8, 15 August

 Even when warm, August can have a hint of the autumn to come.  There were signs in the Forest this visit.  Patches of bracken fern are turning gold.


Salal berries are ripe and tasty.


The water level in the Marsh continues to sink.  



Despite the warm morning, the dock remained a fine place to sit, admire the view, and enjoy a cheese sandwich and coffee. 


Arrowsmith is now all but completely bare of snow.


Leaving the dock, I took the loop trail, counter-clockwise.  The foliage is often quite different from that along the main trail.

Birds will enjoy the fruit that is ripening in the cascara near the Marsh. 


Along the trail, foliage is lush and mossy.


A relatively uncommon (in this forest) licorice fern has sprouted from an also relatively uncommon sitka spruce.


Since the forest was logged about 100 years ago, there are many nurse stumps, nurturing a variety of species.



Salal and cedar appear to be a popular pairing.

Deer fern appear along the wetter areas of the trail.


15 August

High smoke haze from the fires besieging the Interior of the Province filters the light over the Island.  


The Forest is washed with a slightly reddish undertone, which makes apparent the approach of autumn.  Ocean spray blooms are now rusty.  


This elder alder is host to a variety of species, including assorted mosses and  a fungus that I can't identify.


A huckleberry seedling was highlighted today in the odd sunlight.


Mosses are sprouting sporophyte capsules.


The water level in the Marsh continues to subside.



Haze obscures Mount Arrowsmith, as it does the Coast Ranges.



The Marsh often presents us with spectacular skies.  Today the clouds were tinted by the smoke haze.  

We made our way back along the trail, through a forest just slightly ruddy.  We'll hope for light restored to normal.



















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