Field Study 6

November 26 2024

Date and time: 12:00 p.m.

Present climate conditions: sunny with clouds here and there

Temperature: 36 degrees

length of day: 9 hours and 23 minutes

organisms smelled, felt, heard, or seen, etc (sketches/photos/video where possible) 

Water: The water was perfectly clear like usual. It had no trace of algae. There where some bluegill minnows by the shore like usual, along with at least ten muskrat holes. The cattails where all dormant. The water was pretty high and cold. 

Meadow/Beach: There were some deer tracks scattered throughout the beach and meadow. There was a great amount of new mushrooms that had come up, which was surprising due to the cold weather. There was every color of mushroom/ fungi except for blue. The moss looked like it was a little less vibrant today compared to last time. 

Woods: There was a lot of fungal growth here as well. Every tree except for the pine trees have all lost their leaves by now. There were not many different things this time from the last. However, the pinecones on the pine trees were starting to open up. 

Changes noticed since last visit: The fungi was a huge change; there was the most I have ever seen-in the woods, beach and meadow. The whole area was a little more dormant than last time. The trees had a decent amount of lichen as well as moss on them this time. The cattails by the water were very brown. The muskrat holes in the water were also new, or I have not noticed them in the prior visits. The pinecones were opening up as well. 

Answer to your last question: I searched really hard to figure out what was on the those pine cones I showed you, but there were no resources I could find that would tell me what they were. I went back to look at them though, and those pinecones that were covered with stuff were all on the lowest dead braches of the trees. If you went higher, the pinecones were normal and healthy. I think that when those lower branches on the trees died, the pine cones were never able to open, so fungus, lichen, and moss covered them. 

Pictures:

  Some yellow fungi that I found upturned

Some green fungi I found that was every where in the meadow

Cattails that are turning brown

Animal holes in the area between the meadow and beach

Muskrat hole in the water

Deer tracks     

Another upturned mushroom

Pictures I have been taking in the same spots since the beginning: