18 June

 A visit to the Hamilton Forest and Wetlands on a day that started by threatening rain.

One of the little pleasures in life has to be reaching shelter before the rain starts.  We did so, this morning, although in fact, the rain never really amounted to much.  Unfortunate, because it is alarmingly dry for this time of year.

There was evidence of a bear in search of grubs, bark torn away from this tree stump, and

some deep and sizeable claw marks on the path.

We have yet to meet the maker of these marks.  We are not at all unhappy about this state of affairs.  Probably the bear is ok with that arrangement, too.

Salmon berries are nearing ripeness.  I sampled one, but they're still really tart.

The huckleberries are setting on, but have yet to show colour.  There are still small foam flowers emerging from beneath the huckleberry bush.

I'm pretty sure this is step moss, with its sporophytes developing towards the back of the log.  As always, corrections would be gratefully accepted and blog edited.

One of the mysteries presented in the Hamilton Forest is the formation of bands of moss on alder stumps.  Why do they array themselves like this?  What ARE they, anyhow?

And is there any relation between the moss and the odd, diagonal stripes on this tree?  Symmetric, spaced evenly, and continue up the tree to a considerable height.  ???

Out in the marsh, there were fewer dragonflies visible than there have been in the past couple of weeks.  We wondered whether this might have been due to cooler weather.  

Another possibility, although it doesn't seem enough to account for the change:  There were many swallows, violet green and what we concluded were likely northern rough-winged swallows.   They were, of course, feeding, and as I understand, they eat dragonflies.   Unfortunately they were all too distant to allow for photos.  

In addition to the obligatory red-winged blackbird

There were two common yellowthroats--first of season birds for this area.  

Definitely a "photo of record" -- we'll hope to see more of them at closer range.  They're a pretty bird, and the bandito mask lends a certain character.

In addition to blossoms, the salal is starting to fruit in the sunnier areas.

It will be interesting to sample the ripe berries, if we can get to them before the birds do.  In some parts of the country they are just mealy and tasteless, and in others quite sweet.

The pathfinder is blooming.  It takes its curious name from the way in which its leaves are a deep green on their tops and light-coloured beneath.  If one walks through them, a path remains behind from the turned-up leaves.

Near the beginning of the path, there was a fragment of a really big wasp nest.  

It's unlikely to be a recent nest, but it does leave a question about what happened back when it came down.  Were there irate wasps?  Always good to miss.

This doe, out in the marsh, looks to return our interest in the wetlands and forest.