Ravenna Park, Seattle, WA. 2012/5/6

Ravenna Park, Seattle, WA. 11:00.

I decided that I would go on a run today...For the first time in two months. While the idea seemed excruciating at the time, it was simply too nice outside to pass up the opportunity. I stretched for around twenty minutes in the beautiful 60 degree weather and took off. I did not know where I was going to go, but then I realized I could go to Ravenna, run the trails, and when I got too tired I could keel over into the grass and do some Natural History.

This is exactly what I ended up doing. When I had rested enough, I set out and participated in categorizing my environment. I decided that the best means of doing so would be to follow the path that I had ran. I started out at the southeastern entrance to the park and meandered inwards. First I was able to see a dense understory of Sword Ferns (Polystichum munitum), Salal (Gaultheria shallon), Stinging Nettles (Urtica doica) and various wild grasses (Poaceae).

Amongst the understory was a variety of Bigleaf Maple (Acer Macrophyllum), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Madrone (Arbutus menziesii), and Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata). These trees in general seemed to dominate the landscape, and appeared to be doing quite well in spite of being in the middle of a vast and harsh cityscape.

In addition to the flora present, I also saw a variety of animals as well. These included four Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), two of which were in the understory of the park searching for food amidst the Salal, one of which was in a Western Red Cedar, and the last of which was in the picnic area bounding through the grass.

I also saw a Raccoon (Procyon lotor) hiding in a tree above a trash can in the park watching me intently. Perhaps it was hoping that I would drop a snack of some kind outside of the garbage can (the can appeared to be very well taken care of. Perhaps the raccoon was hoarding the trash, or maybe there was little trash to begin with).

I also saw an Opossum crossing the road on my way back home. It was around 1/2m long and was moving very quickly. This is the second time that I ever remember seeing a live Opossum. It had no young with it, so I assumed it to be a male.

I head a variety of birds, but the only ones that I could pick our were Crows, Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia), and American Robins (Turdus migratorius).

Corvus brachyrhynchos
Melospiza melodia
Turdus migratorius

Didelphimorphia
Procyon lotor
Sciurus carolinensis

Gaultheria shallon
Poaceae
Polystichum munitum
Urtica doica

Acer Macrophyllum
Arbutus menziesii
Pseudotsuga menziesii
Thuja plicata

Publicado el 05 de junio de 2012 a las 03:12 PM por ablevins