Diario de sofiadolan

This evening I went on nature walk through Larz Anderson Park in Brookline, MA. Some of the area is landscaped, especially around the pond, but I made sure to stick to some of the more natural areas. The temperature was in the 70s and quite humid because there is supposed to be heavy rain in the next few hours. The majority of the plant life that I saw consisted of trees, but I was able to find some other plants that I have never identified before. There were not as many flowering plants as I had hopped to see, but I did find some rhododendrons that I thought were beautiful. Unfortunately, most of them had already fallen off of the leaves and died, but there were a few that were still in bloom. I was expecting to find mostly oak trees but I was surprised to find the most maple trees. My favorite tree that I saw was a willow tree. I find willows to be very majestic looking and I appreciate how unique they are. In addition to plants, I saw some squirrels, chipmunks, and a dragon fly. Also, as I was walking by the pond, I heard a loud, low-pitched noise that I soon found out was coming from a frog/toad. When I got closer to try to take a picture, it scurried back into the water. Towards the end of my walk, I saw what I believe to be burdocks. These stood out to me because they were low to the ground and had really large leaves. Nearby there was some fox sedge which is a new term that I learned through this exercise. Although Larz Anderson Park isn't too big, I was able to take a few laps around and find new, interesting things each time!

This morning, I went on a nature walk in part of the Arboretum in Jamaica Plain. Although some if the area is maintained, I did my best to stay in the more "woodsy" locations, straying away from the main paths. The temperature was in the high 50s and for the majority of the time the sky was overcast. Most of what I saw consisted of trees and grasses so I found that the bottom of the trees were a good place to look for fungi. In a few different locations I was able to find mosses, including on a fallen tree trunk, on live trees, and on some rocks. I also found some lichens, but not as many as I was expecting to see. The most interesting thing that I found that was not related to this weeks theme was climbing hydrangeas. I have only ever seen hydrangeas from a nursery or in a maintained garden, so to see them grow so freely was really cool. Of the mosses I found, I thought it was interesting how different each of them are. The closer I was able to look, the more differences I was able to note. In particular, I found what I believe to be Mossy Maze Polypore to be quite interesting because of its unique shape. It grew across the tree bark in fairly straight lines and stuck out more than any of the other mosses. It was also much more sturdy than the others. The moss I found on a rock was visually quite similar to much of the moss that I saw on the bases of trees, but there was one moss that I found at the base that looked a little different. I believe it to be tree-skirt moss and it appeared to be much less "fuzzy" and more "stringy". Instead of existing in one big clump, this moss looked like it was growing out of the tree in all sorts of directions which was really cool. I also saw a red-ish line running down the trunk of a tree and I am still trying to figure out what it may be. I am a lover of walking, so adding the task of finding fungi was a great way to keep my brain engaged!