Hillside walk, 09 February 2014
On the evening of Thursday, February 6th, we had 7 mm rain, a modest amount but surely enough to rejuvenate some of the plants. I was especially interested in the liverworts. In the past several weeks they have been withering away to almost nothing, ot so it seems. Only in truly shaded north-facing slopes has there been anything to see.
So on Friday the 7th, immediately following the rain, I explored the liverwort areas of Canyons 3 and 5. Amazing! the liverworts were back! In many instances they have black borders where they previously had withered away, but in general these plants were everywhere!
Then on February 9th was the regular weekly hillside walk, and the liverworts looked even more prolific. On this occasion I ventured into Canyon 6 to see the cottonwood trees, and found in this canyon many more liverworts, almost more than anywhere else. There I also found a several that had old receptables. I also found a few liverworts in the upper parts of Canyon 3B with old receptables that I'd not seen previously. But no evidence of new receptacles. No doubt we won't see any of that unless there is a more prolonged rain, of some successive storms suffiicient close together.
The regular walk on February 9th revealed nothing new. In fact the total number of flowering species looks like it's slowing going down, when it should be growing at this time of year.
Below are are two panels of photos:
A. 07-Feb-2014: Liverworts and mosses
B. 09-Feb-2014: Regular hillside walk
