tessekrub's Journal

Over fall break, I went for an hour's walk around the trails surrounding Hammond Pond. The weather on this day was mostly sunny and 68 degrees, though it felt cooler in the woods. I was able to spot all 4 types of plants, along with some fungi and a few animals like the squirrel that I got a picture of. It was difficult to find many varying types of angiosperms due to the weather getting colder, though I saw some interesting purple and orange flowers. For the Bryophyte, I captured a picture of some mosses along the pathway. I also found pine cones that came from a pine tree, which is a type of Gymnosperm. Lastly, I spotted an example of a Polypodiopsida, which was the fern. On this walk, I saw a plant that I identified as a Japanese Pachysandra and I found it fascinating how this species grew in large patches. I assumed it spread through the use of rhizomes. I also learned that this species is not native to North America, thus it makes sense that one of its defining characteristics is its ability to cover such a large amount of land. I really enjoyed looking for all the different varieties of plants and was so happy to have such beautiful weather when I went on this walk!!

This evening, I went on a walk around the Hammond Pond trails for about an hour. I started at about 6:00 pm, so it was relatively dark when I was exploring. The temperature was roughly 55 degrees and it was raining. I saw several types of fungi on my walk, including mushrooms that grew on the ground and some that grew on trees. I think it's interesting that fungi form from eukaryotic multicellular organisms and can reproduce both sexually and asexually. When asexual reproduction occurs, the fungi spread through spores, which we have learned about in our microbiology unit. On my walk, I also spotted a big frog which was neat! I wish I saw a few more animals and flowers too, but it got dark quickly. I really liked this park and hope to explore the area when the weather is nicer!!

Today, I walked around Houghton Garden for about 45 minutes. It was roughly 62 degrees and mostly sunny, though the trees in the area shaded most of the trails. On this walk, I saw several types of flowers including ones that were yellow, white, and purple. I also saw various berries, which can be seen in my observation posts. Fungi throughout the garden varied in shape in color, and I thought that observing the different mushrooms was fascinating. I hoped to see more animals and insects on this walk but only came in contact with roughly 2 chipmunks, a squirrel, and a few birds. There was a pond where I tried to find frogs or fish, though I saw none close to where I was standing. What I found most intriguing was the different shapes of the pine cones that I spotted. I saw some that were long and slim, and others that were smaller and round. It had me wondering why they exhibit different shapes and whether this was a result of natural selection or something else. I really enjoyed today's adventure.