Spring Mountain School is so fun! Middle school through high school students get to study forest carnivores, learn about and explore habitat around the learning center and they get to use field equipment. How exciting is that?
Unbelievable! So many plants are pushing their way out of the ground. Just a quick glimpse at what is rapidly unfurling and flowering around the learning center.
Top two photos: Lady fern fiddleheads
Fragile fern fiddlehead
» Continue reading Fairy slippers, lady fern and trailing yellow violet
Recently I have been experimenting with new outdoor activities. Well, new to me. Over spring break Ian and I spent four days hiking along the Olympic Coast, from Rialto Beach to Shi-Shi, and this weekend we spent two days canoeing on Diablo and Ross Lakes. You see we are primarily mountain people. We like the alpine, climbing, backpacking, huge vistas; I like the way the world looks when I’m above tree line. We wanted to try something new, and along the way realized that this mode of travel has its own highlights.
On March 20, 2009 the members of Cohort C7 graduated from the North Cascades Institute, each receiving a Certificate of Leadership and Non-profit Administration. The event was attended by family, friends, staff, colleagues, and peers and served as a celebration of the cohorts’ residency at the North Cascades Institute.
I woke this morning to what has become a common weather event at the learning center this spring, snow. Perhaps snow in April is “normal” and I’m simply not aware of what “normal” is here on the shores of Diablo Lake. What wasn’t normal however was the thin coat of snow-ice on the lake.
I have no explanation of why the lake was covered in a thin sheet of snow-ice this morning, just a handful of ideas. So I’ve decided to share a few photos of this interesting event rather than speculating. I would, however, love to hear readers stories of similar events and perhaps hear some of your speculations about why Diablo Lake was covered this morning in a slushy mix of snow and ice.
(Top photo) This is a view from the dam, note how much of the lake is covered. (Above) An upclose look at the slushy mix of snow and ice.
Looking across Diablo Lake towards Highway 20. The snow ice layer covered nearly the entire lake, aside from a few areas near the dam and around the islands.
I started a research project this week about Alpine Ecology, focusing on alpine plant adaptations. Over and over again I saw the name anemone. There was a Three-leaved anemone, Northern anemone, Lyall’s anemone, Cut-leaf anemone, Alpine anemone, Yellow anemone, Narcissus anemone, and the Western anemone. These flower names remind me of the Jenny and Jennifer’s of the world. There are a lot of us.
On Saturday, March 21st, thirteen NC Wild participants joined North Cascades National Park staff members, NCI staff and graduate students for a day of community service projects at the Marblemount Nursery. Our goal for the day was to clean up the nursery beds which were covered with pine needles, small twigs, branches and leaves from a long winter.
A winter weather advisory is currently in effect for the west slopes of the Cascades, the trails around the learning center are covered with deep, crusty snow and still the buds on trees and shrubs around the learning center are hinting that they will soon open. There are too many reasons to list for loving this season; among them are the anticipation of spring, the splendor it prompts, a plethora of opportunities for questioning, observing and marveling, and astonishment at the resilience of nature.
I’m getting ahead of myself. I should start this post with a warning. I’m impatient. This is a fact that is recognized by many people in my life. I often joke that my twin sister got all of the patience. All of it. This character trait prompted me to explore the learning center a few days ago. I was in search of the first spring buds.
Spring Mountain School training is in full swing here at the learning center. Graduate students, rangers and staff have spent the last three days on the trails rehearsing new lessons about forest carnivores, early Pacific Northwest naturalists, field science techniques and the amazing biodiversity of the North Cascades ecosystem.
Starting the season off right we faced inclement, snowy weather this morning; post holed up to our knees in dense, wet snow and through it all relished the opportunity to be outside playing again and preparing for Mountain School.
Our first group of Mountain School students will arrive in just under two weeks. It will be energizing to have a campus full of students again. To hear squeals of delight at the sight of a Douglas squirrel, smell the campfire, listen to camp songs, and to see students out on the trails, exploring the natural world sounds fantastic. And to be doing so on our beautiful campus as spring arrives sounds even better.
Photo: Spring Mountain School instructors braving the weather.
It is easy in the rush of things to forget about this place. With assignments, time lines, deadlines, family and life this place, my place, slips away and I stop looking. Perhaps I feel that it is all owed to me or, as with so many things, that which matters the most is usually the first to be taken for granted.
But then, I am reminded. I stand on the dock and watch the sun sink slowly behind Pyramid Peak. I catch a fleeting glimpse of a small bat that has ventured out after a cold winter. I stand astonished before a small willow carrying tiny, white buds that are so close to bursting open. It is then that I remember, it is then that I stop and turn slowly, savoring it all. It is then that I ask myself, how did I forget? How did I stop looking, seeing, relishing the beauty and magic that surrounds me? The sunset, bat and willow remind me. This place is full of mystery and beauty and I must remember to always relish and savor these moments, this place, the powerful beauty of nature.
“Every morning I awake torn between a desire to save the world and an inclination to savor it. This makes it hard to plan the day. But if we forget to savor the world, what possible reason do we have for saving it? In a way, the savoring must come first.”
E.B. White
