mccartxk's Journal

Today I went on a lovely sunset walk at Boston College's Pine Tree Preserve. It was a bit chilly in the 50s, but the wind made it seem much colder than it was. The outside air was a refreshing end to my day. I focused on making observations of different kinds of plants today. Right off the bat, I saw a lot of pine trees. Pine trees are gymnosperms, the first group of plants on my list. Gymnosperms are vascular plants that produce exposed seeds (hence the pine cone photos). I then narrowed in to see some Polypodiopsidas in the form of ferns, a Bryophyta in the form of moss, and many Angiosperms in the form of different flowering plants. Of the different groups of plants, I found the Angiosperms to be my favorite because they always tended to stand out with their bright colors. Overall, my walk was quite enjoyable and I am excited for my next one!

Today I went on a stroll in Boston College's Pine Tree Preserve on the hunt for fungi! The beginning of my journey was a little disappointing because I could not find fungi for the life of me. Then, I changed my strategy and started to look in the nooks and crevices of stumps and rocks. To my surprise, fungi was everywhere to be found. Even in some small nooks, I could find several species of fungi. The biodiversity of fungi in a small area was shocking. There was one rock where I found multiple different species in one crack. There must have been some advantage to the fungi being in that crack. The area of the pine tree preserve had lots of species diversity with no single species overrunning the preserve (high species evenness) and a lot of species richness. In my observations, I included fungi and some other species of plants and animals that I found. The weather today was in the mid 50s. It was a little drizzly and quite windy. I definitely underdressed with my simple crewneck and sweatpants. I should've brought a rain jacket!

Today, I did a lap around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir and made some observations of the wild animals and plants I saw. The weather was beautiful during my walk. It was in the mid-60s and sunny. So, I got a mix of heat from the sun, but it was windy/chilly enough to wear a sweatshirt and jeans. I saw many different species on my walk. I made observations of wild flowers and weeds. Also of the geese, sliders, and gulls swimming around the reservoir. However, my favorite observation was of a bumble bee perched on a white aster. I had to get really close to it to take a photo, but it stayed still for me! I tried my best to match the species to the correct genus, but some of the pictures were a little blurry so it was difficult for iNaturalist's program to identify it. The biodiversity of the reservoir is very interesting to me. It is quite enjoyable to see the variety of different species and how they all interact with each other. Overall, I enjoyed my walk, and it was fun to pay close attention and note the different aspects of nature around me.