Kitty worked alone, tidying up the trails, assessing future needs and photographing the water gauge.
Jan 9th
Esther, Kitty and Mary clipped blackberries and rakes paths.
Jan 16th
Audrey and Mary cleaned trails and cut more blackberry.
Jan 23rd
Audrey down to a cold park. She found a young healthy maple tree as you enter the park at the bridge, chewed down by the beaver.
Some interesting fungi on the end of a log.
Jan 30th
Audrey, Esther and Mary did a walkabout, unable to bread ground as frozen solid, so they couldn’t dig blackberry etc. They did observe seal seller evergreen trees that require low fencing for protection because the beaver are still active in the park. They also found some lovely hair ice.
Hair ice: Audrey also found this in Whitehead Park on Feb 17th 2020. For more info on hair ice: see the photo below offering a link to our Local Photos page. https://www.todcreekwatershed.ca/local-photos
Feb 6th 2023
Kitty, Mary, Audrey & Esther [taking this photo]. Short work day, as heavy rain and winds.Water gauge reading.
Feb 13th
Audrey, Esther, Kitty & Mary worked pulling sedge [choking the emphemeral stream], weeds along the paths, blackberries, and Audrey tied up the Hardhack [which tends to lie down in the winter].
Small clutch of Double Snowdrops blooming in the usual spot. Think these mushrooms are Scurfy twiglet [Tubaria furfuracea]Saanich crew, conferring with our crew. Today’s crew: Kitty, Mary, Audrey and Esther taking this photo.
Feb 20th
Today, working on the east-side: we spread wood chips on the trails and removed Shiny geranium invasive weeds from the east-side debris pile. Water gaugewater gauge reading today.The Douglas fir with the dead leader, we expect this tree to die unfortunately. But we’re not removing it yet, in hopes of a better future. Mary standing on the new trail chips we’ve laid today.Mary & Kitty showing our progress with the trail chips.Today’s crew: Kitty, Mary, Lori, Audrey and Esther taking this photo.
Feb 27th
The snow started today just as we arrived to work.Winona and friend.Park neighbours stop by to say Hello. Water gaugewater gauge readingTod Creek has debris stopped up by a tree that has fallen across the creek.At first we thought this was an American dipper [Cinclus mexicanus], but blown up the colours don’t seem dark enough. Maybe a Swamp sparrow [Melospiza georgiana]?The snow seems to be sticking.
March 6th
Audrey, Kitty & Mary worked at pulling weeds [esp Arum & Lamium]: 4.5 hours total
March 12th
Broom pull at Ian & Anne’s. Helping HAT were 5 FTCW members who worked 12. hrs
March 13th
March 20th
Kitty, Mary & Lori spread cardboard along trails and topped with trail chips: 4.5 hrs
March 27th
April 3rd
Mary & Lori walked the park, both sides, assessing what needs to be tended to next.
Lovely morning with flowers blooming. Here, on the west-side, the yellow Daffodils.On the east-side, the yellow Skunk cabbage. Water gauge June Plum blooms [a species of Osoberries (Oemleria cerasiformis) ]
April 10th
Mary & Lori spread cardboard on trails and then covered it with trail mulch.
West-side, enjoying the geese enjoying the lake. Water gaugeFresh mulch over cardboard on trail, east-side.Cherry plum blossoms [Prunus cerasifera]
April 17th
Mary, Audrey & Lori, walked the trails, assessing what the rains have brought.
Heavy rains.Water gaugeWe have Trillium on the east-side.A tree has fallen, with rains, or the beaver has taken one down, right across the creek. Here we see a bit of the tree, and the back wash of debris. Tall Oregon-grape, with bright yellow flowers [Mahonia aquifolium]
April 24th
Walking the west-side first, as always, we check out the wharf and lake. Audrey & Mary.Water gaugeMid-photo, you can see our Trillium.Salmonberry blooming.False morel [Gyromitra esculenta]
The Discinaceae is a family of fungi with members that live both above ground and under the soil. These members are poisonous. Audrey covering the cardboard on the trail, with mulch.Our new top soil and trail chips mulch.
May 1st
Audrey & Mary cleaned up a new batch of cardboard [there can’t be any tape or staples when it’s put on the trails to eventually breakdown under the trail chips], then spread chips on it for trail upgrading.
Today’s water gauge reading.
May 8th
Audrey, Kitty & Mary pulled a lot of Cleavers [Galium aparine], a weedy but apparently native species.
Water gauge reading for today.
May 15th
Another good day for pulling Cleavers. Mary & Lori cleared a good area on the east-side for 1.5 hrs.
Red-winged Blackbird [Agelaius phoeniceus] flying past the Prospect Lake wharf.One of today’s beautiful visitors, cooling off lakeside.The mouth of Tod Creek is very full of the Yellow pond-lily [Nuphar polysepalum].
Mojar & MacKinnon notes many First Nations used this plant for food & medicine.Water gauge A good patch of Sticky geranium [Geranium viscosissimum], likely gifted to us from a garden dump.Fragrant fringecup [Tellima grandiflora], an evergreen perennial that grows in forests along riverbeds.Horsetail in portrait mode. Saanich treating invasives, on the east-side. No worker photo, but Kitty, Mary & Lori pulled Cleavers for 1.5 hours again.
May 22nd
Rainy day at the park.To show how matted the Yellow pond-lily is, just where the lake meets the creek [you can see the wharf at the lower edge of the photo].Water gaugeEverything is so lush with the rains, here the Skunk cabbage leaves are huge.Downward photo of Horsetail [Equisetum arvense], for a different perspective.Kitty, Mary & Lori pulled weeds, protected from the rain pretty much by the tree canopy.Thimbleberry flowering aka Western thimbleberry [Rubus parviflorus]. Bright red fruits that appear similar to strawberries, but resemble thimbles, are edible and can be eaten raw [commonly used in jams].Nootka rose aka Wild rose [Rosa nutkana]. The Latin name ‘Nutkana’ refers to Nootka Sound. These fragrant roses go on to produce rose hips that attract many bird species.Cherry plum [Prunus cerasifera]Red osier dogwood [Cornus sericea], a thicket-forming shrub with attractive dark red winter stems. Over ninety-eight species of birds rely on this plant for food or shelter. First Nations weavers made baskets from the branches.
May 29th
Again, Katie Barnes joined us for a morning of volunteering in Whitehead Park. Katie is an avid outdoors woman, so her knowledge is valuable plus she is an eager learner.Another beautiful morning.However, the Yellow pond-lily is choking Tod Creek where it meets Prospect Lake.This mat is right at the wharf.And it looks like the two lake shores lilies might be meeting up soon.The water gaugeStinking hellebore [Helleborus foetidus] on the Goward hillside, facing the park east-side. An evergreen perennial that can grow to two feet tall, the leaves have an unpleasant smell when caused, giving the plant it’s name.Detail of Horsetail.A bumper year for wild roses. Here is a Nootka rose [Rosa nutkana].Nootka rose.Mary, Audrey and Katie.Nootka rose bush.Pacific ninebark [Physocarpus capitatus], a deciduous shrub. The bark is flaky and peels away in many layers.Today’s crew: Mary, Katie, Audrey, and Lori taking this photo.
June 5th
Today’s crew used all the cardboard up and over half the wood chips topping up the trails. They also trimmed greenery back from the trails; and pulled Cleaver.
Water gauge reading. New Crew Members: New names to follow, Mary 3rd from right, and Katie far right.
June 12th
Today’s crew with Mary [in yellow Pulling Together tee-shirt], names to follow. Water gauge reading.
June 19th
Audrey, Alex, Sara and Kitty worked today. Alex & Sara brought cardboard and spent time spreading it along the trails, then joined Kitty & Audrey pulling weeds. Audrey found numerous rosebushes pushing up seedlings in the middle of the trails; she pulled.
Water gauge, in dire need of cleaning. As the water level goes down, we’ll get to it.
June 26th
Beautiful summer morning.The creek mouth is getting clogged with native and introduced fauna, especially the water lilies and their underwater floating stems. This photo is standing on the wharf, looking toward Goward Road bridge.Standing on the wharf looking toward the short expanse of lake front beach. Water gauge reading.On the east-side, this area was recently planted with cedar trees [barely visible with their posts and wire protection fences]. Today the Horsetail is blocking our view, but helping to protect the seedlings and bring them water. Salmonberry, a species of Brambles [Rubus spectabilis].The common name of Salmonberry is believed to have originated from First Nation’s preference for eating the berries with salmon roe; it many also be due to the orange-pink colour. [Info from PictureThis app]Spider web woven into Horsetail.The beautiful Hardhack blooming. Protecting small trees from the beaver. We wonder if this is a Nootka Cypress, aka Yellow Cypress [Xanthocyparis nootkatensis], which is the identification made by PictureThis app. Today’s crew: Kitty, Audrey and Katie Barnes; Lori as photographer.And while not on the WHP property, but across the street: Stinking hellebore [Helleborus foetidus]. An evergreen perennial that can grow to 61 cm tall; with clusters of yellow-green cup-shaped flowers. The leaves have an unpleasant smell when crushed.
July 3rd
The two water lily patches are about to meet up.Bullfrog tadpoles are massive also.Alex and Sara arrive for their shift.Water gauge.Hardhack blooming.Ripe Salmonberry.Plums soon to be. Close to the park, neighbours alerted us to a turtle.
Please go to the Kid’s Page for more info regarding Children Citizen Scientists, with photos to follow.This appears to be where the turtle is digging perhaps to lay her eggs. Today’s crew: Alex, Audrey and Sara; Lori taking the photos.
July 10th
Audrey looking at the choking of the creek.Water gauge
July 17th
Hot day: after meeting with Saanich at Lohr Road, Lori pulled Thistle from Prospect Lake Road [across from Lohr and up toward Goward]; then visited Whitehead Park for photos and a look-about.The entrance to Tod Creek at the lake is almost blocked by invasive weeds this year.Water gauge [pretty dirty]
July 24th
Today’s photos focus on how low the water levels are and the invasive aggressing into the creek.Water gauge.
July 31st
Not far from the park, en route this morning. Very uninterested in me stopping to let her/ him cross and take photos. It took a while to see the tadpoles, with tails still attached, but once we did, we saw lots of them.Under Goward Road, the lake is to my back [water gauge is on the right of this photo]. Water gauge. Finally a bit cleaner.
Aug 7th:
Water gauge reading today taken by Kitty: Very low creek… water not moving… Mary and I were there for an hour… spread chips on some cardboard… after an “inspection tour.”
Aug 14th
Hot and dry: 3 of us showed up for light work in shaded east-side only.Water gauge.It took a moment to be sure the leader on this cedar tree was alive,but looks green, so photographed and we will monitor it. Mary, Audrey and Lori [photographing] mostly just trimmed branches that might scratch someone walking the east-side trails. This maple tree has suckering foliage growing straight out of the trunk, creating a beautiful image.
A quick search on Quora has a couple suggestions: not enough drainage; over pruning; or it’s possible the suckering is a trait of the variety of maple.
Aug 21/ 2023
Haw berries blooming, west-side, along the trail.Water gauge.We suspect bear scat.Today’s crew: Audrey, Kitty and Lori photographing.
Aug 28/ 2023
Quick set of photos, as the crew are working on Tod Creek at Lohr Road today.
Sept 4th Labour Day: no work today
Sept 11/ 2023
The water gauge reading and a photo from the same bridge, Goward Road over Tod Creek, showing how low the water level is. Bone dry, estimated for over 30 feet before a small puddle on that side.
Four workers [Kitty, Katie, Mary and Audrey, photographer here], cleaned 4 ft branches left over from park staff pruning trees on the west-side. There was also a fairly large golden willow that they dug out as the water was so low they could walk to it.
Sept 18/ 2023
Cleaning the water gauge as it’s covered in mud.Eurasian milfoil invading the lake.Mulching the trails, assembly line. For a fun comparison, I have photographed volunteers standing right on the spot Audrey and Mary are standing during winter months and this trail is completely under water. Our job for the winter: to cut back the roses here, as they are surrounding Hawthorne trees on the left and encroaching onto the trail on the right.
Sept 25/ 2023 Unable to work during wind warnings.
Oct 2/ 2023
Autumn colours. A paddler enjoying a rainy day.Audrey and Kitty arrive, rain or shine.Katie arrives. Our water gauge is dirty again, but readable. Mid photo we can see where [we assume] the beaver has swam to shore. Katie, Winona, Kitty, Mary and Audrey. We didn’t work per se, but walked the trails, occasionally pruned an errant branch, and assessed what our autumn work will be.
Oct 9th Thanksgiving so no work at the park today.
Oct 16th Hard rain, so Audrey, Kitty and Lori met at Mary’s for coffee and consultations
Oct 23rd
Calm waters.Short-stemmed russula. Not that clear, but a great mushroom day.Foxglove [Digitalis].The perfect landing: one half of a maple-seed wing on a”Flat-top agaricus [Agaricus deardorffensis] POISONOUS” as per Mushroom Field Guide app; and then home ID in the Royal BC Museum Handbook: Mushrooms of British Columbia by Andy MacKinnon and Kim Luther.Oak-loving Collybia [Gymnopus dryophilus]; ID in the field with app, then home with MacKinnon & Luther book. As immediately above, closer views… and not considered edible. The Goblet [Pseudoclitocybe cyathiformis].Shaggy Parasol [Chlorophyllum].Both app and MacKinnon & Luther book ID this as Shaggy Parasol [Chlorophyllum brunneum].? Agaricus moelleri [MacKinnon & Luther p. 237]Gymnopus villosipes according to app, but unable to cross-reference with MacKinnon & Luther book.The roses are getting a good pruning as they once again are taking over this corner of the park, east-side. This photo shows a bit better: we have pruned from the branches on the ground…which are demarcating the trail. Mary brings the rose prunings up to the pile for Saanich to pick up.The rose prunings don’t look as big once out of the tarp and onto our pick-up pile.Today’s team: Audrey, Mary and Lori [photographer].
Oct 30/ 2023
Fog lifting, leaving us with a cold beautiful morning.Mary and Kitty arrive.Stump beside the Goward Road parking lot.Has a small Bonnet mushroom growing on it. Crossing the bridge to work on the east-side.Our water gauge: the lake level is up by 7 cm, mostly due to the rain on the lake itself. These rose bushes don’t look the threat they did in the summer. Each week, we pruned off branches leaning out into the walking paths, with potential for scratches. Today’s crew: Mary, Audrey and Kitty; Lori taking the photos.
Nov 6th/ 2023
Water gaugeTree down, after a very dry summer and now lots of wet.Scurfy twiglet, according to Mushroom ID app; and in the Royal BC Museum Handbook: Mushrooms of BC [by MacKinnon & Luther] Tubaria furfuracea group, p. 284].White fibercap [Mushroom ID app]; White fibrehead (Inocybe geophylla group) may start out white but develop a pinkish colour, OR Western Lilac Fibrehead (Inocybe pallidicremea) [MacKinnon & Luther. pages 254/ 255]
Nov 13th/ 2023
Warm autumn days.Willow leaning.Same willow, turned up.How different the creek mouth looks, with the foliage dying down.Water gauge.Readings coming up.One side of the creek, shows the water levels rising; this side shows a blockage [our friendly beaver?] and looking down from the Goward Rd bridge on the north side there is no water. Olive Shaggy Parasol (Chlorophyllum olivieri) from MacKinnon & Luther p. 99.Two ends of the same log.Still to be identified. People have been talking about raccoons digging up gardens and trails. The thought is that they are looking for grubs underneath the soil, and in the case of our trails, underneath the cardboard that we laid down. But today, the trail is plowed up, much more than the scratching we’ve recently seen.It’s hard to see the 3D of this depression, so for reference, I’ve put my hand inside it. This corner has built a life of it’s own with the roses reaching out over the trail. Here we can see how far Audrey is in from the trail, all of us pruning hard.
Nov 20th/ 2023
Mary, Kitty and Audrey arrive. Cold but beautiful out. Water gauge. We planted this asparagus and it’s managing to hold on. Lichen: Lobaria pulmonaria [common name: Lungwort] the most widely spread Lobaria in the Pacific Northwest, an old-growth associate… most often found in riparian areas. [“Michrolichens of the Pacific Northwest” Bruce McCune & Linda Geiser]Today’s crew: Mary, Audrey, Kitty and Lori photographing.
Nov 27/ 2023
Ivy is moving up these trees.Same trees, from the wharf. Water gauge.Today’s crew: Kitty, Mary and Lori photographing. Today we edged the trail, removing encroaching grass.
Dec 4th 2023: no work today, as our first Atmospheric River has arrived.
“13 mm of precipitation in the last 6 hours; 22 mm expected in the next 24 hours” Weather app.
