Great weather. Lots of plants to plant but no volunteers. Glad I have my family. We planted lots of plants in the Very Berry Patch today. We also spent a lot of time with Plant identification.
I made a plan on how high these berries will grow and needed to put them in the right order so they all will get sun light.
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First Thimbleberry went in the Verry Berry Patch today. Soil is pretty much clay with lots of worms. Happy growing little plant!
Best acrobatics to be seen right outside our kitchen window. One Douglas squirrel climbs the feeder while the others wait for the food to be dropped down to them. Teamwork.
Seen at feeder:
Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapillus Steller’s jay, Cyanocitta stelleri Rufous-sided Towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus House sparrow, Passer domesticus Seen in backyard: Anna’s Hummingbird, Calypte anna American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos Looking out for other NW backyard birds: Pine siskin, Spinus pinus Townsend’s Warbler, Setophaga townsendi Downy woodpecker, Picoides pubescens Bewick’s Wren, Thryomanes bewickii Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus House finch, Haemorhous mexicanus Bushtit, Psaltriparus minimus The summer was dry and most of my little berry bushes didn't make it through. We were gone for a whole month and couldn't take care of them. When we restarted the restoration I found this tiny little plant making it's way towards the sky. It's somewhat on my main restoration path, so I try to protect it with sticks. Deciduous trees sprout new leaves in the spring and then drop them in the fall. Coniferous trees are evergreen and hold their needles all year around. Those are standard tree rules.
But the Pacific Madrona (Arbutus menziesii) breaks those rules. They are evergreens, deciduous trees that stay in leaf year around. Actually, Madronas do drop their leaves, but not at the usual time. Like other deciduous trees, they sprout new leaves in the spring. Then in midsummer, the one year old leaves turn yellow and drop and that is happening right now. Rhododendrons are cousins of Madronas, and do this as well, but they will drop their two year old leaves in the summer. Although the Madrona looks like a tree, it really behaves more like a large evergreen shrub. Removed a bunch of ivy along the north edge. Thanks for Zac and his Dad for coming out on this rainy day and for Shelly bringing us hot cocoa for break.
Made a trip to Camp Long for Green Seattle Day, helped with registration, Tim gave a short speech, 5 big volunteer groups (a brewery, P4tP, WSHS, a law firm) planted lots of new plants:
Following the Sword Fern die-off in some local parks, I just got word from a scientists that had a wild cam set up in the park next to our house that they study if any animals might have to do with it.
On their list, our friend, the Aplodontia, apparently seen at Seward Park and some other bigger forested parks in Seattle. I am so excited. I want to see one. I heard their sight is really bad and if you sit they might just bump into you. I want to have a little aplodontia bump into me. Here is the blog to the hypotheses for the fern die-off. Cleaned out a patch of ivy on the North edge of Fairmount Park. And Holly. And Blackberries.
I looked up 'Botany in a day' and found a great youtube video that introduces the plant families and some fun games. I also looked up some of the trail cam pictures from Seattle University. Not sure who planted it but I plan to protect it. I put a couple of sticks around it so no one will step on it. It is kind of close to the path between the Very-Berry-Patch-Edge and the latrine.
Learnt that Garry Oaks are drought resistant which would explain why this is doing well after a long dry summer and all the other little trees we planted in late Spring didn't do so well. I am so excited for acorns. I hope this little tree will grow and be strong, especially if all the Holly trees West of it will be removed, it will have a really great spot. Weather is fantastic. We have tools. We have work. We have lots to do on October 27th from 4 to 6:30 pm meeting at the North side of Fairmount Park north of the playground.
When I stepped outside there was so much going on with my bird friends in the trees. I could not spot them but listened in for a while. I didn't even notice when Kevin arrived. When we met at Schmitz Park we talked about a Nature Club for Fairmount Park. Since then I was excited to show Kevin the Park and get him excited, too.
We walked along the path and started our tour on the South end. I showed him the spot where the bee swarm was hanging out last Spring. We went up the hill and I showed him all the dense growth where I haven't figured out the trees. We had to cut our way through the blackberries on the path under the power line. It was obviously quite a long time ago since I went on a walk through the entire 1.3 acre green belt. We visited the Mother of the Forest, went in the little hide out, looked at the signs left on the cherry log and then tried to find out more about some of the mysteries. Bitter cherry for the log. Unsure about the dense growth. We also talked about opportunities, learning and ideas. |
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