Hamilton Wetlands and Forest

 A dark morning to visit the Forest and Wetlands, following on a night of rain. The Forest was dark and still. Once again, there had been high winds in the previous week, and blowdowns were evident. The nurse stump that we monitor regularly is now framed by fallen trees. I had taken a short side-trip to the Happy Cow Farm, where there were nine trumpeter swans on a distant field.  As I walked into the Forest, I caught a brief glimpse of large birds flying overhead--likely the swans.   They weren't visible in the Marsh, although they vocalised briefly.  New growth of fungi continue to appear. An orange growth at the end of an alder log that I photographed last week has matured into tiny orange balls on short stems.  It's actually not a fungus, but a slime mold.   I've learned that these are a "transitional stage" in the life cycle of trichia decipiens --a common slime mold.  At this stage they're sometimes called "salmon eggs," which they do i...

  A grey morning, with occasional openings in the clouds illuminating mosses and the remaining foliage. The dead stump at the junction of the trail has again produced a crop of mushrooms.  They're likely sulphur tuft, and have appeared on just about exactly the same date as they did last year. A stand of fairy fingers appears nearby. A strong wind last week brought down several alders.  They're framing the huckleberry nurse stump, and loom above the path.  It doesn't feel like a place to loiter in. There is a variety of elfin saddles this season.   According to my books on fungi, there are several species here in BC, of which most are very toxic  and one is delicious.  Somehow I think I'll just stick with supermarket mushrooms. The water level in the Marsh has continued to rise. ...and at last, Mount Arrowsmith is showing white. Five swans were joined by mallards at the south end of the Marsh.   At first one swan appeared, then three. Ma...

  A morning of mixed weather, bright sunshine alternating with rain. The combination produced some fine effects of light. The "forest gnomes" had sawed the fallen sapsucker tree, to allow passage along the loop path. A closer look showed that the tree was hollowed, possibly allowing for nesting. The growth of fungi continues, with fungus emerging from moss and tree limbs. A combination of jelly fungus and crustose fungus emerged on a fallen alder. LBMs (Little Brown Mushrooms) were abundant. The Celtic harp now has a fine accumulation of moss, illumined today by the low sun.  It looks less harplike with this adornment.  The remaining maple leaves gleam in the sun. At the Marsh, we were no longer sheltered from rain by the Forest.  The  gauges showed an increase in the water level. Despite the fact that we sat in falling rain, the sky revealed sunlight. A small flight of Canada geese went past, led, strange to relate, by a mallard. It was well worth being rained ...