Field Blog Journal 7
Jon Levinsohn
I went to the cemetery woods on Friday morning, November 13th, 2009. It was relatively warm for this time of year, 12O C, with a little wind. It had been dry and relatively warm for the last week. The flags in the cemetery were blowing, though not violently. I brought a recording device to take some video of the area. I started panning across the cemetery, which borders the woods, and the woods themselves from edge of the manicured grass. I then traveled down the slope through the woods, recording my 2-minute journey to the Green River that borders the woods to the north. I immediately noticed how much quicker this journey was than it had been during previous weeks. The main reason for this, besides increasing familiarity with the area, was that all of the leaves were on the ground instead of on plants. As I walked, the camera recorded sound of the crispy crunching of leaves.
Upon reaching the river, I recorded the area along the side of the river where the water will run (I believe this due to both the topography of the land, and the knocked over plants, that lean in the direction of the current), if the river overflows. I also recorded the sand that accumulates next to the river.
I then walked down stream briefly, which I have not done before, because the path was typically practically impassable until the majority of the green vegetation in the area had died. I discovered the large rock, (it appears to be marble; Stockbridge formation), which causes a large riffle, which is responsible for the majority of the noise in my section of woods. The rock has iron supports. They form an upside down “L,” with the long straight portion going into the rock through a drilled hole, with the top of the iron rod bent over the rock. This unambiguously demonstrates intentional human influence in the area, though there are other structures that further support this conclusion. The purpose of these supports might be to keep the rock in place, though this seems strange, as the rock is so large, I have a hard time envisioning the Green River moving it.
Along either side of the river, there are stone structures. On the north side of the river is the remnants of what appears to be a wall, and is about a dozen feet tall. In similar style, along the southern bank is a wall with a large arch under it, which I pass through. I wonder if these are these stone structures are related to each other, as they seem in similar style. Furthermore, it is possible that the supports in the large rock are also related. Could these be part of an earlier bridge across the river, predating the route 2 crossing to the east?
Then, I filmed some Norway maple seeds falling to the ground. Many already had fallen, but some remained on the trees. I removed them by hand and threw them up into the air and filmed their helicopter-like descent. These seeds strongly resemble the sugar maples’ both in shape and in their helicopter-like behavior when they fall.
I next filmed some seeds sticking to my jacket, as they would stick to an animal’s fur. Though the plant was dried out, I attempted to identify it using the National Audubon Society: Field Guide to New England. I decided that the plant was likely the buttonbush. The seeds attached to my jacket were similar to Velcro ‘s mechanism.
The lone animal I was able to film was a squirrel. It was making lots of noise, chattering and squeaking. What I found most interesting, was that the squirrel was perfectly still while making these noises, which seemed strange to me. By making the noise, the animal was attracting attention to itself, but by not moving it was difficult to find the animal, and I struggled for a minute or so to find the animal, though it was 20 feet away from me.