June 29th
Cloudy, but nice.
I had alot of errands to do today for tomorrow's camp fundraiser, but found some time to check out the Moller park bioblitz site again.
The small mystery flower of the last visit was the introduced Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis scorpioides). There was alot of it blooming in the waist high grasses and sedges. I keyed out the open panicled grass to Poa trivialis (also introduced). It seems like the spikelets start out green and change to green/purple as they mature. Trisetum cernuum was blooming along the edge of the marsh along the cliff. Now I need to find the Calamagrostis canadensis that I put on the list in the spring.
The Comarum palustris, Galium trifidum , Ranunculus repens and Luzula multiflora var. kobayashii were in bloom. I had forgotten how unique the flower of Comarum is, the short dark burgundy petals and longer mottled sepals seperate this fairly well from any other flower one might encounter around here.
I'm fairly certain that Hippuris vulgaris was not on the original speices list.
Two mosses that I didn't have on the list were Sphagnum squarrosum, which is rather large with distinctly squarrose branch leaves. It's so distinct and beautiful right now that it's embarrassing that I didn't notice it in April. It's rather abundant in the wetter edges of the sedge marsh and along the lake going north.
The other moss is Calliergon giganteum. It is a large (2-3 inches tall), yellow-green upright moss with a strong midrib and swollen alar cells. It was reasonably abundant along the lake edge under the Carex aquatilis.
Judging by the number of plants that I missed, I need to make a few more visits to this site to feel comfortable with a good species list.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Thursday, June 28th
More sun.
Started the day at 4:30, ran out to Whale park to count Marbled Murrelets at a hideously early hour in hopes of improving our count numbers. It was a lovely morning, but the early hour didn't help the numbers. There were 5 murrelets, 4 common murres and 3 rhinoceros auklets. There were alot of fish jumping and a few Mew gulls feeding. It might have been interesting to have a couple of days of continuous counts in the early mornings and evenings to see how variable this spot is. This crazed idea might take alot of volunteers and probably wouldn't give anymore information than ADFG is already gleaning from what data they are already getting. If my regular partners want to do this any earlier, I think I'll have to spend the night in town.
After an early morning nap, Jeff, Ian and I headed for Gavan Hill. Ian and Jeff planned on climbing up and across the ridge, my job was to pick them up at Harbor Mtn. I went up Gavan with them for about 25 minutes, then ran back down and drove up Harbor Mtn. Fortunately, I was at least able to get almost to the meadows that skirt the peak before I ran into them again. I was hoping to get far enough to talk Ian into going back to Gavan with me, but no such luck.
There were isolated patches of snow along the trail, I managed to crash through twice. Kind of cold being mid thigh in the snow in shorts. No sign of bear or deer, just humans and dogs.
In bloom in the Tsuga mertensiana forest at the beginning of the trail: Viola glabella, Vaccinium ovalifolium, V. alaskense, V. caespitosum, Coptis asplenifolia, and Streptopus roseus.
Along the ridge above tree line: Anemone narcissifolia, Cassiope mertensiana, Harrimanella stelleriana (?), Geum calthifolium, a few Dodecatheon jeffreyi, and one Phyllodoce empetriformis. I could see color in a few Castilleja along the ridge. Most of the Valerian only had a few leaves showing, but one was already in bud. The scent of the Dodecatheon was well worth getting down on my hands and knees for, it reminded me to watch for pollinators this year. Good thing that the high elevation ones are still blooming, since I forgot to look at the low elevation ones. Not even sure if I have missed them.
Jeff and Ian reported that the lupines were in bloom in the meadow, I'll have to try again next week with some guests.
Spent the rest of the day leisurely pulling weeds and watching the multitude of insects in the garden. It seemed like every flower on the red rhododendron and geraniums had a bumblebee. The Valerian was also popular. The other abundant creature insect was some sort of bluet, not sure if they are northern or boreal, I'll try to catch one tomorrow to look at the appendages. I think that it is time to arrange a summer entomology workshop, definitely feeling undertrained.
More sun.
Started the day at 4:30, ran out to Whale park to count Marbled Murrelets at a hideously early hour in hopes of improving our count numbers. It was a lovely morning, but the early hour didn't help the numbers. There were 5 murrelets, 4 common murres and 3 rhinoceros auklets. There were alot of fish jumping and a few Mew gulls feeding. It might have been interesting to have a couple of days of continuous counts in the early mornings and evenings to see how variable this spot is. This crazed idea might take alot of volunteers and probably wouldn't give anymore information than ADFG is already gleaning from what data they are already getting. If my regular partners want to do this any earlier, I think I'll have to spend the night in town.
After an early morning nap, Jeff, Ian and I headed for Gavan Hill. Ian and Jeff planned on climbing up and across the ridge, my job was to pick them up at Harbor Mtn. I went up Gavan with them for about 25 minutes, then ran back down and drove up Harbor Mtn. Fortunately, I was at least able to get almost to the meadows that skirt the peak before I ran into them again. I was hoping to get far enough to talk Ian into going back to Gavan with me, but no such luck.
There were isolated patches of snow along the trail, I managed to crash through twice. Kind of cold being mid thigh in the snow in shorts. No sign of bear or deer, just humans and dogs.
In bloom in the Tsuga mertensiana forest at the beginning of the trail: Viola glabella, Vaccinium ovalifolium, V. alaskense, V. caespitosum, Coptis asplenifolia, and Streptopus roseus.
Along the ridge above tree line: Anemone narcissifolia, Cassiope mertensiana, Harrimanella stelleriana (?), Geum calthifolium, a few Dodecatheon jeffreyi, and one Phyllodoce empetriformis. I could see color in a few Castilleja along the ridge. Most of the Valerian only had a few leaves showing, but one was already in bud. The scent of the Dodecatheon was well worth getting down on my hands and knees for, it reminded me to watch for pollinators this year. Good thing that the high elevation ones are still blooming, since I forgot to look at the low elevation ones. Not even sure if I have missed them.
Jeff and Ian reported that the lupines were in bloom in the meadow, I'll have to try again next week with some guests.
Spent the rest of the day leisurely pulling weeds and watching the multitude of insects in the garden. It seemed like every flower on the red rhododendron and geraniums had a bumblebee. The Valerian was also popular. The other abundant creature insect was some sort of bluet, not sure if they are northern or boreal, I'll try to catch one tomorrow to look at the appendages. I think that it is time to arrange a summer entomology workshop, definitely feeling undertrained.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Wednesday, June 27th
Hiking up Verstovia with the class was great for clearing my head. It might have been the time outside or perhaps it was the distraction of the first aid that was necessary to complete the trip. I sent one student down the hill at 500 ft because her inhaler wasn't helping her breathing (I didn't know that she had asthma), handed out a knee brace, one bandaid, watched one throw up and wrapped an ankle. All in all a successful trip. We were lucky to have nice weather again, it wasn't sunny, but it didn't rain on us either.
9 out of the 10 I started with made it to the grove of trees 60ft below the top and 2 girls ventured to the top with me. The class was somewhat mortified to be passed by a 6 and a 7 year old girl, but not enough to motivate them to get to the top. The two that did were rewarded with candy and dried mangos from other hikers. They also of course enjoyed the view.
4 of the girls hadn't hiked up a mountain before, so it was good to show them the possibilities, at least that is my rationalization for torturing them. They probably won't remember anything else from forest ecology except that they climbed Verstovia, well perhaps the Devil's club thorns or the bugs made an impression as well.
The lowest patch of snow from two weeks ago was gone and the main meadow seemed well on its way to being clear of snow. By the next group, it should be gone(? ) Cassiope mertensiana and Coptis asplenifolia were blooming at the top. Hope to make it to the top of Gavan tomorrow to compare the state of the vegetation and snow level.
One patch of Pellaea neesiana had sporophytes with stalks that were between 8 and 10cm long. I don't remember seeing them being quite that long before. Collected an interesting moss and a liverwort from the forested ridge just below the meadow.
Hiking up Verstovia with the class was great for clearing my head. It might have been the time outside or perhaps it was the distraction of the first aid that was necessary to complete the trip. I sent one student down the hill at 500 ft because her inhaler wasn't helping her breathing (I didn't know that she had asthma), handed out a knee brace, one bandaid, watched one throw up and wrapped an ankle. All in all a successful trip. We were lucky to have nice weather again, it wasn't sunny, but it didn't rain on us either.
9 out of the 10 I started with made it to the grove of trees 60ft below the top and 2 girls ventured to the top with me. The class was somewhat mortified to be passed by a 6 and a 7 year old girl, but not enough to motivate them to get to the top. The two that did were rewarded with candy and dried mangos from other hikers. They also of course enjoyed the view.
4 of the girls hadn't hiked up a mountain before, so it was good to show them the possibilities, at least that is my rationalization for torturing them. They probably won't remember anything else from forest ecology except that they climbed Verstovia, well perhaps the Devil's club thorns or the bugs made an impression as well.
The lowest patch of snow from two weeks ago was gone and the main meadow seemed well on its way to being clear of snow. By the next group, it should be gone(? ) Cassiope mertensiana and Coptis asplenifolia were blooming at the top. Hope to make it to the top of Gavan tomorrow to compare the state of the vegetation and snow level.
One patch of Pellaea neesiana had sporophytes with stalks that were between 8 and 10cm long. I don't remember seeing them being quite that long before. Collected an interesting moss and a liverwort from the forested ridge just below the meadow.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Tuesday, June 26th
Teaching this class has been great for getting me outside this summer. Spending so much time outside has helped with rediscovering the flora and provided opportunities to see some unusual sights. Yesterday on the way back down Starrigavan ATV road with the class, we saw something that I don't remember seeing in the past, a mouse ran across the road. One of the girls, Stella, tried to catch it between her feet, but it squeezed through the gap she inadvertantly left at her heels. I have seen plenty of mice in cabins, but not running across roads or through the forest.
Today's adventure involved harvesting Devil's Club to make spring tonic. Robbie Littlefield graciously agreed to share her knowledge and time so that we could undertake this project. The first step was to cut 5 rather long stems from the forest below the quarry road. Next the class, wearing fishing gloves, used butter knives to scrape the thorns and outer bark from the stems. Once the green layer was exposed, we took the stems back to the classroom and peeled the green layer off. We had potato peelers for this task, but the layer peeled off without using them. We filled a gallon jar about 1/3 of the way with the peeling, filled the rest with cold water and refrigerated. The surplus we are drying on cardboard in the classroom. Once dry, I'll let the students decide to whom they want to give a samples. We are hoping to try it tomorrow, but it may take longer for the extraction.
I collected a small Sagina and an Epilobium from the road. Neither was totally satisfying to key out. At least there is a current key available for the Sagina. That one is probably S. saginoides, although this isn't a totally satisfying fit. It lacks petals, has four sepals with hyaline margins, apiculate leaves and is rather small. It didn't fit into S. nivalis because of the hyaline margins or in S. apetala because it lacked ciliate leaf margins.
The small Epilobium keyed to E. alpinum in Anderson. The variety gave me a little trouble, since the plant didn't really fit easily into any one place. The mature seeds will give me the information I need. If they are smooth, it is lactiflorum if rough, nutans.
A number of the Pinus contorta contorta had sporulating galls along the road. The galls are caused by a rust fungus, Endocronartium harknessii (a rust without an alternate host). Robbie told me that she collects the stems and galls for drum sticks. She peels the bark and presumably the sporulating fungal layer and has a nice round wooden mallet.
Teaching this class has been great for getting me outside this summer. Spending so much time outside has helped with rediscovering the flora and provided opportunities to see some unusual sights. Yesterday on the way back down Starrigavan ATV road with the class, we saw something that I don't remember seeing in the past, a mouse ran across the road. One of the girls, Stella, tried to catch it between her feet, but it squeezed through the gap she inadvertantly left at her heels. I have seen plenty of mice in cabins, but not running across roads or through the forest.
Today's adventure involved harvesting Devil's Club to make spring tonic. Robbie Littlefield graciously agreed to share her knowledge and time so that we could undertake this project. The first step was to cut 5 rather long stems from the forest below the quarry road. Next the class, wearing fishing gloves, used butter knives to scrape the thorns and outer bark from the stems. Once the green layer was exposed, we took the stems back to the classroom and peeled the green layer off. We had potato peelers for this task, but the layer peeled off without using them. We filled a gallon jar about 1/3 of the way with the peeling, filled the rest with cold water and refrigerated. The surplus we are drying on cardboard in the classroom. Once dry, I'll let the students decide to whom they want to give a samples. We are hoping to try it tomorrow, but it may take longer for the extraction.
I collected a small Sagina and an Epilobium from the road. Neither was totally satisfying to key out. At least there is a current key available for the Sagina. That one is probably S. saginoides, although this isn't a totally satisfying fit. It lacks petals, has four sepals with hyaline margins, apiculate leaves and is rather small. It didn't fit into S. nivalis because of the hyaline margins or in S. apetala because it lacked ciliate leaf margins.
The small Epilobium keyed to E. alpinum in Anderson. The variety gave me a little trouble, since the plant didn't really fit easily into any one place. The mature seeds will give me the information I need. If they are smooth, it is lactiflorum if rough, nutans.
A number of the Pinus contorta contorta had sporulating galls along the road. The galls are caused by a rust fungus, Endocronartium harknessii (a rust without an alternate host). Robbie told me that she collects the stems and galls for drum sticks. She peels the bark and presumably the sporulating fungal layer and has a nice round wooden mallet.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Sunday, June 24th
The intended target of today's trip was Goddard, but we didn't quite make it that far. A nice example of almost prepared. Gas, kayak, paddle, anchor & shoreline, life jackets, food, water, chart, but alas not quite enough oil. We made it to the Taiguds before the alarm went off, so we decided to at least enjoy that beach. We did find some gear oil on the boat and dumped that into the oil tank. It seemed to do the trick, we made it back to town without any obvious trouble.
There were three humpbacks and a small fleet of trollers working the outside of the Eastern channel drag. Also saw 2 rhinoceros auklets and a handful of marbled murrelets in the same area. Going south (and back north for that matter) into the waves was a little too bouncy to make use of binoculars, but all in saw one pigeon guillemot, 5 common murres, about 20 marbled murrelets and a pelagic cormorant. Also saw a dozen otters andabout 8 seals on the haulout near Povorotni Pt.
Unfortunately the Taiguds had been the site of a weekend party and the place was very much the worse for wear. It must have been a wedding, there was alot of champagne, confetti doves and a large place where the beach vegetation had been flattened in a rather deliberate way. It was a rather sad way to celebrate or at least a sad way to leave the place.
I did my usual hopeless gesture of dandelion removal, this time Jeff and Ian helped. We removed a garbage can load of dandelions, but there are plenty more there. Maybe I'll go back again this summer and indulge myself in additional gestures. At least I'll get to go to the beach.
In bloom, despite the trampling and dandelion invasion was a nice variety of flowers including: Fragaria chiloensis, Castilleja unalaschcensis, Polygonum viviparum, Carex macrochaeta, and C. lyngbyei, Trientalis borealis, some Dodecatheon pulchellum, Plantago macrocarpa and P. maritima, Potentilla villosa and Leymus mollis. The Frittillaria were mostly done and the Senecio, Festuca rubra and Campanula weren't quite out yet. Also blooming and I'm quite proud of myself for identifying them were two species of Arabis, lyrata and hirsuta. The taxonomy of the latter seems to be in doubt. It might be eschscholziana or hirsuta var eschscholziana, but I haven't decided yet. For now, I'll stick with the name in Anderson's Flora.
Around the western side of the island the Aquilegia formosa were in full glory. They were especially beautiful growing in the Leymus mollis on the edge of the beach. The Dodecatheon pulchellum was still in full bloom in the shady areas of the rocks on the southwest side of the island. Some of the smaller cliff tortured trees were mostly covered with Lobaria linita, but on two of the trees I found Pseudocyphellaria anomala. It might be more common than I thought, but still there were only two rather small individuals completely surrounded by Lobaria.
Also saw an amazingly large (about 3") isopod , Ligia pallasii, crawling around the rocks. Thanks to Aaron for the name of the animal. It was low tide, but I was too lost in the plants to properly appreciate the abundant invertebrates.
I'll have to try again for the Myrica and Gaultheria at Goddard. That will give me another chance to see the Senecio pseudo-arnica in bloom as I always seem to stop at the Taiguds, despite the over and ill usage.
The Aruncus dioicus and Mainanthemum dilatatum are in abundant blooom on Galankin.
The intended target of today's trip was Goddard, but we didn't quite make it that far. A nice example of almost prepared. Gas, kayak, paddle, anchor & shoreline, life jackets, food, water, chart, but alas not quite enough oil. We made it to the Taiguds before the alarm went off, so we decided to at least enjoy that beach. We did find some gear oil on the boat and dumped that into the oil tank. It seemed to do the trick, we made it back to town without any obvious trouble.
There were three humpbacks and a small fleet of trollers working the outside of the Eastern channel drag. Also saw 2 rhinoceros auklets and a handful of marbled murrelets in the same area. Going south (and back north for that matter) into the waves was a little too bouncy to make use of binoculars, but all in saw one pigeon guillemot, 5 common murres, about 20 marbled murrelets and a pelagic cormorant. Also saw a dozen otters andabout 8 seals on the haulout near Povorotni Pt.
Unfortunately the Taiguds had been the site of a weekend party and the place was very much the worse for wear. It must have been a wedding, there was alot of champagne, confetti doves and a large place where the beach vegetation had been flattened in a rather deliberate way. It was a rather sad way to celebrate or at least a sad way to leave the place.
I did my usual hopeless gesture of dandelion removal, this time Jeff and Ian helped. We removed a garbage can load of dandelions, but there are plenty more there. Maybe I'll go back again this summer and indulge myself in additional gestures. At least I'll get to go to the beach.
In bloom, despite the trampling and dandelion invasion was a nice variety of flowers including: Fragaria chiloensis, Castilleja unalaschcensis, Polygonum viviparum, Carex macrochaeta, and C. lyngbyei, Trientalis borealis, some Dodecatheon pulchellum, Plantago macrocarpa and P. maritima, Potentilla villosa and Leymus mollis. The Frittillaria were mostly done and the Senecio, Festuca rubra and Campanula weren't quite out yet. Also blooming and I'm quite proud of myself for identifying them were two species of Arabis, lyrata and hirsuta. The taxonomy of the latter seems to be in doubt. It might be eschscholziana or hirsuta var eschscholziana, but I haven't decided yet. For now, I'll stick with the name in Anderson's Flora.
Around the western side of the island the Aquilegia formosa were in full glory. They were especially beautiful growing in the Leymus mollis on the edge of the beach. The Dodecatheon pulchellum was still in full bloom in the shady areas of the rocks on the southwest side of the island. Some of the smaller cliff tortured trees were mostly covered with Lobaria linita, but on two of the trees I found Pseudocyphellaria anomala. It might be more common than I thought, but still there were only two rather small individuals completely surrounded by Lobaria.
Also saw an amazingly large (about 3") isopod , Ligia pallasii, crawling around the rocks. Thanks to Aaron for the name of the animal. It was low tide, but I was too lost in the plants to properly appreciate the abundant invertebrates.
I'll have to try again for the Myrica and Gaultheria at Goddard. That will give me another chance to see the Senecio pseudo-arnica in bloom as I always seem to stop at the Taiguds, despite the over and ill usage.
The Aruncus dioicus and Mainanthemum dilatatum are in abundant blooom on Galankin.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Friday, June 22
Figured out the mystery of the yellow-green flies last night. I had stored the creatures in a jar on my desk and the jar ended up as the fifth bug trap in the plot. At least this bit of idiocy wasn't painful.
The class did capture an amazing number of beetles over night in the traps. One trap had 16 of what I believe is a species of Scaphinotus and another beetle that looks like a Calosoma frigidum. Another had 5, two traps were empty, and one had a very small spider. I definitely need a better way to identify insects than the hunt through the photos method.
Noticed the first Erigeron peregrinus blooming today along the Cross trail. I haved saved one garden bed for growing odd looking Erigeron, I would like to find out how much of the variability is genetic vs. environmental.
The other plant that caught my eye today was Rubus pedatus. There seems to be more flowers than I've noticed in other years. It could be that I'm traveling in more open country and that plants in lighter habitat bloom more (I suspect that is true). I'll have to brave Totem park to look at the plants growing there. Also found more Claytonia sibirica blooming along Indian River. I need to hike up the river again soon to look at the Arnicas by the first big bridge.
Found another sedge today. Found isn't the best word as I've been walking by it for days and finally saw it. The latest is Carex stylosa. It is caespitose, with a terminal staminate spike and 3-4 erect and congested pistillate spikes. The bracts are dark colored and the perigynia are green at the base and dark toward the apex (they may turn all brown in the end). Other useful characteristics are that the lowermost bract is shorter than the inflorescence and the perigynal bracts are shorter than the perigynia.
Saw a Townsends Warbler eating insects in the plot as well the resident sapsucker. Heard the chickadees. We also saw a sapsucker or maybe two by the river.
Another sunny day, hopefully the class will have good weather for our Verstovia climb next week.
Figured out the mystery of the yellow-green flies last night. I had stored the creatures in a jar on my desk and the jar ended up as the fifth bug trap in the plot. At least this bit of idiocy wasn't painful.
The class did capture an amazing number of beetles over night in the traps. One trap had 16 of what I believe is a species of Scaphinotus and another beetle that looks like a Calosoma frigidum. Another had 5, two traps were empty, and one had a very small spider. I definitely need a better way to identify insects than the hunt through the photos method.
Noticed the first Erigeron peregrinus blooming today along the Cross trail. I haved saved one garden bed for growing odd looking Erigeron, I would like to find out how much of the variability is genetic vs. environmental.
The other plant that caught my eye today was Rubus pedatus. There seems to be more flowers than I've noticed in other years. It could be that I'm traveling in more open country and that plants in lighter habitat bloom more (I suspect that is true). I'll have to brave Totem park to look at the plants growing there. Also found more Claytonia sibirica blooming along Indian River. I need to hike up the river again soon to look at the Arnicas by the first big bridge.
Found another sedge today. Found isn't the best word as I've been walking by it for days and finally saw it. The latest is Carex stylosa. It is caespitose, with a terminal staminate spike and 3-4 erect and congested pistillate spikes. The bracts are dark colored and the perigynia are green at the base and dark toward the apex (they may turn all brown in the end). Other useful characteristics are that the lowermost bract is shorter than the inflorescence and the perigynal bracts are shorter than the perigynia.
Saw a Townsends Warbler eating insects in the plot as well the resident sapsucker. Heard the chickadees. We also saw a sapsucker or maybe two by the river.
Another sunny day, hopefully the class will have good weather for our Verstovia climb next week.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Thursday June 21
26 years ago today I flew into Sitka for the first time. It was a day alot like today, high clouds and cool. I spent my first night at Don and Mary's house in Thimbleberry Bay. I thought that I was going to freeze to death. I spent the night wrapped in as many quilts as I could find in their spare room. Somehow I survived the night. I was impressed by the hike to their beach front house and the huge ferns around the doorstep.
I hadn't heard of Sitka or thought of visiting Alaska until I was offered a volunteer position as a botanist on an inventory project. A job for an undergraduate botany student was an amazing thing. Without a bit of research or thought, I accepted the job. It proved to be a good impulse.
Now it seems I'm on my way to relearning the sedge flora, maybe this will be the year for the sphagnums and crucifers too.
I did find another Carex along the Cross trail yesterday, Carex echinata var phyllomanica (formerly phyllomanica). At least that name change was easily traceable. It has sessile, gynaecandrous yellowish spikes that are only about twice as long as wide.
Today noticed that the Tolfieldia glutinosa and Vaccinium vitis idaea were in bloom along the beginning of Gavin Hill trail.
We caught 8 ground beetles in our pit traps last night, no millipedes, but did manage to catch 2 of the yellow-green flies that I brought in last Friday from Starrigavan. They didn't survive the night in the pit. I'm quite surprised that they went in the trap as it was a jar buried so that the rim was flush with the ground surface and had a foil roof over it. I'll have to try harder to identify them.
We've seen a family of Chickadees, Townsend's Warblers and the sapsucker (daily) in the plot.
26 years ago today I flew into Sitka for the first time. It was a day alot like today, high clouds and cool. I spent my first night at Don and Mary's house in Thimbleberry Bay. I thought that I was going to freeze to death. I spent the night wrapped in as many quilts as I could find in their spare room. Somehow I survived the night. I was impressed by the hike to their beach front house and the huge ferns around the doorstep.
I hadn't heard of Sitka or thought of visiting Alaska until I was offered a volunteer position as a botanist on an inventory project. A job for an undergraduate botany student was an amazing thing. Without a bit of research or thought, I accepted the job. It proved to be a good impulse.
Now it seems I'm on my way to relearning the sedge flora, maybe this will be the year for the sphagnums and crucifers too.
I did find another Carex along the Cross trail yesterday, Carex echinata var phyllomanica (formerly phyllomanica). At least that name change was easily traceable. It has sessile, gynaecandrous yellowish spikes that are only about twice as long as wide.
Today noticed that the Tolfieldia glutinosa and Vaccinium vitis idaea were in bloom along the beginning of Gavin Hill trail.
We caught 8 ground beetles in our pit traps last night, no millipedes, but did manage to catch 2 of the yellow-green flies that I brought in last Friday from Starrigavan. They didn't survive the night in the pit. I'm quite surprised that they went in the trap as it was a jar buried so that the rim was flush with the ground surface and had a foil roof over it. I'll have to try harder to identify them.
We've seen a family of Chickadees, Townsend's Warblers and the sapsucker (daily) in the plot.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
June 18
Took the new section of Forest Ecology class to lay out a plot in the Gavan Big trees areas on Monday. We found a great spot just uphill of the very large Picea sitchensis in the trail. Challenging might be a better word, this site has a more recent slide, perhaps an ephemeral stream and lots of Oplopanax. The site also has abundant Conocephalum conicum, Polystichum braunii, Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Tiarella trifoliata and some Galium and Stellaria (which I haven't looked at yet). The class was in a good humor about the site, so it should be okay. They did get a nice look at a sapsucker, hopefully this group will see more birds than the first one did. At least one of the girls had never been in a forest before this class. Not surprising for a tundra resident, but still an amazing thought.
Looked at the tall sedges along the Cross Trail again yesterday in search of species that I might have neglected. Not too much of a surprise that I found one. While most of the tall sedges are Carex aquatilis, there were a few Carex lenticularis. The latter has more erect and chunky-looking pistillate spikes with veined perigynia that are longer than the scales. Not sure why I didn't notice it before, but at least I finally did.
Also collected a Carex mertensii from the quarry road on the walk back to the van. They are fairly recognizable by the caespitose habit, nodding short cylindrical spikes, greenish perigynia that are longer than the dark scales and lastly that each spike is gynaecandrous (male flowers below female).
The Kalmia seems to mostly be done blooming along the Cross trail, but the Ledum is coming on. In the muskegs between Mud Bay and Shelikof the Kalmia was in full bloom and the Ledum still in bud. I didn't get to spend enough time admiring the Dodecatheon jeffreyii on the way back from the beach, so I'll have to find a good clump on Baranof to enjoy. Which reminds me, I'd really like to find the Nymphaea this summer.
Unfortunately, the lovely yellow-green insects that I put in the refrigerator on Friday, didn't make it to Monday.
Took the new section of Forest Ecology class to lay out a plot in the Gavan Big trees areas on Monday. We found a great spot just uphill of the very large Picea sitchensis in the trail. Challenging might be a better word, this site has a more recent slide, perhaps an ephemeral stream and lots of Oplopanax. The site also has abundant Conocephalum conicum, Polystichum braunii, Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Tiarella trifoliata and some Galium and Stellaria (which I haven't looked at yet). The class was in a good humor about the site, so it should be okay. They did get a nice look at a sapsucker, hopefully this group will see more birds than the first one did. At least one of the girls had never been in a forest before this class. Not surprising for a tundra resident, but still an amazing thought.
Looked at the tall sedges along the Cross Trail again yesterday in search of species that I might have neglected. Not too much of a surprise that I found one. While most of the tall sedges are Carex aquatilis, there were a few Carex lenticularis. The latter has more erect and chunky-looking pistillate spikes with veined perigynia that are longer than the scales. Not sure why I didn't notice it before, but at least I finally did.
Also collected a Carex mertensii from the quarry road on the walk back to the van. They are fairly recognizable by the caespitose habit, nodding short cylindrical spikes, greenish perigynia that are longer than the dark scales and lastly that each spike is gynaecandrous (male flowers below female).
The Kalmia seems to mostly be done blooming along the Cross trail, but the Ledum is coming on. In the muskegs between Mud Bay and Shelikof the Kalmia was in full bloom and the Ledum still in bud. I didn't get to spend enough time admiring the Dodecatheon jeffreyii on the way back from the beach, so I'll have to find a good clump on Baranof to enjoy. Which reminds me, I'd really like to find the Nymphaea this summer.
Unfortunately, the lovely yellow-green insects that I put in the refrigerator on Friday, didn't make it to Monday.
Monday, June 18, 2007
June 17 & 18th
I finally made it to Shelikof Bay from the landward side. Hiked to the cabin with Christine, Joanne, Jan, Karen, Ashia and three dogs. Now I remember how much fun it is to carry a thirty pound pack, but it was worth the effort. We have low to high overcast weather which was actually very pleasant for hiking. I always thought that southeastern beaches seemed especially lovely in cloudy weather, but perhaps that it just a coping mechanism.
I'm glad that we opted to leave the bicycles at home as the trail, an old logging road, was really rocky and uneven. I don't have enough experience biking in such conditions, so I'm sure I would have ended up on the ground. It wasn't a bad walk though and there was plenty of vegetation to admire. We didn't realize that we were walking downhill all the way to the beach until of course we were returning to Mud Bay. There was a reasonably amount of moaning since it was much more apparent that we were walking uphill. We were passed by 3 groups of ATVs each direction, most of whom were reasonably considerate. We didn't see anyone else on the trail, but I didn't expect to since we had the non-motorized cabin reserved. The last mile of trail goes along the edge of (and at one point through) the meadows. We had taken the tide into consideration so could easily cross the lower points. There was still a reasonable amount of squishing in wonderful estuary mud to make me happy, but not enough to totally soak those with their regular hiking boots (I was the only person with rubber boots).
Blooming in the meadows were Carex lyngbyei, Hierchloe odorata, Castilleja unalaschensis, Dodecatheon pulchellum, Ranunculus occidentalis, Frittilaria camchatsensis, and Plantago macrocarpa. The iris were almost ready to open, but weren't quite ready. The Dodecatheon were almost finished blooming, but the rest were in full force.
The beach was quite spectacular, but again I got lost in the flora. Carex macrocephala and a small crucifer that I was too lazy to collect were in bloom on the upper terraces. On a rock outcrop the Potentilla villosa, Aquilegia formosa, Lathyrus japonicus, and Pedicularis verticillata were blooming. There was a small population of Senecio pseudo-arnica present, but not even close to blooming. I looked for Mertensia maritima, but no such luck.
The biggest treat was found along the edge (to about 25ft in) of the forest. Literally hundreds of Calypso bulbosa orchids blooming, some were a little past their prime, but most were still in full glory. I had never seen so many at once, it was a nice bit of euphoria. The forest ,was very open, all Picea sitchensis, almost no shrubs, but with carpets of Rhytidiadelphus loreus, Eurhynchium oreganum, R. triquetrus and some Hylocomium splendens and scattered Calypso, Corallorhiza mertensiana, Listera cordata and a few L. caurina. The other surprise was a lichen that I knew was here, but hadn't found in several years, Pseudocyphellaria anomala. Most of the canopy lichens found on the forest floor were Lobaria linita.
Found copious sanddollars, limpets, olives (shelikof shells according to Chuck Johnstone) and giant horse clams.
Despite the three dogs, we did see lots of Robins, Hermit and Swainsons thrushes, juncos, a greater(?) yellowlegs, a family of mergansers (8 babies), mallards , glaucous winged gulls, and a kingfisher. Also saw a large group, about 60, of what looked like black scoters. They were a little distant and the clouds were a little thick to be positive, but I'm feeling fairly comfortable with the identification. Also brought home a half of a bright turquoise blue egg from the meadow edge.
On the boat ride over to mud bay saw roughly 20 marbled murrelets and as many murres.
Saw lots of bear and deer sign, but no actual animal. It must be quite exciting during the salmon run. Did see a land otter climb out onto the rocks with a sculpin and several seals. Four of the seals (one was a juvenile) were on a small haulout that we coud see from a low tide acessible island. Amazing seaweed on the rocks, brought back one to identify that I've never seen before.
Definitely feel the need to return, too much to explore in the time available. I'd like to spend a week or so at least in three of the seasons to catch the different flowers and birds. It would be an amazing place to watch a storm. The noise of the ATVs from North beach was a little annoying at times, but not enough to keep me from Shelikof.
I finally made it to Shelikof Bay from the landward side. Hiked to the cabin with Christine, Joanne, Jan, Karen, Ashia and three dogs. Now I remember how much fun it is to carry a thirty pound pack, but it was worth the effort. We have low to high overcast weather which was actually very pleasant for hiking. I always thought that southeastern beaches seemed especially lovely in cloudy weather, but perhaps that it just a coping mechanism.
I'm glad that we opted to leave the bicycles at home as the trail, an old logging road, was really rocky and uneven. I don't have enough experience biking in such conditions, so I'm sure I would have ended up on the ground. It wasn't a bad walk though and there was plenty of vegetation to admire. We didn't realize that we were walking downhill all the way to the beach until of course we were returning to Mud Bay. There was a reasonably amount of moaning since it was much more apparent that we were walking uphill. We were passed by 3 groups of ATVs each direction, most of whom were reasonably considerate. We didn't see anyone else on the trail, but I didn't expect to since we had the non-motorized cabin reserved. The last mile of trail goes along the edge of (and at one point through) the meadows. We had taken the tide into consideration so could easily cross the lower points. There was still a reasonable amount of squishing in wonderful estuary mud to make me happy, but not enough to totally soak those with their regular hiking boots (I was the only person with rubber boots).
Blooming in the meadows were Carex lyngbyei, Hierchloe odorata, Castilleja unalaschensis, Dodecatheon pulchellum, Ranunculus occidentalis, Frittilaria camchatsensis, and Plantago macrocarpa. The iris were almost ready to open, but weren't quite ready. The Dodecatheon were almost finished blooming, but the rest were in full force.
The beach was quite spectacular, but again I got lost in the flora. Carex macrocephala and a small crucifer that I was too lazy to collect were in bloom on the upper terraces. On a rock outcrop the Potentilla villosa, Aquilegia formosa, Lathyrus japonicus, and Pedicularis verticillata were blooming. There was a small population of Senecio pseudo-arnica present, but not even close to blooming. I looked for Mertensia maritima, but no such luck.
The biggest treat was found along the edge (to about 25ft in) of the forest. Literally hundreds of Calypso bulbosa orchids blooming, some were a little past their prime, but most were still in full glory. I had never seen so many at once, it was a nice bit of euphoria. The forest ,was very open, all Picea sitchensis, almost no shrubs, but with carpets of Rhytidiadelphus loreus, Eurhynchium oreganum, R. triquetrus and some Hylocomium splendens and scattered Calypso, Corallorhiza mertensiana, Listera cordata and a few L. caurina. The other surprise was a lichen that I knew was here, but hadn't found in several years, Pseudocyphellaria anomala. Most of the canopy lichens found on the forest floor were Lobaria linita.
Found copious sanddollars, limpets, olives (shelikof shells according to Chuck Johnstone) and giant horse clams.
Despite the three dogs, we did see lots of Robins, Hermit and Swainsons thrushes, juncos, a greater(?) yellowlegs, a family of mergansers (8 babies), mallards , glaucous winged gulls, and a kingfisher. Also saw a large group, about 60, of what looked like black scoters. They were a little distant and the clouds were a little thick to be positive, but I'm feeling fairly comfortable with the identification. Also brought home a half of a bright turquoise blue egg from the meadow edge.
On the boat ride over to mud bay saw roughly 20 marbled murrelets and as many murres.
Saw lots of bear and deer sign, but no actual animal. It must be quite exciting during the salmon run. Did see a land otter climb out onto the rocks with a sculpin and several seals. Four of the seals (one was a juvenile) were on a small haulout that we coud see from a low tide acessible island. Amazing seaweed on the rocks, brought back one to identify that I've never seen before.
Definitely feel the need to return, too much to explore in the time available. I'd like to spend a week or so at least in three of the seasons to catch the different flowers and birds. It would be an amazing place to watch a storm. The noise of the ATVs from North beach was a little annoying at times, but not enough to keep me from Shelikof.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Thursday, June 14th
I was happy to wake up to a sunny day since it was the day selected for a hike up Verstovia with the Forest Ecology class. We couldn’t have done the trip as a class without the help of an RA, Emily. We recorded trailside vascular plant species at 500 ft and every 250ft elevation gain after that to 2250ft. We took a few notes at our lunch site at 2340, but weren’t very thorough at that stop.
We first picked up Chamaecyparis nootkatensis at the 1000 ft, Cladothamnus pyrolaeflorus (or is that Elliotia?) at 1380, Tsuga mertensiana at 1500ft and Harrimanella stellerina at 1680, Veratrum viride at 2000ft stop and Luetkea pectinata at 2250. The next class trip we’ll stop at staggered elevations so that I have a better sense of the changes, maybe starting at 400ft. I still want to get a clearer idea of what elevation Picea sitchensis becomes more abundant, but I’m not there yet. On Verstovia it seemed to be around 1900 to 2000 ft.
It was the first climb up a mountain for 5 of the 7 girls, I think that having the releve stops helped a few of the girls make it to the top. It was a challenge for most of the class, but they seemed to be happy that they had pushed themselves.
There was Vaccinium ovalifolium and Coptis asplenifolia blooming on the ridge. It was difficult to listen to birds with all of the ipods and chatter, but I did notice several robins in the trees around the meadow at the ridge.
The Placopsis gelida was rather abundant on the rocks by the ropes.
June 15th
One of the girls found a live, but lost fledgling Townsend’s warbler in the middle of Nelson Logging Rd. today. She just barely saw it in time to avoid stepping on the bird. She moved it to the side of the road. The fledging didn’t make a sound, but the parents were chipping at us rather insistently.
I caught a couple of lovely yellow-green flies which I refrigerated in hopes of getting a photo. Hopefully they will survive until Monday in the lab refrigerator.
I was happy to wake up to a sunny day since it was the day selected for a hike up Verstovia with the Forest Ecology class. We couldn’t have done the trip as a class without the help of an RA, Emily. We recorded trailside vascular plant species at 500 ft and every 250ft elevation gain after that to 2250ft. We took a few notes at our lunch site at 2340, but weren’t very thorough at that stop.
We first picked up Chamaecyparis nootkatensis at the 1000 ft, Cladothamnus pyrolaeflorus (or is that Elliotia?) at 1380, Tsuga mertensiana at 1500ft and Harrimanella stellerina at 1680, Veratrum viride at 2000ft stop and Luetkea pectinata at 2250. The next class trip we’ll stop at staggered elevations so that I have a better sense of the changes, maybe starting at 400ft. I still want to get a clearer idea of what elevation Picea sitchensis becomes more abundant, but I’m not there yet. On Verstovia it seemed to be around 1900 to 2000 ft.
It was the first climb up a mountain for 5 of the 7 girls, I think that having the releve stops helped a few of the girls make it to the top. It was a challenge for most of the class, but they seemed to be happy that they had pushed themselves.
There was Vaccinium ovalifolium and Coptis asplenifolia blooming on the ridge. It was difficult to listen to birds with all of the ipods and chatter, but I did notice several robins in the trees around the meadow at the ridge.
The Placopsis gelida was rather abundant on the rocks by the ropes.
June 15th
One of the girls found a live, but lost fledgling Townsend’s warbler in the middle of Nelson Logging Rd. today. She just barely saw it in time to avoid stepping on the bird. She moved it to the side of the road. The fledging didn’t make a sound, but the parents were chipping at us rather insistently.
I caught a couple of lovely yellow-green flies which I refrigerated in hopes of getting a photo. Hopefully they will survive until Monday in the lab refrigerator.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Yesterday the Forest Ecology class and I walked to Hart Lake with Robbie Littlefield to look for culturally significant plants. The girls tasted spruce tips and twisted stalk, which they seemed to prefer over the pickled seagull egg they had tried earlier. The balsamic vinegar masked any specific taste of the seagull egg, so I don't have a real idea about the taste of seagull vs chicken, but the egg was very rich.
The trail itself isn't terribly attractive. Kind of early clearcut, but seeing Hart Lake was nice. I suspect that after the trailside vegetation recovers that the trail will be more pleasant. Collected Carex aquatalis and Equisetum fluviatile from the shore of Thimbleberry Lake. We found one Viburnum edule blooming beside the trail between the two lakes.
This morning biked over to Moller Park to check some of the plant identifications from the bioblitz site. Was happy to confirm Veronica americana. It was just starting to bloom. The pinnate branching of the leaf veins vs the more palmate branching of the Mimulus guttatus seems to be a good character when the plants are young. There was another small herbacous plant just starting to bloom that I'll have to go back to look at next week.
Found a small patch of Eriophorum chammissonis blooming. Also collected two Carex and Luzula parviflora from the lake edge. The small Carex is keying out in group II, C. laeviculmis, but I'll probably have to resort to FNA to confirm it. The large Carex seems to be C. aquatilis.
The trail itself isn't terribly attractive. Kind of early clearcut, but seeing Hart Lake was nice. I suspect that after the trailside vegetation recovers that the trail will be more pleasant. Collected Carex aquatalis and Equisetum fluviatile from the shore of Thimbleberry Lake. We found one Viburnum edule blooming beside the trail between the two lakes.
This morning biked over to Moller Park to check some of the plant identifications from the bioblitz site. Was happy to confirm Veronica americana. It was just starting to bloom. The pinnate branching of the leaf veins vs the more palmate branching of the Mimulus guttatus seems to be a good character when the plants are young. There was another small herbacous plant just starting to bloom that I'll have to go back to look at next week.
Found a small patch of Eriophorum chammissonis blooming. Also collected two Carex and Luzula parviflora from the lake edge. The small Carex is keying out in group II, C. laeviculmis, but I'll probably have to resort to FNA to confirm it. The large Carex seems to be C. aquatilis.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Sunday
Another sunny day, got up around 6am, guess the blackout curtains aren't quite heavy enough.
There was a family outing to Gavan ridge on Sunday. It seemed like record time (1hour, 27 minutes), but a little less extreme than the hike up Verstovia during spring break. Ian was cruising along looking the trail over in preparation for the alpine race, but Jeff stayed behind me so I didn't get left in the dust. I handed my altimeter to Ian so that he would stop at 500 and then every 250ft gain in elevation so that I could pay a bit more attention to how the elevation changed and slow him down. He was somewhat irritated by this ploy, but it worked.
We went up to the ridge fairly directly, stopping at the preset elevations and at the view platform, and definitely after a few flights of stairs. I had forgotten how much fun those stairs are. I think that my class will like the trail up Verstovia slightly more than they would this one. We encountered snow at about 2,040ft (uncorrected elevation) where the ridge trail starts toward Harbor Mtn. There were Coptis asplenifolia and Vaccinium ovalifolium in bloom on the ridge.
As no one seemed interested in slipping around in the snow, we went back down. Too bad it was so early, it would have been nice to sit for awhile and eat lunch, but then it was only 10:30.
On the way back down, I wanted to try to keep track of elevations where the canopy species shifted from Tsuga mertensiana to a mixture of T. mertensiana and Picea sitchensis then to Chamaecyparis and T. heterophylla. Now I notice that I didn’t take adequate notes, but I was finally paying enough attention (nothing like relearning) to see that in the subalpine forest there is a range where the canopy has a good mix of T. mertensiana and P.sitchensis. There was a mix on the ridge which increased in P. sitchensis until around 1900ft. By 1810ft there were all four species in the canopy and understory. I’ll have to do better on Verstovia this Thursday.
The other two plants I was attempting to keep track of were Veratrum viride and Valeriana sitchensis. They were present along the trail from 1220ft to the ridge in suitably wet habitat. There was also an Arnica that was too young for me to worry about, although I would like to work on identifying the species when the plants are very young. All have to wander back up there in a couple of weeks to see how things are progressing. The Viola glabella was in full bloom from 720 through 1480ft, it was finishing down in the lower elevations. Not quite in bloom but present were Parnassia fimbriata and Listera caurina.
I would like to better document the elevational distribution of plants in this area, so I’ll try to get in the habit of carrying the altimeter around with me.
I picked up a Eriophorum angustifolium from the muskegs on the way back to the car. It seems that the subtending bract and the number of spikes are good characters to identify this species. There is a lot of it blooming along the Cross Trail and along lower Gavan. I was a little dismayed to discover last evening that according to the FNA there are potentially 8 species to keep straight. Not sure why that seems so daunting, there are a lot more Carex and that doesn’t seem to bother me. Also in bloom was the Nephrophyllidium crista-galli and the Ledum groenlandicum. The Kalmia seems like it is already finishing its bloom period. There is so much to look at, there just isn’t enough time to adequately appreciate all of it in a life time of summers.
I also looked more closely at the Cornus along the path through the scrubby portion of the forest and in the muskeg. All that I looked at in the open forest were C. unalaschensis and at the end of the muskeg I found a C. suecica. The petal color is a very clear character, I’ll have to work on the leaf arrangement characteristics next.
Another sunny day, got up around 6am, guess the blackout curtains aren't quite heavy enough.
There was a family outing to Gavan ridge on Sunday. It seemed like record time (1hour, 27 minutes), but a little less extreme than the hike up Verstovia during spring break. Ian was cruising along looking the trail over in preparation for the alpine race, but Jeff stayed behind me so I didn't get left in the dust. I handed my altimeter to Ian so that he would stop at 500 and then every 250ft gain in elevation so that I could pay a bit more attention to how the elevation changed and slow him down. He was somewhat irritated by this ploy, but it worked.
We went up to the ridge fairly directly, stopping at the preset elevations and at the view platform, and definitely after a few flights of stairs. I had forgotten how much fun those stairs are. I think that my class will like the trail up Verstovia slightly more than they would this one. We encountered snow at about 2,040ft (uncorrected elevation) where the ridge trail starts toward Harbor Mtn. There were Coptis asplenifolia and Vaccinium ovalifolium in bloom on the ridge.
As no one seemed interested in slipping around in the snow, we went back down. Too bad it was so early, it would have been nice to sit for awhile and eat lunch, but then it was only 10:30.
On the way back down, I wanted to try to keep track of elevations where the canopy species shifted from Tsuga mertensiana to a mixture of T. mertensiana and Picea sitchensis then to Chamaecyparis and T. heterophylla. Now I notice that I didn’t take adequate notes, but I was finally paying enough attention (nothing like relearning) to see that in the subalpine forest there is a range where the canopy has a good mix of T. mertensiana and P.sitchensis. There was a mix on the ridge which increased in P. sitchensis until around 1900ft. By 1810ft there were all four species in the canopy and understory. I’ll have to do better on Verstovia this Thursday.
The other two plants I was attempting to keep track of were Veratrum viride and Valeriana sitchensis. They were present along the trail from 1220ft to the ridge in suitably wet habitat. There was also an Arnica that was too young for me to worry about, although I would like to work on identifying the species when the plants are very young. All have to wander back up there in a couple of weeks to see how things are progressing. The Viola glabella was in full bloom from 720 through 1480ft, it was finishing down in the lower elevations. Not quite in bloom but present were Parnassia fimbriata and Listera caurina.
I would like to better document the elevational distribution of plants in this area, so I’ll try to get in the habit of carrying the altimeter around with me.
I picked up a Eriophorum angustifolium from the muskegs on the way back to the car. It seems that the subtending bract and the number of spikes are good characters to identify this species. There is a lot of it blooming along the Cross Trail and along lower Gavan. I was a little dismayed to discover last evening that according to the FNA there are potentially 8 species to keep straight. Not sure why that seems so daunting, there are a lot more Carex and that doesn’t seem to bother me. Also in bloom was the Nephrophyllidium crista-galli and the Ledum groenlandicum. The Kalmia seems like it is already finishing its bloom period. There is so much to look at, there just isn’t enough time to adequately appreciate all of it in a life time of summers.
I also looked more closely at the Cornus along the path through the scrubby portion of the forest and in the muskeg. All that I looked at in the open forest were C. unalaschensis and at the end of the muskeg I found a C. suecica. The petal color is a very clear character, I’ll have to work on the leaf arrangement characteristics next.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Saturday was a day to spend in the garden. It was sunny enough to send me back inside for sunscreen and a big straw hat, only found the latter, but after some sun exposure on vacation, I'm not as susceptible to burning.
Started off the day hearing orange crowned warblers, but they soon gave it up and mostly what I heard were hummingbirds and bald eagles.
Did hear Townsend's Warbler, Song sparrows, Robins, Varied, Hermit and Swainson's Thrushes in the evening.
Back to the garden, it is a little pathetic to admit it, but I just planted the potatoes and finished getting the other beds ready so I could transplant the insane number of brocoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and brussel sprouts that I started in late April. There is also a couple of artichokes and more carrots to plant. The garlic that was planted last August is growing as it should, so I've done somethings right. Did finally remove the old growth kale (4.5ft and just as wide) that was left over from last year.
Before planting the potatoes, the edge boards had to be realigned, dug in and staked in place . Under the boards were about 20 rough skinned newts. I was happy to see so many of the little creatures, despite the fact that they are an exotic to the island. Most of them were about 3 to 4 inches long. I did see a 6 inch newt the other day on the boardwalk, but no large ones in the garden yet. I'm not sure where they overwinter or how much of the population does. More research to do.
There are a plethora of flowers in full bloom like Primula japonica and the Sweet Woodruff. The Primula are on their second tier of flowers right now, they usually make it to at least 5 tiers. They self-seed all over the garden, but som far there is only one plant with an off color of coral pink, the rest are deep fuchsia. Not sure about their tendency to outcross.
Others are just starting including alot a columbines that I let survive, the Meconopisis, Geranium erianthum, Polygonum viviparum and the Clematis montana.
The Malus fusca and the domestic apples are blooming right now. From the greenhouse porch I have a good view in the M. fusca flowers. Yesterday I looked in one flower and found three different insects, all rather small without a hand lens. Two of them had transparent wings with dark veins, a red thorax and black head. The other looked more beetle like. I'm going to have to get a system to identify these creatures, don't have a camera that is adequate for photographing them. Maybe I'll pass the good ones along to someone who does.
The other interesting insect from the garden was a dragon fly. It was basking on a blade of grass, wings held out in the upper flower garden. It had a single spot on each wing, green eyes, copper/brown head, green on the upper thorax and the odd yellow spot. Managed to take an inadequate photo of that one, but the photo was good enough to verify some features. From what I could tell, it looks like one of the Emeralds, probably in the genus Somatochlora. I'll have to find the dragonflies of Alaska book to help me identify it.
Was inspired to look at every Claytonia sibirica in the garden for color. All but two had darker pink petals with darker lines, one had white flowers and one was intermediate. It took awhile to find the two odd colored ones, both were growing more in the shade than the darker forms. Might be something to look at more carefully.
Two unexpected finds in the garden were the Marchantia polymorpha and a Polystichum munitum. The Marchantia had female gametophores (with umbrella-like arms) and gemmae. I carefully weeded the vascular plants away from this little beauty. The Polystichum was growing under a dwarf weeping japanese maple. I was trying to remove some of the Maianthemum dilatatum from around the maple when I found the fern. I'm sure that its spores came along with the maple from Washington or Oregon. There were four fronds, so it had probably been growing for a couple of seasons.
Today, is most likely one for chasing the boys up Gavan Hill.
Started off the day hearing orange crowned warblers, but they soon gave it up and mostly what I heard were hummingbirds and bald eagles.
Did hear Townsend's Warbler, Song sparrows, Robins, Varied, Hermit and Swainson's Thrushes in the evening.
Back to the garden, it is a little pathetic to admit it, but I just planted the potatoes and finished getting the other beds ready so I could transplant the insane number of brocoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and brussel sprouts that I started in late April. There is also a couple of artichokes and more carrots to plant. The garlic that was planted last August is growing as it should, so I've done somethings right. Did finally remove the old growth kale (4.5ft and just as wide) that was left over from last year.
Before planting the potatoes, the edge boards had to be realigned, dug in and staked in place . Under the boards were about 20 rough skinned newts. I was happy to see so many of the little creatures, despite the fact that they are an exotic to the island. Most of them were about 3 to 4 inches long. I did see a 6 inch newt the other day on the boardwalk, but no large ones in the garden yet. I'm not sure where they overwinter or how much of the population does. More research to do.
There are a plethora of flowers in full bloom like Primula japonica and the Sweet Woodruff. The Primula are on their second tier of flowers right now, they usually make it to at least 5 tiers. They self-seed all over the garden, but som far there is only one plant with an off color of coral pink, the rest are deep fuchsia. Not sure about their tendency to outcross.
Others are just starting including alot a columbines that I let survive, the Meconopisis, Geranium erianthum, Polygonum viviparum and the Clematis montana.
The Malus fusca and the domestic apples are blooming right now. From the greenhouse porch I have a good view in the M. fusca flowers. Yesterday I looked in one flower and found three different insects, all rather small without a hand lens. Two of them had transparent wings with dark veins, a red thorax and black head. The other looked more beetle like. I'm going to have to get a system to identify these creatures, don't have a camera that is adequate for photographing them. Maybe I'll pass the good ones along to someone who does.
The other interesting insect from the garden was a dragon fly. It was basking on a blade of grass, wings held out in the upper flower garden. It had a single spot on each wing, green eyes, copper/brown head, green on the upper thorax and the odd yellow spot. Managed to take an inadequate photo of that one, but the photo was good enough to verify some features. From what I could tell, it looks like one of the Emeralds, probably in the genus Somatochlora. I'll have to find the dragonflies of Alaska book to help me identify it.
Was inspired to look at every Claytonia sibirica in the garden for color. All but two had darker pink petals with darker lines, one had white flowers and one was intermediate. It took awhile to find the two odd colored ones, both were growing more in the shade than the darker forms. Might be something to look at more carefully.
Two unexpected finds in the garden were the Marchantia polymorpha and a Polystichum munitum. The Marchantia had female gametophores (with umbrella-like arms) and gemmae. I carefully weeded the vascular plants away from this little beauty. The Polystichum was growing under a dwarf weeping japanese maple. I was trying to remove some of the Maianthemum dilatatum from around the maple when I found the fern. I'm sure that its spores came along with the maple from Washington or Oregon. There were four fronds, so it had probably been growing for a couple of seasons.
Today, is most likely one for chasing the boys up Gavan Hill.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Reverie. This evenings walk home through the forest was really quite lovely. The rain was soft, the world quite green and the thrushes were singing. Alot of people think that it is a bit extreme having to commute by skiff, but the walk home through the woods is worth every bit of hassle. It is very easy to get lost in pleasant and perhaps fantastical thoughts when surrounded by such beauty. I'm fairly certain that it wasn't just the glass of wine. By the house, the bed of Cornus unalaschkensis almost glowed in the twilight. Despite all of this gushiness, when I looked at the almost open flowers, all I could think of was that I wanted to squish the developing anthers in hopes of counting chromosomes. It would be nice to confirm that they are tetraploids.
I saw alot of Cornus along the Cross trail today and thought it was time for a species review. This species is recognized by its bicolored petals (top purple, base white), while Cornus canadensis has cream colored petals and C. suecica entirely purple . petals. Murrell's paper aslo talks about rounded sepals on C. canadensis and acute ones on C. suecica. Hopefully, I'll be able to allow time to look a little closer at the ones I see on the trail.
I saw alot of Cornus along the Cross trail today and thought it was time for a species review. This species is recognized by its bicolored petals (top purple, base white), while Cornus canadensis has cream colored petals and C. suecica entirely purple . petals. Murrell's paper aslo talks about rounded sepals on C. canadensis and acute ones on C. suecica. Hopefully, I'll be able to allow time to look a little closer at the ones I see on the trail.
It's time for another attempt to keep a log of my wanderings. The slips of paper stuffed in Anderson's Flora of Alaska isn't going to work that well.
From where I sit at my computer I have a grat view of the garden with a background of forest. In mid May just before I left on vacation, the garden had several golden crowned sparrows scratching away and a few rufous sided hummingbirds working the crocus and pulmonarias. The golden crowns are gone, but have been replaced with hermit thrushes. The garden itself is very full, probably more than a little chaotic to most people, but just what I'm looking for in a garden. The two raspberry canes growing out of the Rhododendron is probably over the top, but oh well.
Last Sunday, I took advantage of the unexpected nice weather and walked up Indian River to the long muskeg. It was a convoluted journey since I went on a few side trips on the way. I stopped at the "shot pine" muskeg to look for Sphagnum and to see what was blooming. I noticed Kalmia microphylla, Andromeda polifolia, Rubus chamaemorus, Carex pluriflora, C. livida, and Trichophorum caespitosum. I collected a few sphagnum, one small red species, S. wulfii and a larger light brown Sphagnum that I've only keyed to section sphagnum. Fortunately the latter should be easy to eventually identify in the field, because it is alot more robust and compact in its branching pattern than most of the other sphagnum in the muskeg. Spread myself out on the moss for awhile to enjoy the sun and listen to the juncos. I need to not embarrass myself about that bird again.
Also stopped at a small island in the river and found Carex macrochaeta and Romanzoffia sitchensis blooming. There was also a small crucifer that I'm not touching until it fruits. Looked at most of the Osmorrhiza to check species, all were purpurea. Also noticed Listera cordata in bloom.
Continued wandering up to the long muskeg, just as much to see if I could find it on my own as to actually go there. I was satisfied with my ability to easily find it, but it wasn't terribly satisfying being there by myself so I didn't stay too long. On the way back, I explored the area along the river just below the second bridge (?) near the cut-off to the muskeg. Found a small patch (about 6 or 7 individuals) of Polystichum andersonii. The older fronds had small, but visible bulblets which were easy to find by feel. The new fronds didn't have discernable bulblets and I'm not sure when they develop. I'll have to check periodically this summer. Collected a great Scapania from the river edge and a Hypnum from a log. Both had abundant sporophytes.
I did see a very young robin near the trail head. It still had astray looking feathers on its head and a very spotty breast.
From where I sit at my computer I have a grat view of the garden with a background of forest. In mid May just before I left on vacation, the garden had several golden crowned sparrows scratching away and a few rufous sided hummingbirds working the crocus and pulmonarias. The golden crowns are gone, but have been replaced with hermit thrushes. The garden itself is very full, probably more than a little chaotic to most people, but just what I'm looking for in a garden. The two raspberry canes growing out of the Rhododendron is probably over the top, but oh well.
Last Sunday, I took advantage of the unexpected nice weather and walked up Indian River to the long muskeg. It was a convoluted journey since I went on a few side trips on the way. I stopped at the "shot pine" muskeg to look for Sphagnum and to see what was blooming. I noticed Kalmia microphylla, Andromeda polifolia, Rubus chamaemorus, Carex pluriflora, C. livida, and Trichophorum caespitosum. I collected a few sphagnum, one small red species, S. wulfii and a larger light brown Sphagnum that I've only keyed to section sphagnum. Fortunately the latter should be easy to eventually identify in the field, because it is alot more robust and compact in its branching pattern than most of the other sphagnum in the muskeg. Spread myself out on the moss for awhile to enjoy the sun and listen to the juncos. I need to not embarrass myself about that bird again.
Also stopped at a small island in the river and found Carex macrochaeta and Romanzoffia sitchensis blooming. There was also a small crucifer that I'm not touching until it fruits. Looked at most of the Osmorrhiza to check species, all were purpurea. Also noticed Listera cordata in bloom.
Continued wandering up to the long muskeg, just as much to see if I could find it on my own as to actually go there. I was satisfied with my ability to easily find it, but it wasn't terribly satisfying being there by myself so I didn't stay too long. On the way back, I explored the area along the river just below the second bridge (?) near the cut-off to the muskeg. Found a small patch (about 6 or 7 individuals) of Polystichum andersonii. The older fronds had small, but visible bulblets which were easy to find by feel. The new fronds didn't have discernable bulblets and I'm not sure when they develop. I'll have to check periodically this summer. Collected a great Scapania from the river edge and a Hypnum from a log. Both had abundant sporophytes.
I did see a very young robin near the trail head. It still had astray looking feathers on its head and a very spotty breast.
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