Week Four

October 21
5:21
62 Degrees F
Madrona Park


It's noticeably colder this week, though this could be due to Sean and I arriving at the park about thirty minutes later than usual. The soil seemed very dry in the park today, even after all the rain that fell last night. The sword ferns at the site have entire arms that have dried out and curled up now, a definite progression from two weeks ago. The view from my spot has become, not quite brownish yet, but certainly less green. The view has become less saturated with green. The contrast between week one and now is evidence of progression into fall.

The view from my spot

I was very happy this week with the amount of knowledge I gained from the Mount Rainier trip. I was able to identify several more species at my site from memory than I could before. I've documented a few below.

this is a shrub with opposite, serrated leaves growing out from a sloped hill. I believe it is a Cascade Oregon Grape

Longer needles growing in two rows with white bottom side.

Grand Fir

This is my favorite find at the site, I learned it from our TA Jorge. A tree with green fuzzy roundish serrated leaves.

Beaked Hazel

I spotted a different kind of fern other than sword fern as I was leaving the site today. It has medium length leaflets with opposite leaves. I'm not sure because of the color, but I think that it is either spiny wood fern or lady fern.

Spiny wood fern or lady fern

Madrona park is also home to some wetland plants as there is a small water runoff coming down from the top of the hill and into lake washington. Lots of horsetail grows there. This spiny prehistoric looking plant is covered in crazy tendrils seemingly reaching in every direction. These plants still look very lush and green even as we approach the fall. The plants are succulent and retain a lot of water since they live by streams.

Horsetail.

The assignment for today at the park was to observe invertebrates and to sketch them. I was able to locate all of the invertebrates at my site by using a stick (I don't want to accidentally touch bugs, gross)to turn over leaves and fallen foliage to expose any creatures that might be hiding under them.

The first one I discovered appeared to be a common pillbug at first look, but I believe it is something else. This invertebrate was larger than any pillbug I have seen before. The invertebrate was a dark brown/ black color with grey sides. It's sides were serrated and connected in sections so that it can roll into a ball to protect itself.

What appears to be a common pillbug, but is a bit too large.

The next invertebrate I saw I did not like. I have a natural aversion to centipedes/millipedes. I'm not entirely sure which one this one was, but it was quite small, pale yellow and was crawling very quickly on the stick I was holding. It had many many tiny legs covering the entire bottom of it's body and it was only around 5 millimeters in length. 

A long invertebrate resembling a millipede or a centipede.

This invertebrate is no stranger to me, I have encountered them inside my own house at times. This is an earwig, a bug that is disconcerting because it has pincers on it's abdomen as well as feelers on it's head. Though small they are very detailed. They have sectioned bodies with a couple of unique colors. A light brown head, a dark brown thorax and abdomen and a shiny gold colored midsection.

Earwig

This nasty invertebrate had Sean and I yelling after it began to run quickly and then change it's mind and curl up. The centipede is a long invert at around 5 millimeters. It has a black body with yellow spots on every section of it's sectioned back. The centipede also has a plurality of legs that make it terrifyingly quick-moving.  

Centipede

Sean was quick enough to warn me of a mosquito before it landed on me to bite me. The mosquito is very tiny and makes a quiet buzzing noise as it flaps it's wings. It has a long mouth used for piercing skin and drinking animal blood. The mosquito has six segmented legs. Similar to the horsetail, mosquitos also enjoy wetlands because it is the perfect place for them to lay their eggs in still water.

Mosquito

We found some very interesting (yet disgusting) finds in the park today, and I'm sure we'll find some more interesting things next week as well.