November 13, 2009

I got ambitious this evening. Maybe it was the first snow that fueled the domestic fires or perhaps it was just another way to avoid work. At any rate, I managed to bake a pumpkin for Thanksgiving pies, started soda culture and at long last I started a batch of wine.
The last batch of soda didn’t ferment at all. Not sure what happened, it seemed like the culture was fizzy and there was sugar in the berries. The most likely problem was inadequate cooling of the berry mix before adding the culture. Intense conversations while brewing may not be the best thing for me.
For the wine I used 4 lbs of red huckleberries and blueberries (mostly red hucks). I loosely followed the amounts called for in a recipe that Michelle Putz and Perry Edwards gave us at the wine workshop. I say loosely because I used the amount of sugar, berries, yeast and water, but left out the yeast nutrient , Campden tablet and acid blend included in the recipe. The recipe was for a completely different huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata), but maybe it will work well enough. I’m using yeast that Perry gave me, I don’t remember what sort of yeast it is. I followed his guidelines for the yeast “mix in a coffee cup full of water with about ¼ cup sugar, let stand for about 5 hours, then add to the berry mix.
I had a plastic bucket with lid (washed and sterilized with boiling water). I added the berries, poured on the boiling water, then added the sugar. Apparently I was supposed to add the sugar later. Whoops. On the 27th of November , I’ll proceed to step 2. One piece of advice that I'll try to remember to follow is to keep a calendar of when to proceed to the next step.

Visited Totem Park this week during the dry weather to collect lichens for air quality sampling. The target species were Platismatia glauca and Alectoria sarmentosa. Not exactly rare species, but they seemed less abundant when I had limited time to collect the 25 g required.

The first session I collected Platismatia mostly from the westward side of the park. I mostly found it on fallen branches, but some came from the spruce branches overhanging the beach. The protocol allows for collecting Platismatia from branches on the ground as long as the material isn't discolored. There was abundant Usnea on the west side, but not much Alectoria at least not within reach. On one foray into the woods looking for branches, I found a few more Goodyera oblongifolia plants. The plants were in the same general area as the plant I found last year, just a bit further back in the woods. They seemed to be about the same stage of development (no sign of a flowering stalk) and size as the first plant. Goodyera has tiny wind or ground insect dispersed seeds that require fungal infection for growth in the wild. Greenhouse studies say that it takes up to a year between germination and production of the first leaves. I've also gleaned from other sources that it might take up to 3 years before a plant is mature (flowering) . Each rosette only produces one flowering stalk, after the seeds ripen, that rosette dies. Apparently production of new rosettes from the parent rhizome accompanies flowering. Interesting mixture of reproductive strategies. There was a good discussion of Goodyera biology/taxonomy and ecology at this website. It might be interesting to identify the symbionts of these orchids and compare them with what we have found in the local Platanthera species. I'm not confident that I found the first plant in its first year of leafy growth, but if I did and assuming that it needs to be at least 3 years old before flowering, 2011 might be the summer I might find a flower stalk?

I had to return to the park a second time to collect Alectoria. That lichen is more abundant on the east side of the park. Apparently this species deteriorates quickly, so the collections can't be from the ground. There wasn't much Alectoria available and off the ground. Fortunately it is bigger than Platismatia, so I have plenty to send in for analysis.

There were still fungi fruiting in the park; Pholiota alnicola (?), Clavaria (Clavariadelphus) purpurea, Craterellus infundibulformis, Hygrophorus olivaceoalbus, Lactarius alpinus, Panellus serotinus and Pleurocybella porrigens.

November 8

I was fortunate enough to go out to the island Saturday at 4:30 and stay there until 1:30 the next day. It was a rewarding bit of home time both from the stand point of regaining some energy, accomplishing a few things and being treated to some enjoyable sights and sounds.

On one break from writing I went outside to plant some tulips (the latest ever!) and heard the distinct sound of a flock of shorebirds below the house. So decided to venture down the cliff to see if I could be quiet enough to watch them for awhile. Now, I'm not sure if I was actually quiet or if the birds weren't too worried about a large creature above them on the beach. At any rate, I sat and listened for awhile. There were about 120 mixed Surfbirds and Black Turnstones on the rocks; working the Fucus. They would scatter when the occasional big wave covered the rocks. I didn't do so well capturing their periodic flights, but I enjoyed them never the less.

While down there, a flock of about 20-30 Swans flew over headed in the direction of Aleutikina.