21, 29 September

 We could do with more rain, but the Forest is somewhat refreshed after a rainy night.


Foliage, still wet, glistens.  Swordfern fronds rise, invigorated by the rain.


Mosses are refreshed.  Cat-tail moss extends as water drips and draws its growth downward.


Fungi is beginning to sprout.  These tiny fir-cone fungi are putting in an early appearance.


Oyster mushrooms show a variety of colours.  These are highlighted by sun illuminating the moss on this alder.



After at least a year wondering what these shoots were, apparently sprouting from downed logs, we met ANats' encyclopaedic source of botanical knowledge.   They're young Pacific crabapple, with the crabapple's distinctively varied leaves, and spurs emerging from what will one day be the trunk.

These two young alders, emerging from a downed tree, are more mature examples of growth from a nurse stump.


The thimbleberry, which looked very depleted last week, is revivified.


The Marsh's fringe vegetation still shows heat and drought stress.


The water level has continued to sink. The dock is no longer floating, but is resting on the peaty mud.

Most observers say they've never seen the marsh this low.

Bullfrogs are sitting on patches of mud.


29 September

We've received another little taste of the rainfall that we need.  The forest does indeed look refreshed, although the soil at the base of the trees still looks dry.

This hemlock, festooned with cat-tail moss, glistens with moisture.


A very young cascara has perked up with the rain.


New growth of fungi is appearing.  


A stand of small staghorn fungus has appeared.  In time, its mycelium will contribute to the brown rot that will break down the fallen tree on which it has grown.


As we paused to observe the fungus, a small frog hopped into view, and paused, allowing us to take photos.


...and not just any little frog, if you please.  This is a red-legged frog, red-listed in the Province.  Definitely a high point of this or any walk.

After this exciting find had departed, we moved ahead, to be harangued by a little red squirrel.  We didn't get photos of the squirrel, but as we paused and looked upward:



a barred owl flew up and roosted on a nearby tree.  He was the first owl we've seen in the Forest--another high point for our walk.  

Despite the taste of rain, the Marsh continues to be very  low.


The Marsh's fringe vegetation is taking on autumn colour.



There is seasonal change, and then there is long-term change.

This stump, photographed in January 2024,  was a favourite target of woodpeckers last year.  

Here it is, the same stump (look at the base) at the end of September 2025.


The gradual breakdown of the tree will nourish the vegetation of the understory.  The cycle continues.





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