New Tenants

Day 199: They were almost two weeks late in arriving, but when they finally showed up, both Violet-Green and Tree Swallows were anxious to find suitable accommodations. I noticed both species investigating the properties on the north garage wall. Although the interiors of these highly desirable bungalows were renovated during the winter, the Violet-Greens waited a little too long and before they could make their bid, the contracts for both dwellings had been signed by two Tree couples, both of whom are actively engaged in nest-building. The House of Chirp (shown here) and Pussywillow Cottage will soon be filled with the sounds of sweet little Swallow babies.

Comparative Anatomy, Sparrow-Style

Day 198: Sparrow species aren't nearly as confusing as Warblers, but even so, they can be daunting for beginning birders. Take for example Golden-Crowned Sparrows (top) and White-Crowned Sparrows (bottom). Young Golden-Crowned birds often don't exhibit the distinctive yellow patch on the tops of their heads until they've gone through their first moult. A novice birder, seeing only a white stripe might assume that a young Golden-Crowned was a White-Crowned, but closer observation of the head will give a second clue. White-Crowned Sparrows also have a white stripe above the eye. The top stripe and the eye band intersect on the back of the head, giving the bird the appearance of wearing a bicycle helmet. Golden-Crowned has only the single stripe, and even if the yellow feathers have not emerged, this distinguishes them from White-Crowned quite readily.

Starring Huernia Zebrina

Day 197: The unusual shape of Huernia zebrina's inch-wide flower fascinates me. The raised "life-saver" which gives the plant its common name serves to limit access to its reproductive structures to specific pollinator species in the wild. It is native to Africa. Although the flower is said to have an odor of rotting meat, this is not something I have observed even at close range. It is easy to grow; however, flower buds may wither and drop if the plant is allowed to dry out during the budding phase. Otherwise, it tolerates periods of neglectful watering. Propagation is simple: break off a section and bed it to a third of its length in moist soil. Maintain moisture until the slip is well-rooted.

Warp Speed!

Day 196: I'm getting close to the end of my table-runner project, and the question of "What's next?" is hop-scotching through my brain. I've had several ideas, but haven't settled on one yet. I'm thinking ahead with an eye to putting something in the Washington State Fair this year (definitely a table runner in the Weaving category, and certainly a piece of bobbin lace), but of course this depends on being able to complete it in time to submit. As much as I'd like to get started on a piece of summer-and-winter or overshot, both are time-consuming weaves and probably better left for the long hours of winter. Ah, so many colours and so little time! What will it be?

Make No Assumptions

Day 195: Make no assumptions. Just because its cap has ridges and pits and it fruits in the spring, it may not be a Morel. In fact, this look-alike Verpa will probably give you gastric distress in a variety of flavours if you eat it, and although some people can tolerate the alkaloids, it's not an experiment I'd care to make. Mushroom poisoning is no fun! Nevertheless, Verpas and Morels are fairly easy to distinguish from one another by careful observation of a few features. The pattern of Verpa's pits and ridges is less regular than that of a true Morel and its cap is only attached at the very top of the stipe (like a lampshade). The true Morel's cap is attached to the stipe at the bottom. The flesh of Verpa tends to be rather brittle as well, and may shatter into small pieces if squeezed. Remember, when messin' with mushrooms, sometimes you don't get a second chance to identify a species correctly.

Hatiora Rosea, Finicky Beauty

Day 194: I sat down at the weaving bench, my eyes somewhat lower than the plant shelf in the craft room's south window, and from that angle, caught a glimpse of pink at the back of a flower pot. Hatiora rosea! This epiphytic cactus is not easy to bring into bloom. This particular specimen is over forty years old (yes, really!) and has bloomed for me perhaps a dozen times. I've never quite figured out what it wants with respect to light, soil, winter temperature, fertilizer, watering or any combination of the above, and therefore am overjoyed when it sees fit to flower. And to think I might have missed the show if I hadn't had a project on the loom!

Bargello

Day 193: Also known as Florentine work or flame embroidery, Bargello is an easy-to-master needle-art. Designs are largely geometric and rely upon colour to give form and depth to the finished work. Stitches are always perpendicular; curves are created by using different multiples. It is normally worked on needlepoint canvas, but here I am adapting it to 22-count even-weave to make a wallet-style needle case which will replace one I made about thirty years ago. I will apply a thin latex product to the finished embroidery to make it water and stain resistant, and the interior will be lined with felt to hold the needles. That's what wore out on my old one...the felt. The latex-coated needlework has suffered no noticeable wear, even with almost daily use.

Ring In Spring

Day 192: Substantially taller than Snowdrops, Snowflakes (Leucojum) are similar in height to English Wood Hyacinths and each white bell is accented with green dots at the tip. They are easy to grow without becoming invasive (anyone who has ever tried to eradicate English Wood Hyacinths from their garden will appreciate the difference), and will naturalize readily. They bloom somewhat later than Snowdrops, so if you're looking for another way to ring in Spring, Snowflakes are a good bet.

Earth Day 2018

Day 191: Above any other motto which might apply to my life, Zeno's words are the light which guides me. I'm not the best example by any stretch, but I *try,* and that is something we all can do. It's hard to avoid plastics in this throw-away culture of ours, and it's next to impossible to function in a civilized country without consuming fossil fuels of one sort or another. While refusing plastic bags and committing ourselves to recycling are steps in the right direction, it is my considered opinion that our greatest impact might come from a willing reduction in consumerism. Consider what you're about to buy: do you really need it? Could you make do with a second-hand version? Will the old one suffice for another year or two, even though it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the newest model? And consider what you're planning to throw away: do you know someone who'd make use of your unwanted items? Don't sell them. Pass them along, and break the "money chain" which drives the engines of consumerism. On this Earth Day, I offer another of my life-slogans: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." And don't think it doesn't make a difference. Even the small things count.

Pack Peak View

Day 190: I've been hiking in Pack Forest for enough years to remember when you actually had a view from either of the two high-point destinations, Hugo Peak and the unofficially-named "Pack Peak." Pack Peak is the highest of the two by about 300', and your "window on the world" looks roughly northwest over rural lands outside of Eatonville. Hugo affords a glimpse of the city itself, although if the trees get much taller or their branches get much longer, you won't even have that much. Oddly, Hugo is the more popular destination, perhaps because it's closer. Being Crow, I prefer to hike a few extra miles to the solitude of Pack Peak if I'm going to be out for the whole day, making an eight-mile loop of the 1000 and 2000 Rds. without necessarily having to retrace my track. There's plenty of latitude for variation. Among others, the possibilities include Windy Ridge, a side trip to Hugo, the Reservoir Trail, Butterfly Alley, or if I'm really feeling inspired, trying to find the route through a section of the New Forestry Loop which hasn't been maintained in years. For a relatively small place (at least when compared to Mount Rainier National Park), Pack Forest gives you a lot of places to go, although not particularly diverse in terms of mini-ecologies.

The Stoopidest Trail

Day 189: Yesterday, I did an 11-mile invasive plant patrol in Pack Forest and took the opportunity to explore a brand-new trail which was apparently laid in over the winter. I'd noticed it on my last trip up, but didn't have time to explore. I theorized that it might be a new route to Windy Ridge, since it started about 500' from Kirkland Pass on the west side of the 2000 Rd. The old Windy Ridge trail has had issues with small blowdown over the last few years, so it seemed logical that they might have established the new trail where the forest was more stable. Indeed, the trail climbed up from the west 2000 Rd., gaining 150-200' before levelling out about a quarter mile in. Then, to my surprise, it started back down again. Expecting only a small elevation loss, I continued on, but it kept going down and sure enough, it debouched onto the EAST 2000 Rd. about 200' shy of Kirkland Pass. I'd made a half-mile detour and got nothing for my pains...no new lichens, not even an invasive! Shaking my head in bewilderment, when I walked past the trailhead on the west 2000 to continue on my adventure, I addressed it, "Fool me twice, shame on me! Not gonna happen again." Why did they go to the work of putting this trail in? Practice? Stoopid idea, if you ask me.

You don't go very fast when you have to stop every 50 feet or so to take a GPS reading and jot something down in your field notebook. I quickly tired of marking every instance of Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove, to most of you) and shortcut my entries by saying, "Sporadic occurrences of species from waypoint 200' south." Even so, I had almost 30 instances to put in my report (map, right), and it took me over an hour to write up. The issues were not all Digitalis, although the species accounted for roughly 80% of the total report; other invasives noted were Tansy Ragwort, English Ivy and English Holly.

My original plan had been to complete a particular loop off the 2300 Rd. (it branches off the 2000 Rd.), but when I reached the spur I'd intended to take, I found it signed as closed for logging operations. That's one of the problems with Pack Forest: it's "multiple use," and of course it's the University of Washington's Center for Sustainable Forestry. Much of the forest consists of plots where different management practices are put into effect. With the loop closed, I chose instead to continue on to "Pack Peak," the true high point of Pack Forest (not Hugo Peak, as many people believe). I took lunch there, and then swung back to take the Windy Ridge trail...the real Windy Ridge trail, which doesn't connect to the Stoopidest Trail at all.

Baby Kidneys

Day 188: I don't know which was the bigger thrill yesterday, discovering that the Booger Tree had sprouted fresh boogers or finding teeny-tiny baby Kidneys nestled in the moss on a downed branch. This is another location I check when I walk to or from the Community Building. I now have a "landmark tree" which tells me exactly which pile of fallen twigs to investigate. I'm sure these must be offspring from the colony I found here several years ago. Since attending the lichen conference, I knew to look for "pimples" on the back side. There were none, which confirms my original identification of Nephroma helveticum.

Boogers Alive!

Day 187: The Boogers are back! A couple of years back, I posted a similar picture, referring to it as the "Booger Tree." I was terribly dismayed when I checked on it last year and found that the bark hosting the growth had peeled off, leaving bare, boogerless wood. Even though I thought it was gone for good, I've kept checking on the tree every time I've walked over to the Longmire Community Building and today, I was rewarded with a new and luxuriant crop of Boogers. I am glad to see that apparently the mycelium was more than "skin deep," and survived by being rooted in the rotting wood underneath the shed bark. To the best of my limited skills in mycology, I have tentatively identified this fungus as Exidia candida; it turns dark brown with age and the individual fruits collapse in on itselves as they dry out. Fresh, they look for all the world like the Jolly Green Giant hawked a nose-oyster on the tree as he passed.

Bryophyte Delight

Day 186: A good scientist never makes assumptions. He or she uses every available tool to prove or disprove a hypothesis.

My yard hosts what surely must be at least two dozen different species of moss, many of which grow up through each other. Consequently, features like a spore capsule appearing above one species may in fact be attached to a different one when traced back to its roots. The patch at the end of my carport is a good example of this phenomenon. Yesterday, I grabbed a sample of what I thought might be a Rhytidiadelphus and brought it in the house to analyze. It didn't quite want to fit any of the descriptions in "Common Mosses of Western Oregon and Washington," leading me to think momentarily that I had a less common relative. Then I put it under the microscope. There, the serrated leaf margin was obvious (I could not have seen it with a hand lens despite what the book says). Given this additional clue, I identified it as Kindbergia praelonga, "one of the most common lawn mosses." Well, start with the easy ones. That's how you learn.

Changeup From Spoons

Day 185: Watson's didn't have any "Spoon Flower" Osteospermums when I was there last week, so after seeing some of the other beautiful colours available in standard Osteos, I decided to change things up a bit. I think these two will look lovely together in the big pot at the end of my sidewalk, and if any dark purple Spoons come in, I'll make a home for one just off the back porch. As far as I know, the spatulate petal form has only been hybridized in the white and purple varieties. I hope they're working on that red one! Osteospermums are easy to grow and put on a show all summer long. I've never tried wintering them over, but last year's Spoons held onto their leaves even past the first light frosts.

Dabbling In Bryos

Day 184: Lichenology and bryology go pretty much hand in hand, although I've avoided bryophytes as being way too complicated. Still, there are a few mosses I know and love, and a lot of bryos have enchanting multi-syllabic scientific names. Anyone who knows me as more than a passing acquaintance knows my love of words; it was only a matter of time before I fell to temptation. I was given a firm push at the lichenologists' conference when I discovered Bruce McCune had written a field guide to the Pacific Northwest's more common mosses, and of course I find field guides absolutely irresistible. I figured I'd start with something which looked easy (at least I hoped it would be as easy as it looked!). I was pretty sure my fence moss conformed to Dicranoweisia cirrata (ooooh, that's a good one), but the deal was clinched when I stuck a leaf under the dark-field microscope and it looked just exactly like the picture in Bruce's book. Well, that was fun! What's next?

Now That's Customized!

Day 183: Back in February, I asked a friend with a 3D printer to run up some intarsia bobbins for me, similar to my mother's old ones which I have misplaced somewhere. I intended to use them while making argyle socks, an endeavour which has been back-burnered until I've completed the more pressing projects like birthday and Christmas presents. It's a long list. It may be November before I make myself any socks. The bobbins aren't idle by any means; quite a few of them are currently tied up (sometimes literally!) in kumihimo. That said, it occurred to me that it might be nice to make a Fair Isle sweater for the Park's silent auction if I have the time, and to that end, I figured having some larger bobbins for worsted-weight yarn would be nice. I asked Seamus to run up a few, expecting maybe a dozen at most. A package containing more small bobbins and 44 (!) large ones arrived in the mail yesterday. He had made the larger ones thicker at my request, but he'd tossed in a bonus: a recessed crow design! Most of them were a single colour, but the white ones were triple-layered, black sandwiched in between. Now that's customization for you!

Xanthoria Polycarpa

Day 182: Well, fooey. I was in fairly close proximity to Puget Sound yesterday and happened across a dozen or so landscaping trees which were covered in greenish-gold lichen. Xanthoria polycarpa is common in the Pacific Northwest, but a second rarer species (Xanthoria parietina) sometimes occurs in the Willamette-Puget Trough. Knowing this, I decided to pull back into my parking space despite the rain (I'd been pulling out) and have a closer look. You never know, and if you don't check, you might miss something good. Initially, I was impressed with the size of the apothecia on this particular specimen. Then I noticed the size of the lobes. "Hmmmm," sez I. "That's bigger than any polycarpa I ever saw before." I had not brought a hand lens, nor had I brought a container, but I lifted a small sample from the bark and put it in one of the cup-holder slots in the car, reminding myself gently not to put my water bottle back in on top of it. It was the first thing I brought in the house when I got home eight hours later. This morning, I picked off one of the apothecia and did a close inspection under the dissecting scope. Nope, no rhizines at all. Hopes dashed, I was forced to rule out parietina. Drat.

How Do You Spell That?

Day 181: If you hang around any gathering of lichenologists long enough, you'll hear somebody mention the "pee test." You'll have misspelled that mentally, I guarantee it. What they are talking about has nothing to do with urine. The "P test" of lichenology uses p-phenylenediamine to see if a specimen contains certain reactive lichen substances. P is generally only available in large, pricey quantities which put it out of reach for most amateurs, but fortunately, one of the professionals at the Northwest Lichenologists conference had it made up in small, affordable bottles. She referred to it as "a lifetime supply"; it only takes a few grains of P dissolved in ethanol to make a drop or two of solution, but the solution has a shelf life of two days at most. Then it should be discarded and freshly made. Since only a small amount is needed, the best container for the job is a 0.2 ml disposable centrifuge tube, something else which is only available in sizeable quantities. Ever wonder what 1000 0.2 ml centrifuge tubes look like? I didn't actually count them, but that's what the package said. I can P whenever I want now!

Vinyl Day

Day 180: Every year, I try to save up so that I can have some project done on my home and property. It might be something as simple and inexpensive as painting a room or, like last year, as costly as gravelling the driveway. It might manifest as digging a new flower bed or planting a tree, or it might be something urgent, like fixing a leaky roof. As a low-income homeowner, I have occasionally had financial assistance from community resources for the more major projects, and this year...today...I had my two big living room windows replaced out of my own pocket while a service group funded replacement of the kitchen sliding glass door. I've been on the wait list for three years, and held off replacing the windows in the hopes of getting a better deal from the contractor if they could do all the work at once. It was a wise move.

It took these two gentlemen just over three hours to remove the old single-pane aluminum frames and pop in new double-pane vinyl. There were no unpleasant surprises (something I'd been worried about), and the job went very smoothly. It is s much quieter in my living room now, and I'm sure the savings on my heating bill will pay for the windows in the long term.

Gingham Girl

Day 179: A month or so ago, I made my first sock monkey from a pair of vintage socks which were sent to me by an internet friend. I dressed him in a red stocking cap (just that, nothing more) and sat him on my dresser. I was pleased to find out that Red Heel socks were available on line and ordered several pair; however, the heels are set differently in the modern version and the resultant monkeys' smiles didn't occur quite so naturally. Like the majority of my handcrafts, they went out the door almost as soon as I put the last stitches on them. A few days ago, I received a letter from my foster sister which left me feeling quite sad and downhearted, and I thought, "I need to make Marilyn a monkey." In the back of my mind, a little voice insisted, "And you need to do it soon." Overnight, a solution came to me, and thus you see my original monkey after a sex-change, some plastic surgery and a trip to the fabric store.

This is the second monkey I've put in a dress and hat. I wasn't entirely happy with the neckline of the first dress design although I loved the polka-dot fabric I'd picked for the garment. But working a second dress on the same fabric didn't appeal, so just to change things up a little, I decided to use gingham, always a favourite for smocking. By working the bodice along a straight edge and then adding elasticized puff sleeves, I avoided the neckline issues of the first dress. As an afterthought, I added a teneriffe spiderweb as a hemline accent. I wonder if Marilyn will remember the teneriffe gingham aprons my grandma used to make?

Arrangement In Black And White

Day 178: In the opinion of this photographer, monochrome images have a particular elegance and can be very effective for conveying mood to the viewer. Colour often blunts the effect, overwhelming the eye and distracting it from other compositional components such as arrangement and lighting. Colour sacrifices detail to flamboyance; it homogenizes. In colour, this image would be rather bland and boring, but in black and white, the eye is freed to discover light and shadow, spirals and curves, de-emphasis and focal points. The photograph becomes more of an essay, less of a capture as the viewer studies its elements. A simpler palette, black and white imagery can be quite complex, and most certainly, it is an essential tool in a good photographer's kit.

Kumihimo Braiding

Day 177: I have to admit that I don't know much about the history of kumihimo beyond the fact that it originated in Japan and was traditionally made on a barstool-like table called a marudai. Wikipedia goes into greater detail, as do many websites. I became interested in it as a means of making sinnets such as those created by sailors and depicted in "Ashley's Book of Knots" and other nautical references. Kumihimo can be done much more quickly and at least in my hands, with more even tension than working with untensioned cord, and of course by using a kumihimo loom (disk or plate), much finer threads can be employed. Durable closed-cell foam looms are available in many craft stores. Good threads are somewhat harder to come by. The craft outlets push nylon rattail and hemp, both of which give a coarse, clunky product unlike silk, rayon or floss. Kumihimo has seen an upsurge in popularity over the last few years thanks to the attention it has received from the jewelry trade, and much modern kumihimo is done with beads strung on the warp. However, I feel that its true beauty lies in the intricate patterns which can be woven with variously coloured cords. Here, I've done up some samples in simple 8-strand and 12-strand braiding. The blue/green/purple strand is a work in progress.

Best Buds

Day 176: It's been a few days since I took these photos, and my "best buds" are noticeably farther along. Spring is definitely in the air after what seemed to be an interminable winter. Today, I noticed the first signs that my three-foot tall fig tree is awake, and it's usually the last to put on leaves. From 12 o'clock around, we have here lilac, spiraea, blueberries, golden chain tree, wild currant and hardy kiwi, the last of which is showing the most change since the photo. Fruit and flower, my garden is growing!

Woad

Day 175: "Woad's the stuff to show men! / Woad to scare your foe-men! / Boil it to / A brilliant blue / and rub it on your legs and your ab-DO-men! / Ancient Britons / Never hit on / Anything as good as woad to fit on / Neck or knees or where you sit on! / Good for us today!" So go the words we used to sing around the campfire at Society for Creative Anachronism events. Although my SCA persona was not Scottish, I am fiercely proud of my wrong-side-of-the-blanket descendancy from the McLeods of Lewis (Skye) and break out the garish yellow tartan for days such as today, World Tartan Day. Alas, it is past the season for haggis, but lovely weather for gadding about in woad.

I Am Light And Shadow

Day 174: The Varied Thrush has been hanging out under the contorted filbert for several days now, and although I've managed to capture a rather mediocre "field guide" image, this shot is my favourite. It demonstrates just how effective the broken colour pattern can be for camouflage, despite the bird being rather vibrant otherwise. Thrush brings insects to the surface by scatching furiously at the ground for a second, grabbing a bite and then standing stock-still. In doing so, he foils predators by melting into the mosaic of light and shadow. As with the camera lens in this photo, the viewer's focus shifts to the nearer objects and is distracted from the bird by the visual interference. Frequently as I sat on my perch at the open window, my eyes would stray to the side to look at another bird, and I would lose track of his position even though the Thrush hadn't budged. He might be obvious when he's walking on the lawn, but in the shrubbery, he is a master of concealment.

Repaired On The Fly

Day 173: A moment of utter panic occurred this morning when I went to wind my weaving project onto the cloth beam and couldn't get tension on the warp threads. The gear had seemed a bit loose to me as I was finishing up a table runner a few nights ago, but this morning, it just spun 'round and 'round. With warp for another six-foot runner still on the loom, I had no choice but to remove the bolt from the frame with the beam resting on a stack of books and a box. Much to my dismay, I discovered that the two wood screws holding the gear to the beam had stripped a groove in the wood to their full depth. I was able to effect a repair with longer screws, but having let down my work, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get the tension even when I re-mounted the beam. Fortunately, the Weaving Gods smiled on my efforts and I'm now back in business. Once this project is finished, I'll replace the screws with even longer ones.

Cock Of The Walk

Day 172: This Red-Winged Blackbird deserves having his photo used as today's feature. I'd been perched at the open window for half an hour, patiently and vainly waiting for a Varied Thrush to decide there was something worth inspecting which was not in the deep shadows under the contorted filbert while Mr. Blackbird kept pacing back and forth, as if to say, "Well, I'm here. Aren't I pretty enough?" Just to have something to do, I snapped a few pictures, not really expecting him to be quite so photogenic. I never got a clear shot of the thrush (for some reason, they are a difficult species for me despite being fairly common), but I am certainly not disappointed with this cute and cocky pose.

Fritillary Lily

Day 171: A close cousin to our native Chocolate Lily, Fritillary Lily (aka Checkered Lily) is an early blooming garden cultivar. It bears a slightly larger flower than the native species, and to my everlasting joy, lacks the distinctive scent which can only be likened to that of a bordello on a busy night. Never mind what nickname my husband and I gave to the natives which grew in the yard of our SW Washington prairie home! Suffice to say, if it had not been for the unusual pattern of colour in the flowers, I would not have chanced planting these here. I was prepared to tear them out if they were odiferous. That said, the checkering of the flower is such an unusual genetic development that when they bloom, I always wonder what advantage it gives the species. I love to have curiosities in my garden and am glad these turned out to be scentless.

Nephroma Resupinatum

Day 170: Some of you may recall that my search for kidneys at Longmire was recently rewarded when a gust of wind shook another small sample of Nephroma helveticum loose from the upper canopy. Well, I now have a second species in my photographic catalog: Nephroma resupinatum. I can't take credit for the find. It was shared with me by Lalita Calabria, one of the professors who served as leads on the Northwest Lichenologists' field trip to Deschutes Falls Park. To my credit, when she showed it to me, I identified it as a Nephroma immediately, but knew better than to venture any further into specific species. Lalita was very helpful. She turned the twig over so that I could see the lower surface of the lichen and pointed out the small white "pimples" which are diagnostic.