b-ande's Journal

I wandered around the Hammond Pond Reservation and took observations on my way there and while there. The weather was pretty cold, so although I could've done without a coat, I knew a coat would make me more comfortable as I would be out there for at least an hour total there and back. It was overcast, but there was lots of white light. I started mainly looking for fungi around trees, as that's where I got the most luck. I wasn't sure how much I'd find, so I was searching pretty hard. So hard that I almost mistook some acorns, rocks, and even animal feces for fungi--but I realized the difference quickly enough. I really wasn't familiar with most of the organisms I saw, and was actually surprised that some were fungi, such as the Grey Coral fungus. I thought it was just a cool looking pile of leaves, so I am glad I found that out. I liked learning that fungi take so many shapes, sizes, and looks that they are not all your stereotypical thought of a mushroom look. I veered off the paved path a few times, but mostly stuck to it as I wasn't wearing the best shoes for a nature walk. I also got worried that I would step on an organism off of the path because a lot of the fungi I saw were very small, so small and camouflaged that I only found them because I was looking so hard. I felt so great just walking around that I wanted to stay out there all day, but I of course had to return to get some work done. But now I know I have a nice place nearby to go on walks and see a diverse and beautiful landscape.

I walked on the sides of Beacon Street in the late afternoon and explored a bit of the Hammond Pond area. The weather was pretty nice--partially cloudy, chilly, perfect sweatshirt weather. I put on some music and put the beginning of the day behind me so I could just enjoy myself. A bit outside my dorm I found some interesting fungi, so although they didn't apply to the plant part of this assignment, I wanted to take a picture to find out what they were. That's what I found myself doing a lot--uploading pictures of interesting species to just find out what they were. I looked at both plants that stuck out to me and plants that I tend to overlook. I also tried to hit each of the four main groups of plants. The Bryophyta were easy because of moss, and so were the Angiosperms becasue those are the typical flower and berry plants. I was a bit confused between Polypodiopsida and Gymnosperms. I found spruces, and since they have outwards seeds, they fit into the gymnosperm category. I don't think I was able to find any polypodiopsida. I was looking for ferns, or visible seedless vascular plants, but couldn't find any. I liked that I was looking at more than the typical "pretty" plants, because even the camoflauged green plants all have their own unique touches.