Environmental Study Of Lechtenberg Park

[freeztar]

Sweet! I'll change the title on the photo ASAP. Interesting that the Washington map from USDA on its distribution shows no record of it where I found it (Southern Clark County Washington).

Washington County Level Distribution for Platanthera dilatata (scentbottle) | USDA PLANTS

 

Let them know. That's how they build those maps, from confirmed sitings. Of course they'll probably want to confirm it themselves, which could take forever.

I'll follow up on the other ID's as well. Thanks very much for all your help. One note, the big tree I'm climbing with the tasty fern is a Garry Oak rather than Big Leaf Maple.

 

Ah yes, I see that now. I assumed it was a big leaf because you typically see the moss growing on the older big leafs, plus those oaks aren't that common around those parts anymore.

 

No need to thank me btw. It is I who should be thanking you. This is the best form of entertainment for me. :)

 

My colleague confirmed my id of the heal all but he noted that the yarrow could also be valerian (Valeriana officinale). We would need to see more detail to confirm or deny. He could not give consensus for the Myosotis because there are no leaves in the scan. He also said, "That guy should put a ruler alongside when he scans". :doh:

 

I'm thinking that I soon as I tire of my own study of Lechtenberg, I'll bring it to the attention of the botany departments at the local college and/or university. It would make a great student lab I think. :doh: :lol:

 

Indeed it would. Maybe not such a great place for younger ones though, with all the whores around. :eek: :lol:

 

Cheers mate. :)

[Turtle]

I spent 4 hours at Lechtenberg yesterday and took friends Buffalo and Golden Eagle. Reports to follow.

 

...Ah yes, I see that now. I assumed it was a big leaf because you typically see the moss growing on the older big leafs, plus those oaks aren't that common around those parts anymore. ...

I collected a sample of the moss and will post a scan presently. I took the moss from the garry oak that Racoon photographed me climbing, and my helpers and I measured its circumference at 91". Of particular interest to me is finding the Garry Oaks have acorns this year, which I have seen none of for many years on local oaks. It is not a large mast crop, but the few acorns I found are large & well-formed. I collected 2; photos WIGATI* yada yada yada.

 

No need to thank me btw. It is I who should be thanking you. This is the best form of entertainment for me. :hyper:

 

Excellent! My pleasure...let me, entertain you... :note:

 

"That guy should put a ruler alongside when he scans".

My bad; I am nothing if not inconsistant. :hyper:

 

The Herons have all left the nesting colony. Perhaps they will return next year to resuse the nests?

 

I collected the skull & lower jaw of a small mammal, but I don't know for sure what it is. Racoon possibly. Photos to follow in good time.

 

The Oregon Ash is all affected by what I suspect is leaf rust. I did have a leaf sample I intended to scan but it seems to have dropped out of my notebook somewhere along the way. In spite of the leaf damage, they are producing seed.

 

Deer scat both pelletized and compacted in abundance. Also found scat from a carnivore; a 5" long loop of 3/4" diameter and containing hair. Going on size, I suspect either Black Bear or Coyote. No tracks in evidence.

 

At the boundary we found 3 large boulders, 2 of which we could not lift even with Buffalo's help. The smaller stone however-around 250+ lbs. we guestimate-we three lifted and placed on another to form a cairn.

 

Will post more later when I have my notes & self more organized. I miss my video camera! :(

 

 

*When I Get Around To It

[Turtle]

Here is a 400 dpi scan of the moss, complete with rule and inset zoom. Looks like posssibly 2 different species here? :turtle:

 

[Hill]

45º 38' 50" N

122º 27' 37.35" W

 

I found this park a number of months ago using several map programs to explore my area, and I am bound & determined to look into it's ecological condition for myself.

 

On my menu so far is a bird survey, plant survey, water level & streambed condition, animal poop survey, and trails.

 

 

I read this thread today Turtle. Great work by all exploring and categorizing.

 

I worked as a naturalist (i.e. trail teacher) for LAUSD in the San Gabriel Mts. north of Los Angeles for 16 years. I began to consider myself a real naturalist only after a large brush fire wiped out most of the chaparral in our valley and barely spared the buildings. I botanized lots at first keeping track of what was re-appearing out of the soil and identifying plants of our deep canyon which had survived the flames. I photographed 1 sq meter plots periodically the keep track of regrowth. Wildlife came next, especially birds when I tried to find how many species lived in our valley. i figured maybe 20 - I eventually identified over 120. I did a lot of weather measurements (rainfall, wind, cloud movements and photography, microclimates, etc) Since it was fairly dark at night, I also became an amateur astronomer.

*34.2773°, -118.172°

That 200 acres ( * ) had so much to teach me! I never got bored with it. I ended up with many thousands of pictures, 2250 pages of notebook entries, a good-sized stack of index cards, and a lot of knowledge not only of that valley, but of the way the world works. If only the internet was available then with its information and willing helpers. I did most of the work on my own with help from a few of the many people who knew much more than I do. I found field guides were invaluable for at least narrowing down the possibilities. I think I have about 6 linear feet of them in my bookshelves. There are guides birds, animal tracks, ferns, flowering plans - you name it.(I like the Peterson field guides, but there are many others that specialize in specific areas of the country that are invaluable.)

Be careful, this little investigation can grow on you :hyper:.

 

My first suggestion, raccoon has 2 c's

My second, a good solid tripod for photos and videos would be a help with others hoping to share in animal id's.

The use if the scanner is brilliant:lightbulb. It beats a plant press for much of what you need to do.

 

With the moss, you seem to have the leaf and the capsules, which may give the appearance of two species. Mosses

[Turtle]

I read this thread today Turtle. Great work by all exploring and categorizing.

 

I worked as a naturalist (i.e. trail teacher) for LAUSD in the San Gabriel Mts. north of Los Angeles for 16 years. I began to consider myself a real naturalist only after a large brush fire wiped out most of the chaparral in our valley and barely spared the buildings. I botanized lots at first keeping track of what was re-appearing out of the soil and identifying plants of our deep canyon which had survived the flames. I photographed 1 sq meter plots periodically the keep track of regrowth. Wildlife came next, especially birds when I tried to find how many species lived in our valley. i figured maybe 20 - I eventually identified over 120. I did a lot of weather measurements (rainfall, wind, cloud movements and photography, microclimates, etc) Since it was fairly dark at night, I also became an amateur astronomer.

*34.2773°, -118.172°

That 200 acres ( * ) had so much to teach me! I never got bored with it. I ended up with many thousands of pictures, 2250 pages of notebook entries, a good-sized stack of index cards, and a lot of knowledge not only of that valley, but of the way the world works. If only the internet was available then with its information and willing helpers. I did most of the work on my own with help from a few of the many people who knew much more than I do. I found field guides were invaluable for at least narrowing down the possibilities. I think I have about 6 linear feet of them in my bookshelves. There are guides birds, animal tracks, ferns, flowering plans - you name it.(I like the Peterson field guides, but there are many others that specialize in specific areas of the country that are invaluable.)

Be careful, this little investigation can grow on you :note:.

 

My first suggestion, raccoon has 2 c's :hyper:

My second, a good solid tripod for photos and videos would be a help with others hoping to share in animal id's.

The use if the scanner is brilliant:lightbulb. It beats a plant press for much of what you need to do.

 

With the moss, you seem to have the leaf and the capsules, which may give the appearance of two species. Mosses

 

I tried to find something to edit out of your post in the interest of brevity, but without success.

 

First, I was going to edit all my misspellings of that masked mammal, but found justification not to as at least one dictionary lists my spelling of 'racoon' as a variant spelling. >> racoon - definition of racoon by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

 

I do have a tripod, but now my camera is fried. :( Sorry for no photos from yesterdays trip. It may be some time before I can afford a repair or replacement. As only the tape mechanism ist kapoot, I can get photos/video within 3 feet of the computer via fire-wire. Stay tuned on this note for a shot of the acorns as well as some rose hips from a mulit-flora rose I collected.

 

On the scanner, the detail at 1200 dpi is even more impressive. In the interest of sparing bandwidth I compromise as much as possible in posting these high-res scans.

 

I will follow up on your moss link; takk!

 

If you have the interest, perhaps you would like to start a thread in the Environmental Studies section on your San Gabriel Mts. work?

 

My little explorations have grown on me enough to declare myself Chief Forest Warden & Grand Protector of Lechtenberg while in the bush yesterday. :( Seems I have thrown caution to the wind. :hyper: Thanks for your interest Hill et al.

[Hill]

First, I was going to edit all my misspellings of that masked mammal, but found justification not to as at least one dictionary lists my spelling of 'racoon' as a variant spelling. >> racoon - definition of racoon by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

 

:) My Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition on CD says the same. I guess I should not have been too surprised to find that is an acceptable spelling, considering that it came from the Algonquin language, and was originally rendered in English as raugroughcun or arocoun. I was recently reading excerpts from the journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition*. Talk about inventive spelling! But they were from an era when there was no standard dictionary available to everyone; Webster came later.

 

*

...Mr. Blaze Cenasbeing unacquainted with the management of the gun suffered her to discharge herself accedentaly the ball passed through the hat of a woman about 40 yards distanc cuting her temple about the fourth of the diameter of the ball; shee fell instantly and the blood gusing from her temple we were all in the greatest consternation supposed she was dead by [but] in a minute she revived to our enespressable satisfaction, and by examination we found the wound by no means mortal or even dangerous...

And...

 

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef,but the wrod as a wlohe.

Or rather...

According to a researcher (sic) at Cambridge University, it doesn't matter in what order the letters in a word are, the only important thing is that the first and last letter be at the right place. The rest can be a total mess and you can still read it without problem. This is because the human mind does not read every letter by itself but the word as a whole.

:eek2::hihi:

[Turtle]

:) My Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition on CD says the same. I guess I should not have been too surprised to find that is an acceptable spelling, considering that it came from the Algonquin language, and was originally rendered in English as raugroughcun or arocoun. I was recently reading excerpts from the journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition*. Talk about inventive spelling! But they were from an era when there was no standard dictionary available to everyone; Webster came later.

 

I've read of bit of the journals myself and agree it is...uhmmm...quaint. The Camas we discussed earlier suffers the same affliction, coming from the Native word 'quamash' if I recall. I find a certain satisfaction knowing Lewis & Clark & company passed by on the Columbia River just 4 or 5 miles from Lechtenberg.

 

Here's another scan from Saturday's collecting; the seeds from an Oregon Ash - Fraxinus latifolia. (click image to open full-size view in separate window)

 

 

[Turtle]

Acorns from Garry Oak - Quercus garryana: 1/4" grid

 

[Turtle]

Rose hips from what I believe is Multiflora rose - Rosa multiflora. This is an invasive species, so I will remove any I find in the future.

 

Read more :) >> http://na.fs.fed.us/fhp/invasive_plants/weeds/multiflora-rose.pdf

 

[Turtle]

Yet unidentified skull from the forest. Gotta be a mammal. Rac©oon? The back of the skull is missing, having been chewed away by brain-eaters. :D Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone is not out to get you. :) :pirate:

 

[Hill]

Yet unidentified skull from the forest. Gotta be a mammal. Rac©oon? The back of the skull is missing, having been chewed away by brain-eaters. :eek: Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone is not out to get you. :Alien:

 

Mmmmm - brains. :D

It looks like the correct i.d. to me.

Raccoon Skull- four views - [email protected]

[Turtle]

Mmmmm - brains. :D

It looks like the correct i.d. to me.

Raccoon Skull- four views - [email protected]

 

Great! :D The link includes a tag for rabies! :eek: :eek: Looking at the drawings, I see some significant difference to my skull...err...the skull I collected. :Alien: My specimen does not show the 'lump' on the snout and has considerably wider 'backs' to the lower mandibles. I have another couple views to post.

 

Thanks for helping Hill. Just the kind of brain picking I favor. :eek:

[Cedars]

I am thinking opossum skull due to the exposed roots on the teeth how flat it is.

 

Virginia Opossum Skull

http://www.goosefoot.com/images/opossum.JPG

 

With the raccoon, the skull is rounder and the teeth are embedded into the jawbone better.

 

http://www.skullsunlimited.com/graphics/Raccoon_Skull.jpg

[freeztar]

I concur.

Although it might not be racoon...

It might be raccoon.

[Turtle]

I am thinking opossum skull due to the exposed roots on the teeth how flat it is.

 

Virginia Opossum Skull

http://www.goosefoot.com/images/opossum.JPG

 

With the raccoon, the skull is rounder and the teeth are embedded into the jawbone better.

 

http://www.skullsunlimited.com/graphics/Raccoon_Skull.jpg

 

The opposum looks a closer match in profile. The exposed root looks like maybe it was chewed though? Can't be too many other choices either. Here's an interior view of the jaw & skull.

 

[Cedars]

The opposum looks a closer match in profile. The exposed root looks like maybe it was chewed though? Can't be too many other choices either. Here's an interior view of the jaw & skull.

 

 

Are the teeth on both sides exposed equally?

 

There does appear to be alot of chewing on the skull from the back of it forward, but the front part of the skull looks to be in pretty good condition, once its dried out.

 

I have my opossum skull in storage at this time, so I cant just dig it out and photograph it for comparison.

[Turtle]

Are the teeth on both sides exposed equally?

 

There does appear to be alot of chewing on the skull from the back of it forward, but the front part of the skull looks to be in pretty good condition, once its dried out.

 

I have my opossum skull in storage at this time, so I cant just dig it out and photograph it for comparison.

 

Good call. Yes; equal exposure as you suggest. Here's the right-side view.