Environmental Study Of Lechtenberg Park

[Turtle]

Very cool! It looks nice.

 

A few notes:

• I would change vegetables>vegetation
  
• I don't remember the vine maple discovery, which post was that
  
• We really need to bulk up that minerals section
  
• It might also be neat to have a "found items" list as well (relics of a homestead, blow-up doll, etc.)
  
• It also might be nice to have it in a list format such as this (purely cosmetics though)

 

Kudos, and keep it up! :(

 

Acknowledged.

• Vegemeetavitamin change...check.
  
• Vine Maple is post #28.
  
• Minerals so far are part Missoula flood deposits and Lacamas creek flood deposits; there is some bedrock in the stream I need to investigate.
  
• Found items going up.
  
• I'll look into using the "list" ;it's been a buggaboo for me in the past.
  
• I also added to the Index a list of expedition dates.
  
• I found your earlier ID's for the 2 plants I questioned (Yarrow & Western Buttercup)and have added them to the index.

 

How's that?...:lol: :camera:

[freeztar]

Looks great!

Only problem I see now is the "other vegetation" list. Unfortunately I don't have a better suggestion other than "Lichens, fungus, and others". :lol:

 

Also, I'd bet my laptop that there is licorice fern within L-park. Please put this on the MO list for the next trip. :(

 

licorice fern

[Turtle]

Looks great!

Only problem I see now is the "other vegetation" list. Unfortunately I don't have a better suggestion other than "Lichens, fungus, and others". :)

 

Also, I'd bet my laptop that there is licorice fern within L-park. Please put this on the MO list for the next trip. ;)

 

licorice fern

 

Roger. I recall you mentioned it as a possibility growing on the Oak I climbed. From the description sounds like there will be little doubt ID'ing it. :eek:

 

I realized I put the photo of the Lady of the Forest only in the photo contest; here she is where she belongs. :)http://hypography.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1345&d=1178830863

[freeztar]

Roger. I recall you mentioned it as a possibility growing on the Oak I climbed. From the description sounds like there will be little doubt ID'ing it. :)

 

IIRC, I most often found it growing in mossy tufts on big leaf maples. That's where I'd look first.

[Turtle]

IIRC, I most often found it growing in mossy tufts on big leaf maples. That's where I'd look first.

 

Roger. Plenty of mossy tufts on the Ash & Oak. I was going to mention the Big Leaf Maple again, as I identified one in a photo. However, I have not seen any large Maples and I think the ID needs a second look. :) Here's the photo(click to enlarge):

[freeztar]

It's hard to make out the leaves from the picture, but it looks like thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus). It's a very common plant in WA and a good one to know.

PLANTS Profile for Rubus parviflorus (thimbleberry) | USDA PLANTS

 

The berries are much like raspberries, except not as sweet and tart.

 

But like I said, it's hard to tell from the picture.

[Turtle]

Also, I'd bet my laptop that there is licorice fern within L-park. Please put this on the MO list for the next trip. :(

 

licorice fern

 

Well nows...I spent 4 hours in the forest today and have a lot to collate. Hows about we start with your epiphytic Fern? If this is it pictured below, then it's all over on the mosses growing on the Oaks. I also collected a sample complete with rhizome and 2 fronds. Will scan if you need more detail than in the photo.

 

The big stories are I found a part of a Deers leg all noshed on; video to come for ID by hoof. Kept me on the lookout as it was fresh. Possible a poacher left it and a scavenger drug it into the deep forest? No sign nearby of the rest of the carcas. There is a lot of beaver activity and they are killing the big old trees! I found and videographed 2 large Oaks girdled by them!!!

 

Here's some bonus fungi; centimeter scale. Click image for full enjoyment.

:

Well...off to edit video & decompress. .......:turtle

[Turtle]

...The big stories are I found a part of a Deers leg all noshed on; video to come for ID by hoof. Kept me on the lookout as it was fresh. Possible a poacher left it and a scavenger drug it into the deep forest? No sign nearby of the rest of the carcas. There is a lot of beaver activity and they are killing the big old trees! I found and videographed 2 large Oaks girdled by them!!!

 

.......:turtle

 

 

YouTube - Deer leg gnawed by scavengers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5Hyrd3-Pwk

 

YouTube - Garry Oaks girdled by Beaver in Lechtenberg Park http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4yrAGJRrIA

 

Fruit of Common Snowberry - Symphoricarpos albus

[Turtle]

This Doug Fir on Lacams Creek bank measured 140 1/4" in circumference at chest-height. ~ 4 feet in diameter. Just below it is the first beaver dam I found...second video...

 

YouTube - Douglas Fir in Lechtenberg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzM-duTInFg

 

YouTube - Beaver dam and pond on Lacamas Creek http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og9APnfJsO4

[Turtle]

Further up-stream I found another dam and a ~6-8" tree felled across the stream with much of its bark eaten. Are Beaver here a good thing or a bad thing do ya think? No doubt if they stay long they will flood not only the park but the surrounding farm/pasture land.

 

YouTube - Beaver-felled tree on Lacamas Creek http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWScEaG7XlE

 

YouTube - 2nd Beaver dam and pond on Lacamas Creek http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhqhx8PAGbU

[Racoon]

Holy Cow Turtle!!

Rack!

 

I checked out a very good Mushroom identification book from the library a couple of weeks ago as there were were about 7 different varieties in my yard early October.

 

Sorry I couldn't make it, but looks great. I'll stop by and discuss your research after next week.

 

Excellent job on the videos and everything mate. :) I admire you're diligence and tenacity.

:eight::computerkeys::applause::dogwalk:

[Turtle]

Holy Cow Turtle!!

Rack!

 

I checked out a very good Mushroom identification book from the library a couple of weeks ago as there were were about 7 different varieties in my yard early October.

 

Sorry I couldn't make it, but looks great. I'll stop by and discuss your research after next week.

 

Excellent job on the videos and everything mate. :) I admire you're diligence and tenacity.

:eight::hihi::applause::dogwalk: :doh:

 

I looked at a 'shroom book when I got the wildflower and tree guides but it wasn't in the budget. Besides the little jobbers I photographed yesterday, I saw at least 6 or 7 other varities of fungus among us forest dwellers.

 

No worries on missing this trip; plenty more where it came from. :hihi:

 

Thanks. I am trying to improve. .........

 

Here's a scan of the Licorice Fern, and 2 yet unidentified briars. (click for full-size views) Earlier I made the incorrect statement (:naughty:) that any roses must be non-native multifloras; my new fieldguide lists 6 species of wild-rose native to Washington State. The guide mentions that native species always have straight thorns and odd numbers of leaflets? Anyone heard this before?

 

That's a wrap.

 

 

[Turtle]

Speaking of Beaver, given the height to which the bark was gnawed on the Oaks, this can only be the work of the American Beaver - Caster canadensis. On looking up & finding the scientifc name to post, 'Caster' rang a bell...but where did I see it? Aha! The list of animals I posted earlier in post #180 (http://hypography.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1889&d=1193777723) contains this entry about 1/2 way down:

51 lbs. Castorum 22s. 3d. - total = 56£ 14s. 9d.

 

What the h is castorum ? If you didn't already know, you're gonna love this one.

Castoreum is the glandular secretion of the beaver. Today, it is used in trapping, some perfumes, and as a flavoring in chewing gum. Although modern medical use of castoreum is rare, it was a commonplace 'cure' in archaic times. Until the 1700s, castoreum was used to treat many different ailments, including headache, fever, and hysteria. The Romans believed the fumes produced by burning castoreum could induce an abortion; Paracelsus thought it could be used in the treatment of epilepsy[1]; and medieval beekeepers used it to increase honey production.

 

Castoreum and anal gland secretion[2] appear to be used by beavers to mark their territory.

 

How's that gum tasting about now? Double the fun? How about a new gum brand, Anal Beaver? :hihi: :applause:

 

At any rate, I think Beavers are a relatively new addition to the Park and that their presence is unknown to all but we. :shy:As it appears they are primarily nocturnal, I may have to plan a night visit and use the infrared. Brrrrr.....:doh:

[Racoon]

I still have the Mushroom Book :doh:. We/You should get those pics identified.

 

Looks like a Cortinarius or Russula variety of mushroom..

 

we need to examine the gills and under what type of tree/ nearby vegetation is.

Won't have much time before they go away however. :hihi:

[Turtle]

I still have the Mushroom Book :D. We/You should get those pics identified.

 

Looks like a Cortinarius or Russula variety of mushroom..

 

we need to examine the gills and under what type of tree/ nearby vegetation is.

Won't have much time before they go away however. :)

 

Acknowledged. :evil:

 

Using the screenshot of the GoogleEarth view of Lechtenberg, I located the large Doug Fir I measured and have marked it with a red arrow. See attached below. This is also the location of the first Beaver dam I found.

 

I have found no trails yet other than the Beaver trail running from the creek to the girdled Garry Oaks. Here's an early video that gives a sense of the character of the terrain in Lechtenberg. Note there is little change in elevation throughout the park & I recorded 185 feet above sea level at the Doug Fir. .......:D

YouTube - Breaking Brush http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af9OrixsDAY

[Turtle]

Going back to a flower I phoptographed in April; I think its is a Wallflower, variously called Prarie Rocket. Genus Erysmum, but I'm not sure about the species. The flowers seem too small for Western Wallflower, E. asperum, so possibly Small Wallflower E. inconspicuum? Follow the yellow brick road....

 

Image Gallery Results | USDA PLANTS

 

[freeztar]

That looks right to me Turtle. My Pojar and McKinnon book says the following:

If your Cascade foothills Erysimum is greyish-hairy with yellow to orange flowers and 3-D siliques, it is likely prairie rocket (E. asperum), which finds its northern range in southern B.C.

 

The picture in the book is of E. Arenicola and it looks very much like your photo. :)