Broom and buoys

So I promised. Promised to tear myself away from the news, which seems to hold a glimmer of hope today, so there's that, and get back to posting photos of my peaceful surroundings.

Okay.

Last week I had a flat tire. Out on the highway, on the way out of town. I discovered that I had no jack in the car, so I got to hang around on the edge of the road until someone stopped and helped me. And so I wandered about exploring a site I had seen in passing and wondered about before, but never would have stopped.

It looks like an old, abandoned gravel pit, where off to the side, someone has used the space for open-air storage. Over the years, invasive Scotch broom has taken over most of the pit.

Scotch broom, Cytisus scoparius. Pretty but not a welcome sight.

Due to its affinity for light-dominated, disturbed areas, any disturbance activity, such as road or home construction near infested areas, can enhance spread. Scotch broom invades rangelands, replacing forage plants, and is a serious competitor to conifer seedlings; Douglas fir plantation failures in Oregon and Washington have been credited to infestations of this plant. (Invasive Species Council of BC)

When I was a kid, living in White Rock for a year, a neighbour had Scotch broom on his property. I loved it, even though my mom said it was a horrible weed. But it was so cheerful!

So bright!

Mom was right, of course. Here on the island, we have a native species that colonizes waste spaces, old logging sites, torn lands; fireweed. It leaps into open sites and prepares them for regrowth of the evergreen forest, while providing forage for wildlife. Broom prevents forest regrowth, and is inedible. Fireweed dies back as the trees recover; broom spreads and spreads and spreads. But it is cheerful!

Among the yellow broom bushes, someone is storing dozens of yellow balls.

Steel buoy floats, about a metre in diameter. Six fit on a flatbed truck.

I've wondered about these, seeing them here and there. If it weren't for the flat, I wouldn't have stopped to look at them, though.

They sort of fit with the broom, like some sort of enlarged seeds. Recently, someone has brought in a bunch of new ones, all shiny and yellow. They are probably for sale, although I saw no signs, and Google map gives no company name. Or maybe they'll rust and blend in with the broom. I don't think they'll re-seed themselves, anyhow.

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Se me ponchó una llanta en la carretera a una poca distancia de la ciudad. Y descubrí que no tenía gata para llantas, así que tuve que esperar al lado de la carretera hasta que alguien viniera a ayudarme. Y tuve la oportunidad para explorar un sitio donde de otra manera nunca habría parado.

Es un espacio que parece haber sido usado para excavar grava, y luego abandonado. Y como muchos sitios, ha sido invadido por los arbustos de Genista. 

Genista es un arbusto que se escapó de jardines y ahora cubre espacios abiertos. Es una plaga porque no provee alimentos para animales ni salvajes ni domésticos, e impide el crecimiento de nuestros árboles nativos. Y se extiende rápidamente, no dejando espacio para otras plantas.

Cuando era niña, me gustaba, porque el color es tan brillante, aunque mi mamá decía que era horrible. Mamá tenía razón, claro.

Tenemos una planta nativa que se ocupa de sanar tierras heridas, el epilobio. Protege la tierra y los arbolitos recién brotados, provee alimentos para los animales, e incluso para humanos. Y cuando el bosque empieza a crecer, el epilobio desaparece. La Genista es al revés; no deja crecer los arbolitos, ni se puede comer, y se queda para siempre.

Pero sí, es bonita.

A un lado del espacio, entre la genista, alguien está usando el espacio para depositar materias fuera de uso. Hay docenas de pelotas grandes, amarillas, como de un metro de diámetro, de metal, oxidándose lentamente. Las he visto al pasar y me preguntaba qué serían, pero no hubiera parado para investigar sin la llanta ponchada.

Parece que son flotadores para muelles y boyas.

Se mezclan con la genista, y casi parecen alguna especie de semillas gigantes. Recientemente han llegado más, nuevecitas, limpias y brillantes. Tal vez están en venta, pero no encontré anuncio o nombre. O tal vez se oxidarán como las otras. Por lo menos, no se van a reproducir.