The road less cycled

We surveyed the lower reaches of Stoney Creek this morning, the three of us and Slesse. Already there are salmon here; a welcome change from 2007, the first year that this creek was surveyed, when salmon and only coho didn’t appear until mid-to-late November. Today there were 2 chum and 2 coho in just the lower section, with 2/3 of the creek left unsurveyed to date, something that will be done soon.

Stoney is such a great indicator stream to survey; without question one of if not the best in Abbotsford. It’s entire riparian strip remains relatively intact, unlike many streams that flow through farmland or urban environments. At the same time, it’s watershed is quite heavily urbanized, creating high run-off conditions; usually something that is a strongly negative factor in a stream’s biological health. The creek is bordered in multiple places by well-used walking trails, meaning spawning populations and the streambed are heavily impacted by canines of all sorts, from the ones that gambol and frolic joyously in Stoney’s pools to the ones that plod morosely at their human companion’s heels. Lastly, the creek has seen heartening efforts at mitigation of some of our negative influences, with the culvert having been reconstructed to improve fish access during low water conditions, and large amounts of invasive blackberry having been removed and replaced with native vegetation, which admittedly is still too young to give the stream the same protection as the blackberry did, but will do a far better job of that when mature.

Stay tuned for pics and more reports, or better yet, come with us.

The sun blazed down from the sky yesterday, Sunday, warming the Fraser Valley as much as it is really capable of doing at this time of year as it nears its Spring equinox period of matching daylight and night-time hours. As I mean to do every year and only accomplish some years, I went for a long walk, clearing some cobwebs from my system while picking stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) for the evening meal. Stinging nettle is a fantastic edible potherb that grows wild in great abundance, pulling minerals and vitamins from the top layer of soil and making them available to us in a way that they wouldn’t be otherwise. At this time of year, I supplement our diet with big buckets of Urtica, and this year, still being more or less decomissioned because of my Mar.4 accident, finding the time to go and get it wasn’t really a problem.

From my place, a ramble out through the field, over the creek, up the hill, through the barbed wire fence is certain to yield some of this plant, and extending the walk is sure to fill a big bucket or two.

It’s possible to walk all the way to Highway 1 by going through the suburb at the top of the hill, and then down the trails which snake down the hillside over to Fishtrap Creek, which flows south into Washington and the Skagit River. Here it’s still a small tributary, rippling through residential suburbans, a forested ravine, busy roadways, industrial sites, and farmland before coming to the border.

Though I described Fishtrap as being just a small tributary, here it looks like more than that because City engineers have dammed it to hold back water, sparing farmers from the agony of flooded fields.

After that, I don’t know what it does, though one day, when the similarity of all of Cascadia is recognized, I hope it is managed in its entirety by one  authority so that its headwaters and mainstem are subject to the same types of regulation. I mean, who knows what them Yanks are doin’ at Fishtrap’s mouth, eh?

My sister accompanied me on the first portion of this walk, helping me to pick stinging nettle, so by this time my bucket was getting pretty full. Fishtrap was not very rewarding with its Urtica populations, and besides, what’s to say the legion of people who walk their dogs here have kept their dogs away from it? Not likely, so I simply walked around Fishtrap without picking very much. There was a bald eagle here, as well as two double-crested cormorants and an abundance of waterfowl – gadwall, green-winged teal, Canada geese, American coot, double-crested merganser, mallard, and others. Here’s a photo of the habitat at Fishtrap:

Fishtrap Creek Park, looking south

Stinging Nettle is quite easy to recognize. It’s high in minerals, especially the young shoots which are available for perhaps a month in the springtime. I don’t have a picture, but it tends to grow in thoroughly wooded areas where deciduous trees predominate. At the end of the walk, I gathered almost a full bucket. It doesn’t have the most pleasant taste at the best of times, so some people like to mix or season it. Today I mixed it with some potatoes from Aldergrove, causing the unpleasantness to more or less disappear as the potato taste dominates. Otherwise, a simple addition of toasted, ground sesame seeds and/or olive or other oil does wonders and makes this plant very palatable. Who needs early salad greens when you can start off the growing season by consuming this wonderful, free, green?

So much more happened on this walk that I could comment on; the construction of the Discovery Trail; the salmon art at DeHavilland and Old Yale; the vista of Abbotsford you get from up on Blueridge; the action’s of the landlord in and around Downes Creek; the curiously dense growth of red alder on the hill, forming a natural monoculture reminiscent of a tree farm, and more. Despite Abbotsford’s rapid growth, it retains some of its natural features and remains an intriguing city, from both a cultural and naturalistic perspective. Here’s a few more photos.

This grove of Red Alder (Alnus rubra) has dramatically changed the environment of this hillside.

This is the view of Abbotsford from the top of Blueridge Hill, complete with a boring Oak that still retains it’s leaves! What? Don’t these trees ever lose their leaves? I guess that’s why they plant them. Retards!

A pair of red-tailed hawks have used this stately black cottonwood (Populus balsamifera) to nest in for years now.

With some free time on my  hands, I did a short jaunt on the Railway Trail today, which hugs the west side of Stave/Hayward Lake. Sometime soon I’d like to do the full 17km loop, but today I only did a few kilometres, two hours or so, round trip. I need to start earlier in the mornings so I can spend more time though.