It’s October 14th, 2015 at about 3:50 in the afternoon and I have returned to Boren Park to continue my project. The sun shines brightly in all its glory with crepuscular-like rays beaming through the forest. As I walk along the hiking path toward my observation point I start to feel chilly. Instinctually I pull out my iPhone and check the temperature via my weather App. Quickly, I am reminded that Seattle’s official temperature is recorded out of Sea-Tac airport and therefore the 69 degree temperature could not be what I was feeling in the woods of Boren Park at that moment. As I arrive at my observation point I pull out my trusty digital thermometer and begin to take a temperature reading. After a few minutes, it shows that the actual temperature of my location happens to be a crisp 57 degrees. Under the partial shade of the canopy there is a twelve degree temperature difference.
Looking
around at my observation site, I immediately take notice of the increase in
yellow and brown leaf litter which how begins to pile up on top of everything. No doubt this mess of leaves was unceremoniously
dropped by the stand of big leaf maple trees that tower over me. I also
notice that horsetails have begun to proliferate everywhere in the park. As we learned in Ravenna Park yesterday that
horsetails do very well in wet water logged soils. Boren Park sits inside a ravine on the side
northeast slope of Capitol Hill. The
area is known to be prone to landslides which would also explain why Boren Park
is always more moist and humid than the surrounding neighborhood.
As
I wrap up my observations for this week’s assignment I take a moment to be still
and listen to the faint song of the woods.
For some reason the city seems louder today. I can barely make out the three distance bird
calls echoing through the park. A jet
plane roars overhead, while an ambulance or possibly a firetruck can be heard somewhere
in the distance. The city is so
loud that I can barely discern the
rustling sound that squirrels’ make as they hastily move through the woods
in preparation for their long
winter’s nap. As I walk about the park, I notice a sign
that for some reason I did not take notice of before. The sign says WARNING, do not enter, TRAIL
CLOSED. Needless to say I see many
runners and walkers moving through this park so clearly nobody has noticed or
cared to obey the sign. I will
investigate why this trail might be closed.
I suspect it may have to do with a potential landslide. More is to come next week. Stay tuned.
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