Week One Madrona Park

4:36 pm Monday September 29th 
Madrona Park
Light Rain 61 Degrees F

Standing here in Madrona Park, the forest around me is moving. Rain is gently splashing against the leaves of the maple tree above me, protecting me from the weather. At arms length is the trunk of the tree, lightly peppered with moss and pine needles. At my feet lie pinecones and acorns, fallen from their respective trees.

 Behind me there is a wall of green ferns just beginning to brown and break with the coming of fall. At eye level behind me is the base of another tree that I am familiar with but do not know the name of. It is still very green and does not show any evidence of preparation for the coming season.

                                                                     Unknown Tree

 At fifty meters, I can see that I am standing near the top of a hill, a fallen tree lies a ways down from where I'm standing. I can hear a bird chirping repeatedly in the distance, and the sound of the wind moving the leaves and branches of the taller trees above me. The area smells a bit earthy. I want to write that it smells wet, however that doesn't seem at all specific, I can imagine that this area would smell more like the plants that inhabit it on a dry day. It is raining today and I believe the smell of the earth is brought out more because of the wetness. As I am writing this, a helicopter seed from the maple tree next to me flew by my face, and I realized that there are many of these pods lying on the ground all around me. After watching the pod hit the ground, I notice near my feet there are two species of small plants that I do not recognize. They are both a dark green, one with round, veiny leaves, and another with lighter more edged leaves. 

                                                        Round leaves

                                                        Edgy leaves
                                                     
The maple tree's bark is rough and has grown in small square sections, it smells rich and dark. There is a large hole right through the base of the tree large enough for someone to stand in.

                                                     A picture Sean took of me inside the maple tree

 Off in the distance the forest looks more wet, and the majority of the visible vegetation is light green, leafy, and close to the ground. In front of me is an odd tree with tall skinny branches that shoot up from the ground seemingly parallel to each other, this tree is surrounded by saplings of various species.

                                                      Tree with tall, skinny branches.

A memory of nature that I remembered while here in the park while it was wet was a time when I was younger and went camping with my parents. We went on a short hike through the woods after it had rained. We walked to a very cool forest with gigantic old growth trees called the Grove of the Patriarchs. I remember the ground being wet and the area having a similar earthy smell to the park today. The Grove of the Patriarchs is a great hike with a neat suspension bridge that takes you over a shallow section of the Ohanepecosh river.The trees there are massive and some of them are around a thousand years old. I was lucky enough to have Sean go with me to Madrona park today, which reminded me how much more fun it is to experience nature with people than just on your own. I had a great day at the Grove of the Patriarchs because I got to hang out with my dad, and I had a fun time today because I got to go on an adventure with Sean. I can't wait to go back next week.