Journal #2 October 8

Amanda Trimble
8 October 2014
Week 2 Observations

10 AM, cloudy cool day, 60 degrees F
        Today at the same place, Marker 21 between Marsh Island and Foster Island, things are just beginning to change. Most of the shrubs, grasses, and trees look very similar to last week although I did notice some change in color. I first noticed this in the lily pads; some of them are getting more yellow and have brown edges. The surrounding trees have fewer leaves, and there are a lot of yellow and red touches in the leaves. I have a feeling that next week will be a more dramatic change from today, and that there won't be many leaves left on some of the trees. But for now overall, I think the plants look the same, especially the ones that have not shed their leaves.
         There is quite a bit of tall grass surrounding the edges of island, and a few varieties it seems. Some with thicker blades, and some with very skinny blades. There is a tree right by marker 21 that has small green leaves that are shaped kind of like a rounded triangle, with long oval catkins of some kind on many of the ends. There is so much going on in terms of different plants everywhere that it is hard to focus on what is in front of me, since I don't know the names of anything, but I am starting to recognize the difference between the some of the plants.
A change from last week is that the Arboretum maintenance crew is working on a few projects. First, I saw them trimming back the plants that had grown onto the paths and bridges. They were also pruning a lot of the trees in the arboretum.
        The sketches for today are from a few larger bushes and trees on Foster Island. Two of them look similar from far away, but after drawing them, I can definitely see that they are different even though they both have red berries. I also sketched some ducks because they came within a couple yards of my observation spot, and so I got to look at them for a really long time.
       Overall, it was a beautiful day to walk through all of the trees in the Arboretum- so pretty! The weather was also very similar to last week, and I saw a plethora of ducks as well.