2 November

 The light is changing in the Forest.  As the sunlight migrates to the south, the perspective of illumination shifts.


Patches of light gleam ahead as we walk the path to the Marsh



Leaves, fallen from the big-leaf maple, carpet the path.


A mossy log is dotted with tiny golden mushrooms.


Last year, a tree fell and crushed one of the few mountain ash in the forest.  Still small,  it is making a comeback.


The forest chimed with the notes of Pacific wrens.  They put in fleeting appearances, but I couldn't get photos.

The Marsh had a similar abundance of marsh wrens, all in full voice.  This little character sang happily on the water gauge.  


His happiness was certainly warranted as snow now mantles the Beaufort Range and  water rises in the Marsh.

Two photos for comparison:


On the 27th of October, the dock sat at a foot and a bit below the stakes holding it in place.

By November 2nd it had risen by almost a foot.





The Marsh remains beautiful even when the season declines towards winter.


Much of the willow and hard hack that fringe the Marsh are now deeply golden.



I'm embarrassed to admit that I've often said that there were three species of fern in the Hamilton Forest--bracken, deer fern, and sword fern.  Recently I've found two more--the licorice fern that I wrote about last week, and now lady fern, deciduous, superficially similar to bracken, but growing in clusters like sword fern.


Even with weekly visits, there always seems to be something new to find in the Forest and Wetlands.






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