Magnolia Bluff

4/24/17 5:10 pm Sunny, some clouds across the Sound, about 50 degrees F Butterfly of sorts spotted on Maple bark After a two-week hiatus from my site, I am astounded by recent changes and how the setting has progressed into spring. The leaves of the canopy shine a bright yellow-green in the sunlight, finally graced by our star’s warmth and UV rays. While studying the canopy-- particularly, the new leaves-- of the almost pure stand of red alder, I came to a realization: the very dominant tree that I’m seeing is not Alnus rubra like I’ve alleged. The leaves don’t even remotely resemble the elliptic, toothed leaves of the red alder, but instead have the characteristic 5-lobed shape like that on the Canadian flag. Also, the stand lacked and lacks catkins that would have appeared before the leaves if it was a red alder stand. So, I conject that these trees are Big Leaf Maple, which is found in places similar to Magnolia Bluff: dry/moist hillsides that have been cleared/logged a...

4/20/17 Field Trip to Lake Crescent and Salt Creek  As an engineering student, it often feels like I'm encouraged to spend a majority of my time reclusively in quiet places where I can work out tons of abstract problems without getting a feel of the problems' manifestations in reality. Therefore, I'm ecstatic that not only can we have normal class periods for ENVIR 280 outdoors, but that I had the opportunity to explore and appreciate the beauty of our region on a weekend field trip to Lake Crescent and Salt Creek in the Olympic Penninsula. As I've been walking around campus since the trip, I realize both how much I learned during it and how my interest in plant and animal life has increased; I now give long looks at just about all of the trees, plants, and birds that I see and try to identify them. It may seem silly to some, but to me, knowing about the environment around me generally increases my interest in where I live and feels enlightening.  Once aboard t...

April 11, 2017 1:20 pm About 50 degrees, bright, overcast The sky is white over the Puget Sound, although the clouds are high enough that I’m able to see a marvelous panoramic view of the entire snow-capped Olympic range. As I rode my bike over the summit of Discovery Park, I let out an audible “wow” in amazement at the spectacle. It’s a peaceful day here at my site. The sounds of birds chirping and a stream dwindling down the slope fill the air. In the distance I can hear the calm waves terminating at the shore and the wind rustling the trees. The most notable difference from last week is the increased amount of a vibrantly green moss that covers most of the lower areas of the forest’s tree trunks. After some close examination and comparisons with photos in Pojar, I’d conject that the moss is Ribbed Bog Moss (Aulacomnium palustre) or perhaps Long Hair Moss (Oligotrichum parallelum), however the mosses in the book look very similar. Another difference I see is the bu...

Site Entry 1: 4/4/17 4:15 pm On the Magnoila Bluffs in Discovery Park 45-50 degrees farenheit 100% overcast I’m currently atop an enormous, tree-size horizontal route that I have a feeling was a standing tree itself at one point, however it is firmly connected to a tree that remains upright. I believe it is a red alder. I am situated on a slope in between the Puget Sound and the exposed bluffs of the southern part of Discovery park. In view is Bainbridge and Vashon Island across the water, and just a glimpse of the Olympics through the clouds and the trees. The large majority of the trees that surround me almost  all lack leaves and appear to be the same kind, which I propose, is red alder. There are just a handful of conifers: in view I see about four western hemlocks and perhaps 2 western redcedars. A few trees are completely enveloped in some kind of ivy or leafy vine. A stream trickles below me, and even further away I can see where it levels out before reaching...

I was born in the Pacific Northwest, and throughout my childhood I went on numerous hikes throughout the region. My father was an avid mountain climber when he lived in Oregon as a college student and hiked most of the notable peaks in the state, so naturally he brought me and my brother on hikes whenever he had the chance. Unfortunately, I was not all that interested in hiking as a child and found the physical activity strenuous, resulting in my taking the gorgeous nature and sites I visited for granted. I moved to the Boston area when I was eleven, and only then, once I could compare the lush, mountainous wonderland to my new flat, monotonous environment, could I appreciated the natural spectacles of our region. Every summer after I moved I returned to Seattle to visit my friends, and I would always go backpacking with one of them and his father. During the second summer of this type, my friend, his father, and I backpacked to Royal Basin in the Olympic National Park. It was during ...