Equisetum

A busy day, and about to depart for a board meeting at the Leach Botanical Garden. Unfortunately, the traffic between home and the Garden, which is in deep southeast Portland, is miserable at this time of day. I'll have to give myself 90 minutes to get there - it will be easier getting home after the meeting! But such a worthwhile cause that I don't mind the drive at all (35 minutes with no traffic).

I did get a chance for a good walk at the Tualatin Hills Nature Center - one of my favorite walks that I blip often. Spring is definitely emerging. The Equisetum (not sure which species this is) is growing - isn't this a strange looking creature? It will grow to be much taller. It's wickedly invasive here in western Oregon, and is generally considered to be a terrible nuisance. But its history is pretty darned fascinating, referred to often as a "living fossil". Here's a Wikipedia article if you're interested: Equisetum