Site 1,2,3,4 - January 21, 2011

Site #1:
It was day two of our nature walk. Previously, we saw trees that had deer rub, tracks, and lichen on stumps. I remind you that we are still in the winter season, so the temperature is very cold and the wind is blowing nonstop. Our first stop was at the pond. We saw several geese, we had to be extra quiet or we would disturb them and they would fly away. Around the pond, I glanced around and could see nothing but dead grass. We also saw many trees with dead leaves falling onto the ground.

As we walked away, we came across raccoon and deer tracks. We observed that they weren't very close to the pond, but several feet away.

Site #2:
We continued through the nature trail and came upon a creek that stretched for several yards. It was filled with broken branches and leaves that had fallen. On the substrate was mud that had left the creek with murky water. We stepped a little closer to the creek to find a crayfish swimming by.



As you can see in the picture above, the crayfish swam underneath these branches in fear. Mrs. Richardson explained to us that the crayfish could mistake us for a hawk that was very hungry. We tried to make it swim back out but it wouldn't come out again. Above this creek were several birds that flew around the trees. The wind was blowing really hard to make tears come to your eyes on top of the low temperature.

Site #3:
We kept walking through the nature trail and came upon a vernal pool - a seasonal body of standing water that typically forms in the spring from melting snow and other runoff, dries out completely in the hotter months of summer, and often refills in the autumn. Vernal pools range from broad, heavily vegetated lowland bodies to smaller, isolated upland bodies with little permanent vegetation. They are free of fish and provide important breeding habitat for many terrestrial or semiaquatic species such as frogs, salamanders, and turtles. (http://www.dictionary.com/) We also saw algae at the bottom of the vernal pool. As we were observing we heard the wind blowing through the trees and the leaves falling.

Site #4:

As we sat down to take a break, we looked above us to see a White Breasted Nuthatch in a Pine tree. We looked around to see a creek and broken branches around this tree. We could hear the trees blowing in the wind and leaves falling from those trees. This picture was taken by Mrs. Richardson.

Sites 1,2,3 - January 12, 2011

Site #1:

As our class walked behind the high school onto the practice football field we saw birds flying in the air as well as sitting on the branches of trees. We walked on grass and also through mud puddles. As we stopped and listened to the nature, we heard trains flying by, leaves on trees blowing in the wind, and vehicles zooming by. It's winter season so the temperature is very cold with chilling winds.

Site #2:

Our class walked into the trails to find a turkey feather in the midst of leaves and pine needles. It was the day after snow had fallen so we could still see some snow that hadn't melted. Again, we are in the winter season so the temperature is deathly cold with winds that made tears come to your eyes. We heard the leaves on the trees blowing in the wind along with birds chirping.

Site #3:

We walked further into the woods on a trail that was cut out. We came upon a stump with lichen - composed of a fungus in symbiotic union with an alga and having a greenish, gray, yellow, brown, or blackish thallus that grows in leaflike, crustlike, or branching forms on rocks, trees, etc. (http://www.dictionary.com/) We also saw several trees with bark falling off due to deer rub. We heard the wind blowing harder and the leaves falling off of trees. Again, we are in the winter season with very cold temperatures and piercing cold winds.