Eric Outterson

November 13^th 2009

Natural History of the Berkshires

Video

I arrived to film excited and ready for anything.  In the early stages of winter, however, I shouldn’t have been surprised that the only creature I saw was a solitary squirrel trying to do his best to pack on the winter pounds before the real cold strikes.  It was still a nice day, however, at about 65 degrees with a light breeze.  As a set up my camera, the bells at the Thompson memorial chapel began to play and I began a closer examination of my site.

Between the beginning of November and November 13^th, the Stetson woods changed completely.  What was once a vibrant lot with thick grass, flower and shrub cover at the wood’s edge had thinned out to only bare trees.  The leaf cover in the woods, is thick and primarily composed of maple.  Now, the wood edges, previously overrun by small shrubby plants, are all clear.

The video of my site plays as follows:

0-12 seconds:

Southwest corner.

First looking east, then panning North.

Here we can begin to see the thinned out woods bordered by the low grasses for one to three feet to the curb.  The massive trees that we see are cottonwoods.

12-31 seconds:

Southeastern corner.

First face towards Thompson memorial chapel to the south and then face north to look at sidewalk bordering the Eastern side of the Stetson woods.

Here you can hear the bells!  Since the site is so close to the chapel, the bells are quite frequently a sound in the environment.  As the camera pans down to look at the eastern side of Stetson woods, you can see the distinct separation between the woods and the grassy area.

32-41 seconds:

Northeast corner at the bottom of the sidewalk.

Pan from facing South to West.

Again, still hearing the bells, you can get a better idea of the terrain, by looking at the steepness down the sidewalk.  Panning over to the cars, you can see the maple which hangs over them

42-46 seconds:

100 yards North of the site in the lower Stetson Parking lot woods.

You can see here the huge size of the cottonwoods in Stetson Forest.  Some of them extend higher than Thompson memorial Chapel itself.

47-58 seconds:

On the edge of the forest here, I spotted the only signs of animal life here right now.  This was a squirrel engaged in picking up in a few small nuts.  In addition to this squirrel I saw one other.

59-1:04 seconds:

In the center of the woods

Begins facing south, turns east.

The camera passes a sugar maple before settling on a three and a half foot wide cottonwood at the end.

1:05-1:10 seconds:

North of the Stetson woods in the parking lot, looking south.

These are stumps at the Northwestern corner of the lot indicating the lot was recently culled.  The stumps look relatively fresh, so I imagine that this happened less than five years ago.

1:11-1:33 seconds:

This is from a central point in the woods again, and begins by facing south and slowly turns west.

The schistose rocks that I panned provided a nice home for many small mammals like chipmunks, and skunks.  They also provided me with a nice staircase down into the Stetson Woods

1:34-1:47 seconds:

In the center of the woods, I scanned from the Northeast, (Stetson is in the background) to another huge cottonwood.

1:48-1:59 seconds:

Gives a wide view of the woods from the eastern central part of the woods, and then pans over to a car on the western edge.  The cars are so prevalent, that they too might as well be a natural feature.