Queen's wood

I have just helped Mb move up to a new flat in an area of London called Highgate.  The location is a bit off the main routes, (as much as one can call it that, and still be in London). The neighborhood is set high on a hill - unusual for London, and is a lovely place to find yourself every morning with the birds singing, and in the evening with sunshine on the back garden.
For the uninspired, the nearest tube stop is two bus stops down the road, just close enough to feel the bus is a waste, but just far enough to know that said bus will get you there faster if you're running late.  But on days when the morning sun is bright, when the air smells fresh and you have locked the door with enough time to pause and look down from the unusually high vantage point on the city of London, there is time to walk through the woods and have an entirely different experience.

Adjacent to the road and within the park is a well-used trail with a soft, dirt path and tall, full canopy.  The woodlands have been here for centuries.  They are thought to be direct descendants of the 'wildwood' that covered most of Britain until about 5000 years ago.  Mostly covered in oak and hornbeam, the deciduous forest feels magical.  Upon imagining fairies and goblins in such woods, one realizes that these are the birthplaces of such tales.  The woods and the lore are inseparable.

   

My First Collecting Day!

Yes, it felt like my first day of school, and while it was a couple weeks ago, it’s still just as exciting.  Marc introduced me to Caroline who manages the garden and the three of us collected within the wildlife garden.

The wildlife garden at the museum is lovely.  They have packed a fair number of habitats into a small space.  There’s a still pond and a forested area. There is a meadow and a chalk-grassland area (“replica” might be a good word for it).  Chalk grasslands are an interesting ecosystem native to the British Isles.  They remind me of the prairie systems in Washington: dominated by grass but with high diversity of species specific to their soil types. While I won’t go into them right now – I am inspired to learn more about them and write an entry on them.  Add that to the list…

A first stop was Caroline’s office.  It was within the garden grounds, and I felt  immediately comfortable upon entering; it was analogous to every building I’ve worked  within in the past fifteen years.  The roof and walls are of simple design and construction – more holding out the rain than adding style and warmth.  Even the few large windows in the place let in little light with the overhanging eves and darkening tree canopy.  A light layer of dust covers everything and a slight musty smell permeates.  Educational material – posters, pictures, notes to volunteers – cover all the vertical space, field s guides cover all those horizontal.

Mark, Caroline and I collected in the meadow section of the garden.  A path had been mown through the center of it to confine the footpath.  First introductions were to the rare species in the meadow like the common spotted orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchii).

We collected about 15 species.  All of them are common plants to be found in grassland areas: clover, geranium, various grasses, yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor). Having failed to pick up my notebook on the way out the office, I tried to catch every common or scientific bit of name that I could, knowing that next I would have to key them out. Even the most familiar of plants required looking through the key to see if there was a look-alike with which I wasn’t familiar. 

pressed and ready for drying

the dryer is mounted with lightbulbs below as the heat source

Bringing the plants back into the office, we tosssed them into a plant press and into the dryer.  I know that with experience will come finesse, but I had very little of it in pressing my specimens.  Aside from the asthetic of leaves and flowers pressed in all directions and dried, this leads to difficulties with keying and mounting later on.

While I fancy myself a practical human being, I have been struck by just how much I need to see seach step in such a large scale process to grasp both the larger picture and the small details.  Involvment in each added step while working in the herbarium allows  me to perform the earlier steps more competantly.