Saturday April 23rd - Sunday April 24th
Rainy
45 degrees Fahrenheit
Olympic Peninsula

On Saturday at about 1:30 we embarked on the Moments in Time trail towards Marymere falls. It was cold, cloudy, but hadn't started raining quite yet. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of Crescent Lake and the forest surrounding us. About 10 minutes into the walk I was pleased to spot a small patch of Forget Me Nots (Myosotis lava). This would be the first sighting of many on this trail due to the fact that forget me nots are common in moist open areas.

Small Forget Me Nots

About 2ft from the forget me not was a very young Grand Fir or Abeis Grandis that was about a meter and a half tall. It made sense that we would find such a young tree in this area because it was a new growth forest. The forest surrounding us was fairly dense, with few snags or nurse logs, and the canopy was fairly even. While looking at the fir we noticed that the tip had been scavenged by the local wild life and decided that it was most likely a deer nearby that had been feeding on the tree. Shortly after we left this area we found a black tailed deer or Odocoicleus hemionus columbianus. 

Baby Grand Fir

About 30 minutes into the walk I looked up to find a big leaf maple or acer macrophyllum. I not only knew it was a big leaf maple because of the leafs but also because of the excessive amount of moss on the tree. Bigleaf maples are common in moist sites and the moss helps the tree retain moisture during the warmer seasons and grow. 

Big Leaf Maple

As we kept walking I spotted multiple American Robins and one of my friends was even able to find a fully intact robin's egg that we presume had fallen from a nest near by. After finding the egg I walked out into a patch that had a couple of fallen trees in it. On the logs I was able to identify some mushrooms as what I think is Phyllotopsis nidulans due to the lack of stem and how it was growing on dead wood.

Robins egg

Phyllotopsis nidulans

About 30 more minutes into the walk, once we started nearing the falls, it had started to rain and I found a plant that I had never seen before. A white flower with three petals and three large leafs underneath. I found out that it was a Western Trillium or Trillium ovatum. I later found out that I had never seen this flower before because it mostly grows in places with low traffic and disturbance. It would be quite difficult to find in parks like Ravenna because of the high traffic and the fact that their seeds are dispersed by ants. 

Western Trillium 

As we got closer to the falls we passed a road and entered an old growth forest. The canopy was uneven, had quite a few snags, and had multiple nurse logs in the area. The taller trees were starting to begin vertical diversification. In the old growth forest I passed by Devils Club or Oplopanax horridus. Unlike anything I had ever seen before it had a long, spiney stem with fury maple like leafs that would sting if you touched them (I didn't try to touch them but Tim did). According to my field guide you can rub Devils Club on your scalp to get rid of dandruff or make hair look shiny. After watching Tim's reaction just to touching it, I probably wouldn't recommend trying that. 

While we were on the trail I would notice different elevations and pathways that looked like they had been carved out by nature over time. Depending on our proximity to the stream I predict that the current had flowed through those areas years before and change paths from time to time. 

The next day we spent some time at Salt Creek. We arrived at about a quarter to ten with plenty of time to document wild life before the tide came in. I was pleased to immediately find some Mossy Chiton or Mopalia muscosa near one of the large patches of muscles. After climbing up onto the rocks I was able to find a Blood Star or Henricia leviuscula, but he was unfortunately missing one of his legs which I am assuming is from the virus that has been plaguing local starfish due to the waters getting warmer, making the virus more prevalent. 

 Mossy Chiton

Blood Star

View of Salt Creek

Monday April 18th, 2016
4:00-4:30pm
Sunny
86 degrees Fahrenheit
Ravenna Park

Today spent my time searching for lichen and fungi, unfortunately I was unable to spot any types of mushrooms or fungus in my area, but I was able to spot some lichen. Today required me to look much more closely than I have in previous weeks and pushed me to go farther of the beaten path than I normally do. On the Western Red Cedar to my left I was able to spot some Dust Lichens or Lepraria species. The lichen didn't have lobes or leaves like the other lichen I found in the area. It was mostly just a pale powdery substance on the bark. I hope to identify the specific type of dust lichen in the upcoming weeks.

 About 2 meters to the right of the path I looked up to find what I believe to be Common Witch's Hair or Alectoria sarmentosa in it's early stages. I'm going to watch it's progress over the next couple of weeks to determine if it's witch's hair or another type of long, pale green lichen.

I walked about 5 meters to left across the path and found some lichen growing in the soil. With greenish to grayish lobes I identified it as Cladonia scales. As you can see in the picture the lichen is growing in the soil but on top of a patch of moss which is common for the cladonia species.

When I walked back towards the red alder less about a meter or two away I found some lichen that had fallen off a branch. It was a pale green color with stiff branches. When I looked closely I was able to identify it as the Blood Spattered Beard or Usnea wirthii due to the tiny powdery balls on the branches of the lichen.

While unsuccessfully searching for fungi, I walked over to the area where I had found the witch's hair and discovered some lichen that looked like it fell from the red alder above. This species had the first loosely appressed lobes that I had found today. It had narrow, pale green lobes with hood shaped swellings so I was able to identify it as the Hooded Rosette or Physcia adscendens.

I walked about 2 meters towards the stream hoping that I could find some fungi but again it proved unfruitful. Luckily I was able to find some more lichen on the fallen log that lays across the stream. It was difficult to get close to it with out actually stepping into the stream but from the photo I was able to identify it as Ragbag or Platismatia glauca due to it's large, loosely attached leafs.

When observing how the other plants in the area were growing I was happy to see that the salmonberry shrubs were starting to grow more buds. They still have yet to produce any berries but I'm hoping to see that by the end of the quarter. The horse tails seem to be growing nicely. They haven't grown much in length but the branches had grown a couple of inches outwards since I last saw them. While looking in my field guide I realized that because these horse tails have branches they are considered sterile horse tails, as apposed to fertile horse tails with no branches.

Salmon berry buds forming

Monday April 11th, 2016
3:00-3:30 PM
55 degrees Fahrenheit
Cloudy and slightly windy
Ravenna Park


While visiting my site today I was able to identify some species that caught my eye last week. About 40 meters to my right I spotted a group of young horse tails about varying from only a few inches long to 20-30 inches. A few feet north of the horse tails I found salmonberry shrubs (rubus spectabilis). I identified the shrub by looking at the pinkish/red flowers and alternate leaves. The shrub has yet to grow any berries but I will be looking for them in the upcoming weeks. 2 or 3 meters to the right of the horse tails I found what I believe to be a trailing black currant (rides laxiflorum). The leaves had 3 or 5 sharp lobes but the flowers haven't bloomed yet so I'm having a difficult time identifying it between other shrubs in the area. I originally thought it could be vine maple but vine maples have much sharper lobes and typically range from 7-9 lobes per leaf. While looking around my site I spotted a couple of sword ferns (polystichum munitum). Along with the sword ferns I found, I was able to spot what I believe to be a bracken fern (pteridium aquiline). Bracken ferns have much more triangular blades compared to the sword fern.

Horse Tails

Salmonberry shrub drawings

Trailing Black Currant 

  

Sword Fern

Bracken Fern

Ravenna Park

Date: April 4th 2016
Time: 1:30-2:30
Weather: Cloudy/Rainy
Temperature: 50 degrees Fahrenheit

When I think of a certain experience I had with nature as a kid I can’t really pinpoint any precise moment I felt connected with nature, but that’s because my whole upbringing was somehow coupled with nature. I grew up next to Dash Point State Park so a good portion of my childhood was spent walking the trails to the park with my parents and finding sand dollars on the beach.

When we weren’t in Federal Way my parents made sure we were still surrounded by natural history. Whether that meant going camping on Lake Kachess or visiting the Grand Canyon I was always learning something new about nature. When my family wasn’t camping we were in our Carver out on the Puget Sound. While on the boat I could look out and see sea lions lying on a barge barking at any boat that passed by.

Not only did my parents insure that I would experience nature but my grandparents were adamant about it too. My grandmother would spend most of our time together teaching me how to garden, which vegetables needed what amount of sunlight and water, and that bees are our most important ally in the garden. When she wasn’t teaching me about how often to water the rose garden, she was quizzing me about the most affective ways to attract humming birds. Although I’m quite unreasonably scared of birds, hummingbirds’ up to 80 or 90 flaps per second will always amaze me.

For the most part, I was in contact with nature every day of my childhood. Day by day I formed a bond with natural history that has led to me major in environmental studies. Although I have not outgrown my irrational fear of birds, my love for nature, specifically the PNW, has grown more and more each day.

For my observation site I chose Ravenna Park. I walked on the trail until I found an area with a diverse range of trees and other species. From my site I was able to hear bird songs, the stream and was able to spot a squirrel or two on the trees in my area. One of these trees, about 20 feet from where I was standing, was a western red cedar or Thuja plicata. It had long bark fibers, opposite branches with needles that lay flat and small pine cones. The needles were green on top with white stomata below allowing for better gas exchange than other trees. 

 About 10 feet across from the tree I found a group of skunk cabbage. Originally when looking up the plants scientific name I assumed it was simplocarpus foetidus but that species is actually native to eastern america and resides in swampy areas. The species that I found is lysinchiton americanus which is more easily found in the Pacific North West region. Before finding the plant my nose was irritated by the smell that continued to waft towards the red cedar I was observing. Now that I have identified the plant I know it's because the plant acquired it's nickname by emitting a skunk-like odor.