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16 February

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Winter has kept its hold on the Forest and Wetlands.  The Oceanside region is gradually warming and the snow is giving way to mud.  The Forest, however, is at a slightly higher elevation, and remains snowy. Ephemeral ponds wear a skin of ice. The nurse stump is now surrounded by mossy tree trunks.  The emergent huckleberry bushes look as though they will survive, but they'll be crowded. The Marsh is frozen over, although not to any depth.   The dock remained a bit wobbly, and there was open water nearby.  Four mallards flew off, quacking a protest at our disturbance.  They don't have much in the way of open water to swim in at present. A beaver had snacked on a branch near the dock.    His lodge is at the far end of the Marsh. The weather was intermittent during this visit.  We had expected rain, which didn't materialise, unlamented.  There were occasional patches of sunlight. We returned to the parking lot looking to next week's wa...
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8 February

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  After days of what were for these parts, heavy snowfall, a visit to the Forest and Wetlands.  Snow works its changes here, affecting the light, muting sound, altering the environment and distance. A set of tiny pawprints mark the travels of what was likely a red squirrel.   Fungi, until recently evident and abundant, now rest under the snow cover.  This crested coral is a rare survivor. Slime molds, however, seem able to persist despite the cold.   A patch of dog vomit slime mold has managed to withstand the weather. Fruiting bodies of what are likely trichia decipiens slime mold abound. The by now almost mythical "muppet log" has a cap of snow on its moss. Waterfowl no longer inhabit the Marsh, although three Pacific wrens hopped about in the fringes.   One, particularly evasive, dodged in and out from under the dock. I nearly managed a photo... The Marsh and surrounding forest was splendid in snow.  Mount Arrowsmith emerged from its...
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26 January, 2 February

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 Winter has truly arrived at the Forest and Wetlands.  January ended clear but icy.  February has brought snow, the first of the season. 26 January The Forest gleamed in brilliant sunlight as we approached. Patches of bright light alternated with the shadows of the trees. The winter sun illumined mosses. As the deciduous trees have shed their foliage, other vegetation has become more visible and more identifiable.  Until now, this sitka spruce has only really been identified by a couple of branches of prickly needles and its scaly bark. As the leaves of maple, alder, and undergrowth have fallen, the height of the spruce has been revealed.  Sometimes I reflect on how forests have shaped folklore.  The former "muppet," has become a mossy, hungry-looking predator. Not something anyone would want to meet on a dark night. Elaborate formations of hair ice continue to sprout from alder logs and branches. The Marsh was iced over, not yet ready to receive skaters, b...
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11, 19 January

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 Two sunny days in the Forest and Wetlands.   After an unusually warm, wet season, we're now seeing days of brilliant sunshine, and chill air.   11 January The 11th still saw abundant fungi, some rather mysterious.  Among the evergreen sword fern, dried bracken fern, and mosses, fungi emerge from downed branches. Pink growth buds are beginning to appear on huckleberry bushes. The moss critter (formerly Muppet) has sprouted fluffy ears. What appears to be a toothed polypore is emerging from a downed alder.   An alder on the fringe of the Marsh is showing both catkins and cones as well as leaf buds.  This seems early;  again it had been a very mild winter until the 19th of this month, which may account for early growth. After weeks obscured by cloud, Mount Arrowsmith is visible and snowy. A small flock of buffleheads lined up at the south end of the Marsh. 19 January Brilliant sun and hard frost this morning.  The Forest often shows d...
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