Lost Valley Nature Center e-newsletter #16

November 23, 2006

Dear friend of the Nature Center,

Happy Thanksgiving!

We've had many things to be thankful for over the past month.

One: diverse, varying weather that never becomes boring. From dense fog to brilliant sunshine to drenching downpours, from still, quiet afternoons to gusting winds which topple trees, from balmy evenings to freezing nights, we've had just about every weather event imaginable for this time of year, with the exception of lightning, hail, or snow. (Also noticeably absent have been dramatic geological events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and meteor impacts.) Our area has already had almost twice its normal rainfall for November, with a week still left in the month, but it's come in concentrated periods, with some dry, partly sunny days in between. During these breaks in the weather, we've made significant further progress on Scotch broom elimination in the new forest and Armenian blackberry removal in the older forest around the dormitories, and have improved footing on the Creek Trail leading to the restoration area.

Two: leaves. Most of these have now fallen off of the deciduous trees, but not without spectacular displays of color. They're now on their way to becoming soil. And non-deciduous broadleaf trees and shrubs, like madrone and salal, are helping keep the woods green.

Three: needles. Our evergreen conifers keep photosynthesizing all winter, their deep greens dominating the landscape, especially at this time of year.

Four: lichens, mosses, and liverworts. These come into their own in the rainy season, just as the deciduous trees lose their leaves. Oak, ash, cascara, and many other deciduous species here (as well as, to a lesser extent, many conifers, especially older and open-grown ones) are draped with beautiful light-green lichen threads, fiber bundles, tapestries, webs, pendants, and "fuzzies," while their barks host innumerable multicolored crusts. All of this is thanks to the fact that fungi and algae, fungi and cyanobacteria, and sometimes all three types of organism have found ways to cohabit. Mosses and liverworts become more prominent as well, some emerging from full or partial estivation, coating tree trunks and limbs, forming mini-forests on the forest floor and on decomposing logs.

Five: twigs, branches, bark, and the skeletons of summertime herbs, which are all more visible now, revealing another dimension to plants once clothed in green.

Six: mushrooms. These fruiting fungal bodies have been popping up all over, helping put the visual and gustatory "fun" back into fungi.

Seven: tree frogs. A few individuals seem to be starting up their mating calls already, whenever the impulse strikes--or perhaps they're just practicing.

Eight: fruit. Apples and crabapples still hang from many trees; rose hips are in their prime; a few isolated salal berries, those not yet ruined by water and cold, still await consumption and/or decay; and snowberries begin their annual supplication to birds to consume them so as to spread their seeds and prove the field guides correct.

Nine: birds. Flocks of dark-eyed juncos have been the most prominent, especially around the edges of the meadow, but a range of other sparrows, chickadees, and familiar wintertime residents have been making the rounds as well. The most ethereal singer has been the varied thrush; the most colorful feathering among recent sightings belongs to the red-breasted sapsucker. Off-site, field trips with Dave Bontrager's classes have turned up, most memorably, red-shouldered hawks and short-eared owls.

Ten: Nature Center members. Some of you have already responded to our October 30 membership renewal request letter. You will all receive individual letters of acknowledgment before the end of the year, but in the meantime: thank you for your continued support of the Nature Center's growth.

Eleven: all those who have helped in the visioning of next year's Nature Center events, which are still in the planning stages but have been making significant progress (details follow).

Twelve: the cycle of the year, in which all things have their season, and ultimately provide the compost or food for new life and renewal. (This is true even for those things that are harder initially to be thankful for, like the landscape-induced injuries that can beset those of us who, while falling in love with the land, sometimes fall on it.)

Thirteen: good luck, specifically the good luck of being alive on a planet with water, oxygen, carbon, moderate temperatures, four-and-a-half billion years under its belt, and a host of other desirable characteristics.

Fourteen: the following events, all in the planning stages for 2007, with details yet to be confirmed but with substantial enthusiasm among potential participants in each (note: dates have changed on the July and October events since the last e-newsletter, and all of these descriptions are still tentative):

This is envisioned as a collaborative event between the Nature Center and Lost Valley's Ecovillage and Permaculture Certification Programs. The Social Permaculture element is expected to compose a major part of the weekend, involving in-depth presentations and activities related to the "social and personal sustainability" elements of Permaculture. The Nature Center track is expected to include walks, presentations, and hands-on activities related to a range of topics, with participants in the weekend able to "mix and match" from among the Ecology and Social Permaculture elements. Likely topics include: Winter Twigs; Stream Ecology and Creek Restoration; Birds of Early Spring; Lichens, Mosses, and Liverworts; Lost Valley Geology; Nature Center overview and tour. (Event description and dates are tentative.)

We will be seeking common ground between the Native Plant and Permaculture communities in developing ecologically-integrated self-sustenance and native habitat preservation in the Pacific Northwest.
* presentations about various perspectives on indigenous and exotic plants, including human uses and ecological relationships
* facilitated panel discussions and discussion circles
* plant walks
* garden and Permaculture tours
* resource tables and networking
* music, games, and community-building
* hands-on projects
* meals made from organic, homegrown, and wildcrafted food
* overnight lodging and camping available
Schedule overview:
Friday afternoon: informal tours and socializing.
Friday evening: concert with Laura Kemp (see www.laurakemp.com).
Saturday and Sunday: walks, talks, discussions and activities related to the roles of native and nonnative plants in our cultivated and noncultivated landscapes.
Possible topics for walks, workshops, presentations, and panel discussions include the following: Bringing Back Native Food Crops; Indigenous Land Management; Native Plant-Animal Interactions and Relationships (including birds, butterflies, mammals); What Is the Role of Nonnatives?; Wildflower, Tree, and Shrub Walks; Natural Landscaping; Economic Uses of Native Plants; Evolving a Bioregional Permaculture; and more.
We are seeking groups to co-sponsor (see www.lostvalley.org/nature2007maysponsor), as well as individuals willing to contribute financially to help this event happen.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving,

Chris