Hello Spring 2013

Indian Plum (Oemleria cerasiformis)

Has it really been almost a year since posting on here?  Time to get back in the groove.  Suddenly watching the flora and fauna come alive around here has inspired me to get my blogging act together.



Just as a brief reminder - I started this blog in April of 2009 when Adopt A Stream lead a project to restore a native growth buffer along the banks of Little Swamp Creek where it travels through our yard.  Students from the Leaf School at Edmonds Community College helped plant and mulch the buffer here in two phases and helped install large woody debris in a couple places along the stream bank.  This work took place between April 2009 and April 2010. Adopt A Stream and The Leaf School also completed an additional restoration project in our neighbor's yard where the stream continues behind our property.  The plants in our yard are doing fabulously, with only a few becoming victims to varying degrees of deer and beaver.



Back to what is happening now.  Indian plum is one of the first native plants that we see blooming along Little Swamp Creek, but it's not the only native plant currently blooming here.  Skunk Cabbage is also popping up like mad.  I hadn't smelled it yet, but I sure saw a lot of blossoms in the wetland behind our fence.

Skunk Cabbage (Lysichiton americanus)

Little Swamp Creek in Swamp Creek Wetland #3

Another view of Little Swamp Creek in Wetland #3

A few spots of bright pink Salmonberry blossoms suddenly appeared along the stream,

which prompted me to share the signs of spring showing up in the native plantings along our little stretch of Little Swamp Creek.

Wild rose (maybe Nootka but not sure)

Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)

Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata)

This chokeberry is one of the first plants that we planted next to the stream. That was back in 2000.  It is now sporting a beautiful collection of lichens. 

This little nettle start and mushroom were part of the plant community on and around a huge, old tree stump that was left behind after this area was logged years and years ago.  There are several old stumps like this in the woods around us.

Red-flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum)

I didn't realize how readily the Red-flowering Currants will multiply by establishing a new plant with root growth off of a branch that remains in contact with the ground.  Here's an example in our yard -

I took a picture of this willow next to the stream on one day, and the next day it was chopped down by a beaver.  More on the beaver issue in a future blog post...

Come See High School Students Report on the Health of Our Watershed

Sorry for the late notice, but please consider attending tomorrow night's meeting of the Sno-King Watershed Council.  The evening will include a very impressive presentation by area high school students called "The Watershed Report".  Read on for more information --

Join us at the next meeting of the Sno-King Watershed Council -

Wednesday, November 16, 7 pm

Northwest Stream Center

700 – 128 St SE, Everett 98208

Featuring:

•  The Watershed Report – Students will present a report on watershed health, produced by high school students and the Friends of the Cedar River Watershed.  Through the Watershed Report, students become local experts on watershed issues and promote sustainability in local cities, schools and organizations. www.cedarriver.org/programs/watershed-report
• Clean Water and Green Infrastructure – Kerri Cechovic of the Washington Environmental Council will tell you about current opportunities for you to protect your local watershed.  http://wecprotects.org/issues-campaigns/clean-water-green-infrastructure
• Preventing lead pollution in lakes and rivers – An estimated 80,000 pounds of lead is lost annually in streams, rivers and lakes.  Bill Lider of the Sierra Club will describe proposed legislation to ban the sale of small lead sinkers.
• Current initiatives by SKWC – Eric Adman of the Sno-King Watershed Council will describe an upcoming advocacy project, incorporation, and actions to strengthen our advocacy network

Sponsored by:

The Adopt-A-Stream Foundation www.streamkeeper.org

Friends of the Cedar River Watershed http://www.cedarriver.org/

Sno-King Watershed Council http://www.snokingwatershedcouncil.org/

To RSVP or for more information, contact

Eric Adman

Sno-King Watershed Council

425-780-9731

snokingwatershedcouncil@gmail.com

Streamside Planting Update

Here is a loooong overdue update of how the planting in the stream buffer behind our fence is doing.  Our friends at Adopt-A-Stream gave us some biodegradable surveying tape to mark the plants so they show up a little better in photos.  I marked everything I could find that is still alive, so here you go ---

Before - 11/2010

11/2011, a year after planting

These next three shots are basically a panorama, starting with looking south across the large area next to the stream and ending up looking west toward the stream, which you can't see, but it is on the other side of the group of trees in the middle of the third shot -

Here is a view of this same area but looking northeast, right after planting last year -

...and here it is now - 

The reed canary grass is obviously still here, and the plan for our neighbor to mow between the beds to keep it down didn't pan out, mostly because it is so sloppy wet in this area.  Eric went back there with a string trimmer periodically, and I pulled grass runners out of the beds this fall.

Here are shots of various planting beds.  Unfortunately the live stakes are loosing their leaves due to fall and a bunch of the willow leaves have been nibbled by deer, so it will be hard for you to tell how well they are doing.  Keep in mind that everything marked with orange tape is living - 

Here's an example of what these beds started out looking like a year ago -

Here are some of the live stakes that were poked in along the stream bank.  And a peak-a-boo shot of the stream -

This is looking toward the southern boundary of the planted area.  There are a lot of surviving live stakes here -

 Here is the view standing uphill and looking west.  I'm concerned about the blackberry vines from the neighboring property overwhelming this area -

Same area right after planting

Poor little Douglas Fir being surrounded by blackberries

These next three shots are of the part of the project that is the furthest away from the stream - 

Right after planting

The blackberries are definitely returning to this area, too, which is the only bummer I see back there behind the fence.  I know from the way the new plants have grown along the stream in our yard that this project is going to look incredible in another year or two.

And speaking of which, I have a bunch of pictures to share of how amazing the stream-side restoration in our yard looks now.  I will share those in a separate post.  Soon!  

When Heavy Equipment Working next to the Stream is a GOOD Thing

The Adopt-A-Stream Foundation has been back on the banks of Little Swamp Creek, working all week long in an area behind our property that has been overwhelmed by reed canary grass.  The LEAF School from Edmonds Community College will be spending the day today working with AASF to plant native wetland plants in the prepared area.

Here's the actual plan - 

This section of the stream has been completely overgrown with reed canary grass and blackberries.  The grass is so thick and tall that in the summer it was almost impossible to even see the stream because the grass was practically creating a tunnel over it.  By this time of year the grass has fallen down enough that it is possible to walk through there again and see the stream- 

      

These are shots looking south and north in the section that will be replanted today - 

 

The plan is to shade out the canary grass by thickly planting 21 hummocks with native vegetation (the hummocks are the rectangles with the diamond pattern in the plans above).  In addition, 660 square feet of stream bank will be planted with livestakes, and 3,900 square feet of blackberry bushes were removed to be replaced with scattered native plants.


Access to the area was much easier from our yard, so the dirt for building up the hummocks was dumped in our driveway -

and carried to the area behind our fence by wheelbarrow -

The hummocks were scraped/dug out a bit with a small excavator and this new soil was added-

Plants and livestakes are staged back there, too, ready for planting -

I was struck by the fact that this particular project includes what I think is a huge side benefit to the property owner.  When we first moved into the neighborhood a dozen years ago our neighbor behind us was easily able to walk down to the stream.  But over the past several years the blackberry bushes have grown up and made an impossible barrier for him.  It is fabulous that he will be able to get down there and enjoy checking out the stream again.  We appreciate that he was willing to work with the Adopt-a-Stream Foundation to continue to restore the banks of Little Swamp Creek, and I'm glad he benefits from allowing them the access!