October 13, 2021

Nature Walk #3 10/13

Today I went on a walk to the Houghton Gardens, and it was a beautiful, warm, and sunny day! The theme for this week's walk was plants, and I was able to find an abundance of variety among the plant life during my walk. For example, I found many different types of wildflowers growing, as well as a variety of trees, mosses, and more leaf-like plants. I expected that as I went towards the small river there would be different species of plants due to a slight shift in habitat, but there was not a major difference observed. I also saw many squirrels, and even a chipmunk eating an acorn! It was overall very relaxing to take a break from my work and surround myself with nature for a bit, and also it is very interesting each week to see what a wide variety of organisms there are in local areas if you intentionally look for them.

Posted on October 13, 2021 09:41 PM by bonstewart96 bonstewart96 | 8 observations | 0 comments | Leave a comment

October 6, 2021

Nature Walk #2 10/6/21

Today I went on a walk to Houghton Gardens in the mid-afternoon, and it was a very serene experience on a sunny day! I was able to find many different types of fungi, and some that I have never seen before. Although most of the fungi I found was in the form of mushrooms, there was a very large variety of the types of mushrooms that grow in this small area. While I was finding all of these different mushrooms, I was wondering if any of their colors serve as warnings, as some poisonous animal species display to avoid being eaten. There was also a very strange looking grey growth on a tree that is likely Wolf's Milk, which apparently is often mistaken for fungi, but is really a slime growth on damp bark. Some of the mushrooms also looked like they had been eaten by the animals at the gardens, and it made me wonder whether these species might have a better sense of poisonous versus safe mushrooms, especially if it constitutes a large portion of their food source. The walk was overall a very relaxing time, and I was glad to immerse myself in nature this week!

Posted on October 6, 2021 11:18 PM by bonstewart96 bonstewart96 | 7 observations | 0 comments | Leave a comment

September 29, 2021

Nature Walk 1

Today, Wednesday September 29th, I went on a nature walk to the Pine Tree Reserve, next to the Recreation Center at Boston College. It was a partly cloudy day, and the temperature was in the mid 60s. While I was at the reserve, I saw many different species of mushrooms, many of which looked like they were in the process of being eaten by the wildlife inhabiting the area. I saw several squirrels, one of which I was able to get multiple pictures of because it was so friendly! Although normally when I would see a squirrel off campus it would probably run away if people came too close, but this one was fairly interested in the sight of me and stayed around for longer than expected, likely because these squirrels are exposed to so many people passing through campus on a daily basis. There were also many types of wildflowers that sprouted up throughout the reserve, and lots of fauna such as ferns. The trees did not have much lichen on them which was somewhat surprising, but I was able to find some on a rock.

Posted on September 29, 2021 11:47 PM by bonstewart96 bonstewart96 | 5 observations | 0 comments | Leave a comment

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