Final Post, but not final visit

Following this place in centennial has been an awesome experience, the full force of the changing seasons is happening right now, and i plan on continuing to watch my place as the summer progresses. Watching my place for so long has shown me so many relationships within it. Situated on a slope, amongst a grove of hemlocks, my place begins as a system with water. Snow melt and snow, which there has been a record amount of in april, drains down amongst the trees and into a swampy bog area, right before centennial brook. I have watched the snow melt and fill this bog, making access to the brook all the more difficult. As the summer progresses, i know that it will continue to fill, until the reeds take over and passage to the brook becomes impossible. Seeing my place in the winter is so incredibly different than witnessing it during the heat of summer, and watching the transition in between has been a great learning experience. Moving away from water, i sit and look at the vegetation which sprouts up all around me. Ferns under the hemlocks, little sugar maple shoots sending their leaves skyward, white pines reaching towards the sky, and the brambles and reeds taking over in the low ground. Everything seems so unique yet so connected. Little niches have been carved out by all of these plant species and it is quite clear how reciprocal most of the relationships are. Its almost as if the different species have little deals worked out amongst themselves, working out where they will all grow and flourish. There is a clear dynamic balance in my place, amongst the trees, plants and animals (people included), and as the cycle of the seasons continues on its never ending path, this balance remains relatively stable, however who knows what will happen in the next fifty or hundred years or so. As i sit, i see a continuous change of animals around me. There are those which are around all year, those who come early in spring, such as nuthatches, and those who appear later. Squirrels were around my place through the seasons, and the calls of birds steadily increased as the seasons progressed. My only disturbances were those of people and their dogs. I find myself part of my place simply as a person who comes and goes, leaving nothing but footprints to be remembered by. As a human i find my impact on my system to be much larger. Occasionally while sitting i hear dump trucks and other large vehicles up at the baseball field, impeding on the serenity of such a natural place. As a human, my place could be whatever i felt it should, if i had the means i (or anyone else) could have cut it down, or altered it in some other way. I could have put in a system to control water flow, or plant other tree species which could potentially take over, which in effect would alter the animals which congregated there. My place in the system is that of a listener and observer, a place which i will never take for granted in such a beautiful world.

Wonderful Weather

So i ventured out into centennial this last monday and yesterday, and both days were just beautiful. Unfortunately, because of the record rainfall, it was quite muddy at some spots. Also, the camera i borrowed wasn't working, i thought because of the low battery because it wasn't taking pictures, but i later found out that you sometimes have to take the lens off and put it back on. I would have had some awesome pictures since i saw my first garter snake monday, along with a set of tracks in the mud by the water. It was a four toed foot, with very skinny appendages. Weird. While sitting, i noticed the sprouting ferns, grasses and buds on the trees. The area below my spot, close to the brook is filling with water, as usual when the weather warms, and the swamp area plants are beginning to show up. I heard over twenty different distinct bird calls, but did not see any other than the usual chickadee, i did see a robin at my spot for the first time, but it was in mid flight. Sunday there were too many people in centennial for my liking, which hindered my enjoyment of being surrounded by the outdoors. All the plants i've been watching sprout are growing strong, no tracks yesterday but plenty of insects which is cool. What's not cool is that i saw my first mosquito yesterday, as it tried to attack me. I was very disheartened to see them out already. Waters continuing to fill in by the marsh. Next time out i'm bringing the camera, because i keep missing all these awesome opportunities for pics. Of course, if i do bring it i wont see anything cool, but it'll be okay. Thats all for now!

My Attempt at an Event Map

I seriously cannot draw so i apologize to anyone who is unfortunate enough to see such a sorry attempt at doing so. That being said it was a really great sunny friday, an i was glad to have been able to get out and enjoy some peace and quiet in the woods, accompanied by the sounds of the forest. I tried to get them to sit next to each other, but it was being fussy, so follow the dashes on the second sheet on the left hand side of it to my spot. If you just click on the drawing you can see it much better.

Rainy Tuesday

Soo, not looking at the weather forecast over the weekend, i figured i would go into centennial during the week, because there are a lot less people, people being the only downfall to a spot in centennial. I did however visit lone rock point saturday evening, and although i didn't pinpoint Jenny's place i was most definitely within the vicinity, or walked right passed it (as i walked along the cliff face for a ways). Lets just say its a lot more beautiful than a hike into centennial in rain. Anyways, as i trekked in, mud everywhere (not to mention patches of deadly ice still), i finally got to my spot. No camera for the trip, as my friend would kill me if i got water on his SLR. Birds-silent. The area towards the bottom of my spot, towards the creek, has continued to fill with water, and soon it will be a complete marshy, swamp type area bordering the creek.  I then took off on a wild goose chase looking for Dan and Fed's spot. Again, i didnt find the center, but i definitely was quite close, and probably walked through parts of both their spots. I think i was closer to the mark for Dans spot, as its up on a ridge/hill. For Feds spot, i just couldn't find the exact fork in the path she was talking about, but i had looked at the map before and im sure i was close.  No wildlife today, but that was expected. I im going to take another visit as soon as the weather clears up, i'd like to spot some more birds and the like. Thats all for now!

What A Wonderful Sunday

Today was an exciting day in centennial. There was a treacherous walk in, with a section of the path going up a hill to my spot being solid ice, which i had to circumvent. On my way out i took a spill going down that area unfortunately. There is still snow on the ground, in some spots its just a slight cover, in others drifts of a few feet still exist. The brook has swelled to about twice the capacity, and the marshy area towards the south of my spot has started to collect water.

The forest was truly alive today, with a constant chatter from my neighbor birds. I heard twelve distinct and different calls, the most i've heard to date. I tried to identify some by their calls using the cornell ornithology website, to no avail. I need to get into the tree canopy, as thats where all the action is. My hemlock grove provides such a great place for food and protection, but because of the thickness of the canopy, the birds are very hard to see or even catch a glimpse for that matter. There were plenty of black capped chickadees in the trees, and when i was watching them it seemed as if they were checking under the bark on the dead trees for grubs and whatever else they could find. I identified a red breasted nuthatch, a new species to my spot. I have a resident gray squirrel whose nest i found in a nearby tree. The banks of the brook are muddy, and in this mud i found some mammal tracks. While i did not have my camera with me, i did have my mammal identification sheet, and am 98% sure they were mink tracks. It was a five toed print with claw marks, around an inch in size, and a track pattern exclusive to otter, fisher, mink and weasel. Very cool. I am excited for the coming weeks and the start of spring tomorrow. Life is springing back into action.

Mystery Tree

The Trunk

The branch, notice the alternate branching

More Pictures!

I wanted to go chronologically with the pictures but i could only get the formatting to work for so many at a time so here are some more, taken later in the day. There were more tracks than posted, but they were not as neat as the ones up, and were much smaller, i figure squirrels or rabbits. You can click on the pictures for a full size view.

Spider resident

Another resident at some point

Lone Pine Cone

 Tracks!! Cannot identify them though, any thoughts?

Precarious Tree and a White Pine

Little Dam

A look Upwards

Downy Woodpecker Visits Me

Another View of Downy Woodpecker

The Heart of the Spot

Centennial Brook

Patterns in the Sand

Bridges

Log 

More Bridges

On my way out, looking back

Pictures!!

Off in the Distance

Patterns in the Ice

The Sun Shines on my spot

A look towards the sky

Birds! and more

Spotted were: American Crow, Black Capped Chickadee, Rock Dove, Mourning Dove, Red tailed Hawk, Song Sparrow,Swamp Sparrow, Turkey, Canadian Geese, American Kestrel, European Starling, Northern Cardinal a few species i couldn't identify and a few species i only caught a glimpse of. Saw thousands of Canadian geese, lots of crows and chickadees and sparrows,  i live in a city so many species i don't see often. Chickadees were calling with their spring song, as well as the normal chick a dee dee dee dee. Saw two red tailed hawks driving back up to school which was sweet. Saw a flock of turkeys driving to Binghamton one weekend, also on that trip, and i kid you not, i counted over 450 whitetail deer who had come to the side slopes of the road to feed on the finally uncovered grasses. (I wasn't driving) The binoculars definitely came in handy, as well the bird book i borrowed.

Tree Species Around My Place

So, the main species of tree at my spot is Hemlock, i seem to be smack dab in the middle of a grove. Hemlock is usually found in ravines, steep hillsides, and rocky ridges, with relatively high levels of humidity. It prefers partial shade and can grow in full shade. On the edge of the forest towards the brook are a couple of White Pine.
 The White Pine is known the the Haudenosaunee Native Americans as the tree of peace, during a peace treaty signing weapons would be buried under a white pine as part of the treaty. Its five needles also represented the five nations joined together as one.They prefer well drained soil and cool humid climates, but also grow in highlands and boggy areas (right near centennial brook) It is the dominant tree in mixed forests, growing taller than even hardwoods. It provides food and shelter for such species as squirrels and common crossbills. These trees were commonly used as masts for ships during the "age of sail". Underneath and around the few white pines are some Sugar Maples coming in, a lot looked like two to three year growth.
Sugar maples are extremely important in the northeast, not only for their use in maple sugar production, but also as a highly valued wood, bowling allies, pins, basketball court flooring are all made from sugar maple. It is one of the densest and hardest of the maple family. Some trees exhibit wavy wood grain, known as "birdseye maple", which are highly valued.
To the west there are red maple. This species is the state tree of Rhode Island, and displays brilliant deep red foliage in the fall. It is often used as a shade tree for landscaping. Its lumber is medium to high quality, but is considered a soft wood amongst maples. It can survive in a wide range of habitats from swampy land to poor dry soils. It can survive long floods and also droughts.
To the east is a species i couldn't identify, its posted in a picture (trunk and branch). Ten schrute bucks for whoever can figure it out.

Saturday Visit

Forgot to put this up with my map since some pretty exciting things were witnessed saturday. I heard seven different species of birds, not sure what they all were but definitely chickadee's and woodpeckers, and a woodpecker even paid a visit to my place. I have pictures, but they are on two different friends cameras, so i must visit their respective places to download them. Smelled a skunk on my way in, and saw some really cool mammal tracks that i will hopefully identify. The animal trekked right past my spot to centennial brook. Very cool. Pics coming soon... including our bus adventure at lone rock.

My Map

Finally!! Had to figure out a pdf to jpeg conversion but here it is...thought the legend would be clearer though

Second Visit

There were many patterns that i observed as i sat at my place. A few stuck out to me though.

One was as the snow reached the stream, still slightly visible under all the snow, it turned to ice, and then flowed seamlessly into the water. This natural beauty is seldom appreciated, but sitting in the quiet edge of the woods, it was a place of wonder. Why did this snow turn to ice before melting away? I will refrain from analyzing, but it was sweet.

Another was the leaning of seemingly dead shrubbery around my spot. It was almost as if they were subordinate to the wind that channeled through the woods from the clearing. I sat wondering which were alive and which were not, and how i could determine this by sight.

A third pattern i saw was the series of holes running up and down dead trees around my spot. I wonder if these holes are random, or quite deliberate. were they simply searching for food, or a place to live and raise their young. There also seemed to be bark left on only certain select spots on the dead trees.