Hamilton Wetlands and Forest

 Two sunny days in the Forest and Wetlands.   After an unusually warm, wet season, we're now seeing days of brilliant sunshine, and chill air.   11 January The 11th still saw abundant fungi, some rather mysterious.  Among the evergreen sword fern, dried bracken fern, and mosses, fungi emerge from downed branches. Pink growth buds are beginning to appear on huckleberry bushes. The moss critter (formerly Muppet) has sprouted fluffy ears. What appears to be a toothed polypore is emerging from a downed alder.   An alder on the fringe of the Marsh is showing both catkins and cones as well as leaf buds.  This seems early;  again it had been a very mild winter until the 19th of this month, which may account for early growth. After weeks obscured by cloud, Mount Arrowsmith is visible and snowy. A small flock of buffleheads lined up at the south end of the Marsh. 19 January Brilliant sun and hard frost this morning.  The Forest often shows d...

  Another dark morning, and quiet.  There was very little evidence of bird life--a raven at one point, and a fleeting glimpse of a pacific wren. There were moments of light, casting the "harp" into silhouette. The Forest continues to breed fungi--and not fungi, but slime molds, correctly classified as "mycetozoa," -- fungus animals, so-called because of their mobility and planning abilities. After the mystery of the "poached egg fungus," which has subsided into a small, hard nubbin, a second, similar organism has appeared.    In fact, I hadn't noticed it on our walk, but when I downloaded this photo, there was another small orange blob with white emerging.   I think  I remember where I took this photo--it will be interesting to track the development of whatever this is.  At a surmise, it's a yellow slime mold starting to extend itself.  Either that or someone has dropped a fried egg onto this log.   There's so much to see in this Fo...

 "The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,"   Lines stolen from Robert Frost, even though it was not a snowy evening, and there was no horse.  The woods, however, were indeed lovely, and it was indeed a dark morning, as dark as any I can recall.  I've written often about sunlight in the forest, but the Forest's darkness has its own beauty.  It was still, as well.  One can usually hear the traffic of the nearby highway, and apparently there are a couple of helicopter instruction sites nearby who add their clamour.  Notwithstanding that, once in the woods, it somehow feels peaceful and quiet.  The mechanical noise is  distanced and not a part of the Forest.   The unusually warm season has led to a continued growth of fungi. The mysterious poached egg fungus has subsided to a single tough nubbin. Meanwhile an assortment of white, fan-like fungi are appearing. Some of these look as though they could meld with some of the orange fungi ...