Serviceberry, Amelanchier Alnifolia

Day 192: I had a different photo planned for today's post, but since today is Earth Day, how about a lovely and somewhat early Serviceberry instead? There are more common names for this plant than you can shake a stick at, including Shadbush, Shadblow, Saskatoon, Sarviceberry and Juneberry, and you may have noticed that two of them start with "Shad-," referring to the fact that Amelanchier species bloom around the same time the shad (fish) begin their run in the rivers. It's been a long time since I fished for shad, and the flowering of Serviceberry always makes me nostalgic for those days when my fishing buddy and I would stand on the banks of the Columbia at Bonneville, hauling in fish until our arms ached. That said, shad are bony little buggers, not something you can filet for the table. However, the flesh can be pickled like herring for a delicious snack (the pickling process softens the fine bones), and the roe can be salted to make a "poor-man's caviar." Sigh. What I wouldn't give for a jar of pickled shad right now! But Shadbush berries will have to suffice, even if I do have to wait until June to pick them.

Pack's Calypsos

Day 191: Charles L. Pack Experimental Forest ("Pack Forest," for short) is managed by the University of Washington and is, as you might infer, a testing ground for various sustainable forestry practices. It is also a "multi-use" area, meaning that it is open to hikers, horses and hunters, although motorized vehicles are prohibited. However, Pack is not a "nature area," and is not maintained with visitors or habitat preservation in mind. In fact, it is quite weedy, with numerous invasive species, particularly in logged areas. While there are trails, many of them are overgrown and almost impassable, dirt roads form a network which provide walking access to the far corners. I frequently use a trail going one way, a road going the other, forming a loop so I don't have to retrace my footsteps. Day before yesterday, I hiked up the Reservoir Trail to Kirkland Pass, then out the 1000 Rd. to visit the Calypso Orchids. As I approached their embankment, I was dismayed to see that Pack has been clearing the roadside ditches with an excavator. They narrowly missed the Calypsos! And by "narrowly," I mean that this grouping was less than a foot above the gouge. It would have done no good to stop at the office to report my concern for these delicate plants. I am just glad they grow elsewhere, in places where they are protected.

It's A Quadrillium!

Day 190: The very name "Trillium" tells you that this plant should have three somethingoranothers to distinguish it, but this extraordinary specimen from Pack Forest apparently missed the memo. Four petals, four sepals, four leaves, as perfect as if they always grew this way, caught my eye as I was coming down the 1000 Rd. from Kirkland Pass. I had actually taken a few steps past it before the unusual arrangement registered with me, jerking up short in mid-stride to backtrack with a "What the heck...?" spoken aloud. After taking several photos, I continued on, trying to decide whether it was a Quatrium, Quillium or Quadrillium, settling eventually on the latter cognomen. It will be interesting to pay a follow-up visit next year to see if it repeats the performance.

Ranunculus

Day 189: Since 2014, I have been monitoring a particular location in the Park where my botany partners and I found what was all too obviously someone's cremated remains. Whoever had deposited their relative there had also planted daffodils and other non-native plants in violation of Park regulations. Every year since then, I have removed plants, sometimes bedded in soil, other times simply sunk, plastic pots and all with store tags intact. I thought I had the time frame for these memorial visits figured out, although with Easter and Mother's Day usually occurring near one another, I wasn't quite sure which occasion set the date. This year, Easter fell well in advance of Mother's Day, and sure enough, when I checked the site a few days after, there were two pots of Ranunculus which were quite easy to remove after photographing them in situ to refer to our law enforcement division. On one hand, I'm annoyed that the culprits are not getting the message that their "deposits" are not allowed. On the other, I'm enjoying the spots of colour just outside my kitchen door where the Ranunculus found a new home.

Lamium Purpureum

Day 188: We see weeds almost daily, but how many of us know what they are called? If I said, "Purple Dead-nettle," what image would spring to mind? How about "Henbit?" I have to admit that neither of these rang a bell with me. I simply knew this plant as "Lamium," and prefaced it with a few choice adjectives having nothing to do with its colour. Although it looks like it might sting, it does not, hence the name "dead-nettle." It is related to a more serious invasive, Yellow Archangel (Lamium galeobdolon), but is much easier to control. A shallow root system allows it to be pulled without much effort, although removal should be done before it sets seed to prevent spreading it.

Compare-A-Sparrow

Day 187: Several sparrow species visit my yard over the summer, the most common being White-Crowned (Zonotrichia leucophrys, right). As noted yesterday, Chipping (Spizella passerina) does not appear every year, but Golden-Crowned (Z. atricapilla, left) does. In the course of the thirty-plus years I've lived here, I have observed one English Sparrow (Passer domesticus, non-native and a nuisance) and only a handful of White-Throated (Z. albicollis). However, given that I currently have three of those listed showing up daily at the feeders, and the Birdcast Migration Dashboard says that White-Throated is passing through the county, I have high hopes of seeing one again. Habitat! It's all about providing habitat. When I first moved here, there was very little in the way of shrubbery other than a strip of woods on the far side of the house and a hedge out front. I began planting trees and bushes with a mind to attracting birds. It took ten years or so before they began showing up in number, but I really felt the job was done when the first chickadees settled in. Now, on many days during the summer, I might count two dozen or more different species happily sharing space with one another where food is plentiful.

Chipping Sparrow

Day 186: "Oh, who's the redhead?" I said, standing at the back door with camera in hand in the hopes of snapping a quick picture of the Golden-Crowned Sparrows beneath the feeder. "Is that Chipping?" I don't see Chipping Sparrows (Spizella passerina) every year, and their topknots always take me by surprise. I made note of the eye stripe and other facial features, and headed straight to Sibley to confirm my identification. Then I looked at the "Birdcast Migration Dashboard" for my county, and sure enough, Chipping Sparrows have just begun passing through. Will they stick around long enough to me to count on Global Big Day (May 11)? I hope so!