ENVIR 280: Ravenna Park : WEEK 2

Date: Saturday, April 13, 2013

Weather: Very light sprinkles (moments before a thunderstorm)

Temperature: ~50 degrees F

Time: 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Location: Ravenna Park

A repeat view of my site

With my first Saturday off from work in what felt like ages, I took full advantage of the hours in my 'free' day to venture down to my favorite spot in the heart of Ravenna Park. I have been lucky in this past week to have the opportunity of viewing the park (though not my exact site) through the educated eyes and ears of some of our class TAs. This experience gave me an entirely new lens with which to view the site on my own time. The crash course in which we established identifying factors for plants and labeled them with a name was astoundingly helpful and even cleared up a number of confusions I had about species I had seen the week before.

As I wandered my site, photographed plant species, and especially as I took time to create my drawings, the sound of birds filled the air. The evening would be coming soon, yet the sun still shone and shed light through the leaves and all around me. I heard three different, distinct bird calls, that varied in length (the number of chirps) and also tone (some sweet and high-pitched, others more musical). I didn't catch site of any bird that was specifiable during my visit. I do not consider myself well-versed in bird literacy, yet by the end of this quarter I hope to become familiar with basic bird-watching how-to and be able to distinguish their calls at a time like this.

I enjoyed my erratic stone once more, yet it still held a puddle in the top crevice. I can't wait for the rain to cease so that I can perch on my rock, taking in all the smells and sounds that surround me. The moss that grows on the erratic stone have not changed in color or grew since last week.

Our readings and class time from last week noted that this area is a Western Hemlock Zone (tsuga heterophylla), made distinct by the plethora of sword fern (polystichum munitum) undergrowth as well as the commonly seen Indian plum (oemleria cerasiformis) with its elongated leaves and flower bundles.

In quite the exciting discovery, I found that the deer fern (blechnum spicant) I mentioned in last week's blog is actually a Western Sword Fern (polystichum munitum). This is fern can be distinguished by its dark, compound leaves which are made up of a multitude of individual leaflets that host seeds on their underside. I was correct in my assumption of Big-leaf Maples (acer macrophyllum) in the close vicinity to my location, however, I no longer believe that the large tree with big shaggy moss (rhytidiadelphus loreus) is the best example of this case. The Big-leaf Maples (acer macrophyllum) surround the small creek and walkway, soaring high above the bulk of vegetation and into the sky. The 'tiny budding leaves with drooping clusters of small yellowish flowers' seem unchanged from the week prior, yet I will keep an eye on them in the weeks to come. These events spurred another interesting observation, that I believe that tree covered in big shaggy moss (rhytidiadelphus loreus) to be, in fact, the first Western Hemlock (pseuga heterophelia) identified in my site. It can be identified by the needles in all different lengths, and bristles that are thick and hard to the touch.

Western Sword Fern

In a search to find the non-native tree species that is said to be difficult to identify, I came across a great deal more of Douglas Firs (pseudotsuga menziesii). I had identified two last week, and learned during class that the needles of these trees don't even begin to grow until high in the trunk as a means to prevent fire and become fire resistant. During this hunt, I also came across a strange looking tree that I have yet to identify. It is smooth and light-chestnut colored with budding, fresh green leaves. It's most uncommon characteristic is the high number of trunks that project from a single root in the ground. The tree is fairly low to the ground and slightly covered in moss.

Species still unknown to me!

The last tree species I came across in this venture is what I take to be a Horse Chestnut (aesculus hippocastanum). This tree is characterized by big, floppy, hand-like leaves and a vibrant green color. The one I found exhibits all of these qualities and is similar to the image I found in my field guide!

Horse Chestnut Tree

Although I thought that my patrol around the site within 50 meters was adequate in weeks past, this week came to prove that one more step can open a world of possibilities. One of my favorite plants, Skunk Cabbage (symplocarpus foetidus) was not only found only a few feet east of my site, but as part of an entire colony that lines the river. Their prehistoric qualities create an unmatched aesthetic appeal in comparison to other forest plants and they smell like fresh nature. I learned during class that the yellow 'flower' is really only the spathe, that protects the flower, and that the Skunk Cabbage (symplocarpus foetidus) can produce enough heat in the winter to melt snow off of itself.

Patch of skunk cabbage

The rest of my observations involve descriptions of species that are currently flowering and leafing, and also ones that I have yet to identify. For example, the common horsetails (equisetum arvense) mentioned last week have now moved into two different stages. In the first stage, stalks grow green and long with individual leaflets that resemble needles, while the second transforms them to a fruiting stage that creates spores and an entirely new representation of the species to the point where they are unrecognizable.

The Common Horsetails (you can see a horsetail in the fruiting stage in the center back of the image)

Last week, the 'purple plant' that 'only had a few buds' and was unidentifiable to my untrained eye, but now, I can say with confidence that this is Salmonberry (rubus spectabilis) and will soon produce fruit from the delicate purple flowers. It can be identified by its simple leaves with toothed edges and distinct purple bud.


Salmonberry Bush

Lastly, on the notion of my previous statement regarding 'sticker bushes' next to the common horsetails (equisetum arvense), these plants did not turn out to be 'sticker bushes' in the slightest. Growing from the swampy mud in a number of locations around my site is the Vine Maple (acer circinatum). This small sprawling tree has vine-line branches and soft, small, simple leaves with toothed edges. I felt so silly for thinking that this plant would be the one to 'stick' me. For this reason, and the pleasing star-like shape of the leaf, I chose to focus on this Vine Maple (acer circinatum) for the drawing exercise. I love drawing, so time spent focusing on a simple leaf, or a single branch, was anything but boring. In my early drawings, I focused mainly on the shape of the leaf and ridges within it. In the later sketches, I moved onto the vine to show further representations with a number of other leaves as well.

Exercise 1: CHOOSING WHAT TO DRAW

Almost everywhere I turned there would be a vine maple. This grouping was growing from a small broadleaf tree, close to the ground, and had an out-spurting cluster of leaves that stood at the highest point, at my eye-level. The distance from the leaf to the bottom of its stalk was about eight inches.

Exercise 2: OBSERVATION

In observation of the entire plan, the leaves appear to reach for the sun in an upwards projection. The small trunk of the tree climbs vertically in a curvilinear fashion to create a stable platform. It seems to me that the goal of this tree is to grow as tall as possible, with a minimal amount of substance. The origin of this plan surely leads to an older vine maple, as they grow in abundance at Ravenna Park. The leaf is a vibrant green with a somewhat wrinkled surface and small fuzzy fibers that coat the leaf like hair. I was drawn to the plan by its star-like shape and animated projections.

Exercise 3: MEMORY SKETCH