Diario de faith613

I began my nature run at 9:40 and ran until 10:20. I ran five miles to and along the Androscoggin River while in Maine for fall break. The trail along the river had some of the prettiest views I have seen while running. It was relaxing, and the weather was about 53 degrees. I saw many different species and groups of plants while on the run. As I made my way to the trail along the river, I saw different plants and trees that were very green. As I entered the trail, I began to find the trees whose leaves were changing colors. Most of the trees on the trail were pines, which are gymnosperms. I found two different types of purple flowers on the run. This relates to class, as flowers are angiosperms. The trail was an out-and-back trail, so on my way back, I noticed some ferns, which aligned with our class discussion on polypodiopsida (seedless vascular plants). To finish the run, I ran around Lake Andrews and found mosses, which are nonvascular plants or bryophytes. I also took a picture of lichens on a rock near this lake because I am better at spotting fungi now. I enjoyed this run because I was able to focus on nature and the beauty around me. This run matches our theme this week because I was able to find the four main groups of plants we have discussed, which contribute to our class tree of life.

URLs to my observations:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/246961528
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/246961669
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/246961780
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/246961983
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/246962126
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/246962539
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/246962646
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/246962900
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/246963032
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/246963119

I began my walk at 1:30 PM and walked for an hour. I started at my dorm, walked down to the res, explored the trails around the res, and came back to my dorm. I found lichens on trees and rocks, but I didn't see any mushrooms as I had hoped. However, there are plenty of lichens on trees and rocks even around campus. I found some pretty flowers and swans that I thought I'd take some photos of too. The weather was very nice for walking. It was 67 degrees Fahrenheit and cloudy. There was a slight wind. I enjoyed this walk. These observations relate to our course this week because we are discussing domains. The plants, lichens, and animals fall under the Eukarya domain. We are going to discuss fungi in more depth, so I look forward to learning more about them and the tree of life.

URLs to my observations:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/245103914
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/245105114
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/245105625
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/245106236
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/245106553
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/245110977
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/245113352
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/245401615
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/245401451

I decided to go on my nature walk this weekend while visiting my boyfriend at Bates College in Maine. We walked for about an hour. The weather was very comfortable for walking - 62 degrees Fahrenheit and cloudy. We began our walk after getting some food by walking on Alumni Walk. There, we found yellow and white dandelions. As we continued down this path, we saw some squirrels. We then walked past some of the on-campus housing, finding some moss between the brick walkway. Shortly after examining the moss, the beginning of a trail in a wooded area caught our eyes. The trees were magnificent, and we walked some of the trails. It was very steep, and we turned back after some time. We thought it would be fun to conclude our walk at Lake Andrews. We did a few laps around the small lake and enjoyed watching the ducks. At first, it was difficult to spot them through the reeds, but we found many viewing points around the lake. We enjoyed our walk, as we finally had some relaxing time together amid our studies. This campus is really beautiful, and we are grateful we were able to find so much nature around us. While reflecting on this walk, I can understand how there are some traits that some species have in common while having other unique traits, contributing to evolution over time and the tree of life. In the future, I want to pay even closer attention to the similarities and differences among organisms and if location or environment plays a role in their development.

URLs to my observations on this walk:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243187753
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243188166
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243188327
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243188446
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243188606
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243190847
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243190954