Forest Greens
10 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
On Saturday, February 5th, 2011 Wendy Cocksedge, who spoke to us last year about the forest greens used in the floristry industry, escorted four of us along the Willingdon Trail where we identified Scouring rush, Salal, Trailing blackberry, an early Skunk cabbage, small leaves of Sweet Cecily (we think), new Salmonberry shoots, Oregon-beaked moss, Red huckleberry, Sword ferns, Lady ferns, Deer ferns and Frog-pelt lichen. On the way back, Wendy told us about how tapping Big-Leaf maples for their syrup is becoming a big industry on Vancouver Island. We also saw some magnificent Harlequin ducks and Red-breasted mergansers in full breeding plumage. Douglas squirrels chattered at us and one took a peanut almost out of Elizabeth’s hand.
Rambling with Clyde
10 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
Our resident naturalist, Clyde Burton, took seven members to Gibson’s Beach and Sliammon waterfront on Wed. Feb 2nd, 2011. Gibson’s Beach produced three herons in the trees and Glaucous-winged gulls almost at our feet. We stayed only long enough to separate the different age groups.
At Sliammon we saw several hundreds of gulls, the majority being Thayers. Among them were Glaucous-winged gulls, Mew and one Herring gull. In addition, all three mergansers were there, Golden-eye, Bufflehead, various scoters, Mallards, Gadwall, Green-wing teal, American widgeon, Black oyster catchers and Black turnstones plus Two killdeer. Crows and Ravens also blessed us with their presence. We stayed by over an hour till the wimps among us were driven away by a cool breeze.
Naked Eye Star Gazing
10 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
On Tuesday, November 23, 2010 Christine Woolcott met with six would-be star gazers for an indoor get acquainted session. Using simplified diagrams, Christine showed us how to use Orion to find Taurus, the Pleiades, Auricula (?), Capella and her three goats, Castor and Pollux, Procyon and Sirius. A few nights later we went out in the evening but, although we could see some of these constellations, clouds obscured others. A second indoor session was held a week later but after that the cloud cover never lifted and our teacher took off for Arizona from where she e-mailed to say she could see everything! A spring sky indoor session has been scheduled for April 8th.
