3 August
Each season has its own beauty. In the height of summer, there is a fine stillness, even a gravity, in the Forest. Occasional birdsong persists, as do the comments of ravens, but it lacks the vigor of springtime. Perhaps, faced with the season's heat and dryness, it's conserving energy.
Last week, the foamflower was producing seeds. This week, the seeds are more developed.
In their Plants of Coastal British Columbia, Pojar and MacKinnon describe this stage in the plant's life cycle: "few-seeded capsules borne horizontally, open by splitting between the upper valve and the lower valve to form structures that resemble sugar scoops (authors' emphasis) seeds smooth, black, shining." Seeds are yet to appear. We shall monitor.
The most recent woodpecker stump continues to show the work of its avian sculptors.
Meanwhile, the remains of the original woodpecker stump continues its eventual transition into soil nutrients.
The whimsically named "Muppet" has taken on a somewhat sinister appearance. It still needs a haircut, but it now looks to be chewing a cigar.
From the back, it's taking on the appearance of a whale.
The Marsh and surrounding forest all look dry.
On comparing water levels from early August last year, there is still slightly more water standing at present.
The snow pack on Mount Arrowsmith continues to dwindle.
Although the day was a warm one, there was a pleasant, intermittent breeze across the Marsh. Sitting and watching the backswimmers and dragonflies was enjoyable even if it didn't yield any photos.
As we left the area, we found what is likely the poetically and descriptively named "Dog vomit slime mold." It seems that there is always something new and interesting to be encountered in the Forest and Wetlands.
Although they may leave a bit to be desired cosmetically, slime molds are very interesting organisms. Many of the species are mobile, and demonstrate memory and problem-solving abilities. There are discussions of these traits that suggest that, like octopus, they challenge commonly held ideas about the restriction of cognition to "higher mammals." See, for example https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2012.11811
To end on a more aesthetic note, however, this huckleberry glowed in the sunlight.
At this time of year, many visitors may think the forest lacks interesting features--gone are the trilliums and vivid skunk cabbage of spring for instance, but your image of slime mold proves careful study yields fascinating finds. The walk from the parking lot to the Hamilton Marsh dock is, for me, particularly noteworthy year round for its welcoming pure air and the filtered light emphasizing a wide range of greens.
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