Stories from the forest

Spring robin at Tryon Creek

Today is an absolutely beautiful spring day at Tryon Creek, perfect for a hike in the woods. It is impossible not to notice how peaceful and glowing green everything is. The songs of what seem like a million different varieties of birds mingle with peals of laughter from the groups of young school children who are visiting the park and learning about the forest.

There is a surging feeling in one's heart and mind on a day like this, a sense of the sacredness of all living things.

Perhaps that feeling arises from our interconnectedness (lest one think that a mole and a robin exist in wholly separate spheres): a few moments ago robins were spotted flocking to a patch of moist dirt in the park where a mole was burrowing, and as the mole tunneled along the earth moved and rose to form a mound. Earthworms made their way to the surface much to the delight of the robins, who were snapping up the worms as fast they could. It is quite a thing to see the earth move from unseen forces, and to see countless earthworms escaping to the surface only to find themselves lunch for the waiting robins who likely brought some home share with their babies.

The natural world truly delights.

Spring rolls along at Tryon Creek

As trillium age, the flowers turn from white to dark pink as seen in the range of color in this patch.

 Spring has been in the air at Tryon Creek State Natural Area for some time. As the weather continues to warm, the growing green flora in the park takes on a vibrant life of its own with a color and variety that is altogether different from the chill winter months. The air smells of things blooming and birdsong is heard everywhere.

Fiddlehead sword ferns surrounded by waterleaf, one of Tryon Creek's most prevalent groundcover

This picture was taken by a 9-year-old park visitor who, after many tries, was finally able to capture a still shot of a "robin redbreast"

Lazy day at the creek

This tree has been loved by many a child

Tryon Creek is an ideal refuge from the hustle and bustle of daily urban life. As one strolls along Tryon Creek's miles of trails and listens to the tumbling of the creek, there is little doubt that the forest's tranquility and serenity serve as a tonic for the human spirit.

Muddy Boots Family Nature Club finds home at Tryon Creek

Muddy Boots Family Nature Club hits the trail at Tryon Creek

The Friends of Tryon Creek are excited that the Muddy Boots Family Nature Club, started in 2010 by Jess Hoylman and Angela Fojtik, is now a part of the Friends' family.

In February 2011, Jess and Angela partnered with the Friends of Tryon Creek to provide the Muddy Boots Family Nature Club with a full day of activities at Tryon Creek State Natural Area. The partnership was a great success, so it was natural that the Friends' were entrusted with the nature club's administration earlier this year, as Jess and Angela moved on to other endeavors.

Connecting children and adults with nature is the Friends' bread and butter, and is a great fit for Jess and Angela's original goal for Muddy Boots, "to connect families with one another so they can get outside together". The Friends put these concepts into practice this past Saturday, April 28th, 2012, when we hosted the "Muddy Boots Family Trail Day" kick-off event featuring a day of fun family-oriented activities on the trail:

Derek Mellinger, the Friends' Education Intern, instructs Muddy Boots families on the Chinook salmon

Muddy Boots' families get a chance to pet a beaver

Families explore the park's flora and fauna

In the months ahead, families in the Portland metro region can look forward to many more opportunities to connect with nature with the Muddy Boots Family Nature Club. The Friends plan to provide activities and hikes in Tryon Creek State Natural Area and in other wild spaces in and around Portland and Lake Oswego so stay tuned.

For more information please visit: www.muddybootspdx.org
(Photo credit: Carol Gilden)

Earth Day 2012: Stewardship Saturday at Tryon Creek

Thanks to Comcast volunteers for their stewardship efforts at Tryon Creek!

Start 'em young!

Ivy vines, you've been warned.

We love this young lady's stewardship ethic!

Thanks to volunteer efforts, these vines are no longer a threat to the trees of Tryon Creek

Three cheers for the Oregon Buddhist Temple Dharma School for their wonderful help!

We can't think of a better way to celebrate Earth Day than caring for Mother Earth

Volunteers make things happen at Tryon Creek. Saturday's "Spring into Action" work party in honor of Earth Day 2012 was no exception. Volunteers from Lewis and Clark College, Oregon Buddhist Temple Dharma School, and Comcast hit the ground running and removed a significant amount of ivy. Their energy and enthusiasm for caring for the forest was inspiring and was a great example of the good that can be accomplished when people work together.

Photo credit: Micheal Beard, Carol Gilden and Sarah Kreisman

(Visit www.tryonfriends.org to learn more about the Friends of Tryon Creek Stewardship Saturdays and volunteer programs.)

"A Celebration of Crows"

Every year the Friends of Tryon Creek host a family event on Earth Day following an award ceremony for the winners of our Tall Tale Writing Contest. This year, the event theme is "A Celebration of Crows".

Why crows? They make frequent and familiar appearances in the English language in phrases such as crow's nest, as the crow flies, eat crow, and to crow about something. Crows are common in our global mythology and symbolize creation, death, the sacred, bad omens, lightness, darkness, cunning, trickery... the list is long and varied. Crows are fascinating and have captured our collective imagination for millenia.

Members of the corvid family, crows are prolific and found on every continent except New Zealand, Antarctica and South America. They produce a wide variety of sounds and are known to mimic noises made by other animals, including birds. They are predators and scavengers and prefer to eat on the ground. They are not picky - they will eat almost anything - but their typical diet includes worms and insects, seeds and fruit, garbage and carrion, and small animals and chicks they rob from nests. They are also family-oriented and live in mated pairs that form large families of up to fifteen individuals. Offspring typically remain with the family to help raise new nestlings.

Inspired by the crow's mystique, as well as its inquisitive and clever nature, the Friends of Tryon Creek have lined up a series of engaging and challenging family activities that will test your cleverness IQ to find out if you are as resourceful and sharp as our resident corvid. Join us at "A Celebration of Crows", a free, fun, family event, on April 22nd, at Tryon Creek State Natural Area, from 2 - 4 p.m. Pre-registration is appreciated: http://www.tryonfriends.org/programs/calendar-listings/icalrepeat.detail/2012/04/22/843/-/a-celebration-of-crows.html

Celebrating spring and community at the 32nd Annual Trillium Festival

The Friends of Tryon Creek, in partnership with OPRD, kick off spring each year with the Trillium Festival and Native and Hardy Plant Sale. Now in its 32nd year, the festival and plant sale takes place the weekend before Easter. This year, the event landed on March 31st and April 1st.

Festival goers from around the region (and a number from out of state) paid homage to the beauty of the forest, enjoyed the happenings (an amazing plant sale, garden art, craft and edibles artisans, live music, guided hikes, children's nature activities... the list goes on and on), and celebrated the joie de vivre that comes from spending time with one's community in a natural space.

Many thanks to everyone who came to Tryon Creek and made the Trillium Festival a lovely experience for all.

Color blooms at the Native and Hardy Plant Sale

Families enjoy nature activities in the classroom

Good clean fun (with a little dirt thrown in for good measure)!

A stroll in the forest

OPRD's Park Ranger Heather Durham shares information with the public

Belinda Underwood plays her lovely music

A big round of applause to festival sponsor Clif Kids! (Thanks also to the events' other sponsors: The Standard, REI, BES and the Oregonian)

An abundance of the Trillium Festival's namesake flower at the plant sale 

Visitors peruse the Spring Artisan Market

Friends Volunteer Bruce Rottink leads a guided nature hike

Many thanks to community partner PGE who shared great information about sustainable, renewable energy in our region

Community partner Master Gardeners shared their expertise with the public in the Nature Center

New Historic Oswego Iron Heritage Trail opens in Lake Oswego

History buffs, outdoor enthusiasts and anyone with curiosity about Oregon's past are sure to enjoy the newly unveiled historic Oswego Iron Heritage Trail.

The trail route follows the rail bed of the narrow gauge railroad that transported ore from the mines to the furnace and winds through existing streets and paths in Lake Oswego - including trails in Tryon Creek State Natural Area - taking adventurers on a tour of Oregon's iron industry. Featured sites include:

• The 1866 blast furnace in George Rogers Park
• The site of the 1888 furnace in Roehr Park
• The site of the pipe foundry in Foothills Park
• The Prosser iron mines in Iron Mountain Park (mines are no longer accessible)
• The Worker's Cottage on Wilbur Street
• The Oswego Pioneer Cemetary

When the path reaches Tryon Creek State Natural Area it passes an old Charcoal Pit that once produced fuel for the furnace.


This interpretive sign in Tryon Creek State Natural Area was created and funded by the Friends of Tryon Creek in partnership with Oregon Parks and Recreation Department

(For more information and to view the entire collection of panels please visit http://lakeoswego.katu.com/news/community-spirit/455813-lake-oswego-unveils-historical-oswego-iron-heritage-trail)