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6 September

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  Another drought-stricken week. The forecast is for rain this coming week.  We can but hope. Meanwhile: The bracken fern is dying back,  Mosses are drying and cedar is definitely showing heat stress. Despite dry weather autumn fungi are appearing. Oyster mushrooms sprout despite the dryness of this snag. We're not certain what this fungus is: This is a species of crustose fungi that grows on wood.  Our mushroom expert wasn't certain which one.  It's a curious looking thing, in any case.  Try enlarging the photo to see the detail. I think this is an example of what I described as a "poached egg" fungus last year.   It could be a young red-belted conk, although last year's "poached egg" never turned dark, as red-belted conks do.   ..... The water level in the Marsh continues to sink.   Evidenced by the gauges, but this visit we noticed a disturbing confirmation: Two of the posts securing the dock fit tight against its boards....
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24, 30 August

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  24 August The Forest and Wetlands are increasingly and alarmingly dry.  Mosses, once lush, are fading. The remaining ghost pipes stand, blackened. Vitality persists.  Huckleberry springs from nurse stumps and trailing blackberry still trails. Two patches of slime mold are fruiting and showy.  This patch appears to be making its way along the log and onto a fern. Sometimes called "scrambled egg slime mold," this is a showy fruiting body. (Reader, caution.  Don't let this put you off scrambled eggs!) Cedars continue to provide squirrels with little snacks. The water level in the Marsh continues to sink. Near the dock, the mud is replacing water, and we're not seeing as many frogs. The snows of last year are gone from Arrowsmith, and the forest is showing heat stress. We left the dock, hoping to see rain in our future, but walking through a dry forest. 30 August The effects of drought persist in the Hamilton Forest and Wetlands.  Given that the intent of thi...
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16 August

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  A return to Hamilton Wetlands and Forest after two weeks away, in part because nearby forest fires rendered the air quality alarmingly unwholesome.  Today we returned after a couple of days of rain--actually described by the Weather Network as an "atmospheric river."  That seems to have been an exaggeration, but it definitely improved the air quality and slowed the expansion of the fires.  The rain still fell intermittently, and was most welcome.  The fragrance of rain in a forest, especially after a period of intense drought, has to be one of life's sacred things. The Forest's vegetation was certainly refreshed.   Ferns, trailing blackberry, and even the remnants of foamflowers looked invigorated. In addition, the slug population abounded.   A large and speedy banana slug zoomed across the path, moving at a remarkable inch in three minutes. Young slugs explored surrounding vegetation. An elegantly shelled robust lancetooth snail made its w...
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