Syndicate Road Woods – Friday, October 30, 2009 – 3:00 PM
The Syndicate Road woods have changed exponentially since my last visit. The first thing I noticed on my way into the woods is that the asters on the east side of the road which were in full bloom only a few weeks ago have now shriveled up to become little puffy balls of spores. The large puddle in the southeast corner of the woods, which I believe has grown a bit in size, measuring approximately 10 feet by 10 feet, is now visible from the road due to the bare branches of the surrounding trees. As I step into the site, I find it ironic that now the floor, not the canopy, is yellow because of the fallen leaves. Otherwise, everything seems quite still and only a squirrel disturbs the peace by jumping from one bank of the stream to the other.
The stream, in fact, is nothing but still. Even though it has not rained since Wednesday, water not only trickles but pours out from the culvert. The sound, therefore, of the gushing water is of a much higher decibel than during my other visits as the stream winds its way through rocks and miniature cataracts formed by fallen branches. The western bank of the stream is still muddy from the rain, but due to continuous erosion, it gives a good example of the various soil levels present at the site. I can easily see the two or three inches of dark top soil covering a thick, light-colored, muddy layer of clay. These layers all rest on a rock which is only slightly visible but appears to be schist.
On the banks of the stream I notice that the honeysuckle has lost of its small leaves but still maintains its bright red berries. The sumac too, which had a vibrant magenta color last week, has lost all of its leaves, although I do notice another sumac about twenty feet downstream that is later in its cycle and now appears bright pink. Now that the branches of most of the tall trees are bare, it is easy to spot the oaks that I had a hard time finding during my first visits. From my zero point I can see at least six as they still retain many brown leaves. A few sugar maples are also holding off and still sport a beautiful yellow coloring. Without their leaves, the many bare trees in the woods all become like one, no longer identifiable by their leaves, buds, or coloration.     Inspired by the field trip to various points on the Green River last Tuesday, I wanted to check out the stream in the Syndicate Road woods to see if it had any of the same larvae that were present in the river. I had brought with me a make-shift collecting kit which consisted of a kitchen bowl and a pair of tweezers. My first try inspecting the leaves from a riffle in the stream was unsuccessful. Farther downstream, however, I had better luck. Among wobbly rocks and broken branches, I managed to collect a large clump of dead leaves from a riffle in the stream. After rinsing them off I found a large, what I thought to be, true fly larva. At full extension the larva was about two inches in length, although it expanded and contracted frequently. The larva had a transparent outer layer that seemed to break into bubble-like sections which hosted a small, black object inside. I set the larva on a leaf in order to examine it further after collecting more specimens, but by the time I came back it had crawled away. Although I also examined leaves from pools of standing water, the only other critter I found was a small inch worm that looked like it had drowned in the water. I was happy with my discovery of the caddisfly larva, however, so I decided to rinse off my materials and head home. Even though the Syndicate Road woods may seem a serene and quiet area, I learned today that the trickling stream is full of life.
