About two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to wander around some forestland in southeastern King County. As a Level IV Ecoregion, the area is classified as Eastern Puget Uplands, part of the Level III Puget Lowland Ecoregion. The Eastern Puget Uplands are a transition zone from the Puget lowlands to the higher working forests on the western slope of the Cascade Range. The country is gently rolling having been smoothed, packed, and carved by over 2,000 feet of glacial ice and resulting meltwater. The walking was easy along the primitive roads and trails that I followed through the forest. The forest here is second growth but is well advanced in age, maybe more than 80 years old, judging by the girth of the trees. Scattered about the forest floor were giant decaying cedar stumps with springboard notches still visible. The trees were a mix of western redcedar, western hemlock, and Douglas fir with an understory of western sword fern, salmonberry, and salal. Missing were other conifers of the Puget Trough; grand fir, western white pine, and Sitka spruce.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge.
We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
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The area I walked is located on the eastern fringe of Pugetopolis where wooded tracts and working forestlands are giving way to residential “villages” of single-family homes, multi-family housing, shopping centers, and schools. The forestland I wandered had already been surveyed and wetlands delineated, all bound up in an impact study. My task was not to judge but to observe. It will be years before this property is developed, if at all.
Here’s a quick reference to Ecoregions mentioned in the opening; more information is here:
Ecoregions
You can download a map for your state via the link. It’s pretty cool to see how the land is divided into ecoregions. Here is a screenshot for my region, the general area I walked is highlighted:
WARNING: There is a slug photo in this bucket in case slugs make you throw up a little in your mouth. Proceed at your own risk.
RonK’s bucket a couple weeks ago had me thinking of nurse logs and other natural tree patterns. I found what I think was a nurse log. Four or so decent-sized western hemlock are lined up along a moss-covered decaying log. It’s hard to see.
I didn’t see much wildlife. A pair of red-breasted sapsuckers were moving about in the higher branches. I was told that there were elk here. I found traces of elk tracks, but I expect that most had moved to higher elevations by now. Lifting a piece of bark on the forest floor revealed a small millipede. A came across a banana slug, a Pacific northwest icon (you were warned).
Wildflowers were few and subtle, which is typical of the forest floor here. A new wildflower for me was Nuttall’s Toothwort. I’d never come across one before and found it in only one small location.
Moss were everywhere in great variety. I included a couple of photos of moss that are physically larger than typical moss. Moss are nonvascular plants and therefore have no way to convey water and nutrients as vascular plants do. Moss rely on moist conditions. When conditions become dry, moss shrivel up, but rapidly restore themselves when moist conditions return.
There are few habitats free of invasive plants. I came across several invasives including Scotch Broom and Bull Thistle, both classified as noxious weeds in Washington.
What’s going on in your natural world? What are you seeing? What is the weather like?
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