Healing Gardens

DATE: January 22, 2007 TIME LOG: 3 hours

ACTIVITES:

I have contacted Lorn about getting together this week. In the meantime, I have been reconsidering pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata) and think we should try it. I want to schedule a field trip to another pine habitat.

I went to the site off of Brockdale Road in Shelton, where I searched for the transplantings that a previous class had done. I thought I found some, but want to go back with better shoes (I stupidly had on sandals as I had gone to visit Merilee). I plan to go back here with Lorn in the next couple of weeks. I think we should plan for the first Saturday in February for the field trip and will be inviting Loni and Kimberly along as well. Some sites I looked at today are:

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/herbhunters/pipsissewa.html

http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/chimaphilaumbe.html;http://

www.scienceviews.com/plants/pipsissewa.html

DATE: January 27, 2007 TIME LOG: 2 hours

ACTIVITES:

Lorn and I discussed in more detail what we need to do with the site. Next weekend we are going in search of pipsissewa and pines in the Skokomish area. After talking to Marja, I learned that we need to wait on the sod removal until we have procured the plants to replace it. Right now, there is not much to do except procure plants and I will be working on that this week.

DATE: February 3, 2007 TIME LOG: 8 hours

ACTIVITIES:

Lorn, Loni, Kimberly, and myself met in Shelton and drove to the Skokomish in search of Bear grass and Pipsissewa. We hiked at Brown's Creek Campground, but did not find what we were looking for. There were many Big Leaf Maples, Oregon Grape, and even some Grand Fir. On the way out, we came upon a very nice patch of Bear Grass and are going to find out this week if it would be ok to sustainably harvest some of it for the prairie. We then drove back to Brockdale Road where Marja said we might find Pipsissewa. We didn't have to go far to find it as there were beds of it lining the forest edge off the side of the road. We are going to plan a day when we can go back and harvest some of it.

We learned that wetlands may look like prairies in the summer, but the truth comes out in the winter. Brown's Creek had a beautiful wetland and hopefully we will be able to post some pictures soon. We also saw some intermittent wild lilies that we mistook for beargrass.

DATE: January 27, 2007 TIME LOG: 1.5 hours?

I was unable to fulfill my hours this week and could not get a hold of my partner.  I hope to put in extra hours this coming weekend to make up for it.  I spent 1.5 hours on Saturday (I don't know if this counts) pruning the plants at our site.   

DATE: February 17, 2007 TIME LOG: 4 hours

ACTIVITIES:

Lorn and I discussed what plants to put in the area and divided them up for signage.  We already have previous information in Salal and Douglas fir and are doing research this weekend on the others.  We are researching Douglas fir, bear grass, fescue, pine identification, oyster mushrooms, chicken of the woods, salal, kinnickinick, oceanspray and oat grass.

I don't believe that the pine trees that are on our site are truly Lodgepoles and will be properly identifying them in the coming week.