Week 3

Date: April, 20th 2013
Weather: Cloudy and slight rain
Temperature: 42-47 Degrees 
Location: Ravenna Park
Time: 4:00-5:30pm

Before beginning this journaling project I thought it was going to be a burden to be quite frank. With everything else in my life that is going on I did not think I would have time to even spend an hour or two in the woods, let alone trying to closely identify species. This week is the first week that I can really say that I enjoyed my time at Ravenna Park. I love the outdoors, and if I could have it my way I would be outside the majority of the time (kinda tough in Seattle though) but I did not enjoy Ravenna the first few times simply because I knew that I had to pay close attention to everything that was being shown to us because I would have to journal and take quizzes on what I had learned. I would much rather spend my time relaxing in nature. This week was different thought because I am finally starting to listen better, see better, and feel closer to what was around me. Instead of getting frustrated with not knowing how to identify a species, I would just relax and move on to something that did look familiar. 

I found a lot this week, well, at least it was a lot to me. 

Wow, I just realized how terrible the quality of my smartphone is. Please try to ignore the blurriness. I'll do my best to be descriptive. What we have here is a Willow. At first I thought it was a Pacific Willow (Salix Lucida) (mainly because that is the only type of Willow I actually knew and it had yellow bark which was an indicator) but by the thin/fine toothed light green colored leaves, it made me believe it was a hybrid of some sort, so nearly impossible for me to identify. Nonetheless, this is a Willow. I found it in the low-lands of the park. Bark=light brown it may be a Salix boothi.

Yet another shockingly blurry picture. This is a Cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) The way I identified this species was actually by its trunk/stem. It almost had a grey-ish brown trunk with roots that were wild. The bark was also deeply furrowed so I could tell right away that it was a Cottonwood, plus it was in bloom (as they bloom usually in mid-April to May). The leaves on a Cottonwood are very ovate/had a shine to them. 

While I was walking a bit off the beaten trail, I kept seeing this species. For a second it almost reminded me of some type of Holly but the leaves were not exactly the same. After looking at it closely and noticing the leaves were more pinnate but still had the same jaggedness similar to Holly. I knew this had to be the Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium) and sure enough, it was. I did not see any berries or flowers blooming on it though unfortunately. 

I absolutely love this shrub Species. I have a lot of it growing near my home so it didn't take me long to identify it. This is a Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata). It is also known as the "inkberry" or the "bearberry". It is classified under the Honeysuckle Family. It is an erect shrub which means it grows outwardly. The leaves run opposite and elliptical. The bark is a lighter brown with bark that shreds. The flowers as you can see, are yellow and almost tubular. I ran into this species while I was walking along the little stream. 

Here we have a classic Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata). I actually came across this tree a few times on my earlier site visits but I did not write anything down or take any notes on it besides, "looks like a christmas tree" because of its shape. I figured that wouldn't do in my description so I made the effort to get up close this time and examine its characteristics. I believe this type of branch could technically be called a "spray" but they are very coarse and grow in opposite pairs. I have also been really into looking at the trunk of the tree to identify it. If you look at the Western Redcedars trunk it flares out. The bark is Brownish/grey with some red in it. It is also a conifer. Its cones seemed to be on the smaller side (at least the ones I saw) and the Redceadar is also elliptical. Also, the tree in front with the bright green leaves looks like an Alder to me, but I can't exactly tell due to the horrible quality. 

Here is a tiny picture of a Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina). This fern has fine tooth toothed leaflets and the fronds arch outward/ tripinnate. It is scaly, not exactly soft, and the fronds go from small-large-small again so it would be considered tapered. I know that the Lady Fern is also a perennial and deciduous. My dad actually told me one time (my dad is a really into the outdoors like I am) that if you eat this fern it could actually cause blindness. It would have to be eaten in large amounts though I am sure. 

Week 2

Date: April, 15th 2013
Weather: Cloudy and cold, very cold
Temperature: 45 Degrees roughly
Location: Ravenna Park

As I returned to Ravenna park I was able to get more towards the river instead of the open areas of the park. Unfortunately, while I was there my camera died before I got to take any pictures of the main native plants that I wanted to capture. I will have to go back (if I can find the spot) and take pictures of them. What I did find though were some of the following species: I saw a few trees that I was able to spot from my session with the TA last Thursday. I saw a Red Alder as well as a Black Cotton Wood and a Grand Fir. Then as I was walking along the trail I saw Skunk Cabbage and a Salmon Berry. I automatically knew it was a salmon berry because I have actually eaten them while on several of my overnight hikes (that's if the bears had not gotten to them first!). It was interesting to see all of the different species along the river. There was so many that it was overwhelming. I cannot wait to go back and spend more time there. I was also surprised to find one of my favorite plants called the Bleeding Heart (Dicentra Spectabilis) I know these mostly grow in shade so I was actually surprised that I found it in the area I did. It may have been hand planted but I am not quite sure. Either way, this is what I decided I would draw. Here is the drawing experiment that we were assigned. My sketching is actually terrible but I did the best that I could.

I could not figure out what shape of leaf the Bleeding Heart has so I put one next to it.

Below I will post some of the other things I saw before my camera died!

Now this is a common fern that you see everywhere. It looked to me like a Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum) but it looked darker in color than usual.

I love these. They remind me of the wildflowers I see when hiking in the North Cascades. They have a heart shape flower and seem to grow sporadically. They have purple flowers. I am not sure what this plant is called so I will have to add it in later.

Here is the Bleeding Heart (Dicentra Spectabilis) I absolutely love this plant. 

This is the Big Leaf Maple (Acrer macrophyllum) I encountered I could identify it because of the fallen pieces in the picture below.

A piece of the Big Leaf Maple

I did not realize how little I actually know about flowers. I also do not know the name of this species but hopefully as I get more savvy I can name it. 

Overall, there will be a lot of unknown species in my post until I am really able to pinpoint the difference between various species. Some are clear to me, as I have grown up around them, but I have yet to spot those in the area that I have done my fieldwork in. I hope I can rather quickly gain a better grasp on identifying these species. 

My formative experiences in nature

I have always been very close to nature from a young age. My father would always take myself and my older brothers camping. Through camping I was able to appreciate the solitude of what nature had to offer. Growing up I was always a tom-boy. It actually pissed my mom off since I was the youngest and the only girl. haha. Anyways, my dad would take us all around Washington to camp and in most parts of Canada (near and around the Canadian Rockies). I would look forward to these camping trips every year.

As I got older, we still continued to camp but camping wasn't the only experience I had with nature at a young age. My dads mother (we call her grandma tootsie) has a definite green thumb. She could literally make anything grow, even from the worst soil. It was through her that I began to learn about flowers. A lot of them were native but I would say the majority were imported and obviously planted. Either way, I got to know the names of hundreds of flower species as I grew up. Now, I have taken after her and have become extremely invested in gardening and bird-watching. I know so many of the native birds here in Washington from bird-watching with her.

It seemed that when I hit my late teen years/early twenties I began to come distant from nature. I don't exactly know why, but I think it just had to do with my age. This stint of time lasted for about two years  until I discovered the North Cascades. For those who haven't explored this area, it is truly breathtaking. Since the North Cascades discovery, I have become an avid backcountry hiker. I have hiked in some of the most beautiful places in Washington. When I am out in nature and hiking, I honestly feel closer to myself than I could ever possibly achieve. You know when you have moments that you think to yourself and say, "right now, there is nothing wrong." Well, this is the feeling I get when I am alone in the backcountry camping for multiple days. I feel alive. I love to be able to experience the wildflowers. Wildflowers are without a doubt one of my favorite things to see while hiking. I have also been fortunate enough to see a vast amount of wildlife. Just this last summer I saw a black bear and it's cubs, and believe it or not, a mountain lion! That was actually quite terrifying.

Overall, I have a great relationship with nature. Nature is the core of who I am and when I am outside, nothing compares to it. Below is a picture of one of my favorite hikes in the North Cascades. It is a challenging hike, it's called Sourdough Mountain. Although the first two miles are straight up vertical, it levels out and the viewpoint is unparalleled, unless you also check out Desolation Peak another hike in the North Cascades. Nevertheless, here are the photos:

This was in the fall time (truly amazing colors)

Week 1 (Ravenna Park)

Date: Sunday April 14, 2013
Weather: Sunny, with a few cloud coverage blocking
Temperature: ~50 degrees F
Time: 3pm-4pm
Location: Ravenna Park (Note: I actually got significantly lost) did not know how huge this park actually was.

My observation spot for this quarter will be Ravenna Park. Originally, I was not too terribly fond about picking this location. Not because of anything that was displeasing (it's a fabulous park, that prior to this class I had never been to it interestingly enough) but because I did not want to use the same site as some of our class field work will take place. I am in an odd phase of moving out in the next few weeks so it did not make sense to find a natural habitat in the area I currently live, thus why I chose Ravenna park, it will be a lot closer to the new apartment I will be living in. When I got lost, I actually stumbled about some very cool areas that had a lot of natural growth. It also looked as thought they were doing some restoration projects where they were planting what looked like trees, shrubs, and various green vegetation. 

Anways, 

This was the first time I had been to the site with the exception of the class field work last Thursday. I was here briefly, it was actually quite beautiful because of the amazing weather. Here is a photo of the site below. It is in a different area of where we were during the class field work, so again, I was lost. But I found a nice patch of area that allowed me to view a variation of species. Here is a picture below of the spot that I have chosen. 

This is a very vague picture of my spot. To the right of this photo is a grass patch. It would be ideal for the summer months and just laying out and enjoying nature, I almost felt like I was in a secret spot that nobody knows about. It. Was. Magic. 

This was a great stress reliever to be out in the woods. Nature is my passion, so to be able to be involved in a course like this is truly amazing. I started off taking a walk around various off-beaten trail baths. I figured by doing this I would have found more natural/native species. I was correct. I found a lot of vegetation that had grown naturally and was uninterrupted. 

When I first got there, I was overwhelmed by the species that were present. I was first welcomed by some big trees, they were literally everywhere. I was skeptical at first because I am a rather rookie at identifying trees but as I started to look at my field guide I knew that it wasn't actually that difficult to identify a few of the trees.

I believe this is a Big Leaf Maple (Acermacrophyllum). I was not sure at first because it did not really look like a maple tree to me. When I took a closer look to see what had fallen of the tree, I noticed the leaves that fell were a yellowish clump that seemed appropriate for this species. Below is a picture of the fallen leaves from the tree. 

I could be totally mis-naming this species but I feel like I am right, it fits the description of the classification I had made.

Next, I found a tree that looked similar to a Cherry Blossom tree. The branches on this tree were very thin and so was the trunk of the tree. I am not sure if I could actually identify this one yet. I may have to come back and re-label this species. Here is a picture below.

This species (unidentified) had little white flower buds throughout the branches. It was very beautiful. If I had to take a stab at identifying this tree, I would say it would be a Pacific Dogwood (Cornus Nuttalli).

Here is another tree that I can no identify as of right now

The shape of the tree should be a massive indicator to what sort of tree it is, but I do not have the knowledge yet with identifying trees. I am more of a flower girl and can name more species of wildflowers than anything. This tree had a red bark though it was very interesting. Here is a close up of the tree below.

Again, the trunk is think and it has red bark. I am going to have to come back to identify this in the near future. 

I will post a few pictures now to conclude and try to identify them as I go. 

These seemed like they were everywhere!

These are very common in most places. Yet, I still did not know how to properly classify them. As I was looking through my field guide book I found two possible species. Out of the two, it looked more like the English Daisy (Bellis Perennis). 

I wanted to start off slow with identifying foliage. I am actually more interested in birding and wildflowers but this was still a lot of fun. As I was walking through and trying to find species, I saw a few birds that I was not expecting to see. First, I saw a Stellar Jay. He was perched on a tree. I used to see Stella Jay's all of the time by my old house. I have always liked this bird a lot. They are blue and just look rather fierce. I then saw a common bird of the Pacific Northwest. It was a Bushtit (funny name) but very cute species. They are small and look similar to a Chickadee (to which I saw many of those as well). 

I am anxious to get more familiar with the names of these species. Until then, I will probably have a lot of unidentified species that I will have to come back and fill in later on. Overall it was a great day at the park. I didn't realize how big the park was, it is insane!