Phenology Project - Bike Path

My spot for the phenology project was along the bike path near the dog park but before north beach. I analyzed the change on the strip of land near the water for about fifty yards. Over the span of 4 months, I observed the changes in the water, plant life and land forms as the seasons and weather changed from winter to spring. This area used to be highly industrialized in the past when the Moran Plant was still in use. Remnants of the industrialization still remains in the form of slabs on concrete  and  metal siding along a portion of the lake. My first few visits to my site were when it was extremely cold out and the lake was frozen solid.

These pictures show the scope of the area that I was observing. I studied the wildlife and landscape that I could see from along the edge of the lake.

The trees and dominant species were difficult to identify in the weather when things are very dormant. This picture was taken from behind the trees along the side of the lake.

This picture shows the amount of industrial material that is still installed in Lake Champlain just a few meters off the coast of the lake.

Some slabs of concrete that have been broken and discarded still lie along the side of the lake and look pretty unnatural in a natural place.

ICE Over the Lake

The lake in this area had frozen in some areas in large, thick slabs of ice, sometimes almost a foot thick.

  

Ice on land

The icicles were hanging on the drift wood and rocks from the lake wind and waves created amazing, and intense ice formations.

Melting Season

Later in the season, I visited the site and found the ice to be slowly melting. No budding on the trees yet

The large chopped pieces of frozen ice were melting while still keeping their choppy shape.

Spring Visit

At the time of this visit, there was no ice remaining. The temperature outside was peasant but it was an over cast day. You could see clearly through the shallow water to the rocks beneath that were coated in green algae. I started to be able to identify some species in the strip of vegetation in the area surrounding the edge of the lake. Buds were just beginning to appear on the branches of the vegetation.

Buds and Trees Identification

I wish that i was able to identify all of the trees and shrubs in the area but with no leaves and only bark, buds and tree shape to use to identify the species, I found this to be very difficult.

Sumac 

Big Tooth Aspen bark and leaf

The twisted vine surrounding this tree

I toke a picture of as many different buds as I could find.

Aspen

Birch

Eastern White Pine?

Cedar

Grapes were the source of multiple vines twisting around branches. I wonder if this was the same plant that was twisting around the tree earlier.

Journal

Landscape Photography class was much more challenging than I thought it would be. Out of the 12 field trips and hundreds of photos, I found very few of them to be artistic, clear have meaning. My favorite type of pictures to take were macro photos- taking pictures of detail very close up. I enjoyed finding patterns in nature and capturing them to make it as clear as possible. Recognizing and enhancing detail in natural scenes created a style of photography that I was proud of.

The field trip to the UVM Greenhouse was where I took some of my best macro pictures.

This is one of my favorite pictures. I was drawn to the unique pattern on the bark because it was pointing up. The light was coming in on an angle and made for a small glare that brought out some cooler color tones in the bark.

I love the way the light accents the tips of the leaves and the soft texture of this plant.

Centennial Woods - Burlington VT - The falling snow created amazing scenes and morphed the landscape.

The day that we went to Jericho Research Forest was a beautiful sunny (but below freezing) day which highlighted some amazing colors on the wood of the trees.

Light casting linear shadows at different angles.

Shelburne Farms - Shelburne VT was a unique trip where we had the opportunity to photograph buildings in nature. 

The ceiling boards make the room appear really long because they get smaller when you look towards the door. The room was well lit and highlighted the different brown tones in the wood.

This picture was taken at the end of our day at Shelburne Farms when the sun was setting and the ice was beginning to form on the lake. The light was shining through the trees and reflected on the pieces of ice in the water.

In Williams Woods in Charlotte VT, I learned about beech bark disease which was a very interesting deformation in the usually smooth beech bark. The deformity in the bark looked so severe from far away and from up close to the point where the tree looked almost unrecognizable which was very shocking to me.

This is one of my favorite pictures that I have taken in this class. The irregularity in the branches balances out how the tree is centered in the photo which generally would be considered not to be art.

Shelburne Pond  

The random placement and color of the fungus growing up this tree was unusual and intriguing.

Audubon - Huntington VT

Warm colored wood and on a maple sugaring barn

Beaver dam look out house

Looking up through White Pines

Birch tree bark

Laplatt River Marsh - Shelburne VT

Irregular tracks from pests under bark.

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Inside a dead silver maple

Mt Philo - Charlotte VT - Very rocky landscape with rich color tones on the boulders. 

Blood root

Feeling small on the top of Mt Philo, looking west toward the Adirondack mountains.

Niquette Bay - Colcehster VT - There were several rock walls at Niquette Bay which was where I found there to be bright colored moss thriving during this wet month.

Hepatica wild flower

Very small snail seeking refuge in a red mushroom

Red Pine bark

Huntington Gorge - Huntington VT

Different shades of green in the moss and lichen on a rock catching the mist from the water falls.