Environmental Study Of Lechtenberg Park

[freeztar]

I sawed out a small section of limb ~3" diameter, brought it home, split it, planed it, scraped it, scanned it, and attached it for your perusals. I count ~ 40 years

 

I count 32 rings to the left and 35 to the right.

 

Can you enlighten me on how you came to ~40? Is the scan not detailed enough for me to count precisely?

[Turtle]

I count 32 rings to the left and 35 to the right. :doh:

 

Can you enlighten me on how you came to ~40? Is the scan not detailed enough for me to count precisely?

 

The scan is sharp enough, but the problem is with how much I planed from the edges. The unequal count is caused by my unequal shaving, so the 35 has to be right and I simply shaved more on the 32 side. The bark was gone and the outer wood of the branch was punky (a stage of wood rot) and I was guessing I shaved off 4 or 5 rings worth of that at least.

 

The section I took looked to be about 8 feet from the base where it broke, and the still living tree is ~8 to 10" in diameter; my bad for not taking that measure yet. :doh: :lol: I also took note that new Yew buds were a'growin', and if I haven't said, I learned the tree is dioecious, that is, having Male & Female trees. I'll check if it's a boy or girl later in the season. :smart:

[freeztar]

The scan is sharp enough, but the problem is with how much I planed from the edges. The unequal count is caused by my unequal shaving, so the 35 has to be right and I simply shaved more on the 32 side. The bark was gone and the outer wood of the branch was punky (a stage of wood rot) and I was guessing I shaved off 4 or 5 rings worth of that at least.

 

Ok, I'm still not sure on this though. :shrug:

Do you have an accurate count, taking into account the 'missing rings'?

Pedanticism at its best! :lol:

 

The section I took looked to be about 8 feet from the base where it broke, and the still living tree is ~8 to 10" in diameter; my bad for not taking that measure yet. :doh: :lol: I also took note that new Yew buds were a'growin', and if I haven't said, I learned the tree is dioecious, that is, having Male & Female trees. I'll check if it's a boy or girl later in the season. :hihi: :naughty:

 

Cool! It almost sounds like some long-lost parable. The Turtle and the Yew. :hihi:

 

[Turtle]

Ok, I'm still not sure on this though.

Do you have an accurate count, taking into account the 'missing rings'?

Pedanticism at its best!

 

Part of the problem is that proper dendrochronological ring counts ought to come from a crosscut, 'end-on' view, which is the familiar bulls-eye' pattern, and taken from the tree bole at chest height. I'll prepare such a cross-section ASAP, but this piece is a branch that was over head high. We can however get a rough extrapolation/generalization from this piece on the rate of growth of the Yew in this setting.

 

I cut this piece as I did, to show the color and straight, even grain that makes the Yew a superior & sought after wood for archers bows over the last millineum and more. Rare as finding a Yew is, finding one suitable for a bow is a hundred times more-so. I'm told that one needs at least a 7 foot length without knots, splits, twists, or other imperfection, as otherwise even the most carefully hewn bow will at best not shoot true and at worst break outright. I am looking to luck on a downed section clear enough to make a small bow drill, which requires less than 3 feet. :hihi:

Cool! It almost sounds like some long-lost parable. The Turtle and the Yew. :hihi:

 

:lol:

 

:lol: So it is. :naughty: :shrug:

[Turtle]

I prepared a cross-section and scanned it at 1200 dpi. I had to size down the image to keep the file manageable even then, but we still have the sharpness we need to count the rings. The attached image is further sized down to show the entire branch and its irregular shape.

 

I count 43 rings to the left, and ~39 to the right. I think the lesser side was on the ground and so rotted more away faster. :naughty:

[Turtle]

Alrighty thens. Three weeks since the last visit & some catching up to do.

 

From the long-sawn section of Yew illustrated above in post #306, I have been carving a spoon.

"Hey look at the yew spoon!"

"What?"

"The yew spoon!"

"Who?"

"No! YEW spoon!"

"What?"

"Yew!"

"I what?"

:shrug: Photos to follow. ;)

 

Today friends Buffalo & Golden Eagle dropped by and we agreed a good day was waiting in Lechtenberg. Eagle wanted to find nests and 30 feet in he spotted one about 12 feet off the ground in a sapling. Grasping the base, I bent it down for inspection & darned if it wasn't full of baby birds. :smart: I'll have the video soon, but I warn you it sucks. Trying to shoot and all look and keep the tree from snapping up & launching the babes, I just didn't nail this one. Oh, American Robins if their screaming mother is the clinch. :steering:

 

Buffalo waded into the stream when we arrived at it, and pulled up some of that still unidentified water plant only to find it full of small shell fish. Mussels he thinks. I have some in a baggy & will get photos soon.

 

Buffalo also spotted 3 or 4 medium-large land snails, one of which I baggied and will photo soon too.

 

What else? Mm...oh yeah; I think I aggravated an old hernia today so I may be a little slow getting the images. Stop laughing!!! :smart: I gotta go sit with the heating pad a while; I'll be back when I get back. :shrug: :)

[freeztar]

Alrighty thens. Three weeks since the last visit & some catching up to do.

 

From the long-sawn section of Yew illustrated above in post #306, I have been carving a spoon.

"Hey look at the yew spoon!"

"What?"

"The yew spoon!"

"Who?"

"No! YEW spoon!"

"What?"

"Yew!"

"I what?"

:smart: Photos to follow. ;)

 

Who's on first? Yew?

Today friends Buffalo & Golden Eagle dropped by and we agreed a good day was waiting in Lechtenberg.

 

Who's on second?

 

Eagle wanted to find nests and 30 feet in he spotted one about 12 feet off the ground in a sapling. Grasping the base, I bent it down for inspection & darned if it wasn't full of baby birds. :smart: I'll have the video soon, but I warn you it sucks. Trying to shoot and all look and keep the tree from snapping up & launching the babes, I just didn't nail this one. Oh, American Robins if their screaming mother is the clinch. :ebluehair

Robins can be vicious. Good thing you have Eagle with you!

 

Buffalo waded into the stream when we arrived at it, and pulled up some of that still unidentified water plant only to find it full of small shell fish. Mussels he thinks. I have some in a baggy & will get photos soon.

I recently attempted to key out some freshwater mussels I found and quickly learned why there's only a handful of people in this region that can correctly ID them. It should be much easier in the PNW as there's not really any native mussels.

 

Argh...It might be the dreaded Zebra Mussel?!

 

zebra mussels - Google Image Search

 

What else? Mm...oh yeah; I think I aggravated an old hernia today so I may be a little slow getting the images. Stop laughing!!! :steering: I gotta go sit with the heating pad a while; I'll be back when I get back. :shrug: :)

 

Turtle down, but not out for the count! :shrug:

[Turtle]

Who's on first? Yew?

 

Who's on second?

Video processing.

 

 

Robins can be vicious. Good thing you have Eagle with you!

Tell me about it! You can hear mama bird screaming in the background, & I didn't realize it was even a Robin 'til I finally saw it ("THERE", says Eagle for the umpteenth time. I've edited out the video of me swinging the camera wildly to 'there'. :smart: :) ;)

Here's the vid: American Robin(s) - Turdus migratorius

>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McH3sR0L0ng

 

I recently attempted to key out some freshwater mussels I found and quickly learned why there's only a handful of people in this region that can correctly ID them. It should be much easier in the PNW as there's not really any native mussels. :shrug:

 

Argh...It might be the dreaded Zebra Mussel?!

 

Not sure, but he mentioned that. They are quite small, at least at the stage we found them, and it's dark now so I'll video them tomorrow in natural light. Maybe we can ID the plant too. :steering:

 

Turtle down, but not out for the count! :smart:

 

Nothing a few forest herbs can't fix. :ebluehair One more thing before I go get the next vid, and that is in ID'ing the Pacific Ninebark, I read that the Native Americans prized its upright growing young shoots for making arrows. Just so, I looked at the Ninebark with an arrow eye, and sure enough, one grand straight, clear shoot stood out and I recovered a 6 foot section and have it now drying.

 

BRB at...well, you know..............................:shrug:

[Turtle]

Hey diddle diddle,

The cat and the fiddle,

The cow jumped over the moon.

The little dog laughed to see such fun,

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

 

Who spoon? YEW SPOON! :shrug:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPV0D5_fmNw

[Cedars]

Hey diddle diddle,

The cat and the fiddle,

The cow jumped over the moon.

The little dog laughed to see such fun,

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

 

Who spoon? YEW SPOON! :eek_big:

 

hmph. I was waiting for a musical. Oh well.

 

Nice spoon btw.

[DougF]

Very nice spoon Turtle, :doh:

 

and I also think you found Robins in that nest. :eek_big:

[Turtle]

hmph. I was waiting for a musical. Oh well.

Nice spoon btw.

Who told you I'm a thespian? :lol: :D

 

Very nice spoon Turtle, ;)

and I also think you found Robins in that nest. :hihi:

 

Who told you I'm a thespian? Ermm....I mean, what spoon? :lol:

 

Here's the forest snail, the water plant, and the water shellfish found on the water plant. We see clearly that these water critters are not mussels, and not even bivalves, but rather some type of snail. No positive ID's yet on any of the three species. :eek_big:

 

 

 

 

[Turtle]

Not good. :lol: It's looking like the small snails may be the invasive New Zealand Mud Snail. :lol: :eek_big: See what you think: >> NEW ZEALAND MUD SNAIL, Additional Information

 

Edit: comparisons of NZMS to native species: >> New Zealand mudsnail in the Western USA

[freeztar]

Can you give more info on the plant Turtle? Was it completely submerged? Was it floating on the surface? If so, was it rooted?

 

Nice spoon yew! :eek_big:

[Turtle]

Can you give more info on the plant Turtle? Was it completely submerged? Was it floating on the surface? If so, was it rooted?

 

Nice spoon yew! :hihi:

 

Plant completely submerged, yes. It has rootlets along the stems and appears rooted to the rocks in the stream. I have a sample still in a baggy if you have some specifics I can look for. :lol: My books don't cover water plants in much breadth.

 

I was away videographing the little snails though, and I now don't think they are the New Zealand invaders. These have a bumply shell, the tip is missing on most if not all of them, and they go to 12mm + in size.

 

Will BRB with the video, and when I finish spooning yew, I'll post more photos.:lol: :eek_big:

[freeztar]

Plant completely submerged, yes. It has rootlets along the stems and appears rooted to the rocks in the stream. I have a sample still in a baggy if you have some specifics I can look for. My books don't cover water plants in much breadth.

 

This is a great site for aquatic plants in WA:

How to use An Aquatic Plant Identification Manual for Washington's Freshwater Plants

 

The reference list from that manual is quite extensive and it might be worth looking into some of those books. You might be able to get one cheap from Powell's.

 

I was away videographing the little snails though, and I now don't think they are the New Zealand invaders. These have a bumply shell, the tip is missing on most if not all of them, and they go to 12mm + in size.

 

I'll try to help with the ID, but I can't promise anything. Snails are foreign territory for my taxonomic knowledge.

 

Will BRB with the video, and when I finish spooning yew, I'll post more photos.:) :)

 

Eyes awaiting transmission...

 

I always knew yew were a cannibal. :hihi:

[Turtle]

This is a great site for aquatic plants in WA:

How to use An Aquatic Plant Identification Manual for Washington's Freshwater Plants

 

The reference list from that manual is quite extensive and it might be worth looking into some of those books. You might be able to get one cheap from Powell's.

I'll try to help with the ID, but I can't promise anything. Snails are foreign territory for my taxonomic knowledge.

 

Eyes awaiting transmission...

 

I always knew yew were a cannibal. :hihi:

 

Soilent Green is people. Roger source; thank you. :)

 

The video just came up finally. :) :) Likewise not a moluscularly informed individual myself, I may inadvertantly have videographed some snail genitalia here, as I see some 'protruberance' on one of the specimens. :eek: :doh: :D Here we go thens: >>

 

YouTube - Water Snails

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beteLwNba44