Spring at the BFS means that our volunteers return to managing invasive annual weeds, and this past Saturday, the volunteers removed Italian Thistles (Carduus pycnocephalus) from the entry drive and the east side of the ‘Neck’. The thistles are still in their rosette stage, but they have grown large enough to spot easily.
A basal rosette of an Italian Thistle (Carduus pycnocephalus). ©Nancy Hamlett.
The area along the entry drive had many fewer thistles than last year; in one spot that previously had many thistles, we couldn’t find any.
The area next to the houses on the east side of the ‘Neck” had more thistles than the entry drive, but they were still fewer than last year.
Volunteers pull thistles in the ‘Neck’. Left to right: Carol Cox, Thomas Andrews, Prof. Dick Haskell (HMC), Anne Clark (HMC ’13), Bryan Visser (HMC ’13), Tim Cox, and Maria Morabe (HMC ’13). ©Nancy Hamlett.
Carol Cox holds a handful of thistles while going after another one. ©Nancy Hamlett.
Volunteers near the end of their work for the day. Nearest to farthest: Maria Morabe (HMC ’13), Anwen Evans, Jacob Thomas, Prof. Dick Haskell (HMC), Anne Clark (HMC ’13), Thomas Andrews, Bryan Visser (HMC ’13), and Carol Cox. ©Nancy Hamlett.
By the end of the workday, we’d pulled enough thistles to fill two garbage cans.
Two garbage cans full of Italian Thistles. ©Nancy Hamlett.
While pulling thistles, the volunteers also spotted some of the local fauna, including native millipede, Hiltonius pulchrus…
Jacob Thomson inspects a millipede (Hiltonius pulchrus). ©Nancy Hamlett.
…and two European molluscs that presumably wandered over from adjacent gardens, a Garden Snail (Helix aspera)…
A Garden Snail (Helix aspera). ©Nancy Hamlett.
…and a Gray Field Slug (Deroceras reticulatum).
A Gray Field Slug (Deroceras reticulatum). ©Nancy Hamlett.
As we headed back to the outdoor classroom for pizza, we also spotted a gophersnake wending its way through the daffodils by the field house.
San Diego Gophersnake (Pituophis catenifer annectans). ©Nancy Hamlett.
I’m sure we will be spending several workdays on Italian Thistles, so if you missed this one, you will have other chances to pull those thistles! Just check our volunteer page for the schedule.