WEEK 1

Date: Sunday, April 7, 2013

Weather: Overcast with a moderate level of rain  

Temperature: ~50 degrees F

Time: 5:00pm - 6:00pm

Location: Ravenna Park

My observation site is a plot of land directly in the center of the Ravenna and Cowen Park green space, at the edge of Ravenna Creek. Ravenna Park is part of the Ravenna neighborhood in Seattle and both this and Cowen Park are public spaces. The park is only six blocks from my house, and my location is just a little further, through trails and down stairs into the ravine.

Due to classes, work, homework, and the amount of daylight I was given, my optimal observation time was right after work on Sunday evening. This happened to coincide with the beginning of a torrential downpour. However, once I got outside and let the rain dampen my face, I was no longer bitter and ready to explore until I found my 'spot'. I had only been to Ravenna Park two other times, which is criminal given my convenient location to the site, but made my first experience in this wilderness more of a treasure hunt than a chore.

For the first spatial scale, I will describe my observation site from 1 sq. meter distance in any direction. First, I heard a soft chirping of birds. They sounded to come from a distance, and were not consistent throughout my time in the space. The birds had sweet chirps that were unobtrusive, and I caught a glimpse of just one small bird quickly flit past me and under the brush to escape the rain. By its size alone, I would guess the bird to be a sort of sparrow, possibly a song sparrow.   

Aside from the birds, I only saw a few insects. When taking a closer look at the habitat, my site hosts a number of notable and rare details. One of the most exciting is that my site contains an erratic, one of the large granite stones left behind from the receding ice that shaped most of the Puget Sound Region.

This stone, along with all other rocks and trees that surround it, is coated in a thick layer of moss. On the stone, we can see that there might be some sort of fungus as well. The moss on the trees appears to be big shaggy moss. 

Taking a step back to the second spatial scale at 50 sq. meters, there is much more to look at. Speaking of the big shaggy moss we were just looking at, this same moss appears to have manifested itself on a tree that (possibly) is a Bigleaf Maple. I can tell this from the tiny budding leaves and drooping clusters of small yellowish flowers. Its trunk is sturdy and it has long arms that reach down toward the creek. 

 

Looking out even further, I seem to find at least two very large Douglas Firs, whose trunks I cannot wrap my arms around. They are so tall that I cannot even see the highest branches from below. There are a number of other small trees and shrubs around, however, I do not yet know how to identify them. The swamp is so full of brush, in places, I cannot even distinguish where one shrub ends and another begins. They seem more like weeds. 

During my exploration I found a number of other interesting finds as well. For instance, I found a colony of what I thought were 'cat-tails', but when I looked them up in my field guide it happened that they are the common horsetails instead. I got excited at the site of one, only to turn the corner and see hundreds where the creek met the pathway. I saw what I thought were sticker bushes, but did not want to touch them to find out. There were a number of the sticker bush plants in the swamp area next to the creek, growing green and lush out of the dark brown mud and mush of fallen leaves that was being rained on heavily. 

Two of my other most exciting finds were a purple flowering plant, and a number of ferns in the swamp. The purple plant only had a few buds, and was intertwined with the rest of the shrubs that lined the creek. I could not identify the flower, or get a satisfactory close-up image of one. [I plan to draw it later and add it to my posts.] The ferns however, are deer ferns, and were all aplenty around the creek and erratic stone. They had a vibrant green color and were extremely smooth to the touch on the top, with seeds on the underside. They sat in large clusters on the ground and seemed to be enjoying the raining weather more than myself. 

I can't wait to return to my site in the sunlight, and hopefully in warmer or even temperate weather. I think that my erratic stone will be the perfect place to perch upon to listen to the sounds and observe my surroundings once the weather gets nicer. I am also excited to see if any new blossoms will pop up in the swamp by next week, and if any more animals will come out to play when the rain goes away. Until next time!