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29 June

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 Summer changes the light in the Forest and Wetlands.  In part, it's the effect of the position of the sun, but also changes in the density of vegetation provide a new filter for light. Even on a shaded path, the light has a warmth--not hot, instead welcoming and friendly. In the Forest, fruit is ripening.  Red huckleberry is ripe, tart, and not abundant. Red elderberries disappear quickly from their branches as birds feast upon them. Summer fungi are emerging.  These mushrooms have been photobombed by a yellow-spotted millipede. New growths of slime mold are appearing as well. Pathfinders are blooming--it will be interesting to observe the development of their rather odd flowers. Salal is starting to form berries, yet to ripen. By the Marsh, the blossoms of bald-hipped roses have given way to -- well, duh--bald hips.   The hard hack fringing the Marsh is coming into bloom. The snowpack on the mountains is now listed as 39 percent of average.  The Mars...
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21 June

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Although the weather persists as cool and cloudy, the Forest and Wetlands display summer abundant summer growth.  After too long a time away, we returned to explore the loop to the south of the forest.  We expected that the paths would be drier and easier.  We weren't disappointed. Apparently the Forest Gnomes have been very active, maintaining trails and laying down boardwalks. Step mosses are flourishing and producing abundant sporophytes. Red huckleberries are ripening. We watched a red-breasted sapsucker who appeared to be focusing on the hemlocks on the loop trail  He spent a lot of time dodging behind the trees, but cooperated briefly. Sapsuckers have worked over the hemlock for years.   In addition to the typical small holes, they have excavated nest cavities, which in turn look as though they have hosted slime molds. There was also a very active pair of hairy woodpeckers but they were consistently out of range. The Forest is rich in biodiversity....
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4 June 2025

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  4 June --By way of a Guest Blog: At the Christmas Potluck last December, Genevieve Singleton and I agreed to join together to lead an ANats walk in the Hamilton Wetlands and Forest at some time this year.  We had worked together leading walks there for the BC Nature Annual General Meeting last May, and enjoyed our collaboration.  Genevieve's qualifications and training in botany are very strong.   In addition, she has a true gift for leading and teaching visitors to natural environments.   My claims to qualification are much more limited, arising from the not quite weekly frequency of visits to the area, and from the generosity of knowledgeable informants.   Meanwhile, I missed our walk yesterday due to a nasty bout of 'flu, but folks were nice enough to send lots of photos and accounts of their time together.  Hence the Guest Blog.   Genevieve (also known as Jenny), began with a review of wildlife, including a formidable rac...
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30 May

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  After some weeks away from the Hamilton Forest, a summer visit. Salmon berries are maturing, some even beginnin to ripen. Baldhip roses are coming into bloom. Along the Marsh, twinberries are ripening. A damselfly  Arrowsmith is retaining snow. An egg mass from spotted salamanders.  There seem to have been a lot of them this season.  This is at least the fourth mass I've seen in the Marsh. The eggs are joined by algae (the green stuff) which provides oxygen to the developing embryo.   The Forest and Wetlands continues to present new sights to visitors as summer advances.
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