Hamilton Wetlands and Forest

  A summer day at the Wetlands and Forest with an occasional hint of autumn.  The morning began overcast;   clouds parted now and then to set the Forest aglow. Mossy limbs and swordfern gleamed in the sunlight. The ghost pipes, abundant this year, their bloom now blackend, approached the end of their seasonal growth. Other fungi are appearing.  These birds nest fungi are emerging near the ghost pipes. They're small--this photo is almost exactly actual size--and have a distinctive way of reproducing, as described in the Royal BC Museum's Handbook, Mushrooms of British Columbia: Bird's nest mushrooms rank among the strangest visual echoes in the fungal world--they look like small avian nests, complete with eggs.  What appear to be eggs are spore cases called "peridioles."  Basidia inside the peridioles produce the spores in vast numbers...The nests holding the eggs serve as splash cups.  When drops of water hit these splash cups, the eggs are propel...

  Summer has claimed the Forest and Wetlands. Deciduous leaves have traded the translucent glow of spring growth for vivid opaque greens, even on new growth, such as this cascara. The dry season is taking its toll on these pathfinder plants. The foamflower that has lined the path for weeks is now producing its distinctive seeding--sometimes described as resembling little sugar scoops. We've found a second cluster of ghost pipes within the forest--it's likely there are more further from the central path.  The earliest patch to appear is now fruiting-- The flowers droop at the end of the stems, but the fruit appears in an upright position.  Some time ago a strange, deep pink organism appeared beside the path.  It seems to be spreading, albeit slowly. At first I thought is was a jelly-drop fungus, but it hasn't developed as those fungi are described as doing.  Further investigation suggest that it may be a raspberry slime mold.  It's in the right setting--very...

  Summer has definitely arrived in the Hamilton Forest and Wetlands.   The distinctively warm light on the vegetation signals the change. The path luxuriates in summer growth. Huckleberries are ripening, and are more abundant than I've seen in past years. The very durable foamflower continues to bloom. Although described as common, ghost pipe hasn't been evident in the Forest for the past three years.  This year there is an abundant patch of it near the path. Pojar and MacKinnon* file ghostpipes under their heading, "Oddballs," and indeed they are.  As the photos show, the plant has no chlorophyll, gaining its nourishment from mycelium beneath the ground.  It typically appears in a spell of warm weather after a rain--not so in this case--it's been warm and dry.  They seem to be abundant this year; reports and photos are appearing throughout the region. This big trillium is fruiting, its flowering completed.   Two other, smaller, younger, tril...

 Summer changes the light in the Forest and Wetlands.  In part, it's the effect of the position of the sun, but also changes in the density of vegetation provide a new filter for light. Even on a shaded path, the light has a warmth--not hot, instead welcoming and friendly. In the Forest, fruit is ripening.  Red huckleberry is ripe, tart, and not abundant. Red elderberries disappear quickly from their branches as birds feast upon them. Summer fungi are emerging.  These mushrooms have been photobombed by a yellow-spotted millipede. New growths of slime mold are appearing as well. Pathfinders are blooming--it will be interesting to observe the development of their rather odd flowers. Salal is starting to form berries, yet to ripen. By the Marsh, the blossoms of bald-hipped roses have given way to -- well, duh--bald hips.   The hard hack fringing the Marsh is coming into bloom. The snowpack on the mountains is now listed as 39 percent of average.  The Mars...