Submitted by Gary Hunt I took a hike above the Squitto Lake Forest Service Road wetland. In response to our recent rains, a number of mushroom species are fruiting, most are ones we don’t generally see until later in summer or fall.
Continue reading →Submitted by Margaret Graham. Photos by Adele Stapleton More than 20 people showed up for our field trip to Greenstone Mountain on Sunday, July 8. This trip has been taken during the Sunday closest to July 1 for about 25 years and it is a favourite of club members. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect.
Continue reading →A few days ago club member Lyn MacDonald was at the McArthur Island butterfly garden when she heard a commotion in the slough. She witnessed a river otter attacking an adult Canada goose. It killed the goose and carried it away to eat! Right now the geese are molting. It’s an annual occurrence where they drop all their feathers at once and will be flightless for 4-5 weeks. By September they’ll be flying again and have sturdy new feathers for fall migration. Unfortunately (for them) they are vulnerable to predation … Continue reading →
A few days ago, Glen Dreger sent me two pictures of a large mushroom he collected near Tunkwa Lake. I sent the photos to a mycologist colleague in Vancouver and he suggested that it was Neolentinus lepideus, having the common name of the “Train-Wrecker.” The common name derives from the fact that it is tolerant of several wood preservatives used to treat railroad ties, including creosote. In earlier days, before our current more effective wood preservatives, it was an important cause of rot in ties. This species is recorded as … Continue reading →
It is always enjoyable to share a new discovery even if it is a common thing that one should have seen before now. I was doing some recent field work south of Merritt in Douglas Fir forests. I was with botanist Kristi Iverson as I was nosing around in the understory of pinegrass (Calamagrostis rubescens.) I noticed several individual stalks of a tall, slender orchid that was unfamiliar to me, but Kristi quickly identified it as the Alaska rein-orchid (Piperia unalascensis) and introduced me to its delightful scent. You have … Continue reading →
Submitted by Margaret Graham. Photos by Adele Stapleton Two carloads of 8 ladies made the long trek along the Red Lake Road to Joan Best’s home in the Tranquille Valley. Having heard about Joan’s adventures in this isolated acreage where she has lived for 23 years, we were curious to see it before someone buys it as Joan has finally made the decision to move closer to town. We admired her little greenhouse and gazebo which she built herself. The garden was neat and tidy with a variety of flowers, … Continue reading →