Looking at Leaves & Flowers

Several of the early blooms at Paradise Meadows are worth a closer look to distinguish between flowers of similar appearance. With the assistance of expert botanists, I have learned to look at leaves for definitive identification.

Pink Mountain-heather Buds

A classic shrub of the subalpine, pink mountain-heather is starting to bloom in the meadows. There should be a good showing this year. The buds are in clusters atop small evergreen-like branches with needle-like leaves.

Western Bog-laurel Buds

The pink buds of western bog-laurel are exactly the same colour as the pink heather, and also in clusters. The leaves however are wider – lance-shaped, and leathery.

Pink Mountain-heather (Phyllodoce empetriformis)

When the flowers open, the blooms of the pink heather are bell-shaped.

Western Bog-laurel (Kalmia microphylla)

The bog-laurel flowers are cup-shaped when open, with the stamens tucked into pouches in the petals, until sprung by pollinating insects.

Stream Violet (Viola glabella)

Yellow violets also require a closer look at the leaves to distinguish between two that are blooming now. The stream violet or yellow wood violet has heart-shaped, pointed leaves.

Round-leaved Yellow Violet (Viola orbiculata)

The round-leaved yellow violet has round, almost circular leaves. Both of these yellow violets lack stolons (horizontal runners connecting plants). The third possible yellow violet, trailing yellow violet, has stolons & heart-shaped or kidney-shaped leaves.

Spring Flowers of the Subalpine

Early spring flowers are blooming in the subalpine meadows of Paradise Meadows , a good opportunity to practice identifying & comparing some of the species of this ecosystem.

Alpine White Marsh-marigold ((Caltha leptosepala)

The  most abundant early flower right now is alpine white marsh-marigold, some growing right in the snow melt water.

Globeflower (Trollius laxus)

Among the masses of marsh-marigold are some globeflower, with very similar blooms. The leaves however are quite different – divided & toothed , compared with the round leaves of the marigold.

Marsh-marigold Bud

Before the flowers fully open, the differences between the two are more noticeable. The underside of marsh-marigold petals are bluish, which is quite apparent on the buds.

Globeflower Buds

The globeflower buds in contrast are quite yellowish-green.

Oval-leaved Blueberry (Vaccinium ovalifolium)

A couple of the blueberry species have early flowers as well. The oval-leaved blueberry is easy to identify early in the season , as the flowers emerge well before the leaves. The twigs are a strong red & the flowers  pale pink.

Alaskan Blueberry (Vaccinium alaskaense)

The Alaskan blueberry flowers are darker bronze-pink, with the pistil protruding from the flower. The shape is compressed, with the flower wider than it is long. A great online plant ID guide for the Paradise Meadows flowers is on the Strathcona Wilderness Institute website.

Masked Bandits

Urban wildlife is often elusive, but chances of encounters can be increased by exploring at dawn & dusk. On a walk yesterday evening, a raucous group of crows alerted me to something they had spotted at a neighbourhood street corner.

City Raccoon

From a tall cedar hedge on the street, a masked bandit peeked out to see if the coast was clear for its nighttime foraging . Raccoons are everywhere but being nocturnal only a fraction of the urban population is ever seen. Although they have great charm & character they can also be tough fighters, especially when defending their young. Years ago my house cat had an encounter & was soundly beaten.

Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

Raccoons are so ubiquitous that an urban raccoon in Toronto even had its own Twitter account for almost a year. Thousands of people followed its quirky daily thoughts, joining the conversation and submitting their own encounters & photos , but the mysterious author of @City_Raccoon eventually retired.

Cedar Waxwing

Continuing my urban walk along the Courtenay River, I heard thin, high whistles in the treetops – another masked bandit was back in the Valley. Cedar Waxwings can  be found here year round but are scarce in winter. In the summer the population increases as many birds come northward to breed.

Cedar Waxwings

Cedar Waxwings are one of the most beautiful birds with their sleek plumage, stylish crest & mysterious mask, and brilliant yellow & red accents that look like wax drops. The red tips are actually flattened extensions of the feather shafts colored by a pigment.

Wintergreen, Evergreen, Without Green

Among the late spring/early summer bloomers are several plants in the Ericaceae or Heather Family, which now includes the former Pyrolaceae or Wintergreen Family, and the Monotropaceae or Indian Pipe Family. The latter have no green colour as they lack chlorophyll, and are parasites on mycorrhizal fungi associated with trees. A great place to find several examples of each is the Upper Puntledge River Trails near Comox Lake.

Pink Wintergreen (Pyrola asarifolia)

Pink wintergreen is the largest wintergreen, with tall flower stalks & pink blooms.

Pink Wintergreen Old & new Flower Buds

A few weeks ago the buds were just emerging, alongside the dried stalks of last year’s flowers.

Pink Wintergreen Flowers

The flowers are worth a closer look, and relatively easy to photograph. I used a flash in the dim forest light.

White-veined Wintergreen (Pyrola picta)

The white-veined wintergreen flowers have still not opened although the buds emerged several weeks ago.

Prince’s-pine (Chimophila umbellata)

Also in the (former) wintergreen family, Prince’s-pine or pipsissewa has evergreen leaves.

Flowers Fit for a Prince

The beautiful pink flowers have just opened.

Menzies’ Pipsissewa (Chimaphila menziesii)

The smallest wintergreen I found in the woods was Menzies’ pipsissewa, with evergreen leaves similar to Prince’s-pine but with whiter flowers. I had to use a flash again in the dim light.

Menzies’ Pipsissewa Flowers

The flowers are a challenge to photograph since the plant is quite small.

Pinesap (Hypopitys monotropa)

Also in the Puntledge woods are several plants without any green colour. Formerly in the Indian Pipe Family, numerous large clusters of pinesap emerged several weeks ago throughout the woods. The plants are much taller now & actually somewhat past their peak.

Red Pinesap

The common name apparently refers to the colour being similar to pine resin, but occasionally an unusual colour can be found.

Gnome-plant (Hemitomes congestum)

Another parasitic species, the gnome-plant first emerges as pink cone-like structures. The pink flower buds will open to reveal yellow centres.

Comox Lake Bluffs Flowers

Recently I help scout an interesting route for a 10 km. hike around the Comox Lake Bluffs, through the maze of mountain biking trails west of the upper Puntledge River. Our explorations led from the west side trails of the Puntledge River, to forests & bluffs north of the Comox Logging Road, then south to the bluffs along Comox Lake and through the Ecological Reserve.

Comox Lake & Glacier from the Bluffs

At the westernmost bluff is a spectacular view of Comox Lake and the Comox Glacier among the backdrop of mountains to the west.

Sea Blush & Spring-beauty

A surprising amount of sea blush (Plectritis congesta) was still in bloom on some of the rocky bluffs, sprinkled with streambank spring-beauty (Montia parviflora).

Blue-eyed Mary

Large areas of blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora) were also flowering near the sea blush.

Meadow Death-camas

Patches of meadow death-camas (Zygadenus venenosus) were in bloom among the rocky outcrops, though there was no common camas in sight.

Vari-leaved Collomia

One of the tinier flowers, vari-leaved collomia (Collomia heterophylla) is at the northernmost extent of its range here.

Red Columbine

Red columbine (Aquilegia formosa) is more common & always striking.

Arbutus & Manzanita

Typical larger plants of the south-facing bluffs are arbutus (Arbutus menziesii) trees, and hairy manzanita (Arctostaphylos columbiana) shrubs.

Poppy Paintings

Frank’s garden is currently ablaze with a brilliant display of colour, from both native & domesticated flowers. The most striking element right now is masses of glowing orange poppies.

California Poppies

The native California poppy  (Eschscholzia californica) works best in mass plantings.

Smudged Poppies

I tried some artistic filters on the first image, first with a smudged effect which enhanced the contrast of the scene.

Poppies in Coloured Pencil

The same image with a coloured pencil filter resulted in a surprising graphic design, like stenciled fabric.

Painted Lavenders

I made several compositions with the various shades of lavender growing in the garden, and tried a dry brush filter on this one.

Painted Snapdragons

The same filter gave a painterly effect on these snapdragons with the lavender splashes in the background.

Pastel Roses

The orange wash of  poppies made a bright background for these roses, the whole scene with a pastel filter.

Painted Azalea Bonsai

Frank’s azalea bonsai was already striking with the rich red flowers. The dry brush filter made it more like a painting and accentuated the rippled glass table top.

Lavender & Poppies

The flowers didn’t really need any special filters though. This composition has no enhancements.

Poppy with Pink Peony wash

I used a peony in the background to surround one of the bright poppies with a bright pink glow.

Poppy with Lavender Wash

Simple compositions seemed most effective, like this brilliant sunlit poppy with contrasting background of lavender.

Fluff Puffs

It’s ‘fluff-puff’ season, with the fluffy seeds of the black cottonwood floating as thick as snow through the air. The drifting flakes always remind me of the film Amarcord by Federico Fellini which opens & closes with springtime scenes of fluff floating in the wind. I remember the subtitle translation as being ‘fluff puffs’ although ‘puffballs’ is also used.

Simms Park

In Simms Park in downtown Courtenay the paths are thick with cottony snow.

Black Cottonwood

Several huge black cottonwoods, with their old grey bark deeply furrowed, contribute the downy fluff.

Fluffy Carpet

The fluffy seeds make a cottony carpet dappled with sun.

Cottonwood Leaf & Seeds

The heart-shaped cottonwood leaves are distinctive, and in the fall will turn a beautiful gold.

Cottonwood Fluff

The catkins carrying the seeds burst open with cottony fluff. I couldn’t capture the seeds floating in mid-air but found some caught on low branches.

Bushtit

Some of the birds feeding on the seeds are also little bundles of fluff. A flock of Bushtits with their distinctive long tails were foraging in the shrubs – difficult to photograph, until one came out from among the leaves to perch on a branch.

Violet=green Swallow

A nearby Violet-green Swallow was after insects, not seeds, but also fluffy when perched on a wire.

Chickadee Snack

Chestnut-backed Chickadees, also little bundles of energy, snacked on other seeds & berries.

White-crowned Sparrow Snacking

On the fluff-covered path, White-crowned Sparrows were feasting on the seeds, always debonair in appearance  even with bits of fluff sticking here & there.

Schooner Cove

North of the popular Long Beach in Pacific Rim National Park is the beautiful, less-visited beach of Schooner Cove .

Low Tide Schooner Cove

The weather finally began to clear for our explorations that day.

Monkeyflower Rocks

The rocky islands accessible at low tide were full of beautiful & unusual plants.

Yellow Monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus)

Masses of yellow monkeyflower carpeted the steep slopes of the islands.

Thrift or Sea-pink (Armeria maritima)

Accents of pink were thrift, which at first glance might be mistaken for seablush. I photographed this one with the glowing yellow monkeyflower in the background.

Bayberry (Myrica californica)

The bayberry shrub, also called California wax-myrtle, is actually blue-listed in BC – only known in the Tofina/Ucluelet area of Vancouver Island.

Tracy’s Mistmaiden (Romanzoffia tracyi)

A pretty flower found only in the sea-spray zone is Tracy’s mistmaiden – almost finished blooming at this time of year.

Villous Cinquefoil (Potentilla villosa)

This plant has one of my favourite plant names – it sounds to me like the name of a cartoon villain! Villous cinquefoil grows from ocean to alpine.

Beach-carrot (Glehnia littoralis ssp. leiocarpa)

Higher on the beach, we found beach-carrot, also known as beach silver-top & several other names. This plant is also blue-listed in BC, found only in coastal dunes & sandy beaches.

Beach Morning-glory (Convolvulus soldanella)

We were also happy to find  beach morning-glory, another blue-listed species in BC, not quite in bloom.  At first we though it was the rare pink sand-verbena,  red-listed in BC , as  restoration efforts are underway in Pacific Rim Park.

Rocky Life at Schooner Cove

At the far north end of Schooner Cove, rocky outcrops supported a huge variety of sea life from anemones to barnacles to seastars.

Gooseneck Barnacles

Odd-looking Gooseneck Barnacles are only found in exposed areas of the outer coast as they require water movement in order to feed.

Excited Black Oystercatchers

Black Oystercatchers were the only shorebird still present in numbers , their excited calls following us along the beach.

Schooner Cove Clouds

As we started out the clouds had been dark & dramatic with just glimpses of blue.

Schooner Cove Sky

Soon however the sky began to clear and blue dominated the lansdcape.

Sea & Sky

I tried the same view in black & white, an effective way to show the patterns and textures in the sand, sea and sky. I made numerous compositions of the endless combinations.

Sand & Rock

Sand & Island

Sand & Sky

Sand & Sea

Three Beaches

On the second day of our west coast trip, the wet weather was unrelenting. Nevertheless we managed to explore a few of the beaches, even in the rain & in the intervals between.

Spooky Woods

The first small pocket beach south of the famous Long Beach of Pacific Rim National Park is appropriately named South Beach. Scattered rocky islets are worth exploring for the gnarly tree growth as well as for shelter from the rain.

Underpass to the Beach

This mysterious grove was named the ‘Spooky Woods’ by one of the hiking group.

Giant Pacific Chiton (Cryptochiton stelleri)

On the rocky beach we found an unusual large shape, rubbery-hard to the touch – a Giant Pacific Chiton. The reddish-brown girdle entirely covers the plates which distinguishes most chitons.

Orange Foot Underside

This is the largest chiton in the world. A traditional native food, it is also called Gumboot Chiton, which gives a clue to the quality of the meal!

Stairs to Florencia Bay

Beyond South Beach past rocky headlands is the 5 km long sweep of Florencia Beach. We hiked to the south end, through the woods & down a flight of 177 steps to reach the bay.

Florencia Beach

Streams flowing from the high shoreline bluffs made their way to the ocean carving the sand along the way.

Wya Point Beach

Farther south from Florencia Bay, our accommodations were at Wya Point where camping, lodges or yurts are available. We stayed in one of the yurts, a most comfortable alternative to tenting in the rain. The surf of nearby Wya Beach roared all night.

Wya Bay Whimbrel

We were excited to see one lone Whimbrel on the beach, a shorebird I associate with the west coast, not yet departed for the north.

The Wild Pacific Trail

The Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet is an introduction to the spectacular west coast of Vancouver Island. The 8.5 km trail along the rugged shoreline may one day be more than doubled in length, to reach Pacific Rim National Park.

The Wild Pacific Shore

Our visit was chosen for low tides, not for sunny weather – but the wet gray skies are more characteristic of the Pacific Northwest.

Trail Tunnel

In several spots the trail had to be carved through the thickets of cedar & evergreen huckleberry.

Sitka Columbine (Aquilegia formosa)

Occasionally the trail dips down to the shoreline, where we found a multitude of flowers. Scarlet Sitka columbine was striking among the wet rocks.

Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum)

In the tidal meadow grasses we found a member of the Lily Family – beautiful nodding onion.

Shore Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium littorale)

Most exciting was shore blue-eyed grass, the brilliant flower held delicately on a slender leaf blade.

West Coast Surf

Where the trail was most exposed, the full force of wind & waves was apparent.

Surge Channel

In one of the surge channels a huge rusty floating dock frame with flotation tanks had been pushed all the way up to the driftwood line by storm waves.

Amphitrite Point Lighthouse

At the southernmost point of the Ucluelet peninsula, at about the .7 km point on the trail, the Amphitrite Point Lighthouse marks the Graveyard of the Pacific, where numerous ships have been lost to the fierce winter storms.