Field Study #4

Saturday, October 10, 2026

I got to do my fourth field study today! I was really looking forward to doing one, especially since fall is rolling around. I'm so glad that I got the chance today! I loved seeing all the maples so much, they are always my favorite. It was enjoyable out today even though it was pretty overcast; there's nothing wrong with a few clouds after all!!

Field Notes:

Date: 10 - 10 - 26

Time: 5:40p.m. - 6:05p.m.

Length of Day: 7:48a.m. - 7:08p.m. (11h, 20m)

Temperature: 73°F

Climate: Mostly overcast, still

Observations: It was very nice out today in my opinion, your typical fall day I would say. Now to be particularly honest with you, there was not a lot going on today critter wise.. so I'm grasping at straws here. The one notable time I saw some animals was when I was walking down, I wasn't even to my area yet! Nevertheless, I saw whitetail deer, my favorite animal! There were a bunch of them too, maybe 8-9? They usually graze in our pastures, but it was still a nice surprise. The only other critter thats truly worth talking about was a squirrel, I got a picture of him but again, I wasn't even to my location yet! What a bummer that everything was gone when I got there, most of the bugs too (I guess I can't complain about that though..). I looked and looked but it was so hard to find any other creatures, oh well. Something new that I hadn't noticed before though, was all the fungi. It was easy to find different types when you actually began to look; I can't believe I didn't find it before. On another interesting note, there were no bird calls that I could hear, except geese as I'm writing this, but I feel that doesn't count as much. After all of these instances where I merely hear a squirrel, I finally saw one (as mentioned previously). Who knew seeing such a common animal could be so thrilling? Maybe its because I'm actively trying to get good photos. The last thing I heard, which is there all the time, was the creek most obviously. Moving on, I didn't feel much either; no sun, since it was cloudy. Really, only a couple gnats and mosquitos as well, unfortunately so. There wasn't hint of a breeze either! I'd like to think that it would have been quite a boring visit if I hadn't seen the deer, or had the chance to see all the pretty colors on the trees. For my fourth and final sense (since I have not, and will not be doing any tasting for this project), I couldn't smell anything this time. That could be because I am getting over a cold but also maybe because there weren't any things that might cause a smell strong enough to sense. Nevertheless, it was still a fun trip out and I enjoyed it either way! I wonder how the scenery is going to look for my next one with fall on the march.

Changes Since Last Visit: I should really just start out by mentioning the trees, especially the maples, that are all (mostly) starting to shift their colors to their autumn pallets; they are all really quite gorgeous! A lot of what could have been called greenery before, could now only be classified as... well- brownery. All jokes aside, there wasn't a bunch of green, alive-looking shrubs left on the bank of the creek, though the grass was still a really vibrant green. There weren't as many bugs as before. There were still some gnats and to my dismay, mosquitos. There weren't any bird calls, cicadas, OR crickets that I could hear while outside taking notes. I thought that was very odd, it just seemed so quiet! Lastly, it wasn't as cold as last time, which I'm a bit bummed about because I do enjoy the colder weather, but I know it will come with time! Patience is a virtue after all. I couldn't be more excited for whats to come ☺︎