Diario de meganwaskom

Started in a flat, grassy field maintained by human intervention (11:30 am), with Scotch Broom and other brush-type plants ringing the outside of the field before the tree line. Most coniferous trees had cones, and almost all deciduous trees did not have leaves yet. It was approximately 39 degrees Fahrenheit. Within the trail from the forest, many different types of conifers were observed, covered in many different types of moss and lichens. The group headed back to the field and broke for lunch, returning and heading the opposite direction to explore the other side of the forest from our meeting spot.
Farther than 30 feet within the trail, under the tree cover, many under story plants, including Oregon Grape and 4ft or shorter Madrones grow along the path. Red Flowering Currant flowered from the wet, muddy ground in the forest. Indian Plum, not yet flowering, grew to 5 ft or taller in height deeper within the forested area. The area outside the path was carpet with lichen on trees and logs, moss and ground cover plants. A vole was spotted a few yards into the trees, with the very muddy ground creating a shifting surface to walk on. By mid-afternoon the temperature had risen to approximation 43 degrees Fahrenheit.

A large ant hill, 2 ft in diameter at its widest and 3 ft tall, was built out of pines needles and other vegetation near the edge of a pond covered in green algae. The ants were dark brown with dark red heads. The trek ended beck near the Rhododendron plant near the edge of the same clearing.

Our class went out into the field near the Urban Horticultural Center to study the local fauna, where I observed many different types of low growing plants, insects and bird populations. There were many different kinds of fungi and mushrooms, as well as dragonflies around the ponds and cattails. Their were robins, crows, seagulls and song sparrows, as well as great blue herons and other bird species that I couldn't readily identify.
The weather was cold and windy, with total cloud cover and light precipitation later in the afternoon. We were there from 1:30-3:30 pm, learning how to sketch the local flora and fauna and better describe the descriptive features of these plants.

I went to the park knowing that I needed a lot more species to add to my intauralist account, and that the park is set up to be as untouched as possible to mimic some of the characteristics of old growth forests, such as nurse logs, snags and old growth trees. I heard a lot of bird species even with the rain (there was heavy precipitation, mid 40's with total cloud cover when I went at 3 in the afternoon) including I think an owl, although I'm not sure.
I mostly cataloged species we hadn't gone over in class, as a lot of the plants in the park are at a slightly different climate and habitat than the places we have visited so far. I saw but didn't add to my account red flowering currant, Himalayan Blackberry, salal and other plants that we had already gone over in class.
These plants are harder for me to identify, but I believe they are all native species or at least naturalized species, as the park custodians try to remove invasive species when they crop up in the park.
There were a lot more mushroom species in the park than I would have thought for this time of year, and I tried to document all of the ones I could reach near the stream beds and on dead trees.

Weather- Overcast, mid 50's
Mid afternoon

These were plants observed in the West Seattle area, most likely planted as part of the decorative foliage for the neighborhood. I'm not sure if any of these plants would grow in a untamed situation without any human intervention, but they are quite common in my neighborhood and are also worth mentioning, as they dominate the landscape and must have some impact on the local flora and fauna if only through the volume available in the area. there is also many squirrels, crows, raccoon, possums and mice as well as rats in the area, which are able to adapt to the suburban landscape to their advantage.