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!