nickgraz3's Journal

Today I went for my fourth nature walk of the year. On my previous three nature walks I went to Edmands Park which is located close to my dorm at Boston College, but since I was home for the weekend I decided to try out somewhere new! This week I walked around the Colonie Town Park which is located just outside of Albany, NY and is nestled along the Mohawk River. It was an afternoon walk, around 4:30, with the temperature coming in just above 60 degrees. On this particular walk I was specifically looking for plants to observe. Right from the start I identified Asters and Allies, which are a type of plant which I identified multiple times back at Edmands Park. As I walked around more I went down by the river and observed some Bulrushes and Cattails, which were cool as they deviated from what I normally observed. Overall it was a great walk and I found many different plants, some of which I had previously encountered, and some that I had never seen before!

Today I went for my third nature walk in Edmands Park, located just behind Boston College's Newton Campus. In order to try to switch it up, I went for around a half hour walk around 8:00 at night just after the sun set. It was about 65 degrees and windy, but it didn't feel that cold in comparison to the 50 degree weather we had the past few days. Just minutes after I got back in from my walk it started to pour, so I guess I made it in at just the right time! Throughout my walk, I focused particular on locating fungi. I was able to find five different types of fungi, with most of them being located off of the sides of trees. One Genus in particular stuck out as it was bright red and appeared to be a fungi, but with the help of iNaturalist I was able to determine that it actually wasn't a fungi and was a type of slime. Overall it was a great walk and the only thing I would suggest is that if you ever go for a nature walk after sunset, make sure you go with at least one other person and have your phone in case you get lost!

Today I went for my second nature walk of the year! I decided to go back down to Edmands Park as I really enjoyed it the last time, and felt there was still more there to discover. I set out for my walk at around 3:15 in the afternoon. The sky was cloudy and the temperature outside was right around 67 degrees Fahrenheit, but it felt much colder due to the lack of sun. Initially, I just observed lots of plants and trees, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Around fifteen minutes into my walk, I started to hear this weird clicking noise and was sure it meant that there were possibly some animals nearby. I looked around for a little bit and discovered a small stream running through the forest with many frogs around making those noises. Unfortunately I was unable to get any pictures of the frogs, but down by the steam lead me to a really cool area. The area was filled with bright yellow sunflowers everywhere! These sunflowers are not visible from the typical walking path, so at the end of the day I am glad I deviated from it. Overall my second trip to Edmands Park was very interesting and I would suggest to anyone that visits to not be afraid to step off the path every once in a while!

Today I went for a walk in Edmands Park which is located just behind Boston College's Newton Campus. It is a nice park that is just about 30 acres and consists of nice open paths, along with some narrower and more adventurous ones! It was a bright and sunny day with the temperature coming in at just about 77 degrees Fahrenheit. One of the first things I noticed were these large stone pillar structures along the path, looking like they could date back decades ago (I'm not exactly sure the history behind it). Aside from the pillars, I was fascinated by all of the bees and birds I saw flying around. The park was very soothing and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a nice walk!