Memory Lane: Welcome to My New Backyard

Spring time on northern Vancouver Island can be described with one word: green. And the greens are so bright that, after a long grey winter, I feel like my own soul is sprouting new hope for the world. Beaver pond, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. June 19, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 0. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/100.

The story behind this photo is interesting. I was actually looking for bears (a thrilling spring pastime) as I balanced my way along the natural path of the beaver's dam. As I neared about the center of the dam, I stopped to snap some pictures of these pink grass flowers. Following the picture, I suddenly lost my balance and went flailing all over the dam, ending with part of my body hanging over the back side of the dam and my feet kicking around in the water. Needless to say, I began to think what the local bear (which liked to hang on the other side of the pond) would have thought had he seen me (and he might have). I must have looked ridiculously vulnerable. Tempting, perhaps. I jumped back to my feet, posturing and brushing mud off my chest, and then strutted on as if I were the epitome of fitness. Grass, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. June 19, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 200. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/500.

Red alder, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. April 10, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 100. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/80.

The forests of the northwest are characterized by a reddish brown colour that contrasts with the yellow-green of the new growth and mosses. Even the water is reddish brown, tainted by the decomposing leaf litter. Woods Creek, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. April 12, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 0. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/30.

Droplet, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. May 2, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 100. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/125.

Salmonberry flower, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. May 2, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 100. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/100.

I didn't realize that these plants are actually sold as garden flowers in other parts of the world. Not surprising, realy, considering how beautiful they are. Bleeding heart flowers, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. May 2, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 100. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/25.

Bleeding heart seeds, which are encased in small been-like pods when the flowers mature, don't have any frills, propellers, or fronds to help them blow through the breeze. Neither are they spiked, prickled, or burred to attach to passing animals for transportation. You might think the bleeding heart never spreads anywhere and, indeed, they are usually found in little clumps. But that is not because they cannot spread their seeds effectively (it is because they also reproduce asexually by sending out shoots from the parent flower). Rather, they have a rather unconventional way of distributing their progeny. At the end of each seed pod is a dark, fleshing blob on the end of an extension. Amazingly, ants find this tasty little blip irresistible. It is the ants that the flower depends on to spread its seeds as they drag the pods to their colonies. Bleeding heart flowers, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. May 2, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 0. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/40.

Bleeding heart flowers, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. May 2, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 135. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/60.

This is one of my favourite pictures. Interestingly, this flower is protected by law in BC because of its relative rarity. Western trillium flower, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. May 2, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 100. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/160.

It's an unfortunate name for such a beautiful plant. I've never thought they smelled anything like a skunk, which I have had the opportunity to smell--for hours. I rather like the smell of skunk cabbage, though. Skunk cabbage, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. April 5, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 0. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/100.

The white trunks of the hemlock contrast well with the yellow-green moss and the sword fern. The huckleberry and salmonberry which normal grow thick here haven't got their leaves back yet, hence why the forest looks so open. Western hemlock, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. April 10, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 0. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/80.

Here, the hemlock bark is nearly completely covered in moss. It is a different sort of beautiful from the above photograph. Western hemlock, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. April 10, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 0. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/25.

Willow buds, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. April 13, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 100. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/80.

The roots of skunk cabbage are edible and actually quite good, from what I hear. And it's not just people who eat them. Once, while wandering around the creek bed looking for red-legged frogs, I noticed a skunk cabbage plant that had been pulled up and the roots devoured, leaving only the large green leaves. It was quite a hole that the devourer had left in the ground but I couldn't imagine what had done it. Beaver was a thought. But I wasn't sure how an animal like that would scoop out so much soil. Not to mention I'd never heard of beavers eating skunk cabbage. I walked farther and soon found another hole. Then another. Every plant on the bar had been dug up and devoured. Suddenly, a crashing sound in the salmonberries ahead notified me to something big near by. Movement up on the ridge across the stream got my attention. At first I thought it was a dog, but the galloping hulk was too large for that. It was the first black bear I'd seen at Woods/Stories Creek trails and the combined sensation of fear and enthral gripped my mind. It wasn't running away from me, it was just running by, along the ridge. Why was an animal, that could probably kill me if it wanted to, afraid of me? For the rest of the summer, I would spend much of my spare time and dreams chasing bears through the underbrush. Kind of a foolhardy pastime, but the thrill was too much to pass up. Skunk cabbage, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. April 5, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 0. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/100.

Compare this photo to the one above. That's just five days difference, but the leaves have really started to grow. Skunk cabbage, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. April 10, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 0. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/160.

Moss on western hemlock, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. April 10, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 0. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/40.

Willow bud, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. April 13, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 100. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/80.

Sometimes when I type titles like "Woods Creek Trail," I look into the future for the places that I loved as a child. This is where I spent my teen years. It was a place of escape and solitude during one of the darkest times of my life. The moments when I've felt closest to God have been right here. But a decade or so down the road, this will be suburban. Houses and humans, and few of them will have any interest in maintaining harmony with nature. Every wild place, near to human habitation and unprotected, will one day be only a memory. Woods Creek Trail, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. June 2, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 0. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/20.

I don't know what species of flower this is off hand. Perhaps some kind of lilly. If you know, please leave a comment. Flower, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. June 2, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 200. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/60.

Fungus on a red alder, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. June 16, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 0. 11.84mm. 0 EV. f/4. 1/50.

All these leaves may belong to the same plant. The stem runs under the leaf litter. They are only 10 or 12 inches tall and often go unnoticed. However, they were of some importance to the first natives of the forest who would dry the leaves out and hang them in their huts to ward off the mosquitos. The English name was suggested because the leaves apparently smell like vanilla. Vanilla leaf, near Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, BC. May 2, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 0. 5.4mm. 0 EV. f/2.8. 1/30.