Are We Walking to Alaska

Are We Walking to Alaska
Are We Walking to Alaska - A True Story

Sunday, November 9, 2014

The Rain Forest in the Pacific Northwest

Some areas of the NW Washington have climates with high rainfall each year - these are called the PNW Rain Forests  One such micro climate is surrounding Silver Lake.  That area gets over 80 inches (2065mm) of rain, compared to the highest in the state, Forks, WA (yes THAT Forks, WA) which gets just under 119 inches  (3055 mm). 

With all that rain, the forests around Silver Lake are home to many mosses, lichen and fungi  Now that our rainy season has started - it is the perfect time for getting photos of the mosses, lichen and fungi.
 After a Cedar tree is cut down - or falls - new trees will begin to grow atop the old stump  -  and their roots will reach down the outside of the stump to get to the ground.  The roots of the new tree, covered in moss on the left of the stump, looks like a lizard trying to climb up the stump.
 Many of the trees are covered in mosses - softening their branches.
Getting closer  and closer, the moss looks almost like cedar branchelets
I'm not sure what this is - a mushroom that is past its prime - or another form of mushroom I've not seen before - any help?
Fallen logs are a good growing source for mushrooms

 The end of the same log
 A large fungus on a tree - almost looks like a frog opening its mouth
This was one of my favorites - faces everywhere - the bottom right looks like a smirking ghost to me 

 More faces in the forest
 My favorite face - with a cedar branchelet.  Be careful about singing in the forest - you never know what might fall into your mouth.
 A long hairy moss
It was a good day.  If anyone can identify any of these I appreciate it.

12 comments:

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

I can see that a rainforest is home to a diverse range of plant life. That looks like a specific kind of mushroom, they love damp places with decaying wood so who knows what types are in there.
Much more moss and lichen on the trees than what we see, a photographer's paradise.
Thank you for linking to Mosaic Monday JoAnn.

Jackie and Joel Smith said...

You've taken beautiful shots of our rainy Pacific Northwest. ..living there and fighting moss each year - a never ending and garden-destroying - battle makes it difficult for me to photograph the stuff. You have luckily found the beauty of it all! ;-) nice post!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

The moss, mushrooms and tree stumps have a mystical quality about them and make this look like an enchanted forest! I'd love to vsit the PNW someday and see all this beauty myself.

J said...

I would have thought these photos were from an enchanted forest in Bavaria where fairies and ogres go about their business every day! I expected to see families of mice living beneath the mushroom caps!
I caught that "frog" with his mouth open (looks like a snake to me, though!) in one of your last posts. I can see how folk tales were born. So many of them are set in "deep, dark forests" and with that "singing mouth" ready to gulp in the floating leaf - well, that's a story waiting to be told!
Loved this set of pictures!

The Weaver of Grass said...

The moss on those tree trunks makes our bits of moss look pathetic.
Good fungi photographs too JoAnn.

Montanagirl said...

Really nice shots of the mosses, lichens, mushrooms and forest! Looks very intriguing, and interesting, to say the least!

Donna said...

When I taught my 3rd graders about rain forests we studied yours too...what a stunning spot to explore with all my favorites...moss, lichen and fungi!

Lorrie said...

Great shots of our PNW forests. I took a pile of fungi photos yesterday, too. Tis the season!

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

I like all the faces you found in the Enchanted Forest! Especially the frog opening his mouth.

Kay said...

Funny you should mention Forks...we drove through there, and through the rain forest there, last Thursday in the pouring rain. Talk about WET!
The most amazing sight in a rain forest is when a "nurse log" has disintegrated and the new tree growing over it seems to have just grown up in the air.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Very nice! We drove all the way from KY to the NW Rain forest a year ago this past Autumn and each day we prayed the government SHUTDOWN would end. It did not, but I got some nice images from outside all of the gates. It had been a journey 43 years in the making~

Mary said...

I sometimes think I grew up in a 'rain forest'………………it's called England, haha!
I believe mackintoshes ("don't forget to take your 'mac' was the usual sentence from mother as you ragout the door), and Wellington boots, were definitely the type of businesses to be involved in - manufacturing and selling those necessities for the wet climate had to be lucrative!

Great pics JoAnn - stay dry!
Hugs - Mary