Observation #1

Site: Backyard/Teton Village Road
Date: 5/5/08
Time: 7:22 pm
Temp: 53 Degrees F
Weather: Sunny with a few clouds, no wind
Soil: Extremely dry

The observation area is located off of Teton Village in my backyard. It contains gardens that are covered with extremely dry dirt and along the edges of the garden are man made walk-ways where gravel has been laid down. Along the side of the house there is a population of flora that has already started to grow. I think the flowers that are starting to grow now, are from last year and will continue the cycle of dieing and then growing back in the summer. What kind of flower are these? There are pine, willow, and aspen trees around the gardens. The aspen trees are covered with small, fuzzy looking buds at the end of thier branches. What are these small buds for? There are still piles of snow in random places where trees or the house block sun light. Where the snow has melted however, patches of dry grass cover the ground. In a few areas, the grass is starting to become green and have grown more then areas of dry grass. The only insects I can distinguish are flies which keep landing on the garden dirt. There are little bugs flying around as it is getting cooler but they are very small and black. There is moose scat in the yard from the winter. The moose's niche is to eat the willow trees and spread seeds through scat. Moose also provide shelter for other animals. In one of the pine trees, there is a bird nest made of animal hair (moose), branches, and leaves. The largest organism that I have seen is a magpie. It is jet black with white and almost a blue green tint that is visible in the sun light. Since spring is just starting it will be fun to watch everything grow and become greener in the next 4 weeks.