This time of year it is easy to soak up all the shades of green like a refreshing drink of water. Soon many of those greens will be shades of pale gold and brown. This pretty draw is on the Big Buck section of the Methow Wildlife Area. The big cottonwood in the clump of aspens always stands out for me.
Four of Ken’s six beehives burned in the fire last summer and the replacement bees arrived last month. Ken and I went over to Dave’s house where other local beekeepers were gathered to get bees to start new hives or replace colonies that didn’t survive the winter or succumbed to other things like mites, pesticides, fire, etc. I think there were over 120 boxes of bees delivered to start their new lives in the Methow and Okanogan valleys.
We quickly brought them home and Ken got to work moving them into their new bee boxes. After that he checked the two old hives and discovered that one of them had died in the last couple of weeks. It had been the weaker of the two but after surviving the fire and the winter, it was a great disappointment to lose them just when things should have been improving.
Last week the dogs and I joined Lindsey and two of her dogs for a hike from her place in Smith Canyon up to Lookout Mountain. Before we left her husband asked if we were going straight up and she said no. That’s a good thing.
She said the whole hike should take about five hours. It is four miles and nearly 3000 feet elevation gain. It took us 5 hours and 45 minutes. I am slow. There is an easier way to get to Lookout Mountain. You can drive most of the way to a trailhead and then walk maybe a mile on a steep trail but we wanted to do the whole thing and I’m glad we did.
Smith Canyon is an oasis of green right now with lots of spring growth. At the bottom, balsamroot is in full bloom. In the canyon, maples and serviceberry and other shrubs are abundant under big pines and douglas fir trees. At the top of the canyon we reached Alder Pass and the road to the trailhead. Lindsey told me that this route is the OLD Twisp Carlton Road, before there was a bridge at Carlton. People would drive up Libby Creek to Smith Canyon and then to Alder Pass and down Alder Creek to get between Carlton and Twisp. What a difference from today’s Twisp Carlton Road that follows the meandering Methow River.
We walked about a mile on the dirt road to the trailhead and then the last stretch to the mountain top. It was a rewarding hike with great views of much of the Methow Valley. It would have been an interesting spot to watch last summer’s fires unfold. Unfortunately the sky was a hazy white that only got worse with a prescribed burn near Mazama.
I’m a bit behind on photo processing these days. It’s spring and there are a million tasks to be done everywhere I look around here. These photos are from April 19. I was heading down valley to meet a bride and groom to talk about their wedding plans and I had promised to arrive at a certain time. So when I came around the corner to see all these cows, I knew I was going to be late. Thankful for cell phones. These cows are moved from the east side of the valley, down the county road, onto the highway, through the town of Twisp and then up the west side of the valley on Highway 20 where they cross private property (with permission) and then onto state land where they spend the summer grazing. It’s an annual event.
The Carlton Complex Wildfires started nine months ago tomorrow. It was a devastating event – burning wildly and consuming trees, shrubs, hillsides, wildlife and homes for people and animals. Nine months later, I took a walk through Pipestone Canyon, a favorite area for walking and bicycling and birding. Like our hillside, it is beginning to recover but some areas burned so hot, there is no sign of life. I heard a Canyon Wren from the rocky cliffs above and heard raptors screeching at each other or maybe at me. I was surprised to encounter numerous Dusky Grouse. I wonder what they are eating? Wildflowers and grasses are thriving in some areas. Shrubs and trees that did not burn too hot are slowly recovering.
My Everyday Photos 