Hamilton Wetlands and Forest

  The initial intent of this blog was to track seasonal change in the Forest and Wetlands, and the changes are now evident and happening quickly.  They make for wonderful observation. An increasing growth of summer fungi are emerging.  This log hosts an abundance of oyster mushrooms. With the emergence of fungi, the Forest's slug population is appearing.  In addition to their role as consumers of rotting debris and dog excreta, slugs have a taste for fungi. The trillia of the Forest are changing from white to a rich purple. This is a fine year for western starflowers. The red elderberries are starting to form. A mystery:  Something appears to be boring into several logs along the path. Small holes and piles of sawdust can be seen, but the perpetrator has yet to appear.  Suggestions from knowledgeable readers would, as always, be gratefully received. The Marsh is now gloriously green.  (A quiz--somewhere in this photo, close inspection will reveal a swa...

  Summer has arrived early at the Hamilton Wetlands and Forest.   This  log has been nurturing this huckleberry growth for some years.  Today the sunlight set the new foliage aglow. A vernal pool beside the path has shrunk substantially this past week.  It looks less like potential habitat for salamanders than it has. Siberian miner's lettuce, or candyflower, is coming into bloom.  Although it initially shows as a white blossom, it takes on a pinkish hue as it matures.   Trillium also starts as a white flower, but then changes to a pinkish-purplish tone.  There is some debate about the reason for this. Some sources state that the flowers change colour after they've been pollinated as a way to enable the plant's development unimpeded by other insect visits.   Unlike bracken fern, sword fern is an evergreen species. New growth still appears annually, initially showing a brilliant green. New fronds expand from a "fiddlehead" (not ...