, felt, heard, or seen, etc: 

- I saw a squirrel that ran up the hill by the river, then disappeared before I could get a picture. 

- A few bugs flying around, and I saw one bug that landed on a dead tree trunk. Picture below:

(it's little and greyish-blue, towards the middle of the picture)

- I didn't hear as many things moving in the trees: no birds, although there were some squirrels (like the one I saw earlier).

- I also heard something moving around the upper hill between location 3 and 4. Not sure what it was, but it might have been a squirrel. 

Other observations/questions:

- I noticed how dark the dirt is. Even though the moisture has been present through all of my field studies, I wonder why it looks darker this time? Maybe the contrast between the bright colors of the leaves and the darker color of the dirt?

- This fern was greener the last time I went out, but it had begun to turn brown last time. I wonder how long it takes for a fern to die? What does a fern's life cycle look like?

- This poison ivy is still green, while other poison ivy plants are turning yellow and losing their leaves. This plant has black dots on it. I wonder what these dots are? Do they interrupt the leaves changing color?

- This hillside is completely eroded. I noticed it today because I was able to use waterproof boots to stand in the river and see the area from a different angle. I noticed how it seems that the roots hold the dirt together. 

I wonder which plants' roots are doing that? Do both alive and dead roots serve that purpose?




- These Horsetail in the image below stood out to me. They seem to be the only plant in this area that is not only still alive but also growing! They look like two green sticks coming out of the ground, one on the middle-left and one on the middle-right. I wonder what makes them be able to keep growing even as the seasons change?

Theory about quantity of leaves falling:

 - After forceful winds or wind for an extended period of time, more leaves will fall. When the trees shake, the leaves fall if they are ready. Most of the leaves are ready to fall (color change is a visible sign), so if there is a lot of wind before my next visit, I should expect there to be more leaves on the ground. 


Pictures from the same location:

(See "field notes 9/8/2025", "field notes 9/20/2025", and "field notes 10/9/2025" to view previous pictures from this same location)

(See "field study part 1", "field notes 9/20/2025", and "field notes 10/9/2025" to view previous pictures from this same location)