Week 9 / Final Journal

Date: Friday, June 13, 2014

Time 11:15 am - 12:30 pm

Weather: Light rain, overcast

Temperature: 57 F

Location: Wolf Tree Nature Trail

It is with great honor that I write my final journal entry of the season. I will begin with my normal phenological observations, then provide a series of repeat photos, introduce a new type of simple description and observation, and finish with a reflection of my time at this place in nature. Enjoy!

Phenology

Due to the rain, everything in the forest is wet. All of the leaves and wood have been washed and now give a fresh scent through the forest. The whole forest (especially the moss!) seems to enjoy this rain after our previous dry and sun period of Spring. Like they are taking in new energy from the rain so they can grow even more. The first time I visited in Week 1 it was raining and now it is raining on my last visit. Its a pleasant coincidence that makes me feel like the time here has come full circle. 

The leaves seem to hang lower than usual as if it is a resting day in the rain. The leaves gently jiggle as the rain drops from the canopy fall down to the understory below. The Salmonberry is bright green and wet (Figure 1). Some bushes have begun to dry, wilt, and turn brown (Figure 2). But other are still producing berries that will soon ripen (Figure 3). 

Figure 1. Close-up Salmonberry leaves

Figure 2. Drying Salmonberry 

Figure 3. Ripe Salmonberry

The forest floor is wet and soft. The Wood Sorrel is still full and green on the forest floor (Figure 4). The Tree leaves and needs hold on to their branches tightly above in the canopy creating a full and vibrantly green ceiling (Figure 5). 

Figure 4. Wood Sorrel

Figure 5. Full Canopy

The Licorice Fern on the Red Alder near my sit spot has dried up and turned brown. 

Licorice Fern dried on Red Alder

I hear many Song Sparrow songs ring through the canopy above me. However the canopy is so thick that I cannot see them. But now I am able to recognize birds by their calls so I know what species are around me without having to see them! The Song Sparrows sing sweet and ringing melodies that call and respond to one another. A Black-capped Chickadee  sings a song that goes "Chicka-dee-dee" off to my left. This is their alarm call but because the number of "Dees" in their call signifies the level of danger, I know that 2 "Dees" is a low level of danger. I also heard a Barred Owl off to my left. A soft "hop-hoo!" 

Repeat Photo Series

Below are several series of repeat photos from around my sit spot. Notice the extreme difference in color and fullness in vegetation between weeks 1 and 9!

Repeat Log Week 1 

Repeat Log Week 2

Repeat Log Week 5

Repeat Log Week 9

Repeat Red Alders Week 1

Repeat Red Alders Week 9

Repeat Trail East Week 1

Repeat Trail East Week 9

Repeat Trail West Week 1

Repeat Trail West Week 9

Pretend you are a kid observing the world

I am so excited! After breakfast this morning my mom let me come play outside for the rest of the morning! Now I can be with nature, who listens to my thoughts with a kind ear and gives quiet and peace in return. I ran through the trail and reached my favorite spot. "My Log" where I like to sit. 

What's this? I hear something beautiful! A melodic conversation. I look up and I see a friend sitting above me. But who is she talking to? This friend likes to talk to herself when she knows no one is watching. She has a brown back and head and a glorious burning red tummy. She is covered in stiff hair which is wet, like mine, from the rain. She looks down and says to me "How are you? Don't be sad. Be happy. Cheer up!" (She says that to everyone). 

I say "Hello!"with a smile. I notice her lips, which are pointy and yellow. She down't have hands. She tells me how she has arms that give her the magic to float through the air! She looks at me with kind eyes and I notice a white circle around her eye. She is propped up on two skinny stands. Her balance is impeccable! 

"I must go now, I see an insect and I am hungry" she said to me. 

"So long," I call back to her as she floats away. I hope we will meet again some day. 

Friend

I look back in front of me. How peculiar! I see many things that look like a dinosaur's skin! All around me! They surround me like friends protecting me from the outside world. They conceal me and keep me safe from other's sight. I am alone here. These things are green. And they huddle together in threes as if they are a family. There are several huddles in each ear around me and they are all connect by a brownish/red tie. Binding them as one and shooting into the ground below. They ties are inviting. *Ouch!* The ties are pokey… Protecting themselves from being separating from one another. Each green thing is shaped like a drop of water and has rays of green that extend from its center on all sides. And what is this? A red sun, bumpy and hairy. It accompanies some of the families. When I am here, I feel as though I am a part of their family, surrounded and protected.

Family of 3 green things

I look to my right. Brown ornaments decorate these things families all around me. Some are round with long bumps and others are long with round bumps. They hang. They are not waiting for anything or anyone. They are content. Or are they? Are they caught? Stuck? Maybe they are trapped in these ties and are unable to escape. I ask them if they are okay. They tell me that they were sent by their mothers that watch over us. That they were sent to reach the ground and they cannot because they are stuck. Should I help them? Should I intervene? Or should I let nature run its course. I don't want to mess anything up. But I want to help. I grab a brown thing and I place it on the ground.

"Good luck!" I say as I leave them and head back home for lunch.

Brown things hanging 

Brown things

Personal Reflection

1) How has your perception of your observation site changed through the quarter?

My attitude toward my site took a 180 turn. At the beginning of the quarter, I was nervous to be in nature alone and I felt overwhelmed with the observations and time it would take to complete weekly journal assignments. But now, my time at my site is what I look forward to most every week! I am no longer uncomfortable to sit quietly and let the forest functions continue around me. I use to feel so ut of place when I sat in my sit spot. I was worried about insects crawling on me and I was spooked by the slightest sounds. Now, I see my site as a place to escape from the busy city and relax with myself for a while. It is like friend that waits for me to return. I wonder about what is happening at my site while I'm away and look forward to the my next visits. I can sit peacefully at my sit spot and say hello to passing insects, listen to beautiful bird songs in the canopy, and look at the changing vegetation around me. I enjoy observing its changes and I am so surprised by the changes I have seen! The repeat photos I've shared above are wonderful representations of these changes I've witnessed. 

2) How has your sense of the Puget Sound Region changed through the quarter?

My sense of the Puget Sound Region has changed tremendously over the quarter! This class has given me the opportunity to understand the natural areas all around me whether they were shaped by a geologic past and/or are disturbed by invasive species or human activity. I understand the origin or the local natural systems and I am curious about finding out more! I have gained a strong sense of personal direction and place within the Puget Sound Region. I am constantly wondering where I am in relation to the Olympic Mountains, the Cascades, Mt. Rainier, Lake Washington, etc. Curiosity isn't something that can be taught but the opportunity to cease it can be presented and I am grateful for this class and Professor Tim Billo for giving me this opportunity. It has changed the way I perceive the world around me. Thank you, Tim!

3) What does it mean to intimately know a natural place? (Think about this question in terms of the process and the outcome. Also think about it in terms of scale—you have done close observation of one site, as well as developed broader appreciation on field trips around the Puget Sound).

I think that knowing a site intimately means to understand it not only from your perspective but also from its own. I had the opportunity to get to know the Wolf Tree Nature Trail through the quarter and I can say that I intimately know this place. Like I said above, this place becomes a friend. When I first visited my site, I knew close to nothing about specific species and interactions. But through the quarter, as my site has changed with the seasons, I feel as though I have changed with it. Every change it experienced, I was there with it, learning about it and understanding it. My site and I developed together and my intimacy with my site stems from the memories I have with it. The first ripe Salmonberry, tasting Wood Sorrel, or crawling through thickening Salmonberry bushes. I know this place. I also know the greater area of the Puget Sound Region because I have travelled on weekend field trips and explored new habitats and species. I have not only seen one site up close in detail but I have also observed a wide range of sites less formally. 

My time in nature this quarter has so special to me and I am inspired to continue my growth as a  budding young naturalist! 

Week 8

Date: Sunday, June 1, 2014
Time: 6:15 pm - 8:00 pm
Weather: Sunny and hot
Temperature: ~75 F
Location: Wolf Nature Tree Trail - Discovery Park

Hello fellow natural historians,
My site is becoming more and more of a comfortable place for me as I can now identify many plants and bird calls and I know my way around the site. Yet, I still find something new and excited every time I visit. That's the wonderful thing about nature, it's always growing and changing! This week I observed phenological changes at my sit spot and I studied a couple of birds… Enjoy!

Phenology

Once again as I walked toward my sit spot along the Wolf Tree Nature Trail, I was taken aback by the change in greenery since I was last here. Of course, I walked right past the point on the trail where I crawl through the Salmonberry to sit on the log because of these seasonal changes. I had to turn around and look for other clues like the leaning Red Alders, the Douglas Fir, and the floor of Wood Sorrel I always admire. Once I found the spot, I almost dreaded the process of getting to the log because the Salmonberry had grown so much. I could see the faint trail I always take to reach the log. I knew I would come out of this with twigs and insects in my hair and Salmonberry thorn scratches on my arms and legs. But I had to sacrifice my personal comfort for the sake of my sit spot log observations and repeat picture (Figure 1).

Figure 1. View from sit spot log

View from trail to my sit spot

The wood sorrel covering the forest floor around the Salmonberry is thick and abundant (Figure 2)! I learned that Wood Sorrel leaves are non-toxic in very small amounts so I tried a leaf. The taste is sour! It was pleasantly delicious and I wanted to eat more but I had to stop myself because I didn't know the extent of the toxin's powers. The forest floor was soft and dry today.

Figure 2. Wood Sorrel

It has been an interesting process to slowly gain plant ID knowledge as my time at Discovery has increased. Over the last couple of months I have seen this particular plant and not known what it was. I have drawn detailed pictures of it to understand its organization, leaf patter, color, veins and it wasn't until this visit that I had an epiphany. This is Red Elderberry (Figure 3)! Something I had been introduced to several weeks ago but wasn't able to connect the dots until today. This was a great accomplishment in my learning process and I was very proud of myself. I spotted at least 10 Red Elderberry saplings today. They are very green, green stems, green leaves, and green berries. The leaves are opposite and pinnately compound.

Figure 3. Red Elderberry

The Sword Fern surprised me on this visit. It has grown taller than I expected and some plants are not 3-4 ft tall (Figure 4). I saw several Sword Ferns that were drying and turning brown. Has their peak green season come to an end so soon?

Figure 4. Sword Fern

There are still dangling Red Alder seeds around my sits spot (Figure 5). I like to think that they are just hoping for a strong wind or a bird to knock them down onto the ground so they can perform their job of growing into a new Red Alder tree. 

Figure 5. Draped Red Alder tree seeds

The moment I have been waiting for all season has finally arrived (Figure 7)! The Salmonberry berries are here! Although they aren't completely ripe (deep red color) yet, I couldn't contain my excitement and I ate them anyways. They were very sour, as expected from premature berries. Before the berries reach maturity they are salmon colored (Figure 6). The Salmonberry bushes now tower over me at least 1 foot. It sure is an obstacle course to get back to my sit spot log! Another thing I noticed about the Salmonberry is that the leaves and stems are woven with spider webs.

Figure 6. Ripening Salmonberry

Figure 7. Ripening Salmonberry!

The canopy above is thick and green (Figure 8). I can only see slivers of blue sky peaking through. I see Big Leaf Maple leaves, Red Alder leaves, Douglas Fir needles, and Western Red Cedar leaves all dancing in the breeze above me in the canopy.

Figure 8. View looking up at canopy

Birds

All of my previous trips to Discovery Park have been earlier in the day. I purposefully came in the evening today because I know that is when birds are most actively feeding. I was pleasantly surprised to hear way more birds than I usually do. Although I heard so many birds, I had a very difficult time spotting them with my eyes. I spent 45 minutes standing quietly at different spots along the trail in hopes of seeing a bird rustling through the bushes or flying overhead so I could track where they land and study them up close.

Finally! I tracked down a Song Sparrow that seemed to think I was following it (…I was) and was trying to sing in peace. But I was quiet and persistent and I finally got a glimpse of the bird singing. I saw it perched in a Salmonberry branch. It's body is smaller than an American Robin and larger than a Bushtit. It is brown with tan markings on its underside. The song sounds like "Bee-bee-bzz-beetle-beetle-beetle" and while it sang it had a forward posture and put its beak up into the air. Its throat quickly moved in and out as a vibration movement. Then I heard a similar song from the other side of the forest. A call and response! Once the Song Sparrow felt uncomfortable with my staring it quickly flew into a thick of bushes and continued with some quiet "peep-peep" sounds. 

Song Sparrow sketch

As I continued down the trail, walking as quietly as possible as not to spook any nearby birds, I heard  rustling in the understory ahead of me. My heart fluttered with fear because this was a reminder that although I was along on the trail, you are never truly along in nature. I slowly walked closer to see what it was and an American Robin ran out of the bushes and onto the trail in front of me. It quickly flew to a tree branch. This bird has a brown/gray head and body with a red breast and a white eye circle. It's song sounds like "Cheerily, Cheer-up!" however this Robin was not singing. It just continued to perch in an Elderberry branch and stared directly at me in silence. I am noticing that the birds and animals here are use to humans quickly and loudly passing through the trail but when I sit quietly and observe them they seem alarmed. I watched this Robin sit in the tree for 8 minutes and decided that it was going to stay like that for a while so I moved on. 

American Robin sketch

Because I had observed two birds, I decided to call it a night and head back to the parking lot. As I walked up one of the last stretches of trail, I heard a flapping sound and from directly above me saw two huge flapping wings fly into the tree about 100 m from me. An owl!!! I had never seen one in the wild before! I had heard them all season at my sight but had accepted the fact that I would probably never see one for myself. I rummaged in my bag for my binoculars and feasted my eyes on this majestic bird. The owl was facing me so I could see its white and brown vertical bar pattern on its stomach. I saw its large round black eyes, yellow beak, and white/tan spots framing its brown face. A Barred Owl for sure (Figure 9). Now, although I am morally conflicted by the presence of barred owls in spotted owl territory of the Pacific Northwest, I couldn't help but feel excited to see my first owl in the wild! They were beautiful, stoic birds. 

Figure 9. Barred Owl 1

Then, as I was admiring the Barred Owl I heard large flapping sounds overhead again. A second Barred Owl! What a pleasure! And to think, I was about to leave for the evening and miss such a wonderful site! The second owl seemed to fly form the same origin as the first and landed in a tree about 100 m from the first. I have heard that Barred Owls mate for life, maybe these two are mates and their nest is close by. The second owl had the same physical features as the first but as slightly bigger in size. This was possibly the female because females tend to be bigger than males. The second owl had its back facing me so I got a good look of its rear plumage which was tan/brown with white horizontal spot patterns (Figure 10). As I was drawing these birds in my field notebook for later reference, I dropped my notebook on the ground and the loud slap rang through the forest. Immediately in response to the sound, the second owl whipped its head a full 180 degrees to look directly at me. It was terrifying! Not only was it scary to look straight into an owls eyes and have its full attention, it made me realize that the animals I have been observing at Discovery Park are just as curious about me and could be watching me all the time, even when I don't know they're there!

Figure 10. Barred Owl 2

Well I would  call this a very successful nature visit to my site. Sadly, next week's journal entry will be my last. Until then!