Spring Weather, and a Fence

The last few days have shown us that Spring can come. Amid news of a Crystal Mountain ski lift getting wiped out by an avalanche, it’s nice to see Madrona Woods reliably regenerating itself: osoberry, red-flowering currant, and trillium are as usual the early season providers of hope, color, scent, and proof of life.

But what’s new? We have a fence at the Grand/Spring entrance. This fence was installed by the Seattle Parks Department’s Natural Areas Crew. It is intended to support restoration of an area where a large amount of native vegetation was removed, by a person or persons unknown. The Parks Crew built the fence, planted new native vegetation, and mulched the area. Thanks to Lisa Ciecko and Mark Mead at Parks/Green Seattle Partnership for making this happen so well and so quickly!

If you walk by this entrance, please check out the fence, and please keep an eye out for persons removing vegetation. Any Madrona Woods volunteer (even if working solo) will always be happy to talk to you and explain what they are doing. Feedback about the fence may be sent to me, petermason065@gmail.com.

Summer comes, Grants finished!

Oceanspray and mock orange in Madrona Woods

The Woods is Always Changing

Madrona Woods offers an ever-changing display for us to enjoy. During this Earth Day month, we can all take pleasure in the last of the early-blooming skunk cabbage and Indian plum, and in the salmonberry, thimbleberry, fringe-cup and trillium. We can admire the new plants that have been put into the final area of our active restoration in the south end of the park and be thankful for the hard-working volunteers who have put more than 3000 there this fall, winter, and spring.

The entire restoration has been, and continues to be, an ongoing venue for learning and discoveries. Even after the last plants are put in this spring, there will be a need for continuing maintenance and, of course, sources of money to help deal with the expected and unexpected. Many of us in Friends of Madrona Woods (we hope with continuing community support) will stick around to watch the results of our 16 years of labor become more and more beautiful as they mature.

An example of how the Woods is always creating new challenges is Madrona Creek. Volunteers have spent two work parties repairing a section that was disappearing into a large sink hole just east of the Spring Street bridge. They filled the hole and diverted the creek for a month while a new channel set up. Then they put gravel and rocks of several sizes in the new streambed and released the creek. As of this writing, the water was going above ground on both sides of the park’s first small island. Admire it from the bridge.

Fall Starts Well