A May Basket of Delights

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May...

I didn't hold much promise of a fine day out since leaving work at 10am, all was gloomy and blustery. I decided to go see what was happening in Washington Park. The advantage of rain shadow or convergence zone didn't come to mind. Simply go and take what comes.

Well Hooray for rain shadow and convergence zone. As soon as I got north of the Snohomish county line, the rains let up and upon reaching the park, I was in broken skies and sun.

I walked the now familiar loop road looking for new and interesting things. A Robins egg shows that the first brood of nestlings have hatched.

At Green Point, there were few of the Shooting Stars which had dominated the grass edge in the rocks. Today, a small clump of Chocolate Lily sat unexpectedly on the rocky edge. I later found a wonderful array of them on a mossy bank further inside the island. The are exceptionally difficult to spot with their green dappled tops.

Many of the slopes were well filled with mature forms of Sea Blush and Camas. I spotted small buds of wild onions, most not yet opened.

Many bumblebees taking advantage of all the blooming Sea Blush and I spotted one butterfly. I was getting ready to take a picture when a White-crowned sparrow swooped in and narrowly missed catching it. I tried to get a fun picture of fuzzy bumblebees in the flowers but they were far too lively and fast for my camera.

I stumbled unexpectedly upon a young Red-tailed Hawk in the grass. Clearly it had something . It jumped up with its prize... a writhing snake. It was not until I got home and loaded my pictures up I looked long and hard at the snake. It is green and flat and I don't really know of a snake here that looks like this. The tide was out and the rocky tide pool were just below the slope. I thought it might be an eel, but when asked on Flickr someone I respect as a naturalist answered he felt it was a snake of unknown species.

For a closer look at this photo you can see the original size ( click the magnify icon)

www.flicker.com/photos/meanderingwa/

There were many people out enjoying the fine day. These folks were enjoying their private fishing spot.

As usual there were many people walking the loop. I chose the woodland trail through the center of the park and had it all to myself.

The Salal is in bloom and I encountered some new plants that make we want to return in a week to see how they progress.

I believe this is a Mitrewort, thought I don't know which of two species it is. I asked for some id help on Flickr.

I am not sure what this is but I am hoping it is Pinedrops. I have never seen except in pictures and I will make a mental note to return and double check this trail. There were a couple other mystery growths that gave no clues as to what they are, simply foreign to my eyes.

The Spotted Coralroots were more bountiful.

Nootka Roses had lost a lot of petals to the rain, but these two were prime.

Orange Honeysuckle dangle from a lot of middle story shrubs and trees. Most concerning to me is that I have still to see or hear a Rufous Hummingbird this year. They should have been very busy in the area I found this honeysuckle. There are also a lot of Salmonberry and these two plants should be hummer magnets.

This park remains one of the most remarkable places in this region. I have never seen such diverse plant life anywhere on this side of the Cascades.

Welcome Fall

I came across this article in the Seattle Times this morning and thought I would pass it on. I visited Lincoln county during my Labor Day Rock and Road trip. Who knows, perhaps one of the wheat farms I passed through is part of this article.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009909525_localflour21.html

I think it is a wonderful concept and certainly it brings the farmers a bit more profit.

But simply posting an interesting article seems a bit dull. One of my "fans" noted the absence of a "meandering post" this weekend. I was on call and running about with weekend chores. I just could not get myself away into the woods.

But ahhh tonight.. how better to salute the beginning of Fall than with a quick walk in the woods. Balmy weather is so typical for Puget Sound in late September. Our first day of Fall will prove to be a blazing hot time with forecast daytime in the middle 80's. It seems to easily cool off over night. Simply does not get better.

I stopped by Redmond Watershed Park on my way to the barn and was greeted by what is a subtle sign of the progression of the seasons. Just a few months ago it stayed light until nearly 10 PM now, not so much.

The woods already felt cool and dark. I could find many subtle signs that the Fall is here. Everywhere mushrooms are showing up. Douglas Squirrels will soon be harvesting and hanging them in trees. I know there can be some great finds for human consumption but I have never been brave enough to learn anything but the most obvious of the safe mushrooms.

Bushes set berries and they are usually gobbled up by birds. In the Fall it is not unusual to find flocks of drunk Robins hanging about in (and from) trees from overeating fermented fruit. Ash and Madrone are particularly popular. I was thrilled to find these berries. I have never seen our native Orange Honeysuckle , Lonicera ciliosa in fruit. Usually the plants are growing up in trees, so challenging to spot. The flowers are eagerly eaten by birds and small mammals. They will pull off the tube flower and eat the base where the sweet nectar is collected. This honeysuckle plant was right at eye level.



There were Nootka Rose, Rosa nutkana still blooming in a few places. Such a wonderful deep scent. They have large hips (which is perhaps why I like them) and these will serve up tasty eating for many birds and mammals through the winter.



Trees deep in the woods are not changing their colors yet. You can see some yellowing and browning up on some of the larger trees like Big-leaf Maple and Black Cottonwood, but the lovely Vine Maples are still bright green. I am seeing random small trees along roadsides starting to change. Those trees are exposed to harsher conditions. In the deeper woods the change is slow. During those wonderful blue days of late October and early November coming across a graceful Vine Maple surrounded by conifer trees can make you forget about the Sugar Maples of New England.

The fat round leaves of the Vine Maple are easy to remember. Their samaras have wings that are almost straight across.

Yes samara is the technical term, but most people look at me blankly when I use the term. Whirley Birds ... better?

I was driving home from the barn and it was not yet 730. The sun was already below the horizon so I am not sure when the sign at the park will be changed. The thinnest sliver of moon was setting right behind the sun. I could not resist trying to capture the last rays of summer.

Soon enough sunsets of any hue will be a rare treat. Gray with variations.