8 July

Forest light is a great provider of special effects.  Today it was this elegant fern shadow,


as well as the interplay of light, cedar, fern, and huckleberry.


The forest was quieter than it has been in past weeks.  Bird life was relatively muted.  The only new creature that we observed was very quiet.


Slugs haven't been much in evidence before now, and with the dry weather they're not likely to be so in the future.  Although few people would find a banana slug beautiful, they are part of the biodiversity of this forest, and merit mention.

This Douglas fir is host to a variety of fungus and mosses. 


Although birds didn't make their presence known this morning, it was apparent that a woodpecker had been busy on this stump. It must have been a home for insects in addition to the moss and a very young huckleberry at its top.  


The hardhack that borders the marsh is now in full bloom.


Its blossoms, viewed close-up, look almost furry.


Arrowsmith is almost completely bare of snow--such as remains won't last out the summer.  (The little black dot in the sky, at the left of centre, is a turkey vulture.  It's very clear if you enlarge the photo.)


The vegetation in the marsh is starting to look dry, 

but the marsh may yet prove an effective sponge, storing water against the drought.   

There was a flock of cedar waxwings hunting insects over the marsh.


They kept their distance, but were recognisable.

A lovely and very obliging common yellowthroat posed in a nearby alder.



The marsh is displaying a stand of water-hemlock, very beautiful, but among the most toxic plants in the province.


The water level in the marsh is sinking, leaving some wonderful mud, which looks very rich in decaying vegetation.


It brings to mind the refrain to the fine old Flanders and Swann "Hippopotamus Song."  

"Mud, mud, glorious mud, 

Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood.

Follow me, follow, down to the hollow,

And there let us wallow, in Glorious mud!" *



Once more, let's hope that it helps offset the effects of the drought which seems inevitable.  

     

*From  https://genius.com/Flanders-and-swann-the-hippopotamus-song-lyrics 






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