marinayoussef33's Journal

I walked around neighborhoods near campus, looking at any trees that are growing, and I noticed how many leaves are on the ground, yet so many of the trees were full of leaves. One, in particular, had leaves that were only orange, and it stood out from the other trees that were either only green leaves or had very few leaves left on their branches. I saw some trees that also had lichen growing on them, which made me think about how different types of organisms interact within an ecosystem. In this case, the tree essentially provides a place for the lichen to grow. It also made me wonder how the lichen might benefit the tree it's growing on and vice versa. I also saw some flowering plants that I usually see in neighborhoods. It resembles a hydrangea, but it had a darker color to it. I also saw a bush that looked like it was a fern, but it wasn't, which was really interesting since ferns usually grow in very wooded areas like forests. I also spotted tons of evergreen trees in the area, which were still bright green despite the rest of the leaves having already changed colors.

I took a 30-minute walk near and around the Chesnut Hill Reservoir, where it was chilly and overcast, but as I walked around, the cold air wasn't as bothersome. I noticed that many of the trees had a type of fungi called Lichen growing on them, and there was even some lichen on rocks around the water. After walking around for a bit in the woods nearby, I found mushrooms in the woods; they were hard to spot because they resembled the acorns scattered all over the ground. I also saw a tree stump that had two types of fungi growing on it; one had an orangey color to it and another was a light brown. There were also a lot of scattered branches that had lichen on them as well. It was really cool to see.

I walked through neighborhoods towards Newton Centre, during which it was somewhat breezy and chilly, but the weather was nice where a jacket wasn't needed; a simple sweater did just fine. I also noticed some trees had a mix of orange, yellow, and green leaves, which was interesting as it showed how the leaves change throughout the seasons. Some of those brightly colored leaves had already fallen, which reminded me of how there are usually no leaves on trees during the wintertime, which is one of the few things I dislike about winter (the lack of greenery). I particularly loved how walking down a slight hill, I could see some trees from the distance where it really showed how the leaves are changing; one tree had orange and yellow leaves on top but towards the tree trunk, the leaves were solely green, which was, again, very cool and beautiful to witness. I also noticed how one of the tree's roots was poking through the sidewalk, making the sidewalk uneven, which reminded me of artificial selection and whether or not humans select trees with traits that demonstrate they're strong enough to break through cement with their roots and withstand such environmental conditions as it pertains to the development of land for more housing, office buildings, etc.