northwest summer: Greenhorn

Let me pick up from where I left off...

So it's Monday, and I just slept for 2 hours after the point count...I was told that Jay and Ari (no idea who they were at the time) would be back from Corvallis (where the university is) between 11 and 1 pm. So I sort of sat around until then: some unpacking, etc.

Well, nothing was happening, so I went and talked to Mark about my project and the Andrews forest in general. I'll write more about my project later I'm sure, but the basic idea is that I will most likely investigate the differences in methods in terms of the results they yield. Mark gave me a map that looks like this:

He also told me some interesting things about the topography of the area: the Andrews is in the Old Cascades, and to the east are the High (or new) Cascades. Since these ones are older, they are very eroded and quite steep (something I have indeed discovered). The newer Cascades are shield volcanoes, so they are apparently more spread out. And, now I have a lot of reading and learning to do!

So finally Jay and Ari came, and I went with them to collect the emergence traps from 3 streams. Emergence traps collect larvae as they emerge from the water after they hatch (get it?) and fly up to meet their demise in a tupperware full of antifreeze. The traps look like this:

It's amazing to me how different the patches of forest are. Some are old growth, and they have trees that are 500 ish years old and there's lots of moss and life etc. I like these the best. Then there are new growth in cut areas, and these trees are younger. But within these two categories, there is a lot of wiggle room, and I like that. And I'm starting to learn various plants in the forest!

I made couscous and roasted veggies for dinner--it was delicious! I have a feeling Ms. Carnivore Club will not be eating much meat for the next 10 weeks... :( I am planning to make bread soon, and Ari made a peanut butter pie!

I'm "new Sarah," and Terry (the fix-it man who makes planes in his shop and has a cat) called me Greenhorn--which reminded me of the one time I watched the Deadliest Catch...

OK--now for Tuesday (today)!

Jay, Ari, and I started out the day with chocolate (the love poem kind, with crystallized ginger). So we were off to a good start, and I went out with Jay today to collect the bugs from the Malaise traps. These traps use the same idea as the emergence traps: to collect insects who instinctually fly up when they are confused, like flys, wasps, moths, butterflies (not beetles...) These traps look like this:

Jay would start to look at the study plants while I emptied the antifreeze of the traps and sifted out the bugs (aka the good stuff). Just so you know, the antifreeze is non-toxic and does a nice job of preserving the bugs (to prevent rotting). The samples:

Then, I would join Jay with my cheat sheet and help him to identify plants and what developmental stage they were in. I've gotten pretty good at doing this with the vine maple and the twinflower, but the evergreen violet and trailing blackberries are still a struggle...

Oh, and there was snow!! Lots of it too! Proof: