01 January 24, 2016 - 1st L gormanii

1/26/2016

18:50

Attached please find one/only wildflower walk, 2016, January 24. The first Lomatium gormanii.

I've inserted the photos into a word processor file, this time. I've had a little problem with the size of the photos, too small at first, then so large they caused blank areas. 

I don't expect to burden you with these often. 

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slatsz

1/24/2016

22:12

1/25/2016

18:10

1/25/2016

23:51

1/26/2016

13:54

1/26/2016

17:49

January 24, 2016 – Drumheller Springs Park

I got out to Drumheller Springs Park Sunday for the first time this year. I expected it to be covered with snow. It was mostly clear with large patches of snow.

Lomatium gormanii blossoms are just emerging from their … damn … a word escapes me … coverings. Sheathes. I saw no L. gormanii blossoms with extended flower stalks.

It was very nice of the sun to shine. There was plenty of light for macro photography. Unfortunately the photographer was very short of sleep and was very weak in the legs. My photos are … snapshots. And they are few. I had no patience for doing any more or any better.

I have, of course, processed a few of them in the computer so they aren’t impossible.

The green patch in the photo below is the rock outcrop with shallow dirt where Grant Cummings suggested I look for early L. gormanii, and that is where I find them, on the slope facing us.

I saw no buds on Ranunculus glaberrimus. I don’t think any of the leaves are fully developed. Most are tiny.

I was looking for the pointed leaves of var. ellipticus. They are alleged to prefer higher elevations and higher latitudes so one might expect them to develop first but it doesn’t seem to be so … remembering that my observations leave much to be desired.

I saw many somewhat elliptical R. glaberrimus leaves. I found only one among my photographs that seemed to show the parallel veins of var. ellipticus. Hmm. I wonder if the leaves of var. glaberrimus, though round, are parallel veined. There’s something wrong with this whole thing. Dicots are supposed to have net-veined leaves.

Oh, well. Better photos next time.

Draba verna is supposed to be a winter annual, germinating in the fall developing rosettes in winter. I haven’t remembered to look for its leaves in the fall. I check one small puddle of dirt on a basalt outcrop near south pond for early D. verna. I don’t remember ever not seeing leaves in it so maybe they develop in late fall or early winter.

D. verna often has red leaves and stems. I have read that red leaves are protection from dry heat and dry cold. I saw only green leaves, today. I only looked in one place, the place I always find early D. verna. [I see them everywhere, later.] It was fairly thick with D. verna leaves. There were some rather unhappy leaves of Montia linearis. 

I walked to locations, this side [south] of the main trail, where I have often found early stalks of Olsynium douglasii. I saw none. I walked across to the seeps running east into north pond where I find early O. douglasii and early Fritillaria pudica. No sign of anything interesting.

One thing of interest. I have assumed the early L. gormanii would be on slopes with southern exposure. There is a little slope to the north descending to the main trail and there were emerging L. gormanii blossoms to be seen on the slope.

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I did get a couple of fun images, two pretty little snail shells among the L. gormanii.

And I have one, not very good image of a single … damn … I’ve lost another word. No. There it is. An umbelet of L gormanii emerging from its sheath. Presumably leading the total inflorescence out into the snow and cold.

There was very little water in the vernal ponds. That surprised me. We had almost double the average precipitation in December and we will be a little over the average for January. The photo below is south pond. There is ice in the middle. In some past years I would have been up to my ankles in pond water standing there to take this photo.

I was only out in the park 50 minutes but I was exhausted. I was only up and down taking photos about three times. I did some crawling around.  

Needless to say I am annoyed at my weakness. And, of course, I’m swearing that I’m going to change that. But I’ve said that before. I have too much fun sitting here doing this.

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I was somewhat short of sleep. And I had worked out at the YMCA the previous evening. Oddly, I was quite strong for my workouts.

I need to get out to the park when I am fully rested and see if that doesn’t make a difference.

Unfortunately I’m never fully rested during winter daylight.

I need to change that, too.

Not likely. I like staying up all night.

*

Spring is creeping up on us, as unlikely as that may seem. See the evidence, above.

Later, slatsz

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An evening view from my window, a trick of light. z