Greetings my fellow friends of Buford Park,

        The crisp October air enhances the steam from my breath, fogging up my windshield on my way to the first day of interning in the Native Plant Nursery. 

This time of year, as I begin my last Fall term as a University of Oregon undergraduate, I am reminded of the eternal beauty of the seasonal transitions we all experience here in the Pacific Northwest.  I am also reminded by the fact that, while many of us are busy harvesting the vestiges of our summer gardens, others, such as those of use volunteering at Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah's Native Plant nursery, are more occupied cultivating and securing an abundant and assorted collection of seeds, pods, and the inevitable baby Ash trees that seem to be popping up all over the nursery.  

       Today, I realized just how long it actually takes to gather up a full 5 gallon pail of snowberry, a native but relatively poisonous white puff of a berry.  And yet about half way through my seemingly 6-hour pursuit of every snowberry bundle left hanging around, I noticed a small cup sized bird nest that nearly made me call over the whole crew of volunteers for further proof that the delicate berry patch was producing more that just a bucket full of creamy colored berries.  Photos ensued but are still in the process of being posted.  

       So this is just the beginning of some of my insight experienced in my first two days on the nursery grounds, but there will surely be more to come. And photos too!!  I plan on spending Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evening setting up some posts explaining more about what we'll be focusing on with regards to habitat restoration, removal of invasive species, plant propagation, and seed harvesting....but until then, I'll just be dreaming about what we're going to be doing with all those shiny and tiny ivory snowberries.

Excited about the gorgeous Autumn days to be spent out on our beloved Native Plant Nursery in Buford Park,
Jesse Wilson