Madrone Canyon Hike 11/5/2016

What a beautiful, cool, misty morning it was to meet at the head of the Madrone Canyon trail on Saturday November 4. We saw many Ladies tresses orchids (Spiranthes cernua) blooming, especially on the east wall of the Canyon. You can read more about them in the Native Plant Information Network. 

We saw the cyanobacteria Nostoc commune in several of its forms along the trail, from crusty black to gelatinous green.

Thank you, Alex Meyers, for moving the information plaque into the Canyon where visitors will see it and get more information about our wonderful Madrone trees.

Spiders had spun their webs, studded with dewdrops and clearly visible across the trail at several points. 

We even got an exciting show. A funnel-web spider had spun a web in the grass right by the side of the trail. As we leaned down to get a closer look at the web and to locate the funnel-shaped entrance to the spider's burrow in the ground, a very small cricket crawled on the web that extended several square inches flat on the grass like a blanket laid out for a picnic. As we watched, the spider jumped out of the burrow and grabbed the little cricket. Much to our surprise, the cricket got away! And the spider ran to hide under a rock. Our oohs, ahhs, and peering faces had probably disturbed her hunting technique.

Thank you, Juanita Juarez, for the photos!

Hope to see soon in the Canyon. Our next hike will be on December 3.

Jean