Hypogymnia Hultenii

Day 1: It seems fitting my newest lichen discovery should take the honour of opening this tenth year of daily natural history posts. I don't often travel outside my own environmental niche, but when I have occasion to do so as I did yesterday, I make a point of exploring the regional ecosystem. I'm a scientist. You can't expect me to enjoy hitting the shops or tourist attractions. No, you should look for me in the woods somewhere. Look down, because I'll probably be on my hands and knees. That's exactly what happened when I found this Hypogymnia. There was only one piece of it, dropped from some branch well over my head, but it shouted at me visually because it just Didn't Look Right according to my mental field guide. As I examined it more closely, I made note of the distinguising features: flatter lobes than most other Hypogymnias, knobby collections of soredia at the lobe tips (what had caught my eye in the first place), rough lower surface. It took me a while to sort it out when I got home because it had undergone a taxonomic change and was in Brodo under the old genus Cavernularia, but eventually I came to Hypogymnia hultenii, a coastal species. Made sense, because after all, I was on the Olympic Peninsula. My day had been made, as they say, and there was Morris dancing yet to come. Happy New Year!

St. Luke's Fete Mystery - Styrax Officinalis

Day 337: For the last several years, Sound & Fury has danced at St. Luke's English Fete in Renton. We did so again yesterday, and afterwards I sat for an hour with the ladies who were spinning wool, the conversation centered on the topics of fiber and sheep. As I stood up to leave, that which had been hanging above my head the whole time caught my eye. "What in the heck is THAT?" I said, and anyone who has ever been on a botany hike with me would have recognized my tone: Crow had found a mystery plant.

The mystery proved fairly easy to solve. Mark Turner's excellent "Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest" gave me my first clue. Although only a rare bush-like California species (S. redivivus) is included in the book, further digging brought up descriptions of other Styrax species. While I am not 100% positive that this is S. officinalis (my specimen was a little the worse for wear by the time I got it home), the height of the tree exceeds the upper limits for S. redivivus by a substantial margin. S. officinalis is also more likely to be available from commercial growers.

According to my references, the resin of S. officinalis is fragrant, and it (or that from related species) can be used in combination with other substances to make incense and perfumes. Indeed, my fingers were left very sticky after peeling the outer husk (still green and sappy) away from a small brown nutlet. The flowers of the tree are white and also highly aromatic, in appearance not too unlike those of shadbush (serviceberry). I think I'm going to have to take a trip back to St. Luke's in the spring when the tree is in full bloom.

Postman's Knock

Day 317: As we do in celebration of May Day, Seattle's Morris sides gather at some point near Labor Day to acknowledge the closing of the summer season. In past years, we've performed at Seattle's Alki Beach, but an unexpected conflict with another event necessitated a last-minute move to Greenlake, the requisites being a large flat space on which to dance and a view across water toward the sunset. Together in rotation with the Mossybacks and North by Northwest, we danced the sun down and then retired to a nearby pub. We still have several events on our calendar for the upcoming months. We'll be at St. Luke's in Renton on September 14 and at Finn River Cidery (Chimacum) on October 13 for World Apple Day.

Steampunk Morris

Day 281: It's either feast or famine. For the last couple of weeks, the weather has been typical of the Pacific Northwe't, i.e., on the gloomy and grey end of the spectrum, if only moderately damp. Those of us native to the state love it; it's what keeps us green. After all, we're the Evergreen State. However, all good things must come to an end (however much we might have been enjoying late lettuce), and as the time to today's gig grew close, the forecast edged toward a high in the upper 80s. Fortunately, our first performance of the day was at 10 AM at the Ballard Bell Tower, done before the heat could turn us into a Morris meltdown. The second set was at Hiram Chittenden Locks where a nice breeze and an abundance of shade trees made dancing much more pleasant. That said, we chose to wear our steampunk kit, and I can assure you that dancing in a corset on a hot day isn't for sissies. Then it was off to the pub we went, steamy steampunks the lot of us.

Morris Marmots

Day 273: Some photos just beg for captions. With roughly twenty marmots engaged in social activities on a scree slope smaller than a postage-stamp city lot, it was hard to decide where to aim the camera. These two were just hangin' out, possibly intent on the bear in the meadow below them, but to me, they seemed to be just two best buds, too lazy to get up out of their chairs during halftime.

Marmota caligata is the Pacific Northwest's answer to eastern groundhogs. Classified as a ground squirrel, they are the largest member of the group and healthy adults may achieve weights of 15-20 pounds before entering hibernation. They are burrowing mammals, and a marmot den may extend up to 11 feet from its opening. These tunnels are often hidden by grasses and other forbs, as I once discovered painfully while my attention was focused on an aggressive goat. In one step, my forward motion ceased when I dropped thigh-deep into a marmot burrow which had been hidden by vegetation. The "thunk" of my upper body smacking the ground startled the goat into flight, but the technique is not one I'd recommend.

A Motley Crew

Day 239: Now there's a motley crew! Sound & Fury danced in Port Townsend yesterday, the featured entertainers at the Brass Screw Confederacy's steampunk fair. We'd been anxious about rain all week, but the weather turned nice for the event, perhaps even a little too nice for those of us in multiple layers and corsets. Morris dancing is a very energetic sport, but fortunately, none of our ladies (or gentlemen, for that matter) needed smelling salts or medical aid. After performing two sets, we walked among the other beautifully costumed attendees and then set sail for home.

Alki Danceout

Day 319: Wildfire smoke kept Sound & Fury from having a practice last week, and as of yesterday morning, it looked like our annual Alki Beach danceout might be cancelled as well. Our Squire sent out a poll to see how many of us would be available if we went forward, and at 1 PM, air quality had improved sufficiently to go ahead. Our side was represented by over a dozen dancers and half a dozen musicians, performing in rotation with dancers from Misty City and North by Northwest to a small crowd of onlookers. Even so, some smoke haze veiled the Seattle skyline and Olympic mountains, and I bet I'm not the only one of us who woke this morning with a scratchy throat and irritated eyes. Smoke levels should be improving this week.

Postcard Tug

Day 298: Yesterday evening, Sound & Fury danced in performance at Seattle's Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, a site known to locals as the "Ballard Locks." This complex of locks allows ships passage from the salt waters of Puget Sound to Lake Union and Lake Washington. Salt water is prevented from intruding into the freshwaters of the two lakes by means of a dredged basin in which the heavier salt water settles and drains back into the Sound. According to official sources, the Ballard Locks see the most ship traffic of any lock in the United States. On the north side of the Locks, visitors may also stroll through the manicured grounds of Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Gardens, read about the project or shop at the visitor center, or on certain occasions, pause to enjoy the sight of Morris dancers clashing sticks and flagging handkerchiefs to the sound of bells.

I arrived early, having had some other business in Seattle, and took advantage of the time for photography and a little geocaching. As I walked across the foot-bridges spanning the locks, I recalled passing through them as a child in my father's little cabin cruiser. To a child of seven or eight years, the algae-coated concrete walls and looming machinery were somewhat intimidating, and the length of time it took for the water levels to be adjusted felt interminable. Even then, I wanted to be out on open water, angling for anything which would take a bait. For me, that usually meant a dogfish, Puget Sound's "mini-shark," even more frightening than the claustrophobic atmosphere of the locks. My dad would either gaff them and throw them back, or take the carcases home to plant under the fruit trees, a practice which he claimed prevented peach-leaf curl. On the other hand, my parents caught flounder, cod and (unintentionally) sea anemones and starfish, both of which intrigued me. Sometimes, we'd cross the sound and put into a small bay where the warmer water invited my folks to swim. I'd paddle around in the shallows wearing a life jacket, and on one memorable occasion, I panicked and had to be hoisted back into the boat when I saw a ray and thought it was pursuing me. The end of the day meant another tedious passage through the locks, one which usually found me sound asleep in the cabin, thoroughly worn out from the seafaring adventures headed up by the captain I adored.

Folklife Morris Showcase

Day 226: What a fantastic day! Sound & Fury danced as part of Folklife's "Morris Dance Showcase" yesterday, performing in the morning on the indoor Armory stage and in the afternoon, on McCaw Promenade in perfect weather. I didn't count the number of sides, but there were 8-10 from local groups and as far away as Moscow ID, Eugene OR and Vancouver BC representing a variety of Morris traditions. Dances were done in rotation with the other groups, giving us plenty of time between sets to catch our breath and take some photos.

Bells, Sticks And Hankies

Day 144: I get one of two reactions when I tell people I'm a Morris dancer. Most commonly, it's "What's that?" but occasionally, I'm rewarded with an enthusiastic, "I love Morris dancing!" and as often as not, that's likely to be followed by, "I lived in England for a couple of years." It surprises me that Morris isn't better known in the US, although I hear that interest is on the upswing. Morris teams are referred to as "sides," and Seattle has several. The group I dance with (Sound & Fury) is a "mixed side," i.e., both men and women. We dance largely in the Adderbury tradition and perform throughout the year with most gigs being engaged during the summer months. Our weekly practices are something I really anticipate, even though I don't get home until almost midnight. Listen! Do you hear bells? The Morris dancers are coming!

Finn River FarmAll

Day 26: It was a blustery, chill day, so even if I hadn't been up to my eyeballs in meetings and paperwork, I wouldn't have gone out in the snow to search for a fresh science lesson for my readers. As a matter of fact, I wasn't much inclined to do anything today, and told Kevin that I'd seriously considered "calling in worthless" as a more honest statement than "calling in sick." Consequently, here I am, home at last, without a blog shot for the day and feeling much like just going to bed and pulling the blankies up over my head. Some days are just like that, but the day I took this photo wasn't one of them. We were dancing the Morris at Finn River Cidery, and during the break between sets, I discovered a FarmAll, a real tractor, the kind my daddy used to drive. Right there, Finn River won me over. I've been looking for an excuse to post the image. Vile weather tipped the scales.

Finn River Raven

Day 3: Sound & Fury Morris danced yesterday at Finn River Cidery in Chimacum. After the first set, I happened to notice an old friend in the audience: Raven, carrying his customary bit of the sun's fire, perched on a branch above the plaza. There could have been no better omen for the day.

Chimacum is a long way from home, so I had planned an Expedition to include a little geocaching and botanizing on the way up the Olympic Peninsula. The two go hand-in-hand. Caching often takes me into the woods, and I assumed that the more marine environment along Hood Canal would provide a wealth of lichens. It didn't take me long to figure out that I had entered a lichenological dead zone instead. Even the maples were bare of colonies. Botanically, the only thing worth noting was the presence of a few cascara trees in an area I would have thought was too heavily shaded to support them. At the cidery, I found minor lichenization of maples which included a Xanthoria and a Parmelia. Still, I had managed to get out into nature to experience a different ecological niche even if I hadn't made any amazing discoveries.

Thrifty Scot that I am, I decided that to avoid a $6 toll-bridge crossing at the expense of $3 in gas and 45 minutes of my time, I'd drive home the long way, i.e., down Highway 101 through Shelton and Olympia. It was a good choice. A canopy of green and gold filtered the slanting light of sunset as I drove through the National Forest, a far more pleasant way to end the day than barrelling along a freeway.

Summer's End

Day 320: Massed Morris sides danced the sun up on May Day, and last night Sound & Fury, Misty City, the Mossyback Morris Men and the Morris Offspring danced it down at Alki Beach in West Seattle, symbolically closing out the summer. It was a beautiful setting for a performance, and concluded with a processional with members of all four sides circling the down-scaled representation of Lady Liberty which overlooks Puget Sound. We still have several more gigs coming up over the next two months, and although we're taking September off from practices, we'll resume the drill in October at our indoor venue on Phinney Ridge. There are new dances and songs to learn, ale and cider to be drunk, new friends to be made. This is the celebration which is Morris!

Marjorie Learns Shepherd's Hey

Photo courtesy of David McKeown

Day 290: In May 2010, I joined Kelly DeLay's "Clouds365," an on-line photo project which documented sky conditions around the world on a daily basis. The project ran for (three?) years, during which time a few of the more consistent contributors got to know each other, if only as friends in cyberspace. Occasionally, some of us had the opportunity to meet up with others, but it was rather rare. Upon the project's completion, a scaled-down version migrated to Facebook and the virtual relationships continued. Yesterday, I had the privilege of meeting in person David and Marjorie McKeown, who were on the long route home to Quebec from Hawai'i. The encounter forged another link in the chain; David and Marjorie met another of my friends (Patty Evans) several years ago. Patty was also involved in the Clouds365 project. That said, my relationship with Patty began on the internet over a decade ago, a result of a common interest in geocaching. She and a third caching friend (Alison) are my truest and dearest sisters-of-the-heart.

I was thrilled that David and Marjorie were able to attend Sound & Fury's tour of Woodinville cideries, even moreso that they took photos and videos of our dancing. However, the high point of the day was when Marjorie (left, blue and purple shirt) joined in as Foreman Dave taught "Shepherd's Hey" to members of the audience. David declined on the grounds that he was the photographer!

Sound & Fury Steampunk Morris

Day 283: Sound & Fury stepped outside tradition yesterday to dance at the Fairhaven Steampunk Festival (Bellingham), and it was one of the most delightful non-botanical experiences I've had in many years. It was Sound & Fury's second year performing at this event. We danced two sets as the temperature rose, breaking between them for cool beverages and lunch at the local pub. My new steampunk persona Finnie (Feannagh) MacLeod made her first public appearance and was honoured to be asked to pose for portraits by several bystanders. I found that dancing in a corset isn't quite as difficult as it sounds, and definitely improves the posture. We will be appearing again in regular kit at the Ballard Locks Monday evening, and at a selection of Woodinville cideries on July 29.

Father's Day Tour

Day 249: First, I'd like to thank Squire Dan for capturing our Father's Day performances and making the photos available to members of the side. We are Sound & Fury Morris!

Our Father's Day venues included the Ballard Farmer's Market where we danced at the bell tower before an appreciative audience of a hundred people or more. We performed in rotation with the Morris Offspring, the four children of our side's members. We then moved on to Hiram Chittenden Locks (aka "the Ballard Locks"), dancing on the plaza between beautifully manicured gardens. Again, we drew a sizeable audience, and I'm sure there will be hundreds of photos of us surfacing across the globe as people post highlights of their summer holidays. I was surprised by the number of people who recognized Morris dancing, but of course there were also a lot of questions along the lines of, "What country is that from?"

All in all, it was a great day, ending off with the traditional pub stop at a cidery, and the delightful camaraderie of the side.

Sound & Fury Morris At Folklife

Day 230: First of all, I would like to thank the photographer from Merry Missives of Moscow for providing these images of our Sunday performance at Folklife. The Merry Missives are young dancers who attend a charter school in Moscow ID. They have no musicians of their own, so Sound & Fury's musos played for them. It was a privilege to share the stage with such an enthusiastic group of youngsters. They will carry the tradition of Morris dance into the next generation.

We performed in rotation with the Merry Missives, and opened with our new show piece, "Cobb's Horse." As you all know, I am new to Morris, so it was nice to have other dancers learning steps alongside me. The footwork for Cobb's is fairly simple, i.e., no galleys, no hocklebacks, no great leaps or complicated crossings. I struggled with the terminology at first, but now terms like "process up," "half-gip," "hands around," "foot down" are beginning to make sense. Clashing...well, it's not quite sword-fighting with sticks, but definitely has appeal for this old pirate.

In between dances, I double as a "muso" (musician). I don't have the requisite confidence to play my concertina in front of other members of the side, so I thump the bodhran or shake the tambourine.

Most Morris sides have a "hobby," a term you might equate with "hobby horse." Ours is Finn the Salmon. Finn's job is to accept donations from the audience, as well as occasionally weaving in and out among the performers as they dance. Unfortunately, our Sunday stage was too small for him to interface with us on the dance floor.

Depending on regional tradition, Morris footwork and costumes vary widely. Sound & Fury largely dances in the Adderbury tradition, a high-energy style. Bell pads are worn on the shins, not your standard jingle bell but rather ones made from much heavier brass. The ringing is quite loud! Dances nearly always involve either sticks or hankies, and are appropriately known as "stick dances" or "hanky dances." It might seem odd, but hanky dances are harder to execute since there are more things you can do with hankies and the timing must be perfect.

"Sweet Jenny Jones" is another of the dances I've learned so far with Sound & Fury. It is a stick dance and ends with a hey (dancers weaving between others in their line, returning to their orginal position at the end). In the hey, the top dancer (the one closest to the musicians) always passes right shoulder to right shoulder with the person approaching from below them in the set. Depending on whether you have a three-man line or a four-man line, the dancer at the foot (me) passes right or left respectively, a subtlety which almost always escapes me when my mind is on the footwork. I am happy to say that when I watched a video of our performance of "Jenny," I actually did the hey right for once!

As I mentioned earlier, Adderbury Morris is a particularly high-energy dance. Foreman Dave and Squire Dan catch some REALLY big air when they leap! This move always draws cheers and shouts of "Higher! Higher!" from the crowd.

There is some concern over whether or not Folklife will be able to continue. It started in 1972 as a small "hippie" music fete and has grown to its present state with over 5000 performers and 235,000 attendees in 2017. It's free, and therein lies the rub. It is enormously expensive to engage the entire 1960s World's Fair venue, to say nothing of advertising and other operational costs. This was my first time attending as either a member of the audience or a performer, and I will be back to dance next year if the festival can raise enough donations to continue.

Sound & Fury Morris

Day 227 (bonus post): Despite temps in the mid-80s, Sound & Fury Morris filled Seattle Center's McCaw Promenade with dancers yesterday at Folklife Festival. We danced in rotation with three other sides, sometimes coming together for "massed dances" of performers from the various groups. I doubled as a musician, playing bodhran during the dances I haven't learned. It's rare to see so many of us together. Our Squire puts the side's total membership at 21 (not counting fishy Finn, our hobby). Here you see 17 of us with one future member of the Morris Offspring peeking out from behind my left elbow. We'll be back at Folklife today!

May Day Morris

Day 201: I have never minded getting up in the wee hours of the morning to go on an adventure, whether it was a climb, a backpacking trip or any other sort of excursion. I was awake half an hour before the alarm was set to ring at 2:45 AM, and was out the door at 3:15, bound for Seattle to dance up the sun with fellow teammates from Sound & Fury Morris. We gathered at Gasworks Park with several other sides and a group of singers, each group performing in rotation. A few golden rays briefly pierced the cloud cover as the sun mounted into the sky while a brisk and chilly breeze ensured lively action from the dancers. A small audience had gathered, stalwarts who chose to help us celebrate May Day with a festive and joyous tradition despite the threat of rain. An hour and a half later, we took breakfast and then went on to dance at other venues until 12:30, finishing up under light rain at Google Plaza. Sumer is icumen in! Morris dancers around the world have driven winter away!

In Team Kit

Day 196: This would be just a *slight* revision to the Morris dance costume I had originally planned to wear for our May Day performance! I am in full Sound & Fury kit here, thanks to quick shipping of the kilt from Stumptown and the side providing arm-bands and baldric to complete the outfit. The leggings will be shed once the weather warms up, but I still have to figure out something to wear under the kilt. The traditional Scotsman's standby is not socially acceptable when you're dancing vigorously in front of groups of mixed ages and sensitivities.

We will kick off May Day by dancing the sun up at Gasworks Park, rain or shine (the former is forecast...this is the Pacific Northwest). Morris sides around the world will be performing in like manner, following an ancient tradition which dismisses winter and welcomes spring. After breakfast, we will make a "tour" to various schools and other locations until mid-day when we'll all adjourn to a pub. In addition to other local fairs over the summer, we'll be dancing at Folklife, so if you live in the Seattle area, be sure to put the event on your calendar.