Fourth visit 10/16/26



Date: 10/16/26
Time: 12:40pm
Climate Conditions: Cloudy, Rainy, Medium windy.
Temperature: 54°
Length of Day: 11 hours & 2 min
Sunrise: 7:59am
Sunset: 7:01pm

Organisms
Smelled: Wetness
Felt: Rain on face, wet around trees

Heard: Wind in trees, birds chirping, crickets, and rain drops falling from trees.
Seen: Squirrel, small bugs, mushrooms, color changing leaves, moss on tree trunk.
 

Changes since last visit: Since my last visit, I have noticed that there are many more leaves that have fallen from the trees and are now covering the ground and collecting behind logs/sticks/stones in the river.  One tree has lost all of its leaves.  The green leaves on ground plants that had started to turn brown on the edges are now almost completely brown.  I have also noticed that there are many more clumps of mushrooms here and there.

Awe: How God, again, is so creative in His design of our world.  I love coming to this area and seeing the changes continue to take place.
Stewardship: I noticed that someone had carved into a tree trunk (in the past); I wish people would respect God’s creation and not potentially ‘hurt’ it in some way.  I also had a chance to pick up a little trash from the area and dump it.

Questions about what I saw: I wonder why almost all of the leaves in this area are turning to yellow (and why not some red or orange).  

I wonder why there are many more clumps of mushrooms now than at my other three visits.  


I wonder if people carving into a tree hurts the tree's growth/life in some way.



Challenge From Mrs. O’Brien To Explain Why Leaves Change Color: All leaves have something in them called chlorophyll during the spring and summer.  They use the chlorophyll to help make energy from the sun (photosynthesis).  With so much sunlight during the spring/summer months, leaves can continue to make more and more chlorophyll (and stay green).  During fall, there is not as much daylight (and therefore not as much sunlight).  This causes the leaves to not make as much (and stop making) chlorophyll.  When this happens, the green color is not able to be kept by the leaf and another color of the leaf starts to show.  This new color has been ‘hidden’ until it is shown with the slowing/stopping of the chlorophyll-making process.

Comments

  1. hc biologyNovember 2, 2026 at 6:10 PM

    Excellent job with all your work here! Love your pictures. Great descriptions! Good work with the bonus.

    ReplyDelete

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