Blogging

Shortly after I came out to British Columbia in early 2006 I had a case of severely high blood pressure. It wouldn't have been fair to an employer for me to work for them until I got my health situation sorted out. I was on medications to lower the blood pressure and it took until early 2007 to find the cause. I finally went to a naturopath who found that a microscopic parasite was the cause for all this.

While getting my health in order, I took up blogging to share my photography. This way I wasn't wasting time and others got to enjoy the photos, not just me and those close to me.

In May of this year I had a mini-stroke cause again by severely high blood pressure. I may end up gong to the naturopath again since the specialist and other MDs can't seem to find the cause. This has only been a problem out here. Before that in Ontario, the blood pressure was only marginally high, not severely high like in BC.

Knowledge is good because being forewarned is forearmed!

All that said, enjoy this blog and all the photos I share with you.

Friday, August 3, 2007

Green Timbers Urban Forest - Surrey/BC: background history, the forest, the meadow and the 'lake'

A few weeks ago I was finally able to check out a park located a few blocks south of where I live in Surrey though I had researched a number of parks in the region months ago. This one is called Green Timbers Urban Forest, a day use park. So here is a little background history on the park and what it has to offer.

The forest is a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees, both replanted and regenerated. The area was first logged in 1929. People came from all around to view the 200 foot trees, some from as far away as San Diego, California. Green Timbers was the first reforestation effort in the history of British Columbia. The majority of what makes up the park was transferred from the Province of British Columbia to the City of Surrey in 1970.

The meadow in the central area of the park was created in 1986 after logging ended. The "lake" (it looks more like a large pond to me) was created in 1986 to duplicate the marshland and wetland that existed there before the logging began. The park is also the headland for the King, Enver and Cub Creeks, important for spawning Coho Salmon and Cutthrout Trout.

There are over 100 species of birds plus mammals, amphibians and other animals in the park. Check out the following links for further information on Green Timbers and other parks in the region:

Surrey Parks, Recreation and Culture
http://www.enviroment.surrey.ca

Green Timbers Heritage Society
http://www.greentimbers.ca

The first three photos are that of the Douglas-Fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, which takes its Latin name from Archibald Menzies, a Scottish born physician-naturalist who first discovered the tree on Vancouver Island in 1791, and its common name from David Douglas, a Scottish explorer-botanist who later identified the tree in the Northwest in 1826. The first image looks up toward the forest canopy, the second looks up one of the trees and the third gives a view of the bark.

Below is a photo of a Swordleaf Fern found in many places within the park. Bracken is another fern that is also to be found.

Fungi of all sorts can be found within the forest as can be seen in the image above. Below is a photo of a Salmonberry, Rubus spectabilis, related to the raspberry and blackberry (Rubus ssp). They are found in coastal forests from Alaska to northern California. This edible fruit in the family Rosaceae is yellow to orange to red in colour. The fruit is suitable for jams, candies, jellies and wines. It is an important food for native people.

The photo above shows 100 Avenue looking east. The tallest trees in the park are found north of this street. There are also plenty of paths suitable for walking and cycling as can be seen in the image below.


Above is an image of a wild rose (Rosa ssp) and the rose hips are shown in the photo below.

A Spotted Towhee looks out over the meadow from the top of a cedar tree and the image below shows a False Indigo in flower at the northern edge of the meadow.

The above photo shows daisies in flower and below is an image of the Alsike Clover, Trifolium hybridum.

Above is a photo of the Sow Thistle flower, Sonchus ssp. Then below are two photos of a skipper (butterfly), most likely a Woodland Skipper, Ochlodes sylvanoides.


The Lorquin's Admiral butterfly, Limenitus lorquini, can also be found here as seen in the photos above and below.
The image above show the meadow and those below the various wild bees such as bumblebees (Bombus ssp.) that can be found in the meadow and other areas of the park.




Then there are dragonflies and related insects that flit about over the meadow.



Then there are more wild flowers such as those above and the Goldenrod below.

A photo of a sign by the marsh show the type of creatures to be found there and the image below shows a tadpole with legs sprouted.
A mother mallard duck, Anas platyrhynchos, looks after her young above while other rest near the water's edge in the photo below.

There are ducks on the water in the "lake" and a bald eagle can be seen coming in for a landing. They have a favourite tree with an overhanging branch over the water on which to view their potential prey.


A Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, on the hunt above and an Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, below.


And you just never know what you might find in the water such as a salmon? There will be more photos but these should whet your appetite some. I hope you have enjoyed them.

8 comments:

Oran Taran said...

Looks and sounds really awesome!

One of your best posts. I can't wait for the next one.

Volker said...

There are more photos of Green Timbers, so there's a follow-up post coming. Meantime another post on the rose garden at Stanley Park is planned soon (as soon as I can work on the photos). Something to look forward to.

Anonymous said...

Dear Volker,
Your blog is simply beautiful, I love the pictures! Asante sana = thank you very much!
the same man from Tanzania, east Africa

Volker said...

I'm glad you love the photos. There are more ready to post. Meantime, I am making plans to include some video clips on occasion. Two of them can be found on Google Video. The first is entitled "Something 'fowl' in the garden" and the other is "Video clip of mallard ducks at the 'lake' in Green Timbers Urban Forest." The former clip was filmed in the rose garden in Vancouver's Stanley Park. Check them out.

Anonymous said...

that last phot on the main page is not a Salmon! You can tell by the body and tail shape. Salmon don't have scales that are that noticeable.

Volker said...

Anonymous, thank you for your comment. The comment regarding the fish was phrased as a question because I was not 100 % certain of the species. I do plan on contacting the park authorities in the attempts to determine the species for certain. Thank you for your input!

Anonymous said...

The Fish Is A Koi Carp. THAT SHOULD NOT BE IN THERE, BUT PEOPLE "THINK" ITS OK, BUT THOSE PEOPLE ARE IGNORANT. THEIR KILLING THE TROUT! DONT RELEASE KOI FISH INTO THE WILD!

Volker said...

It did seem rather out of place but with a pair of bald eagles perching in the trees overhead might become a meal at some point! - Volker