katiespillane's Journal

It was definitely fairly cold out and a bit late so it got dark quickly. I really really struggled with the theme. The only animals I really saw on my walk behind Newton Campus were people walking their dogs. Mostly I took photos of plants and trees since those were the only wild, living things I could find. I was able to find a squirrel or two but was only barely quick enough to get the photo. I did see a hawk but I was not quick enough to get a photo of it. I could not even find any insects to snap photos of, unfortunately. And it started to get dark so I decided to call it a day. It was a nice walk nonetheless and I enjoyed the cold air.

I walked around Edmands Park for thirty minutes. It was definitely a bit cold but thankfully less windy in the park. I was able to find all four main groups of plants. Some moss in Bryophyta, a fern in Polypodiopsida, an evergreen tree in Gymnosperms, as well as a flowering plant with gorgeous red flowers in Angiosperms. I also found some fungi which were interesting even though it was not a plant. It was gorgeous out with all of the leaves falling and a lot less crowded than normal which was nice. Also got to pet someone's dog which is always a plus. It was definitely a bit harder to find plants I found super interesting with fall more underway. But I definitely liked having a more specific list of things to look for. I also hope to get better at identifying more everyday trees since I had more trouble classifying them.

I walked for around thirty minutes in Edmands Park behind the Newton campus. It was a little bit cold out but perfectly fine since I was wearing a sweatshirt. I walked with a friend and we saw a ton of people walking their dogs which provided a lot of entertainment. The park was super nice and had a lot of smaller trails which I liked. The smaller trails were a lot quieter and a bit more overgrown. I also did not realize how big the woods were! I had seen them a bunch from my building but did not know how far they go! I saw a bunch of flowers which was cool because I was kind of expecting most of them to be dead.