My site, Tyler Woods is located just behind Tyler House. In the past, Tyler House used to be known as Psi Upsilon. The building was built where a previous building had once been in 1925 and was converted into a fraternity house. Tyler Annex was built much later in 1972. The Record reported that planning of the building began in October 3^rd, 1925 and construction on Tyler House commenced on May 18^th, 1926. Members of the fraternity named the house after one of its members: Lt. John Cowperthwaite Tyler (Warren, 55, 56).

            Tyler was a member of the Williams class of 1915. After he graduated from Williams College, he went to continue his education at M.I.T. Here, he studied aeronautics and mining and majored in engineering. He graduated from M.I.T. in 1917 and joined the French Escadrille Branch soon afterward. In 1918, he was sent to fly for the U.S. Army during World War I. While he was on a mission to bombing an enemy railroad, he and his comrades were attacked and his plane went down. This occurred on September 21^st, 1918 (Warren, 55).

            Williams College received the right to use Tyler House as a residential facility in 1966 (Warren, 56), and that is what it is used as today. Thus, Tyler Woods has had at least a hundred years of exposure to human activity.

            Before the Tyler plot was owned by Williams College, it was most likely owned by the Huntoon family, specifically Eliza M. Huntoon. The deed to the land states, that the Huntoons had possession of the land in 1904 and at least until 1909. Although there is not that much information specifically relating to the ownership of Tyler Woods, it is possible that some of its nearby neighbors such as the Jeromes, Hewitts, and the Tenneys may also have owned parts of Tyler Woods since their properties bordered the woods according to a map created in 1904.

            I hope to be able to take a corer and determine how old some of the larger trees in my site are. This may give me a sense of how old the forest is. Was the forest here before the Huntoons obtained it in 1904?

            Not too far from Tyler Woods, Williams College also used to own a farm. Is it possible that Tyler Woods used to be a pasture or cultivated area? If this is true, then when did the forest begin to grow and take over?

On Sunday, November 15^th, at around noon, the weather was again cloudy and around fifty degrees. In this week’s blog, instead of including just a description and analysis of our site, we were also required to make a three minute video recording of our site.

I began my video at the beginning of Tyler Path. I immediately realized that my site had changed a great deal as winter continues to come closer. The forest floor is now completely covered with leaves and only a few sugar maples are still holding onto their leaves. I noticed that these maples that still had their leaves were the ones that were farthest away from the artificial light. As stated before in one of my previous blogs, those trees closer to the lights lost their leaves before those trees farther away from the lights, just as those leaves at the tops of trees (the ones closer to the sun) fell before the leaves closer to the base of the tree. With most of the leaves fallen, I could see the entirety of my site quite clearly.

Through the Periwinkle Valley, I filmed both the Barred Owl Tree and the fallen tree that I had climbed in a previous blog. With the green leaves now gone, the whitish bark of the Barred Owl tree could be seen from across my site. I have not seen the barred owl since that first sighting, so I was unfortunately not able to catch it on film. Above the fallen tree next to the Barred Owl Tree, one can see the few evergreens that reside in my site. There are not that many of them, but they are generally located around the sides of my site instead of in the center. Why is this? The evergreens also live in clusters instead of spreading out. Besides the sugar maples, I noticed this was the case with all the plants in my site. The periwinkles are located in one large cluster and so are the honeysuckles. This is most likely because the seeds are dispersed in close proximity to the parent plant.

I was surprised that I saw so few mammals and birds on this trip. I was not able to get any squirrels or chipmunks on tape, and I only heard the sound of a few birds and crows, but was not able to film them. Panning to the entrance of my site, I was able to capture Tyler House which had more activity than usual. Most of the parking lot was filled with cars, and more people than usual were making their way to and from Tyler House. I have come to notice that Tyler House on Sunday afternoons is usually more active than at the same time on Friday. This is probably because most students are in classes on Friday, while students are free on Sunday afternoons.

Although there were not any animals, besides humans, that I could see, there were still a few signs of the small creatures that usually abound within Tyler. I was able to film the holes made in one of the trees next to the Barred Owl tree. These were most likely made by a type of woodpecker in the area. I have not been able to spot it yet, but hopefully it will appear in the near future. I could also hear multiple birds, although I could not see them. The only one I could identify was the crow, and I also heard the high pitched squeak of one of the chipmunks that I see quite often.

I ended my video at the farthest side opposite the Barred Owl Tree where one of my sightings of the deer occurred. The path on this side leads out of my site and to the houses behind Tyler Woods. Within this shot, I captured a gnarled tree, which I think is a maple. This tree has a thick trunk and looks old. I would like to determine the species of the tree and how old it actually is. It would also be interesting to find out what is the oldest tree in my site. I would guess that since I believe this site to be relatively young, that the trees here would be young as well. Hopefully I can find this out next week once I research the history of my site.

          Today I went to my site on October 30^th at one in the afternoon. The weather today was still cloudy, and it was quite windy. Fall has finally arrived at my site. All of the trees within my site have now changed color and are a vivid bright yellow. Some trees have even lost all of their leaves and are now bare. Taking my journal, I sat on a stump next to the Tyler Path and listened as the wind blew through the tree tops. The strong wind was ripping the leaves from the branches. They fell slowly, floating down to the ground and adding to the large pile of leaves that have now accumulated on the forest floor.

            While looking at the lay of the land, I noticed that compared to the sites we visited on Mt. Greylock, the forest was quite flat. There were some dips and hills created by fallen trees, but for the most part, the ground is relatively flat. I am sure this indicates that this is a younger forest.

            Unlike some of the sites that we have visited on our field trips, my site lacks the variety of fall colors which we have seen. There are no signs of red leaves like those belonging to the red maple or burning bush. There are a few trees which still have some green leaves, but for the most part, they are all turning yellow.

            There are still a few huckleberries left on my site, though they seem to be disappearing. The squirrels and birds may be eating them as winter comes closer and food becomes scarce. Besides the berries, there are few things to taste in my site. There is not any yellow birch, clovers, or mushrooms in my site to taste.

Speaking of small animals, I saw two squirrels playing in the leaves. I could hear their high pitched squeaking as they ran up and down the tree trunks and underneath the leaves. Soon after, a flock of geese flew above me; the sound of their honks preceded their presence as they made their way south for the winter.

            It will be interesting to see how the site changes as the season transitions from fall to winter. How will the light source change as the leaves begin to disappear? How will the lay of the land change after the leaves have gone and after the snow begins to fall? I am also excited to begin to study the history of my site to see what it was before it became Tyler Woods and to see if it is as young as I believe it to be.

Tyler Woods Video            On Wednesday, October 21^st, Claudia and I ventured out to Tyler Woods at night. It was around eight o’clock, and the sun had completely set. As we walked up Tyler Road, our path was illuminated by the lights which lined the side walk, and the light glow coming from the windows of Tyler House.

            Our last beacon of light came from the lamppost next to Tyler Path, where we then entered Tyler Woods. Although it was dark within the woods, the light from the parking lot and the surrounding houses made it possible for one to see reasonably well. Still, we took out our flash lights, and I began to look for the first place I wished to start recording.

            I decided to first record not too far from the path. As I pressed record, I noticed that the night was still and quite, which was not what I was expecting. I was expecting to hear the chirping of crickets or the hoot of the barred owl. Instead, for fifteen seconds, I recorded the sound of impenetrable silence.

            Wishing to try another location to see if I could catch any nighttime activity, I headed to my right and down another side path. Here we stopped, as I heard the sound of one of the many domesticated dogs which I have seen on my site. Although I could not see him, the bark was coming from the direction of one of the fenced houses behind Tyler House. I readied the recorder and recorded the repetitive barking which echoed throughout the area.

            Fifteen seconds later, we made our way to the Periwinkle Valley where I recorded my third recording. The dog, which we had left behind us, could still be heard disturbing the night’s silence. Besides the presence of this loud, domestic dog, no other sounds could be heard throughout Tyler Woods. The night was strangely quiet. Even Tyler House was devoid of noise. There were no cars making their way up Tyler Road; there was no music blasting through the windows, and there were no faint whispers of conversation which usually made their way to my ears through the small open windows.

            My last stop, and last fifteen second recording, was in Huckleberry Path. The sound of the dogs warning signal was now faint, and only the silence of the night remained. After I had recorded this last fifteen minutes, Claudia made an interesting observation. The strongest light source in Tyler Woods is a lamp post which stands at the end of Huckleberry Path. She noticed that those leaves closest to the lamp post had turned color and were already beginning to fall, while many of the leaves farther away from the lamp post were still green and had not yet changed color. This was evidence that the presence of artificial light impacts the time individual trees lose their leaves.

            The next night when we arrived in the Hopkins Forest, I noticed that Claudia’s sight had trees that were much older than those in my site. The ground within the sight was covered in freshly fallen leaves, and some of the trees were already bare and looked ready for the winter. My trees, on the other hand, still had some leaves that had not yet changed color. Just as in the Science Quad, I could see that those trees that were older usually lost their leaves first, while the younger trees lost their leaves later. Since my site is younger than Claudia’s site, it makes sense that many of her trees have lost their leaves while mine are still in the process of losing theirs.

            Unfortunately, I was not able to record the barred owl Wednesday night. Although the only concrete sound I got was of the nearby dog, I am sure that with multiple visits to Tyler I would be able to capture the sound of dear walking through the leaves, the hoot of an owl, squirrels out late hiding away food for the winter, and the sound of people coming to and from Tyler House. With time and patience, I am sure we would find that Tyler Woods is as alive and active at night as it is during the day.

On the 21^st of October, there was a drastic decrease in temperature within the Berkshire area. This drop in temperature had a great affect on the plant life within Williams Town, including Tyler House Woods. On the night of October 21^st, the temperature dropped to twenty seven degrees Fahrenheit, while previously it had been in the forties.

The next day on the 22^nd of October, we observed that the trees within and around Williams College that had once been green before, were now rapidly changing color, some even losing their leaves entirely. The extreme cold triggered the trees to lose their leaves. Therefore, we saw a great number of trees whose top leaves were beginning to change color and fall to the ground.

In my own site, I found that the ground was covered with even more dry, yellow leaves. Most of the trees were turning a bright yellow color. There were also some bushes turning a reddish color, but the predominant color was yellow. For the most part, the trees were beginning to turn color at the tops of their branches before any color change occurred on the lower branches.

The leaves that had fallen also revealed some of the animals that had once remained hidden. As I walked through the woods, I spotted at least four grey squirrels and three chipmunks. I could hear the high pitched squeal of the chipmunks as they raced across the fallen logs and up the sides of the maples. One was even rummaging through the leaves as it attempted to bury one of the nuts it had found on the forest floor.

While approaching my site, I noticed that there was a lot of activity from both the wildlife and people within the area. I could hear crickets in the nearby field, two squirrels ran about one of the nearby trees, a man and his dog played fetch not too far off, and two cars made their way up to Tyler House. It seemed that there was more activity near my site than usual. I usually arrive at Tyler Woods around 4:00 or 5:00 o’clock. Is it possible that an hour or two could change the amount of activity in Tyler? I may, in the future, try to arrive at my site at different times in order to determine whether or not time has a significant impact on the amount of activity within Tyler Woods.

Besides the maple trees, the pine trees within my site were also losing some of their needles, remnants of which could be seen discarded around the base of their trunks. The needles were mostly gone from the lower branches. There were also more cones on the ground than there were before. This may have been the reason for why there were so many squirrels and chipmunks in my site today.

Although a large number of trees were changing color, there were still many trees which were still holding on to their green leaves. I wonder why these trees have not changed color. Will they begin to change color, or will the leaves drop before hand?

From observing my site after the sudden drop in temperature, I have seen how changes in temperature can affect when a tree decides to shed its leaves. It will be interesting to see how the trees will continue to change as the temperature continues to drop. How long will it take and at what temperature will it be when the other trees begin to lose their leaves?

Today, I decided to try a different approach to analyzing my site. I started out to Tyler House Woods slightly later than usual, around six in the afternoon. The sky was just beginning to shift to the darker colors of night, but it was still before sunset.

As I began my ascent up Tyler Road, I heard the barking of dogs. They were most likely the same dogs that I had seen chasing the deer a week earlier. Their barking pierced the night’s silence, along with the continuous chirping of crickets.

The parking lot was more crowded than usual, and there was more activity as the residents of Tyler House returned for the night. The lights of Tyler were on and their golden light illuminated the parking lot. From one window came the faint beat of music, and I could hear murmurs of conversations within.

I continued to the edge of Tyler Woods. The sky was getting slightly darker, and the glow of the street lights was slowly becoming visible. I sat down on the curb separating the parking lot and the woods. In my other reports, I was relying too much on my sight, looking at things, identifying them, and then listing them. This time, I wanted to focus on the atmosphere of the site instead of just making lists of plant life.

I closed my eyes, as I did so, the symphony of cricket chirps again filled my ears, and, as if keeping beat, a stead crackling sound interrupted the chirps as leaves fell from the tree tops and slowly floated to the forest floor.

Adding to the music was the wind. I listened as it traveled from one side of the forest to the other, rustling the tops of the trees as it went. It was not just one loud rushing sound, but I could hear the wind approach, coming closer and closer as it moved above the tree tops.  Its strength seemed almost overpowering as it forced the trees to bow at its command, and the leaves too obeyed as they were ripped from the branches and tossed downwards to the forest floor.  I breathed in deeply the cool, night air and for once felt a part of my site, not as an observer, but as a living, breathing part of Tyler Woods.

I opened my eyes and stood up from the curve. With my journal in hand, I walked from the pavement into the forest. As I walked, the sound of the leaves crunching under my feet was almost deafening. There were definitely more freshly fallen leaves covering the ground since last week. With the stillness and quiet of the night, I could hear more than usual. The small animals which usually eluded my eyes could now be heard rustling through the fall leaves. They were most likely small chipmunks and squirrels rummaging through the debris. There were no signs of birds as the sun was going down and all the birds had gone in for the night.

As I made my way through the periwinkle valley, a pair of bright, sparkling eyes shined in the distance. A small, tan colored cat stood on the path. Its muscles were tensed and it stood frozen as it noticed me. I crouched on one knee, trying not to frighten it, and slowly crawled toward the cat. Yet, every step forward I made the cat made one step backward. I decided to give up and stood up to leave, and the cat, now certain that it was free from danger, decided to curl up on the path and sleep.

Going later in the day exposed me to a new side of my sight. I felt connected in a way that I was not before. It was not just about looking at the sight and identifying what was there. That approach, although useful makes one somewhat detached from the sight, but to take time to sit and try to feel a part of the site was something I had not accomplished before. It is now a place I want to go to, not just for class, but to find peace and tranquility.

                I left for Tyler House Woods on September 24^th at 4:15 P.M. It was again another sunny, warm day with little to no rain throughout the previous week. The woods are approximately five minutes from Mission and off Tyler Road. I began my map at Tyler Road, which curves up a slight incline to Tyler House. While walking, I could hear the Ultimate Frisbee team practicing in the distance, and a few people road bikes or cars up to Tyler House.

                I stopped for a moment to begin drawing Tyler Road, the first part of my map. As I looked around, I saw that there were four deer grazing in the field on my left. They were gathered on the opposite side of the road near a small house. I set my things down on the sidewalk and went to take a closer look.

                Of the four deer, there was one adult and three fawns. The fawns stayed clustered together as the doe trekked ahead. They heard me as I noisily plodded through the grass and dead leaves, but they didn’t seem alarmed. The deer remained calm and at peace until two black Labradors came bounding out of the house. They chased the deer across the field, and the deer fled across the road. It was then that I noticed from their white tails that they were white tailed deer. The deer made it safely to the field next to Tyler House, and the dogs stopped their chase.

                I continued on my way to the Tyler parking lot. There were a few cars there and some people going to and from Tyler House. While standing in the parking lot, I noticed a path that I had not seen before. I decided to take it to see where it led to. I have decided to name this path Huckleberry Path, as it is surrounded by huckleberry bushes. I also found more trash on this path which included bottles, cans, and a Butterfinger wrapper. The path led to another parking lot next to a red bricked house, which had a small black and white cat staring out of the window.

                I then returned to the Huckleberry Path and walked on a side path which connects the Huckleberry Path with the main path, which I’ll call Tyler Path. This side path passes by the Barred Owl Tree where I saw the barred owl. The owl was not there that day, but I did notice something new about the tree. There were lots of holes in the tree which suggests that a woodpecker lives nearby. I wonder what type of woodpecker made these holes? The Barred Owl Tree stands on top of an embankment which is covered by fallen trees, decaying logs, and one paper birch.

                Further down the path is the Periwinkle Valley, where there is a large amount of periwinkle. There is no longer any sign of the purple flower of the periwinkle since the blooming season is over. The Periwinkle Valley then runs into Tyler Path, which is next to a small street lamp. The rest of Tyler Woods is dominated by a tree which looks to be sugar maple and some sort of oak. The trees here still haven’t changed much in color, so it’s still somewhat difficult to tell the species of the trees. Besides trees, there are very few plants to the right of Tyler Path. The ground is mostly covered by dead leaves and small twigs, although there were a few ferns which may have been the New York fern.

                At the very back of Tyler Woods is a fence, which separates the woods from the houses beyond. There are also two more paths near this fence. One path leads to the houses, and the other path, which is less distinct, leads to a clearing behind Tyler House. It was here that I saw one of the white tailed deer again. I also noticed other mammals within the woods including two grey squirrels and one eastern chipmunk.

                Some species of plants and animals are still unknown to me, so I hope to continue to add to my map as I identify them. I have also come to a greater understanding of how drawing can increase one’s understanding of a subject. Whether it is a living organism or an inanimate object, drawing forces the observer to look at a subject in a new way.

            Tyler House Woods, although still wild and natural, is affected by the people and dwellings which surround it. I believe the influence man has played on these woods has affected the plants and animals which live within its boundaries, for while walking through Tyler House Woods, I saw multiple signs of man and their influence on the plant life there.

            I started out to Tyler House Woods on September 12^th, 2009 at around three o’clock in the afternoon. The weather, at the time, was cloudy. There had been a slight drizzle earlier in the day, but the rain had stopped for now. Walking toward Tyler House Woods, I came upon Tyler House and a parking lot occupied by multiple cars. The parking lot is only a few feet from the site, making it easy for human activity to affect the plants and animals of the woods.

            Upon entering the site, I noticed that there were lots of dead foliage on the forest floor, mostly dead leaves, sticks and twigs, and rotting logs. Along the curb, where the cement met the woods, a line of ants trailed across the ground. Other insects present included an American Bumble Bee and mosquitoes.

            Bordering the woods, were Spice Bushes and White Snakeroot. I spotted the American Bubble Bee flying around the blossoms of the White Snakeroot. Deeper into the woods, I noticed that the trees were, for the most part, deciduous such as the Silver Maple and the Red Maple. The leaves were mostly green, and there were very few signs of color change. I spotted one cone which looked like it could belong to one of the variety of Spruce trees.

            Besides the large trees that were growing there, there were also many young trees growing beneath the shade of the older ones. These trees may have been planted by people, or they may have grown naturally. Either way, it shows that the Tyler House Woods is thriving. These saplings may also be replacing those trees which were cut down. Remnants of these trees, such as the remaining stumps and dead logs, can be seen on the forest floor.

            Besides trees, there were also different types of foliage that covered the ground. This foliage included Bracken, Periwinkle, and Calico Aster. A large patch of Periwinkle was present at the back of the site, but only a few blooms could be seen.

            Next to the Periwinkle, there was a manmade path, which led to a house beyond the woods. To the right of the path, there was also a fence and a shed. I also found some remnants of a glass bottle and a little paper and trash. With the woods surrounded by homes and because it is accessible by a path, one can see how easily the woods can be influenced by human existence.

            Between the path and the small shed were a cluster of trees. One of these trees was dead and had smooth, white bark. Upon this tree, perched, what looked to be, a Barred Owl. It sat calm and still as a number of other birds sang nearby, which included a flock of geese, which momentarily flew above the woods. In addition to birds, I also saw one grey squirrel wandering around a little outside the bounds of my site.

            Tyler House Woods is a site rich with a variety of plants and animals, many of which I probably missed on my first outing, and from the looks of the small saplings growing within the woods and the presence of people within close proximity to the site, I believe Tyler House Woods is still a growing and changing site effected both by nature and people.

On October 1^st, around 4:00 P.M., I set out again for Tyler House Woods. The weather was cloudy and around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. As I came upon Tyler Woods, I noticed how fresh and cool the air smelt. It was a rejuvenating feeling to breathe in air that felt so clean and soothing, a feeling that cannot always be replicated within the city. It was the smell of autumn. Signs of autumn were also evident in the trees which had finally begun to change color. Right in front of me, as I walked up Tyler Road, was a sugar maple adorned in a gown of bright orange. It was the first tree that had changed color in my site. At the foot of the maple, were also a number of asters in bloom, and next to the asters were the honeysuckle bushes which were still producing their small, red berries.

Walking down Tyler Path, I noticed that there were more bottles today, and I could still smell the faint aroma of beer coming from the bottles. While examining these bottles, I stepped on a log, which crumbled underneath my feet. I again noticed that on the right side of Tyler Path, most of the ground is covered in rotting debris; I noticed the smell of these rotting materials gave off a moist, earthy smell which permeated throughout most of the woods.

Further down the slope, I found a pile of rocks scattered around a few sugar maples. I took out my pocket knife and began to scratch at them to see if I could identify them. The first rock was round and smooth, and my knife left no scratches on its surface. I realized that this rock was quartzite. Looking around, I noticed that there were many samples of quartzite within the area. I moved on to another rock which looked different from the quartzite. I took my pocket knife out again and began to scratch at its surface. This time the knife made an impact. I could now see multiple scratches on the rock’s surface. I also noticed that the rock looked somewhat layered, and, with my knife, I was able to break off small slices. I concluded that this rock was schist.

After examining the pile of rocks, I made my way to Periwinkle Valley. By now, the Periwinkle blossoms were now all gone and just the leaves were left. I did smell a sweet perfume-like smell, like that from a flower. Yet, besides the asters, few flowers were present.

I then walked through the Periwinkle Valley to the Barred Owl Tree. I have not seen the barred owl since my first sighting, but while I was climbing one of the fallen trees near where I saw the owl, I noticed a few droppings within one of the nooks of the tree. Whether these were from the barred owl, the grey squirrels, or the many chipmunks that I see frequently within my site, I cannot be sure. I also have not seen any sign of the woodpecker which has left multiple marks around Tyler Woods.

While jumping down from the tree, I frightened a chipmunk, probably the fifth chipmunk I had seen that day. I then made my way past the Barred Owl Tree to the houses beyond. A sweet smell was coming from the house which smelled something like fabric softener, another reminder of how people have a direct impact on the atmosphere within Tyler Woods.

As I began to leave Tyler Woods I received one more new surprise. Just under the honeysuckle bushes, I saw a small rabbit chewing on the grasses which grew beside the road. It scampered away just as I took a picture. I believe the rabbit had white fur under its tail, making it a cottontail, but I cannot be entirely sure.

An hour after I had arrived, the last thing I heard was the bark of a dog in the distance, and the smells, sounds, and sights of Tyler Woods were left behind.

3-season video of Tyler House woods