Sunday Morning Visit with the Alders

Following their elopement, and their flight from Ulsters' King Conchobhar, to whom she was betrothed, Deirdre and Naoise hid in the alder woods of Glen Etibhe in Scotland. Did you know that? Probably not, Irish mythology is, by and large, not on the radar of most folks living the left side of the Atlantic. I've got at least a couple books around relating their story and travails. Those alder trees - Alnus glutinosa (Black Alder), are not the same as our Alnus rhombifolia (White Alder). Living on different continents as they do, you might have guessed they were not the same. The White Alders grow in most (i'd say all, but since i haven't been to all the San Gabriel mountain canyons, i can't guarantee the accuracy of such a statement) of our local canyons. They can grow profusely, prodigiously, rapidly and quite tall wherever there is an adequate supply of water. 

Though many indigenous people along the west coast (and inland as far as Montana) used the White Alder for medicinal purposes, and even food, it just does not seem to have had the same mythological heritage as does its Black Alder cousin. 

If you ride up the bottom of San Antonio Canyon you'll see White Alders pretty much everywhere you look along the course of the stream, and where the canyon narrows they grow mostly wall to wall. Its white bark is distinct, and though it is not the only white-barked trees living there, no one will confuse the sycamore's rangy, spreading canopy for the straight and true alder. 

grown, perhaps, but still not much more than sprouts

Anyway, what brought this about was revisiting those few small Alder saplings i found growing along a small stream down from the mouth of Evey Canyon, back in January. The small colony, far removed from their nearest family, seem a little taller, well above head-height, and a bit bigger around. The trickle of water they were growing along is dry now, which does not seem ideal considering their water-loving nature. With any luck, maybe we'll get a little more rain to them before the dry season begins, and they'll continue to grow. While that stand of, mostly, dead eucalyptus is nearby (and the woodpeckers don't seem to mind that), it would be rather cool to find a stand of Alders taking their place in the future.

*By the by, there is also an Alnus rubra (Red Alder), which grows on the Pacific Coast, but does not seem to extend much beyond Point Concept ion, so i am not too concerned with getting them confused. 

the Buckwheat trail, not as distinct as it once was, but still pretty evident

crossing the basin is an easy task now, but all that green is going to be over head-height before we know it

view from the top of the embankment, where...

where the trail is mostly clear

little fall of water below Evey Canyon

creek and powerhouse

at the eucalyptus grove

i'm thinking this is an Acorn Woodpecker, not a Nuttal's Woodpecker

male at the top - there are two other birds in the frame, but i couldn't be sure if they were females, or mockingbirds

heavily ribbed Alder leaves

will they reach this size?