Statesman Journal from Salem, Oregon • C4

4C SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2019 STATESMAN JOURNAL eschew them now in articles and col- umns. Not because of an aversion to such compilations, although like blowing bubbles, the more expansive they grow, the thinner they get. Tip No. 527: Tying your wet socks to the top of your hat will ex- pose them to the sun and make them dry faster (although killing communing with the pine-fresh scent of the woods and the proximity of your hiking com- panions in the No, the real reason writers in general, and freelancers in particular, are loath to put together lists is that you want to run the table in one shot when got 51 more column ideas to come up with to make it through a year. But in the interests of sharing some of the outdoor knowledge that gained, frequently painfully, this one time give you a list of a couple of the things that learned to appreciate over the years, all of them as inexpen- sive as they are valuable.

Item 1: Leave the knives in camp un- less going to clean on the wa- ter or skin critters in the woods. Instead, carry scissors. I have an expensive pair, surgical steel, razor-sharp and needle-pointed that is excellent for poking holes in wad- ers, vinyl rafts and Those stay in the tackle box. For the vest, try a pair of puncture-proof round-ended kiddie school scissors, which are surprisingly sharp (we trim both and my eye- brows with them). At about $10 a dozen, they also are disposable.

Item 2: Although it seems like a re- dundancy with the scissors, get a pair of clippers. Those do a workmanlike job on clip- ping line or doing other small trimming chores. Splurge and spend $1.25 on the deluxe model that has a swing-out nail Which doubles as a passable hook sharpener. Item 3: With apologies to Outdoor Life, get a headlamp. The most expensive item in the in- ventory, you get what you pay for, so look for the most light (LED is brighter and less energy-consuming), and the lightest weight for your hard-earned cash.

Mine has a zoom lens to expand the beam, and it swivels, but I got it on closeout for a song, and I mind the magazine logo on the headband. Harbor Freight occasionally lists headlamps in its as a free item when you make another purchase. I got a couple for the grandkids, and they work fairly well, if a little on the chunky, battery-eating side. Item 4: Needle-threaders. You can buy these, usually in packs of two or three, for a couple of bucks.

If got old eyes or the ice water- shakes, these little gimmicks can let you thread line on a hook, even a 12 or 14, with relative ease. Put the thin wire loop through the hook eye, feed your line or leader through the loop, and then pull through the eye. Note: These things are small and light, so I drill or punch a hole in the met- al tab on the threaders, then put it on the ball chain that came with the nail clip- pers. Item 5: Nitrile gloves. great for handling bait or or other gooey accompaniments to the piscatorial arts.

Do you really want to dive into that lunch you packed with your hands smelling and looking like chartreuse Po- werBait or cured roe? Show of hands. I like the 5 mil, which is sturdy enough for most tasks. about $8 for 100 and either hand. got about 87 more items, but those, as we in the free-lance biz like to say, are another 87 columns. So stay tuned.

Henry Miller is a retired Statesman Journal outdoor columnist and outdoor writer. He can be reached via email at Miller Continued from Page 1C Punch a hole in the tab on your needle-threader, then put it on the chain that comes with your nail clippers with HENRY SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL We shoulder our packs and begin our hike along the top of a farm dike built nearly one hundred years ago. We are in no hurry. This companionable pace al- lows us to see things we might other- wise miss. On our right are the tidal of the Sand Lake Estuary.

On our left is a freshwater marsh well on its way to be- coming a coastal meadow. The trail is edged with a thicket of salal, evergreen huckleberries, elder- berries and twinberries. Successive rip- enings will provide a continuous sum- mer for the small birds who call this hedgerow home. A break in the vegetation us a clear view of some shorebirds foraging in the mud. They are long-billed dow- itchers.

These mottled brown waders have cinnamon colored undersides and, as their name implies, extra long bills for probing the waterlogged soil. They search for aquatic insects, worms and mollusks buried in the wet muck. Predictably, they are feeding on the freshwater side of the dike. They favor freshwater over saltwater when they are on the hunt for a meal. We watch in comfortable silence and then move on.

The path swings north and passes a fringe of Sitka spruce trees. One of us spies a bright caterpillar on an eye-level branch. Bristly tufts of orange and yel- low hairs cover its black body. a sil- ver-spotted tiger moth caterpillar munching on older spruce needles. Sur- prisingly, it shows no interest in the ter- minal buds popping open with tender new growth.

This complicated creature is in the larval stage of its lifecycle. It eats vora- ciously to prepare for the energy-drain- ing process of metamorphosis. Soon the caterpillar will a secret spot and swaddle itself in a cocoon of silk and hair from its own body. Weeks later a drab silver and brown adult moth will emerge. Under the cover of darkness it will a partner and mate.

The female will search for the proper place to deposit eggs. The only spot that will suit her is a branch on a Sitka spruce. Since the young consume nothing but spruce needles, her maternal instinct to lay her eggs on this host tree ensures that her will have a ready food supply when they hatch. She checks tree after tree and uses the chemical receptors on her feet to taste the needles. When she the desired tree she lays a mass of tiny eggs and the next generation gets its start.

We leave the caterpillar to its meal and continue on. The tide has reached its lowest point. A lacery of shorebird footprints covers the wet sand near the dike. The chan- nels and lines on the tidal cre- ate patterns that bring to mind an im- brushstrokes on an estua- rine canvas. The three of us enter a Hobbit forest of and Sitka spruce trees.

The forest canopy is closed overhead and the ground cover is an impenetrable tangle of leathery-leaved salal plants. I use my hiking stick to dig in the damp mulch of conifer needles that covers the surface. Two inches down I hit sand. The thickness of this organic and the size of the encircling trees are clues that help us read the landscape of this place. It made the transformation from mounds of sand to dunal forest many years ago.

The undulating trail pulls us up and down over the tree-concealed dunes. Suddenly two of us spot something pok- ing up out of the moss. The color of pinot noir, it looks like a crimson pine cone. Closer inspection reveals that an un- usual plant known as Vancouver groundcone. Lacking leaves with the green chlorophyll necessary for photo- synthesis, this captivating freeloader obtains the nourishment it needs from surrounding plants.

Its roots penetrate the neighboring roots, allowing it to siphon nutrients and water. This parasitic lifestyle enables it to live where few other can sur- vive. Our forest makes an abrupt change from spruce and to stubby shore pines. The trail becomes softer with loose dry sand. The sound of crashing waves grows louder and soon we are by the sea.

Our trio of friends divides and each goes her separate way. One heads straight for the surf, camera in hand. Another begins to gather bits of trash on the beach. I choose to follow the wrack line, the narrow swath of stranded kelp, crab shells and driftwood washed up by the high tide. These organic castaways are a mother lode for tiny beach crea- tures seeking food and shelter.

Following this sinuous border of sam and jetsam I spot what looks like a piece of clear plastic. I pick it up and dis- cover that attached to a blob of blue goo. the remains of a velella, one of the strangest lifeforms. A velella is a deep blue gelatinous creature topped with a transparent sail. It spends its life sailing the open ocean far from shore, while dangling its tentacles to sting and capture tiny prey.

Each individual is actually a colony of viscous organisms under one sail. A system of canals within the gel allows food captured by each organism to be shared with the entire colony. I place the velella back where I found it and join my friends for lunch on the upper beach. As we eat we discuss all that we have seen today. Hiking back, I fall a few steps behind my companions and ponder the ence between looking at nature and see- ing nature.

Looking involves using sense of sight to acknowledge the presence of something. Seeing goes much deeper. It involves the eyes, a perceptive mind and a sensitive heart. To truly see na- ture is to experience it as a feeling. See- ing is observing, and coming to an understanding.

Looking at nature takes a moment. Seeing nature takes a lifetime. Bobbie Snead is a local naturalist and nature educator who leads more than 50 hikes each year for all ages. She can be reached at naturalist.column@ gmail.com. Wander Continued from Page 1C The Dike Trail at the Sitka Sedge Natural Area.

PHOTOS BY BOBBIE TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL A Vancouver groundcone is seen at the Sitka Sedge Natural Area. A velella is seen at the Sitka Sedge Natural Area. If you go Directions: From City, drive north on Cape Kiwanda Drive and San- dlake Road for 3.5 miles to Sitka Sedge State Natural Area on the left. Length: 3 miles round trip Duration: 2 3 hours Elevation gain: 80 feet Age range: suitable for all ages.