Just a few images from our hillside. Lots of baby birds this time of year.
A couple days ago, the dogs and I got up and out early in the morning to find some respite from the heat. We made the short drive to the Blue Lake trailhead and were on the trail by 7:30! The forest was cool and damp and there were dew drops on the shrubs. We haven’t had dew in the valley for quite a while. At home the temperature continues to linger in the high 90’s and low 100’s during the afternoon so we needed a break. ‘They’ say there will be a break in this heat but with that break we have the promise of lightning.
Wildflowers were lush along parts of the trail. Crossing an avalanche chute, the views opened up into the North Cascades. At the lake we enjoyed the sight of the back of Liberty Bell, the iconic rock formation that dominates the horizon at Washington Pass.
We were the first to make the 2.2 mile hike that morning and had the lake nearly to ourselves all the time we were there. Going down, after we passed the halfway mark, we saw numerous hikers going up in the growing heat of the day. I imagine a few of them enjoyed the waters of Blue Lake almost as much as Sky did.
Yesterday morning Ken saw a Great-horned Owl roosting on our porch when he went out to the kitchen. It did not stick around. This morning I awoke to the sound of angry robins and wrens and I thought that the owl must be back.
Thinking this might be a good photo opportunity, I stayed in bed waited for the sun to come up but it never really got bright this morning. This is because of wildfires burning in British Columbia and other parts of Washington.
Finally, I quietly walked out to the kitchen not even talking to the dogs and sure enough, that owl was perched on the snowshoes hanging above the deck. Robins were constantly hollering at it and occasionally dive bombing it. The dogs went out the front door and back via the porch and the owl just watched them from above.
I got a few images and came up here to process them. A few minutes later I went down for my tea and the owl was gone but the robins were still pitching fits about it. I looked around and found it on the bird bath and got a few more shots while it evaded the robins and then returned to the snow shoes. It hardly seems to be sleeping with all the robin ruckus around here. I wonder how long it will stay?
This last week has featured temperatures over 100 degrees, Fahrenheit! Our house is not designed for extremes of heat and it is difficult to keep it anywhere near a comfortable temperature. Outside, it’s been too hot to do things that need to be done. While we ignore them, the weeds grow gleefully upward, blooming and spreading their seeds. What’s a person or dog to do?
Ignore the weeds; that’s for sure.
Sunday the thermometer topped out at 110! In the morning we took the dogs and a PFD and some floaty toys and went to the lake. We got an early start so we could find a coveted place big enough for us and the dogs without bothering other recreaters. There were several rowing sculls on the water and a canoe and some people swimming for exercise or fun. The dogs were ecstatic and we threw and threw their bumpers. When I thought they might be tiring, I put them away. Sky disappeared into the bushes and came out with a brand new tennis ball! That dog has a nose for tennis balls. If you ever lose one, call on Sky and she will find it for you. But then you have to throw it for her. Again and again. We floated around in the water with PFD, just relaxing and enjoying the cooling lake. Back at home, we all felt somewhat rejuvenated and got a little bit of work done.
Late in the afternoon we packed up a picnic and drove to Harts Pass at about 6100 feet elevation. It was much cooler up there – in the sixties and it felt SO good. There was a threat of thunder storms and we had a little bit of light rain but nothing that chased us away. Ken chatted with a fellow who had just started the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), traveling north to south. He plans to arrive at Mexico in November. We wished him good luck. The mosquitoes were annoying when we ate our picnic so we ate fast. Then we headed out for a short walk on the PCT. We were greeted by pikas, hoary marmots, Swainson’s Thrushes and a few wildflowers. There were small patches of snow – nothing like last year. It’s already very dry. Many of the creeks are quite low or even dry and it’s not even July. Compare that with a day on the same part of the trail last year in July here. The flowers are not as floriferous either.
Last week I made a few attempts to stay up late or set an alarm in hopes of seeing the aurora borealis but my timing was all off. I never did see the colors and pillars of light that others were seeing. Big sigh. I did see some lovely night skies though. We are lucky to be able to see lots of stars since we don’t have a terrible amount of light pollution. People here value that particular quality of life in the Methow and work hard to encourage others to cut down on night lighting or shroud their lights in such a way that the ground is lit but the light is not spread far and wide ruining others’ night time experiences. For more information on this issue, see the International Dark Sky Association website.
This is a good time to see Venus and Jupiter in the early evening sky. From our vantage point they will come close to converging in a few days.
My Everyday Photos 