Hamilton Wetlands and Forest

  As the poem says, "What is so rare as a day in June?"  The east coast of Vancouver Island doesn't seem to have read the next line about "perfect days."*  Our most recent visit to the Wetlands and Forest was fine, rich in new flowers and emerging fruit, but still chilly and cloudy. Nevertheless, as ever, the path welcomed us. We're seeing an increase in the growth of cascara--partly this is our ability to recognise the tree,  but in part it's plainly due to new plants establishing themselves. Its proliferation may be due to developments in modern pharmacology.  In the early years of the twentieth century, cascara was in demand as a laxative, not least to remedy the diet of stodge fed the military in the two world wars.  Harvesting cascara bark was a popular source of income for people on Vancouver Island, where the tree grew.  Unfortunately, this resulted in fewer trees throughout the forests.   But now, apart from adherents of folk medicine, it has cea

Despite the date, the Forest and Wetlands were dark this morning.  The term "Juneuary" seemed to apply. Despite the grey chill this morning, the season is advancing, with new arrivals of birds and new growth.   The woodpeckers have been active.  Their favourite stump continues to shrink. A huckleberry bush made a start on this nurse stump last year, but perished in a snowfall.  This year it looks as though two little berry bushes are making an attempt. Along the path, foamflower lives up to its name.  Doesn't it look like little fountains emerging from the greenery? Somehow we seem to have missed the twinflower in its delicate bloom last year.   The Marsh is increasingly lush and green,  and the water level is still high, despite a shrinking snow pack on Arrowsmith. Swallows swooped busily over the Marsh, mostly at a distance that made photos challenging. The resident blackbirds were busily hunting bugs for their nestlings.  This one was quite vocal--not singing, but prod

  Summer is approaching the Forest and Wetlands.   Vegetation is brilliantly green, birds are vocal, and fruit are starting to set on vines, including the dull oregon grape.   Fewer than in autumn, fungi still remain abundant.  The gilled oyster mushrooms call to mind the fan vault ceilings in gothic architecture.   I sometimes wonder whether medieval architects were inspired by the play of light and the verticals of forests.  Tiny mushrooms emerge among the small woody debris.   Exploring a side path from the main route into the marsh, I found one of the few hemlocks to be found in the forest. On investigation, there are at least three younger hemlocks growing across the path from this mature tree.   Also uncommon for the forest, a mountain ash grows near the path. Back on the main path to the Marsh, a varied growth of moss and lichen on a Douglas fir demonstrates biodiversity within a small area. This stump was home to a huckleberry sprout last year.  It vanished in the winter's