2 August

 The summer has been comparatively mild, but the Forest and Wetlands still show stress.  


Yew trees are uncommon in the Forest, and we've been watching this specimen with interest.  Unfortunately it looks as though it's feeling the lack of moisture.  

Foam flowers are beginning to go to seed.


It had rained during the night, and there was refreshing moisture in patches.

A young cascara is flourishing despite the stresses of summer.


We were happy to meet up with Ceri Peacey, the leading voice for the preservation of the Wetlands and Forest, and Obi, her sometimes reactive Australian Shepherd.  


We had a pleasant chat, and Obi sat calmly throughout our visit.  We all told him he was a Good Dog!  I'm quite certain he needs to hear that.

By the Marsh, the twinflower is leafing out--it had diminished in the course of trail maintenance earlier in the season.


The sky promised rain, but unfortunately nothing fell where we were.



The water level is very low.




A disturbing amount of the Marsh is now mud.  We have well over a month of summer left to us before seasonal rain should begin.  


We'll just have to hope.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

21 June

Image
Although the weather persists as cool and cloudy, the Forest and Wetlands display summer abundant summer growth.  After too long a time away, we returned to explore the loop to the south of the forest.  We expected that the paths would be drier and easier.  We weren't disappointed. Apparently the Forest Gnomes have been very active, maintaining trails and laying down boardwalks. Step mosses are flourishing and producing abundant sporophytes. Red huckleberries are ripening. We watched a red-breasted sapsucker who appeared to be focusing on the hemlocks on the loop trail  He spent a lot of time dodging behind the trees, but cooperated briefly. Sapsuckers have worked over the hemlock for years.   In addition to the typical small holes, they have excavated nest cavities, which in turn look as though they have hosted slime molds. There was also a very active pair of hairy woodpeckers but they were consistently out of range. The Forest is rich in biodiversity....
Read more

21, 29 September

Image
  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 ...
Read more

22 September

Image
 During our recent visit to Hamilton Wetlands and Forest   the threatening weather held off.  There's been enough rain to nurture a variety of fungi, but the woods still look dry, the deciduous bracken ferns have dried, and the water level in the Marsh continues to sink. We've had two reports of bear sightings in recent weeks.  Although we've yet to see one, there is certainly evidence of their activity in the Forest.  They're pulling bark off trees and tearing stumps apart in search of grubs.   A variety of fungi have emerged. Some mushrooms in groups, some singly or in pairs. Brittlegills, as is true of many of the genus russula , are strikingly coloured.   A panther agaric was just emerging. Miniscule mushrooms emerge from fir cones. Two new species of polypore (to me, at least) have appeared.   I stand to be corrected, but I think this is Dyer's polypore--apparently emerging from the ground, from the root of a nearby conifer. Re...
Read more