Spring green

Between rain storms, I headed off to a different park yesterday, just a few blocks south of where I usually go at Green Timbers Park.

It’s called Bear Creek Park and it’s much more developed, with a fitness track, playing fields, gardens, sculptures and various other features. It’s also at an ever so slightly lower elevation, so the buds are just little further along.

One thing I love about the new growth in spring is the colour of the leaves. They’re a vibrant green, and with some trees like cottonwood, you can even smell the newness. As the spring and summer pass, the leaves take on a deeper green and harden up for the heat of late summer and fall.

Everything has a cycle.

I was quite happy with the shot above from Nikon’s 28-300 lens. For a walkabout lens, it’s reasonably sharp and quite versatile. When I was using a DX camera, I loved the 18-200 lens that Nikon offered. The 28-300 offers about the same range on my full frame cameras.

Second Growth

In the 1930’s, the area that is now Green Timbers Park in Surrey was clearcut for rail ties and lumber. It was the last untouched stand of trees in the area, and the cut got people so angry at the Province that the Province decided not to develop it further. In the end, they protected a full section (640 acres) of land.

In fact, it became the first reforestation project in the Province of BC. At it’s peak, there was a nursery producing 3-5 million trees a year and a reforestation research station on the site that served the entire province.

It was also a demonstration project. Some of the area was replanted and tended carefully. (Heh, each tree was planted by a local dignitary and most remain today.) Other areas were just replanted and left to grow, or left alone to regenerate naturally. The difference is quite marked as you walk through the park.

These trees are about 85 years old and are in an area that was planted and left on its own. They did pretty well, compared to other areas that grew back naturally. Those areas are still heavy with hardwoods (Alder, Cottonwood) and brush, with fewer conifers.

There were a few historical buildings left from the original nursery, and they’ve become a nature centre. Much of the park remains, although development has eaten bits away here and there.

It’s a beautiful place to wander about, especially on a sunny day.

Small, occasional life in the forest

Yesterday in the park, I noticed this jelly fungus sprouting on a fence. It was hard not to see the bright orange on the old fence, and I saw it on a couple of logs as well.

Apparently conditions were just right for a bit of sporulation.

I guess it’s not really ‘occasional life in the forest’. The fungus would be there all year. What I noticed was the fruiting body; the rest of it is feeding inside the wood.

Ahh, spring

Well, after a week or two of snow and rain storms, the skies finally cleared out today. So with the sun calling, I went for a walk, and look what I found. Don’t ya just love spring?

Sometimes you’re at the right place at the right time

Occasionally I’m there when a Great Blue Heron has a catch.

Testing a blog import – update

[Update: Well, the import seems to have gone well and I now have posts back as far as 2005.

Next step will be to go back through them and check the links. I did note a few back in the beginning that don’t seem to work.]

I’m going to try an import from a Squarespace blog.

Sorry if it creates a flurry of activity in anyone’s feed.

Later winter snow

Winter. Glad it’s just about over, but I have to admit, it can be a pretty time.

This was the south end of Green Timbers Lake a couple of days ago, between storms. It warmed up quite a bit, and the path around the lake alternated between snow and snow free.

At this point, I was wishing I’d worn something other than sneakers. Man, was it slippery. But it was pretty, so I stopped and pulled out the iPhone. What you don’t see off to the right is some nut fishing in the shade 😉

Another sign of spring

We had snow last weekend, and now I hear we’re expecting more again tonight. Between storms, it clears and melts and mostly just freezes at night. The days are lovely though.

Again from yesterday – despite the snow, just one more sign of spring.

A bad day fishin’

I was out walking around a local lake yesterday and noticed this for the first time.

This is at one of a couple of spots along the shore, where some old gents periodically arrive on their electric bikes and settle in for a day of fishing. I suspect it’s mostly a social thing, and they seem to enjoy it immensely.

When I noticed this yesterday, I wondered if these floats belong to different people, or is it just one slow learner 😉 Clearly the alder tree is in the wrong spot.

Marsh grasses

A while back, I was out at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta, BC. There was a small dock out on the marsh that gave a nice view of the native grasses growing there. I guess when the seeds fall, they’re food for all the birds that migrate through the area each year.