gianna_jarmain's Journal

At the time of these observations, the temperature was about 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit, with slight winds and very little to no humidity. There was minimal daylight. Of the five observations I made, three of them were found at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, and the other two (mushroom and yellow flower), were found on Boston College's main campus. The moss was on the dirt of the path around the perimeter of the reservoir. The soil was slightly damp from rain in the morning-early afternoon. The green, wide-leaved plants and the small purple flowers were found in the same environment: they were in damp soil about 10 feet from the water.

Today I walked around Strawbridge Lake, which is about four miles from my house and is surrounded by a highway on one side and a neighborhood on the other. It was sunny and 65 degrees, and there was a slight breeze and no humidity. I saw a variety of organisms both in the water and on the outskirts of the lake, including multiple different kinds of trees and plants, moss, lichen, and cyanobacteria. The moss and lichen, which I found on different trees, were growing on the bottom, almost on the roots. One of the trees I observed, the European Beech, was especially interesting because it was in the process of shedding its bark, so it looked camouflage.

For this week's nature walk I hiked Mount Minsi via the Appalachian Trail, located on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware Water Gap. It was about 70 degrees and partly cloudy, and there was a very slight breeze. At the summit, the height was about 1,330 feet. For the most part, the organisms on the trail were shaded from direct sunlight by the tall trees around them. Most if not all of the observations I made were from lower altitudes, since there was much less variety and less colorful organisms towards the top. The plant species seemed repetitive, but I was also able to see fungi and plants with berries on them. Overall, the trail was beautifully coated with crisp fallen leaves of many different colors.