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Author Archives: Teri J Pieper

Mazama Summer Wedding

Last weekend there was a lovely wedding at the Mazama Ranch House. Lauren and CJ are avid rock climbers and have visited the upper Methow Valley numerous times during their courtship to practice their skills. The Ranch House is their favorite place to stay and it was a perfect backdrop for their summer wedding. Their family and friends came from far-flung locations, many visiting the Methow Valley for the first time.

I love to say that all weddings are unique – events celebrating two individuals coming together to share their lives. This one was no exception to the rule. For their wedding party, they chose their five nieces and nephews, ages one to five years old. It made for a delightful and fun ceremony! The bride was exquisite and the groom, so very handsome. The food and the flowers were perfect. The guests were full of joy for Lauren and CJ’s love. It was a perfect summer day.

Click on the first photo to see all the images as a slideshow.

This is not a regular post for myeverydayphotos.com. My website, teripieper.com is having some issues that I just can’t deal with during this busy time of the year. So you can expect to see more wedding photos here til I can get it resolved. Maybe by November!

Dog Days of Summer

No words needed.

 

Bree
How many dogs fit on a log?
Trip
Bree and Sky
Cubby
Cubby and Vera
Cubby is four months old.
Trip
Vera
Trip and Sky
Vera and Bree

North Cascades Hike

Yesterday the girls and I joined with Molly (remember Molly from last year?) and Mary for a nice hike, mostly above tree line in the North Cascades. We drove through a layer of wildfire smoke to get to the trailhead and found perfect blue skies with fluffy clouds. Ground squirrels and hoary marmots and pikas gave their warning calls as we walked by.  At the end of the hike we could see the smoke column from the Diamond Creek wildfire east of us. In the meantime we were treated to vast vistas of mountains in all directions. We all felt grateful to have this in our ‘backyard’. The dogs were most grateful for the last of the snow and a creek of snow melt leading to a clear refreshing pond for cooling off.

A few wildflowers still blooming
a pika haystack
Views and more views
Cool rocks
Sky tells Molly to stand still
Do it this way Molly
Molly remains defiant
Look! All five of us looking at the camera! Ok. So Luna wasn’t exactly looking at the camera, but almost.
Molly leads the way
We were over there!
Tatie Peak
Wildfire smoke to the left of center on the horizon

Birds, Bees and Big Ears

Despite the heat and the valley full of smoke, animals are abundant. There is a mule deer with twin fawns that we see around our hill pretty often. All the young birds have fledged and are learning to forage with help from their parents. Ken’s bees are still out collecting pollen and nectar from our garden flowers. I do wonder how the smoke affects these animals and if they have shortened life spans because of it.

Big-eared mule deer
The honeybees beard up on the outside of the hive during the hot afternoons
Bullock’s Oriole
Bullock’s Oriole
With the strange light from the smoke-filtered sunlight, I can’t decide if this is a Western Kingbird or a Say’s Phoebe although I lean towards the kingbird.
Female Northern Harrier

Choking on Smoke

Wildfires in British Columbia and a 10,000 acre fire in the Pasayten Wilderness have left much of Washington blanketed in a thick layer of smoke. Air quality in Twisp and Winthrop was the worst in the nation in recent days. People are warned to stay inside with windows and doors closed and not everyone has air conditioning. Temperatures have been in the high 90’s. It is strongly suggested that a person should wear a mask when outside and strenuous activity is being discouraged. Needless to say in our area with a strong emphasis on outdoor recreation, this is a great hardship. I ventured out with the dogs for a couple of hours yesterday and it was painful. ‘They’ say a weather system should be here in a few days, perhaps with wind and rain but most likely with lightning too, and that some of this smoke may be dispersed. It’s hard to hope for lightning but I do want a break from this thick air pollution.

The sun
Not such a bad day with maybe three miles visibility
Patterson Lake. Less than a mile visibility.
Smoky moon