Blog From The Bog

Inauguration Day Storm, January 20, 1993

When I'm taking groups on wildlife tours through the wetland, someone invariably asks me what this structure is.  It looks very much like an old wooden pallet that's firmly bolted to the root of a tree.  Why on earth would someone cart an old wooden pallet into the wetland and bolt it into a tree root?  How odd!

Actually, that isn't a pallet at all.  It's really a chunk of the old boardwalk.

By examining this structure, you can clearly see how the old boardwalk was built.

   

This is what the old boardwalk looked like before the big Inauguration Day storm in 1993.  The old boardwalk was built out of nothing but used railroad ties.  When it rained, these old railroad ties got slick as snot, causing the unwary to go sailing off into the tullies without any warning, so metal mesh was tacked down the center of the ties to lend a bit of traction.

Since the old boardwalk sat almost directly on the ground, it was a favorite place for garter snakes to crawl out and sun themselves.  In this photo you can clearly see the metal mesh tacked down the middle of the ties.

On January 20, 1993, a huge windstorm swept through Puget Sound, ripping up trees and telephone poles in it's wake.  Gusts were reputed to have topped 94 miles per hour, knocking out power for more than a half a million people.  It literally took days to get the power back up.  Six people died as a result of the storm, with many more suffering injuries of one kind or another, including carbon monoxide poisoning.  Close to 200 homes were destroyed, with more than 700 damaged.

The structure that looks like a pallet bolted to a tree is part of the old boardwalk that was literally ripped from the ground and thrown through the air.  When the damaged boardwalk was repaired, it was decided to leave this chunk standing where it landed as an example of the extreme power Mother Nature can wield when she wants to.

The new boardwalk is much higher off of the ground and much sturdier, but don't be deceived by this.  If the wind blew hard enough, whipped underneath, and slammed into this walkway at just the right angle, it would peel up and fly away like a toy.  That's why we post "Park Closed" signs during periods of extreme weather.  Once the weather has passed, the park caretakers will access and repair any damage and reopen the park.  Safety first and foremost!  Don't tempt Mother Nature.  You could end up a lot shorter than you are today and in many more pieces.

Teri Lenfest

Turtles

I was just going through my file.  I thought it might be time for another "Blast From The Past", so I wanted to see what was going on in the wetland in May, six years ago.

Almost every blog I wrote in May, 2004, mentioned turtles sunning themselves on this stump in Brooklake.  This is the only photo of those turtles that I could find in my file.  It isn't very good, but it's the only one I have.  I have a much better camera now, but we no longer have any turtles in Brooklake.

I haven't seen a turtle in Brooklake for at least three or four years.  I remember the debate that took place over their identification.  I couldn't figure out what they were because they had identifying characteristics of both the painted-turtle and the Pacific pond turtle.  Had they been identified as Pacific pond turtles, that would have been a noteworthy discovery because Pacific pond turtles were near extinction, if not completely extinct.  These turtles had necks with longitudinal red and yellow lines, which would imply that they were painted-turtles, but their plastrons weren't red, as they should have been if they were painted-turtles.  These turtles had yellow plastrons, indicative of Western pond turtles.  As you can see, these turtles basked in groups, indicative of painted-turtles.  Western pond turtles bask alone.  So, what were they: one, the other, or a combination of both?  Were the two turtles interbreeding, creating a brand new turtle that was a little bit of each?

We'll never know.  The turtles disappeared.  No one knows where they went or why they left.  Did they die of some turtle disease?  Were they killed by some kind of predator?  Did something about the lake itself change, making it uninhabitable for turtles?  Did their food supply disappear?  It's a mystery.

I loved looking out over Brooklake and watching the turtles bask in the sun.  They always made me smile.  There was something comforting about knowing that the turtles would always be there, on their stump, stacked up, one upon the other like a bunch of fallen dominoes.  And, now they're gone.  I miss them, don't you?

Teri Lenfest

Roadwork Interference

I may have to suspend writing the Blog From The Bog for an unknown period of time due to roadwork being done on SW Campus Drive.  As you can see, the sidewalk from just east of Winco until just west of the park has been closed.

Saying the sidewalk is closed is an understatement.  In actuality, the sidewalk no longer exists.

Nor do the trees, telephone poles, and a portion of the hillside.

According to the posted signage this roadwork is slated to continue from now clear into the month of August.  As it now stands, visitors having motor vehicles can still access the park.  Visitors on foot, approaching from the west, now have to cross over West Campus Drive at the Winco crosswalk, then attempt to run across four lanes of very busy highway somewhere near the park entrance.  Since I'm 64 years old, with one rebuilt knee and one deteriorating knee, dashing across four lanes of traffic is quite challenging and risky.  I do not know the purpose of this road construction, so do not know whether it will continue moving in an easterly direction down West Campus Dr. or not.  If it does, it may impact vehicle access to the parking lot as well.  I will continue posting blogs for as long as I can, then may continue posting essays on plants, animals, and interesting historical facts about the park until I run out of steam.  Let's home the road construction is completed before that happens.

Teri Lenfest

Mallards and bunnies

More than one mallard has had babies in the last few weeks.  This mama mallard is taking a little break while her babies learn to fend for themselves.

The babies are getting bigger.

Last week we had one mallard mama with eight ducklings.

This week we have two new mallards.  All of these mallards are on Marlake.  Although I spotted many pairs of ducks on Brooklake that appeared to be mated, I have not yet seen any ducklings on Brooklakel 

Instead, all of the baby ducklings I've seen so far have been on Marlake.  Earlier in the year, I spotted a pair of Canada geese on Marlake and have expected to see goslings pop up at any time, but I haven't seen the geese in about a month and no sign of goslings so far.  I don't know why all of the ducks at Brooklake decided to go someplace else, nor do I understand why the Canada geese arrived at Marlake, as usual, then disappeared.  This is very disturbing to me.  Maybe some of you younger folks will be able to figure this out.

Even though I recently ran into coyotes, who were obviously hunting baby bunnies, the bunny population seems to be thriving.  I saw at least five bunnies in the meadow and none of them seemed to be overly-concerned by my presence.  I haven't managed to photograph any of the babies yet, but I'm working on it.  There is so much going on in the park right now that it's difficult to cover it all.  If you manage to get a baby bunny photo, perhaps you can send it to me for the library.  I can't wait to see your photos!

Teri Lenfest

Squirrels and frogs

This little Douglas squirrel couldn't quite figure out what to make of me.  He got closer and closer and closer, then we kind of sidled past one-another.

On the other side of the park a very wet Douglas squirrel was so intent on nibbling Douglas fir cones that I probably could have walked right over and picked him up.  He was hungry, he was wet, and he was focused on solving those two problems.  A human-being with a camera meant nothing to this squirrel at this moment in time.

The frogs didn't seem to care either.  As you can plainly see, some frogs have dots on their backs and some frogs don't.  All three of these frogs were found within a foot of one another at the same tree-well. I'm so glad that the bullfrogs haven't found them yet.  I've seen garter-snakes at this spot as well as frogs.  People walk passed this spot every day and never see a thing.  When I stop them and point out the frogs and/or snakes they're always surprised.  Most people are moving so fast that they can't even see the things that are around them.  The wetland is a place to slow down and look around.  You'll be amazed at what you see.

Teri Lenfest

Snails, Slugs, and Frogs, redux

Snails and slugs are found in abundance on rainy days, so this was a great opportunity for me to attempt to obtain photographs that have eluded me before.

If we look at snails in movies or illustrations, we'd be led to assume that snails always travel with their shells upright.  This not so.  Sometimes the shell is vertical, sometimes horizontal.  It's up to the snail, of course.

We've also talked about how land-snails actually travel on a foot attached to their abdomens.  This is a good example of exactly how large that foot can be.  This is a land-snail's version of big-foot!

Slugs also travel on what is essentially one big foot, with tiny little fringes along the edge.  In this photo you can see how the slug uses it's bottom antenna to feel it's way over the edge of this skunk cabbage leaf.

Remember how I told you that slugs and land-snails see light and shadow through  rudimentary eyes at the ends of their long antennae?  This is what those eyes looks like.  The two antennae on top see light and shadow.  The two on the bottom smell and feel.  Pretty cool, huh?

Can you see the four distinct antennae on this slug?  Two top, two bottom, all with distinctly different functions.  Those that see and those that feel and taste.  Very interesting creatures, don't you agree?

Teri Lenfest

Berries are ripening

Remember the bright yellow twinberry blooms - two by two?  Now, they've become dark purple berries, two by two.  Twinberries are eatable, but I don't think they're very palatable.  The seed is very large, the flesh is scant, and the taste is a bit acrid.  If you're a human, collecting twinberries for sustenance would entail an enormous amount of work for very little benefit.  Unless I was starving to death, I'd leave the twinberries to some of the other critters.

After all, the salmonberries are ripening and they are very tasty.  If I had a choice, I'd eat the salmonberries.  Of course, the bears feel the same way.  I haven't seen a bear in West Hylebos Park, but I have met a visitor who swore he saw a bear here last year.  Fish and Wildlife is already picking up wayward bears this season, so be alert.

The area around Marlake has now been posted "No Trespassing!".  That means that when you come to the end of the blue gravel trail in the orchard, you have reached the end of the public trail.  From my understanding, the City plans to ribbon off the bridge at the far end of Marlake soon.  The end of Marlake opposite the houses is not paved or graveled and is very mucky.  The city has decided that the bridge is deteriorating and they don't have the funds to replace it, so they've decided to declare it off-limits instead.  What used to be the University of Washington Arboretum of Coniferous Trees will also be declared off-limits.  This will afford more privacy to the caretakers who are now occupying the two houses abutting Marlake.  This is very disappointing to me, as the public has had access to this area for as long as I can remember and the public was not asked for their opinion when the city made their decision to close this area.  Marlake is quite different from Brooklake.  Losing access to Marlake makes me very unhappy.  What about you?

Teri Lenfest

Rainy Day in the Wetland

I decided to make a trip down to the wetland this morning even though it was raining.  After all, we weren't in the middle of a wind-storm or thunderstorm, so I didn't have to worry about being crushed by falling trees or anything like that.  The rain was really quite pleasant.

A dark-eyed junco was hopping around in the grass.

Another serenaded me from the top of a tree.

A sparrow was busily checking the grass for whatever yummy things it could find.

The boardwalk was covered with water.  I found walking down the center of the boardwalk very easy.  It got slipperier as I approached the edges.  Remember the old boardwalk?  In wet weather you had to stay on the metal grating running down the center of the boardwalk or you'd go sailing off into the tulies.  I flew off of the boardwalk many times, each time wondering if that was the time I'd end up being impaled by something lurking in the underbrush.  Once you're airborne, you're out of control.  What will be, will be.  Luckily for me, I only wound up with minor cuts and bruises.  Things had the potential of ending up much worse.

Rain has a way of making the most mundane things glorious.

Raindrops look like diamonds on these common fungi.  Admit it, this is breathtakingly beautiful!

Because of the rain, I practically had the park to myself today.  It was very quiet and peaceful - good for the soul.  I highly recommend it.

Teri Lenfest

Plants, Fungi, and Birds

The boardwalk was quite slippery this morning, especially if you walked along the edges, rather than the middle, so I spent a lot more time looking down than up. So many of the plants have changed since last week that I hardly know where to start.

In some places the beautiful bleeding heart blooms have disappeared completely, being replaced by their seed-pods, which resemble string beans.  If you weren't familiar with these plants, you'd never guess that these beans used to be gorgeous heart-shaped flowers.

Last month the salmon-berry bushes were full of beautiful magenta flowers.  Those flowers gradually transformed into pale yellow berries.  Now, those pale yellow berries are making the change to red.  Soon the berries will be dark red and ready to eat.  I've already eaten a few myself.  I can hardly wait for the rest.

When I wasn't busy watching my footing on the slippery boardwalk, I glanced up and saw this beautiful fungus growing on a tree.  It reminds me of the billowing skirt of an ivory ball-gown.  It is gorgeous!

I went to Marlake to check on the ducklings and search for more bullfrogs.  Instead, I found these beautiful yellow iris lining the lake.

And beautiful lily-pads floating on both ends of the lake.  The pads on the south side of the lake are a dark maroon, but the ones on the north side are this lovely pink.

Birds were running around in the grass.  I was so busy trying to photograph the swallows that I almost stepped on them.
And, of course, I couldn't leave without one more shot of a duckling.

Teri Lenfest

Ducklings, Coyotes, and Nests

I hardly entered the wetland today when I heard the birds making all kinds of racket.  I didn't know what they were so worked up about, so I stopped for a few minutes to see if I could figure it out.  It wasn't long before I noticed something large moving through the understory.  I raised my camera in order to get it ready for a shot of whatever it was that was making the bushes move.  I only had my camera halfway up when this coyote pokes his head up through the bushes not ten feet away from me.  I immediately pushed the button to turn my camera on, but my camera makes this "ching" noise when I turn it on.  The camera went "ching", the coyote looked up, we locked eyes; then, "POOF!", he vanished into thin air.

It's absolutely amazing how you can see a coyote as clear as the nose on the end of your face one moment and the next moment he's gone like a puff of smoke, like a ghost dog.  And then the yipping, howling, and barking started.  There was clearly more than one coyote and they were clearly unhappy about my sudden appearance.  From their behavior, I'm thinking that they were probably pretty close to having lunch in the bag when I showed up and ruined the whole thing for them.  Dana, one of the caretakers who moved into the Markx house, said she heard something screaming earlier in the day.  I'm thinking that the coyotes have finally found the baby bunnies.  A few weeks ago, you could hardly walk around the meadow or orchard without stepping on bunnies.  Scott, the other caretaker, and I were talking about the coyotes and bunnies just last week.  Scott said the coyotes weren't doing a very good job of keeping the bunny population under control.  I think the coyotes have figured that out now.  I may have accidentally wandered into the middle of a bunny population control project in progress.  The coyotes were very unhappy with me!

Look at how big the mallard ducklings have gotten in a week.  They have less yellow and more brown on them now.  They're zipping and zooming all over Marlake.  They move so fast that it's hard for me to keep up with them with my camera.

A whole squadron of violet-green swallows is zipping around Marlake right now.  They remind me of little dive bombers, zooming here and there.  When I watch the swallows it looks like pure joy.  I want to fly like that!  These little birds are fast!  There was no possible way I could follow them with my camera, so I was really happy when two of them decided to pause on this bench long enough for me to snap a shot.  There.....and gone......poof!  No time for hesitation.  I feel so lucky to have gotten this shot!

Remember the old adage, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."?  Well, here are two birds in a bush.  Wonder how much they're worth!  LOL!

I went around to the other side of Marlake in an attempt to get a better picture of the ducklings when suddenly, one of the red-winged blackbirds went ballistic and started attacking me.  He was actually screeching and dive-bombing my head.  As I ducked my head, I glanced up and saw the probable source of the problem.  There's a wonderful nest in the nest-box right over the spot where I'd been standing.  I don't know what they used to line this nest, but it looks so soft.  Are those wings?  I don't know.  What is that?  I was spending so much time trying to protect my head from papa blackbird that I really didn't get a chance to investigate further.  This is very cool, don't you think?

Teri Lenfest