20 April
Back in the Forest and Wetlands after two weeks of respiratory bug imposed absence. Spring has definitely arrived. The forest is starting to show its flowers. The first deep pink of salmonberry is always a welcome sight. Skunk cabbage, or more poetically "swamp lantern" has yet to bloom, but is showing energetic growth. Huckleberry bushes show delicate pink blooms. The forest chimed with birdsong, although few were visible. Spring brings in new mushrooms. Clusters of mica caps are appearing on fallen deciduous trees. We found one lethal false morel. Unlike the true morel, this mushroom is deadly poisonous, so much so that even the fumes from heating it can be dangerous. Amazingly, one of our number found these miniscule mushrooms sprouting from an alder cone. Given that the alder cone is smaller than my fingernail, these mushrooms are incredibly tiny. Beyond the salal, the hardhack along the marsh's fringe is leafing out. Soon it will have deep red spires of