Hylebos wetlands, revisited

Friday, December 7, 2017

Some of you may remember that I visited the Hylebos Wetlands close to home a month or so ago.  I told you I’d go back one day and spend more time there.  I did indeed go back and here are the photos. 🙂

Oh my word this place is so peaceful and so beautiful … and yet it’s right on the border between the major humanoid-packed cities of Tacoma and Federal Way.

This is a photo-heavy post because, as hard as I’ve tried, I just can’t delete any more photos from this group than I already have.  As usual, I again misjudged how much time I would spend exploring and how many photos I would take.  I do seem to become captivated and charmed by all manner of things, don’t I?  I spent several hours here this particular morning and took over 200 photos.  I’ll share about 40 photos here with you.

So grab a cup of tea or a glass of wine and enjoy.  Remember you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.  In fact, if you click on the photo above, and then enlarge it some more, you’ll be able to see the green feathers on the duck’s head and cheek and chest.  I’m fascinated with this duck’s bill, too.  What an interesting person this little person is.

Ok, here we go back to the Hylebos Wetlands.

We start at the old Barker cabin, built by John & Addie Barker around 1883, where they raised their three children.  Reportedly, there was already a dirt, single track road through the woods which ended at the conjunction of four pieces of property, each piece being 160 acres.  Four homes were built at that junction, one of them built by the Barkers.  It’s the only one remaining of the four.

We walk past the cabin and then down the path and into the wetlands.

 

 

 

Big Leaf Maple (acer macrophyllum), the largest of all maples.

Common Snowberry (symphoricarpos albus), part of the Honeysuckle family.

Salal (gaultheria shallon), an evergreen shrub that continues to be called by its Native American name.

Just an interesting little tree that continues to grow even with significant damage.

Ouch!

Sitka Spruce (picea sitchensis), the largest species of spruce in the world, is a favorite of Bald Eagles for roosting.

Sitka Spruce bark.

 

Here’s a little conundrum below.  I took photos of the trunks and bark of five different trees, but I did not write down what kinds of trees they were.  I really do not know the answer to this test!   Do you?

A.  Western Red Cedar?

B.  Douglas Fir?

C.  Douglas Fir?

D.  Rocky Mountain Juniper?

E.  Aspen?

I think C might be Douglas Fir … and maybe B as well.  I need to buy that tree book that reader Arlene recommended!

Throughout the Hylebos Wetlands, there is dry ground but also lots of ponds and rivulets, creeks and streams.  I could hear frogs.  And I could see and hear grasses rustling obviously from small mammals or amphibians or birds, although I didn’t see those critters.

Every once in a while I would hear a “SPLASH” behind me.  Turning as fast as I could, I still didn’t get turned around in time to see who made the splash.

 

 

 

Red Osier Dogwood (cornus stolonifera), identifiable by the reddish stems.  Butterflies feed on the nectar of the flowers.

False Lily-of-the-Valley (maianthemum dilatanum), an herb that spreads via underground rhizomes, is loved by birds for the plant’s red berries that last all winter.

 

 

Vine Maple (acer circinatum) splatter Pacific Northwest forests with brilliant color.

Jewelweed (impatiens capensis).

In due course, I came to the end of the wooden boardwalk by way of a most circuitous route.  There is just so much to see!  At the end of the boardwalk is this lovely pond.

Our friend, the duck (above) … the same one that’s in the first photo at the top of this blog post.

 

Bottom’s up!  Snack time!

I believe this is Forget-Me-Not (myosotis scorpioides).

Is this a variety of Viburnum?

 

I wish I could share the sounds of the wetlands with you … all of the bird sounds, the rustling of the trees from a slight breeze, croaking frogs, an occasional splash, a buzzing insect or two … but I didn’t take any video here.  Standing or sitting, listening and watching, experiencing the wetlands was amazingly soothing.

More Jewelweed.  It’s such a bright splash of color in a dark woodland setting.

Licorice Fern (polypodium glycyrrhiza or polypodium vulgare), commonly found growing right out of a tree trunk.

These may be Nootka Rose hips, although I can’t find a picture of ANY rose hips online that have these bright purple stems.  Do any of you folks know what this is?

 

Above and below … Western Red Cedar (thuja plicata), not a true cedar but rather a cypress.  It’s one of the most common evergreen trees in the Pacific Northwest.  The aroma of crushed foliage from this tree is simply delicious.  These trees can grow upwards of 230 feet tall and 13 feet in diameter.  It is long-lived with the oldest tree verified at 1460 years old.  If there is any tree that is truly loved by people from the Pacific Northwest, it is the Western Red Cedar.

 

And then it was time to meander back up the trail and head home.  I suspect I’ll be back here many times!

As usual, if anything I’ve said here … the plant names or anything else … is inaccurate or just plain wrong, please correct me.  I have a lot to learn.  Also, please add additional interesting information.  And tell us your best guesses for the types of trees in those photos of the tree bark.  Using a book is perfectly legal.  🙂  I guess a visit to my local book store is in order.