25 May

 Finally, after two weeks away, a visit to the HWF.  It's incredible how much the season has advanced.  The sword and bracken ferns have shot up incredibly,

and suddenly the vanilla leaf is in bloom,

and the foamflower, abundant last year in the forest, is beginning to show.

The spring and summer fungi are appearing.

Poplar oyster mushrooms  abound.  

The woodpecker stump continues to shrink,

and the coiffure of moss at its top continues to grow.  

What we have heard called an "elder alder" shows shoots of growth near its base and a growth moss.

An alder's life span is somewhere around eighty years.  As they age, they put forth shoots from the lower ends of their trunks, in what appears to be an effort to absorb additional sunlight to that absorbed at the tree's top.   The moss may be a form of cat-tail moss, unlike the longer strands apparent on cedar branches.  (Corrections from readers are always appreciated.)  

The Marsh is becoming increasingly verdant.  

It resounded with the song of red-winged blackbirds, who remained in the lower sedges, distant, and barely visible.  A common yellowthroat flitted in the hard hack and willows bordering the Marsh.  

Grass-leaved and floating-leaved pond weed are emerging in the waters of the Marsh.

On studying the photos of this medium-sized frog, it appears (unfortunately) to be a smallish bullfrog.  

In addition to the hardhack and willow, two species of honeysuckle grow beside the Marsh.

The Western trumpet honeysuckle, more common in Washington and Oregon, is at the southern end of its range on Vancouver Island.  As many of us will have experienced with domestic honeysuckle, First Nations children are reported to have enjoyed sucking the nectar from the end of the blooms.

Twinberry, or bear berry are not considered palatable.  

Pojar and Mackinonnon relate that the Haida rubbed the berries into their hair to keep it from turning grey.  

The season is advancing rapidly, and is a source of wonder.  We look forward to our return next week.