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NaturalHistoryLog

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August 2006 16: Adolescent sparrow (?) in West Seattle not able to fly away from me. Just 'bops' head like a child trying to jump! 14: High cirrus clouds all day. Goldfish at Cowen hang out in shade of Cedar from the heat; when sun moves more west do they have enough shade? Saw immature ____ 13: Elderberries ripe for harvesting in Wallingford. 7: Ducklings still with mama at Marsh Island near Mohai. 6: Salmon still at the locks. Plenty of big ones waiting to morph back to freshwater 5: Evergreen Lookout: harvested valerian and lots of blueberries. Tons of blooms: fireweed, bistort, valerian, lupine, yellow lily, etc! Also, Merganser family at Money Creek swim hole. 3: Up at scenic hot springs blooming arnica and self-heal, lower down a pink blooming mint-family relative. Nearly all the goatsbeard blooms are done, getting crunchy and seedy to the touch.

July 2006 25: Cool day: Spotted a sparrows nest on UW campus, babies have more adult-like squeaks 24: On the lake: Adolescent ducklings fully feathered but still small and with mom; lotus flowers budding but not blooming 23: Still hot: sparrows burrowing in little dustbaths to stay cool 22: Lake Serene: salmonberries about finished and thimbleberries almost ripe 21: HOT! crows panting in the shade and heard that 5 (of her) chickens died today from a local farmer 17: Many cool, cloudy days this July, with occasional hot ones. 15: Thimbleberries ripe in Darrington 13: Two big starling youngsters bothering their mother for food on the shore of green lake. They're bigger than she is.

June 2006 15: Cow parsnip at Goldmyer not yet blooming, although last year on this exact day they were.

May 2006

18:eating spinach, collards, mustard seed pods. Strawberry blossoming with small green fruit. Picked first rubarb for pie. high temps 10 degrees above normal.17:saw first tiger swallowtail butterfly.15:bees on blossoms, raspberries and overwintered kale. orchard mason bees nearly filled nest block.12:

First black bamboo shooting up for the year. 6: must harvest soon hawthorn and elderberry flowers 4:first big leaf maple seeds formed above golden gardens 2: mallard pair in the courtyard, hawthorns blooming, blue flowering in forest glades

April 2006

April 1 (and then overwhelmed): smells like spring, sword fiddleheads, geum? up, red dock up,roundleaved lily up, song sparrows with 3 first notes, tulips and pansies and hyacinths, horsechestneut leaves in all sorts of stages, cherries blooming at cowen, bleeding hearts (leafing on north-facing, blooming on south-facing)alder leaves, huckleberry, maple sprouts, elder leaves and buds, mint up, aspen leaf and tassel, highbush cranberry leaves, chokecherry blossoms and buds and leaves flat, hawthorn relative leafing, lots of salmon blossoms and leaves, sexual horsetail up and vegitative starting, bracken ferns up, skunk cabbage a foot tall and aromatic, snowberry fully leaved, larch new needles, plum 2-inch leave, rowan leaves and buds, butterfly by creek brown with white edge, red flowering currant

March 2006

March 29: red huckleberry buds red 28: stellar jay nesting 27: chickadees fighting (over next site?) river otters, coyote 25: crows chase owl, pilleated woodpecker in forest 24: great horned owl hooting, thunderstorm, rainbow 21:salmonberry leafing 18: coyote at Wise Earth March:10th warm and sun 9th: so windy crows are hovering midair trying to fly south. amazing acrobatic feats 8th: skunk cabbage blossoms! snowberries leafing out below not-yet salmonberries, great example of guild, rain 4th:not many nettles in the old patch at evergreen. either seattle's thermal mass is making difference of a few weeks or oly's cold windstorms were more severe 1st:cold winds from south,at least feel that way. sun on the hazel tassels

February 2006

February:also, roses leafing as well as indian plum leaves 27th:Nettle harvest at carkeek. Also leaves of elder, salmonberry, thimbleberry, blackberry, ocean spray are poking out, all but the blackberry and oceanspray with frost damage. Also lots of robins past orchard seemed unusual for this type of forest. Licorice fern not yet tasty. Smells almost like spring. 25th:Still snowing up in the mountains and a little in town. Red tips of huckleberries and alders getting more exuberant.24th:Mallard pair at the Wilsonian. plenty of food but looking a bit lonely and lost.23rd: Birds nesting all around. One good one in the 'wm' logo of washington mutual on 43rd (?).22nd First warm day in awhile, after a week of clear and cold and frost trauma in the gardens to over-wintered peas.14th:lightning last night and snow. colder and colder13th:Rain returns First daffodils blooming. Hummingbirds at St. Marks 11th: Oregon grape buds about to bloom, many pink crocus' open on 16th, and more cherry blossoms 7th: Skunk cabbage leaves up. Yes, suirrels in ravenna too are definitely carrying chunks of leaves up their trees for something. Also saw a hummingbird, and a woodpecker carving out nest in a snag. 3 salmonberry blossoms.6th: Stars visible, but also meant cold frost in the morning.3-4th: Wind and rain knock over trees, on the Ave, in the park2nd: Okay first crocuses, cherry blooms, daffodils Almost out 1st: Cold wind pushes us, clouds go north. BUT last night as wind was picking up a tree was pushed over From the north, going south. Squirrels gathering nesting stuff (?) on campus outside this computer at suzzalo

January 2006

January: Wonderfully wet. From Dec. 19 to Jan.15 it rained continuously, producing 13 inches in that time ( a record of quantity, but not beating the record for length of days). Noticed though that right after the winter solstice, through all the rain, the plants were definitely responding to the increased day length. New little green things everywhere, whereas before the solstice not so. Grasses and bulbs and little weedlings in cracks poking up. Soils saturated with very unhealthy erosion in areas. As we near February some bulbs have bloomed, and the indian plums are poking out centimeter long nublets of leaf. No indian plum flowers yet. It hasnt been very cold and many trees are pushing.

November 2005

Nov.29th Cold morning with sun coming out at 3, dark storm clouds to East. Nov. 28 First hard frost. Crispier down at UVillage and gradient up to Cowen Park, cold and talk of snow. Day-of-leaves-falling. Windier later in day Nov. 25 Frog in my ppatch, hummingbirds at the new feeder on the ave Nov. 13 Ambient wet in morning clearing up, and then night of rain. Mushrooms in highland nearly done in with cold. Nov. 12 Cold. High dark clouds scooting across the sky Nov. 9: Warmer, almost muggy. Nov. 8: Cold, cold rain in the morning, with sun later. Many bright leaves at ravenna. Saw crows eating a squished squirrel on Brooklyn :( Nov 7: Cold without rain. Ravenna park is totally open up without the leaves. Saw a 'mini-grackle' bird anxiously climbing a parked car's tires trying to get inside. why? Nov 6: Lots of snow at Snoq.Pass. all quiet except the rustling of those big gray&black birds Nov 2: Gray, but no rain downtown during the rally. Didnt notice any of the seeds have come up downtown from the last anti-war rally, and many of the plants have perished leaving little spaces of trying-to-be-fluffy soil: oh well. Didnt check westlake though. Rain in the evening. November 1, 2005: Rained heavy through the morning, with dry but dark grey clouds in the evening for bright-westward-gash sunset. A few days ago I noticed the mashua flowering

August 2005

August 30, 2005: Rain and dark clouds are nice! Bold bike-cops playing with some raggedy crows on the Ave... August 22, 2005: Gray mornings with wind from the south brings in sun :) August 11, 2005: A few gray days in a row. Sun coming out by the end of the day. Blackberries getting riper. Rowan berries red. Downtown in sea mist this morning. Lycesteria berries ripe.

July 2005

July 20, 2005: Back to the natural history log! It has been Hot, everything is growing and flowering. Full Moon on the Ave perfect for guerilla gardening :)

March 2005

March 24, 2005: Lilacs blooming, alder and maple filling in, after equinox very noticable difference in light, butter cherry at corner park blooming. March 11, 2005: Very misty morning. Bird argument in the scotch broom. Pulled out ivy chunks on the tree trunks. March !0, 2005: Misty morning turning to sun Nettles up, big leaf maples pushing flowers, salmonberry leaves pushing (and some flowers!), elderberry and wild rose pushing. etc! March 9: leaves on tons of trees just now poking out (alders, one by chaco cafe etc.) even saw lilac bush pushing green And blossoms March 8, 2005: Oregon grape blooming. trees at Seattle Central blooming March 7, 2005: Lots has been happening!!Rhododendrons, daffodils, even saw a peach tree blooming. Leaves are pushing on alders, willows, etc. Quad at UW fully blooming! March 4, 2005: First hummingbird sighting of the season. Two of them playing.

February 2005

Feb 15, 2005: Bitter cold. Ceanothus on 10th blooming! Feb 14, 2005: Cherrys beginning to blossom for valentines day Feb 12, 2005: Freaky hail storm. 2pm in oly 4pm in Seattle Feb 4, 2005: Rain! Feb 3, 2005: Hasnt rained for days. Chickweed etc growing rapidly and ornamental plums pushing. I see another camellia in bloom. Soil drying up. Feb 1, 2005: Indian plums pushing leaves in Ravenna Park

January 2005

Jan 27, 2005: Beautiful fog on Lake Washington before sunrise Jan 26, 2005: Camellia in full bloom by Madison Market. Rain Jan 25, 2005: very weird warm weather last week. snowdrops, crocus, lonicera beginning to bloom. fog in