Week 4

Date: Tuesday, October 27th, 2015
4–5PM
Weather: Sunny
Temperature: 60°

The first thing I noticed at my site was birds. There was a lot of chirping going on. Last time at my site there wasn't many bird noises, which now that I think about it, makes sense; I visited my site right before dusk, so the birds would have been retiring for the night. I didn't hear a large variety of birds, only about 3 or 4 different calls. I heard seagulls and crows, but the other calls I didn't recognize. I was frustrated not knowing which birds they were! I really wanted to do the thing where you play a bird's call to get the bird to react and come to you, but didn't know which species of bird I was hearing. Maybe later in the quarter I'll be able to do that. 

Last week, I talked about how much it sucked to rush through the journal assignment due to it getting really dark and cold at dusk. This time, I made sure to give myself more than enough time to hang out at my spot before dark and really take everything in. That, and the fact that I can identify species now, made this time the most rewarding visit yet. I was SO excited to actually be able to see some of the plants we've learned at my site and know what they are. I can now see the diversity in this natural area, whereas on my last visit I was pretty bummed out about my site and wished I had chosen a better one because there didn't seem to be much diversity or interesting things to look at. I'm glad I was wrong, and that my hypothesis I made in week 1 was correct; that nature becomes much more interesting the more knowledge you have on it. 

As for changes in my site, there are more leaves on the ground, and the trees are getting more and more barren. I know, shocking. But I've started to notice things in my site I had never paid attention to before, like noticing some Cottonwood leaves on the ground. I trekked up a hill a little to find the Cottonwood responsible. As far as I know, there's not nearly as many Cottonwoods at my site as there is Red Alder and Big-leaf Maple. 

I also noticed that the holly tree at my observation site does look to be growing berries! The buds I observed in previous weeks are getting bigger.

As I said, I identified a lot of the plants we've learned at my observation site. Here is some.

                    

                      

Tall Oregon Grape. There is a shiny coating and 5-9 

leaflets on each leaf. The underside of the leaflets have

one central vein, like Tall Oregon Grape should.

 A Sitka Spruce. I can tell by the spirally arranged, pokey, angular needles, notches in the bark, and the rounder cones on the end of the branch.

        

Garry Oak, I believe. The leaves are deeply lobed and alternate.

The bark has "thick furrows and ridges."

    

I believe this is Salmonberry.
The branching pattern is alternate
and the bottom leaflets look like
butterfly wings, which is
characteristic of Salmonberry.

An uprooted Pacific Madrone. I
can tell by the peeling bark and
whirl arrangement of the leaves
(which I couldn't get to to take a
picture of.)

And now on to fungi and lichen.

Here are my lichens. 

Picture 1. My best guess is that this is Forking Bone. It has clubbed leaves that are "semi-upright." The color is pale-greenish as described in the field guide. It really just looks like the picture in the field guide.
Picture 2. A white dust/crustose lichen. It has small, powdery granules. Found on the bark of an Alder tree.
Picture 3. A loosely attached, leafy lichen. Color ranges from red-brown to pale green. Found on a Big-leaf maple.

I didn't expect to find fungi in my observation site since I had never seen it there before. I was surprised to find a decent amount once I started looking for it.
This will contain some updates (on 11/14/2015) denoted as "*Update:" as I now know more about mushrooms from our mushroom workshop and have means to describe them, even if I may not be able to identify them. 

This is an interesting fungi I found in cavities of nurse logs. The bottom picture is what I assume the top picture looks like when it grows out more. It tends to grow out of cracks in the bark. It is a pale cream color at the base and is more yellow at the end. The texture is really ropey and slick-- it feels like Twizlers. It's also pretty strongly adhered to the log. (I pulled on it.) They kind of looks like beansprouts.

*Update: I have identified this as Calocera Cornea, a yellow coral fungi known to grow out of decaying wood (as it is here.)

            

Bell-shaped, mushroom growing straight out of the ground. It had a pretty long, fuzzy stem. The color is 2-toned, with a light brown on top that fades into white at the edges.

*Update: Gilled; smooth-capped; pubescent (finely fuzzy) stem. Gills appear adnexed.

 Growing out of the side of a nurse log. I'm not sure if it was a mushroom formation at one point and the caps are gone, or if it's supposed to look like this. It looks very shell-like and the inside is porous. 

White mushrooms that come to a point and curve downward before curling under again. I believe the gills are "adnexed" but I really don't know much about that. It was found growing out of the forest floor.

*Update: Gills look more adnate than adnexed; cap is umbonate. The first two pictures show a cap that is revolute (rolled back.)

Brown mushroom with white edges. Can apparently range from very dome-like to very pancake-looking. I'm not sure about the gill structure since I didn't look at it from the side. It was growing among some grass.

*Update: Gills appear adnate. Cap structure varies from pulvinate (left) to plane (right.)

I don't know what these are but they're gross. They were growing out of some moss at the base of a Big-leaf maple. Maybe they were once cute mushrooms that are just rotting. 

*Update: I now know to not pick mushrooms past their prime, as they'll be hard to identify.

Tiny, almost luminescent mushroom with a small brown stem.

*Update: Cap is smooth and conic. Stem also smooth. Maybe in the mycena genus? 

I really have no idea how to identify these fungi. I tried to describe them well but my vocabulary of science-y terms for mushrooms is limited. I also didn't get a very good look at the gill structure. Hopefully I can identify some of these later on with more knowledge.

I also added some of these to iNaturalist for help.

Week 3

My favorite part of the trip was probably the hike on the moraine trail, where we stood on the moraine overlooking the glacial valley. I loved seeing such a vast open space carved out by glaciers and imagining 100 years ago, it being filled with ice from the Nisqually glacier. I was pretty surprised that the glacier had receded so much in such a short time span of 100 years due to the rapid warming period we’re in, likely from global climate change. I wasn't aware that warming and cooling periods occurred naturally. Some of the warming can be attributed to a natural warming period, however I think humans are sure accelerating the warming period quite a bit. 

Nice view of the rocks left from the
glacier hundreds of years ago.

On the drive there I remember watching the vegetation change as we went up in elevation. I started to notice less and less deciduous trees and more conifers. This was due to the elevation change, yet I’m not so sure what factors related to the elevation affect the species we see so much. I’m assuming that the soil is drier in higher elevations, since the water heads downhill into valleys and basins where it collects and makes moister soil. It is my understanding that conifers have adapted to survive in drier soil, while deciduous trees thrive in moister soil (abiotic factor.) I also assume that in the winter when mountains get snow, there comes an elevation when the snow accumulation makes it impossible for trees to grow (the alpine zone.) With so much snow accumulation, the growing season is thwarted (abiotic.) Also, since air is more arid in higher elevations and more humid in lower ones, I am guessing that different trees thrive on different types of air (abiotic.) One thing I’m unclear on is why different elevations have different soil compositions, which contributes to the zonation of different trees.

I thought it was interesting that the trees even adapted themselves physically to survive in the weather. For example, the firs becoming “skinnier” as we went up in elevation so the branches would not accumulate snow and break off (abiotic.) I also think it’s fascinating that subalpine firs and noble firs have developed the spiral arrangement of branches for this same reason. Not only is it interesting to see how things evolve to adapt to the climate, these trees are so aesthetically pleasing! I loved seeing the clusters of subalpine fir which had reproduced through cloning and/or had survived next to each other due to shelter from the wind and snow (biotic.) If it were snowy, I would have felt like I was in a winter wonderland.

           

            Closeup of Subalpine Fir needles. Note
          spiral arrangement and white bands on
   the needles.

Mama Subalpine Fir and perhaps it's
babies growing around it, along with
Mountain Hemlock. The larger trees
facilitate the growth of other trees by
blocking out the wind and snow. 

I found clusters of this plant all along the moraine trail. It didn't grow
too high above ground. Given the leaf shape, I am guessing it belongs to
the genus lupinus, but without the flowers don't really know the species. 

Although there was no winter wonderland, I did enjoy the enchanted forest A.K.A. the old-growth forest. I found it interesting that the small, shade tolerant Western Hemlocks grew between the huge old trees that towered over us (Douglas Fir,) creating a multi-layered canopy effect and making the forest seem very full vertically, despite not being very dense (biotic.)  

This fungi, on the other hand, was growing
directly out of the nurse log. As they decay,
nurse logs provide other plants with water
and nutrients they had accumulated during
their life span (biotic.)

Two really cute, tiny mushrooms grew in a cavity of a nurse log. I believe
they were growing out of the ground, not the log, but were using the log as
shelter from the weather since they were huddled in so close to it, I
almost didn't see them (biotic.) 

I actually went to another old growth forest this summer that was situated along highway 164 to Mt. Rainier and was mesmerized by the enchanted feel so much that it was one of the reasons I decided to take this class. Old-growths are particularly special just because they feel so ancient, as if time has stood still there for centuries. This may sound pretentious or over-inflated, but I genuinely do get a sense of the eternal when I’m there, and see why people get inspired in places like these. I would love to go back to it alone just to spend some time in that atmosphere; it is definitely one different than that of civilization where things seem so transient in comparison. As someone who likes to write poetry (if you can call it that,) I feel this environment is a particularly inspiring one.

Very easy to see the small Western Hemlocks sprouting up under the towering Douglas Fir.

Nisqually Delta, a wetland/estuary that harbors many bird species as well as tree frogs, insects and snakes. Bigger species of birds such as eagles and hawks can eat frogs, snakes or smaller birds, such as ducklings. The snakes eat frogs and insects/invertebrates. Frogs also eat insects and invertebrates. The ducks eat mostly wetland plants, while smaller birds eat insects they find from probing in trees (biotic.)

Not a very good picture, but this is a
garter snake on some thorny bushes
waiting for a tree frog to come along. 

Not the best drawing but you get the idea. Migratory geese
come to these kinds of wetlands and estuaries for the fresh water
(abiotic) and to feed off the plants and grasses in these areas so they will
have energy for their migration (biotic.)

Furthermore, I really liked messing with the birds. I never actually knew that if you played a bird’s song that it would respond at all, let alone so distinctly. I liked how playing the chickadee’s warning call attracted all of them together to protect one another, and how playing the woodpecker’s song made him so angry and territorial that he kept drumming on trees well after we stopped messing with him. I like that we can mimic the calls to see how the birds would actually respond to other birds of the same species in the wild, such as a fight for territory or call for protection (biotic.) I never really gave birds much consideration, but now that I have a medium for interacting with them and studying their behavior, I’m pretty hooked. I plan to play some bird common bird calls and songs at my observation spot to see if I can get any interesting responses.

As for the mima mounds, I liked the hypothesis of permafrost cracking, claiming that the land had frozen over so thoroughly that it cracked leaving formations like these:

and over time, erosion from the weather and streams running through the cracks created a more mound-shaped formation. A problem with that theory is that there would probably have been a mass amount of glacial runoff as the glacier retreated, and the stream channels between cracks would be too small for the copious amounts of water.

In conclusion...

I think this field trip really improved my observational skills in nature. On the walk back to my dorm after the field trip, the chirping that used to be background noise to me was suddenly very noticeable, and I found my gaze snap towards it right away, looking for birds. Also, over this past week I’ve been much more aware of the vegetation around me, noticing the vine maple in the Maple Hall courtyard, the big Ponderosa pines in front of my own dorm, and skunk cabbage on my way to class (I always wondered why it smelled so bad around there.) I can say it’s pretty awesome to look around and recognize the distinct species as opposed to all of the trees and bushes looking the same to me, like they used to.

Week 2

Date: Wednesday, October 14th, 2015
5–6PM
Weather: Clear skies, damp
Temperature: 55°

The first thing I noticed when I walked to my observation site is how much I hadn’t noticed before. I went in looking for changes, and then realized I hadn’t paid enough attention to my site in week 1 to have much of a basis for comparison. This time, I tried to take in as much as I could but was pressed for time since I was running out of daylight.

What I did notice was the ground was littered with even more fallen leaves. There are now piles of leaves instead of a single layer. Old leaves are decaying. Next, I felt a difference in the atmosphere. It was much damper (from the rain we’ve been having), and as a result, all of the vegetation around my observation site looked heavy and wilted. The vibrant, strong, healthy plants of last week are now dull in color.

As I looked at some fallen leaves on the ground, I realized that the maple trees I guessed were sugar maples last week are actually big leaf maples. I arrived at this conclusion because the leaves are, well, big. The biggest one I found was about a foot across.

Also, the ferns I saw all over my observation site that I guessed were either deer ferns or common sword ferns are in fact common sword ferns. At Ravenna, Jessica pointed out one of these and told us they could be identified by the “handle” at the base of the leaflet. I checked my ferns, and they had handles as well.

I recently looked up some info on holly and found out they usually produce fruits in the fall. The holly at my observation site has little buds on the vines, but I’m pretty sure they’re just the dried up remnants of the flowers that bloomed back in spring. I also read that if the holly doesn’t produce berries, it’s likely male. Either this is the case, or the bush is a female that simply didn’t yield fruit this year.

Maybe I’m just not very observant, but I didn’t notice much different from last week. The same plants were still there. I heard some geese in the distance, but not in my actual vicinity. The rest of the birds must have retired for the night, because I couldn’t hear any. I didn’t see any animals either. Granted, I didn’t have much time to look.

After this week, I realized that I really need to allow the time to actually observe and actively look for different species and features at my observation site. I still have this mentality about the journal activity that I must get in and get out. I think I’m missing the whole purpose of the assignment—to enjoy this time to take a break and look around. Next week I’m going to try to slow down a bit; I really want to get the most out of this but know that’s not going to happen if I continue to rush it.

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For these exercises, I chose a plant that I believe is some kind of ivy. 

Memory Sketch

Really tests your observational skills...

Contour Sketch

 This is actually my favorite drawing. It really did capture the energy and movement of the plant the best even though I was drawing blindly. Maybe because all my focus was on the plant, not the paper.

Gesture Series

           Is it even possible to draw a plant in 3 seconds? It didn't even start looking remotely like a plant until 30 seconds. This is really hard and something I need to practice!!

Diagrammatic Drawing

Wasn't as fun as the other exercises :(

Experimenting with the pencil

 I didn't know exactly what this meant, but I tested out different ways to present the contrast between the leaf and the veins to make it representative of the actual plant for my study drawing.

 Study Drawing

I never knew it would take me an hour to draw a plant.

Drawings of 3 other plants: