Journal 2: Learning to Field Sketch

Part I: Revisiting my site

I went back to my site on the edge of Ravenna Creek Tuesday, October 20th at 12:30pm. It was 55 degrees and the weather was mostly sunny with some clouds, though it had been raining the morning and day prior so everything was damp. The creek seemed to be louder this week, possibly due to more running water from the rainfall. I saw less insects flying on and around the creek, however there were more birds this week and I heard many crows squawking. There were also more leaves most of which were from Alnus rubra, common name red alder trees. The leaves were oblong to round shaped with one main vein, dark green with about ten sharp ridges on the outside. I had incorrectly identified these leaves as Paper Birch last week due to the similarity of the white bark of both species, but looking again the ridges around the edge of the leaves are sharper than on Paper Birch trees.

My broader scale site week two. Not much has changed other than more leaves on the ground and less insects around the water.

My smaller scale site week two. Again, not much has changed but there are more leaves on the ground. The fungi I observed last week is still there.

I identified a few more new species this week. My favorite was evergreen huckleberry. Its leaves were shinier than any plant I had observed in Ravenna Park and a striking green color, and the branches were a beautiful reddish brown color. It really stood out with the sun shining directly on the glossy leaves and somehow reminded me of Christmas, maybe because of the green and red colors or because its shiny quality reminds me of holly?

Vaccinium Ovatum, common name evergreen huckleberry. Has alternating, dark green, shiny, ovoid shaped, sawtooth leaves and reddish brown branches. About a meter tall.

I identified several other shrubs with berries, including Rubus parvifolrus, common name thimbleberry and Symphoricarpos albus, common name common snowberry, however only the snowberry had berries.

I also identified more trees, such as western hemlock, Sitka spruce, and western redcedar.

Tsuga heterophyllum, common name western hemlock. The way the top of these trees and its branches droop down is my favorite thing about them. I had never really noticed they do that before I was trying to identify them, and now it makes me laugh how they look lazy in a way. Other than its drooping quality, this species can be identified by its flat needles which vary in size and have white stripes on the back. It has small pinecones, with thin and round scales.

Thuja plicata, common name Western redcedar, seems to be the most abundant tree in my broader observation area. They are large trees with J shaped branches and brown bark that looks like strips. It has opposite leaves that are scaly and spread out, and a yellow-green color.

I've really been enjoying my time spent in Ravenna Park and having a reason to get outdoors. This has been a much needed way to destress from other school work and just the state of the world. I'm looking forward to seeing the progress I make in my observations, identification, and sketching skills throughout the quarter!

Part II: Learning to Field Sketch