Cooper Mountain

We went for a ramble at Cooper Mountain Nature Park, to explore this unique place while the weather is cool.  It can get quite hot here, and by late summer it's more difficult to enjoy!   They have made huge efforts to create habitat for Pacific madrones and Oregon white oaks, which are quickly eclipsed by the much taller Douglas firs if nature is left to its own devices.  But for thousands of years, the Native Americans did controlled burns to create habitat for the game and plants they depended upon.  Cooper Mountain periodically hosts controlled burns, and rare native plants that once flourished far and wide on the artificial prairies can be found here today. There is also a tadpole pond which was created when rocks were excavated to help form the trails.  It is a vernal pool which hosts all sorts of aquatic life in the rainy weather, and is very popular with the garter snakes that eat the amphibians.  By late summer when the water is gone, it's a great place to search for lizards.  We went there to see what was stirring in the pond in January.

Pacific madrone.

An insect larva and a diving beetle.

Diving beetle showing off.

A scud and a water flea, crustaceans.

There are several listening tubes in the park which are favorites of the children.