a-hunold3615's Journal

For my nature walk this week, I returned to the walking trail to the right of the Margot Connell Recreation Center, as I remembered that this location contained a high plant diversity for such a small location. This observation turned out to be accurate as I found examples of all four types of plants (Bryophyta, polypodiopsida, angiosperms, and gymnosperms). However, what was surprising was the amount of angiosperms I found, with the most prominent one being the Lesser Burdocks, which bring purple flowers for most of the year but were more scarce due to the late Fall season. Additionally, I found a surprising amount of gymnosperms, the most recurring being the short White Pines that lined the trail. On the other hand, there was a startling scarcity of polypodiopsidas, as the only ones I could find were in a small group of several wood ferns. Therefore, despite the shortage of some groups of plants, this was another successful nature walk in an area I've come to appreciate significantly on our campus.

For my second nature walk, I decided to walk along the wooded areas surrounding the Chestnut Hill driveway, which wraps around the reservoir. The weather was very similar to my first walk: sunny and mid-60s with a slight breeze, which I saw as perfect walking weather. Before this walk, I had not expected to see many fungi. However, I could see various fungi species, most attached to trees or surrounding them. Perhaps the most fascinating sights I had were three gray squirrels grouped right next to me, the lumpy bracket mushroom on the surface of a stump, and some tiny "Hated Caesar" mushrooms surrounding the stump. Therefore, this was a very successful nature walk, and I hope to see even more fascinating wild organisms in the future.

For my nature walk, I decided to go to the walking trail to the right of the Margot Connell Rec Center. Thankfully, it was perfect weather: 70 degrees and mostly sunny with a little breeze from the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. On the other hand, in terms of overall wildlife, I was pretty underwhelmed with the abundance of wild species. However, since it's early fall, this makes sense since most plants and flowers are starting to wither away. I could spot a single grey squirrel on the lawn outside the Rec Center, but no other animals on the walking trail besides some tiny ants, flies, and spider webs left behind that were spread across the shriveled plants. Therefore, most of my observations were of distinct, odd-looking plants whose leaves were holding on for dear life in this approaching cold season. Ultimately, while this walk was definitely intriguing, I wish it occurred earlier in the semester because I likely would have been more exposed to more types of wildlife.