Wetland Ecology field trip

As some of you may or may not know, I am TAing a class this quarter on wetland ecology. My advisor is teaching the course, and I am around to answer questions, prepare, and clean up. It is a pretty crazy lab class. But, the fun part is, we get to go on lots of cool field trips. This years group of kids seems like an amazing assemblage, Eliska and I are feeling really lucky. They are fun, intelligent, and actually seem interested in the subject. How lucky is that? I can tell you, if you don't find wetland ecology interesting, it ends up just being a dirty stinking job, so...

Anyway, we went on our first field trip yesterday, to some wetlands in the Tahoe area. For the first time in Eliska's experience, it had snowed! Hard to look at wetland plants when they are covered in snow and ice!

Our first stop was Lake Audrian. For some of our students, this was their first experience with snow!

It didn't help that the mud was also rather treacherous: boot sucking, 4 degrees C, misery. But, we got lots of laughs.

My boots leaked, and the duct tape fixall didn't work, so I stayed back and took pictures, that water was cold!

Just some fun snow stuff.

A lichen in the snow, to remind you that I am still silly for these guys.

A wet meadow close to Lake Audrian.

Next stop was Grass Lake, a quaking bog (really a transitional fen, if you want to be correct about it all).

It is called a quaking bog because that is what the ground does beneath your feet. It can be rather disconcerting, but also tons of fun. Basically, it is a 10 meter thick layer of peat filling in the lake. And closer to the edge? That peat is much thinner and actually floating! Thus every step jiggles and shakes.

The edge is rather scary, with a quick dropoff into the deepest part of the lake.

Doesn't bother Eliska though!

Our final stop of the day was at Lake Tahoe, in what used to be one of the largest marshes in the region, until they built an ill conceived 'mini Venice' in the middle for rich people to be able to park their boats by their house.

I tried a little too hard, so all my pictures don't show the houses, but just the beauty.

This is a little carnivorous plant called Utricularia. Those little capsules are the utricles and are where the plant captures all its goodies to eat. Cool huh?

I tried to get pictures of all my students to introduce them to you, but I will have to add to this list. Some of them weren't able to make it on this trip, and others... well lets just say I respect them to much to put the pics I do have online ;)

Eric, James, Thuy (Nicole in the background), Ti hua,

April, Mara, Annie, and Erin

At the very end of the day, according to Eliska's tradition, we stopped at apple hill for hot apple pie. Unfortunately, we were late and there were none left. But, we got some cold apple pie, and everyone was pretty much happy, yum yum.