MAY 19, 2012-MEASURE DD MONITORING-UPPER MEADOW TO MIDDLE CONCOURSE

May 19, 2012--The Garber Park Stewards saved this mid-year workday for a task slightly different than the usual invasive removal chores.  We wanted to take a good look--at the beginning of summer--at the Measure DD plantings along the banks of the middle portion of the creek, mostly for recordation and monitoring purposes.  We were happy to have a couple of seasoned volunteers to help with this sometimes wet job and we were pleased to see our best broom remover, Clyde and his eponymous weed wrench.  This allowed us to do two really necessary things at once.

     Working our way up the creek from the bridge on the lower branch of the loop trail, we were happy to find almost all the red and blue flags that we thought would be there.  The blue flags marked Oregon Ash plantings and the red flags marked willow plantings taken from the stalks of nearby willows.  Altogether we found five Oregon Ash plantings, the tallest of which was a little over four feet; and 15 willow plantings, everyone in good condition, the more shaded ones with a few more leaves.  We were able to measure and photograph each of these.
     While Jon and myself were measuring willows, Clyde went north into the deeper canyon of the creek and came out with a pile of big stemmed French broom which had passed the blooming stage and had set seed.  We will get that pile out on June 5 when the Weed Warriors return to the area to clean up some of the inevitable regrowth in the Measure DD area.

     So we got a lot done, but we owe it to Jon, who turned his car around and came back and reminded us to use the new SOD brush to get the organic matter off our shoes at the end.  IS THERE SOD ON YOUR CLOD?--We are probably the first people to use the brush.  I certainly hope we are not the last.

Mary Millman for
Shelagh and Bob Brodersen--On Vacation!!