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Author Archives: Teri J Pieper

On the Water

What fun to finally get my kayak back on the water. It’s been a challenging spring with lower back pain slowing me down at every turn. It is on the mend and while it’s not pain-free, it’s mostly tolerable. The weather is improving this week too. Yesterday was even what you might call warm. Well, depending on where you live and what you’re used to!

I moved stuff around the garage on Saturday and dragged the boat outside to hose off the dust and other winter accumulations; yesterday I put the racks on my car and finally, finally I loaded my boat with some trepidation anticipating that spasm of back pain. I managed without causing anymore pain so I took off for the lake. Ken and the dogs followed a while later with the fishing boat. I saw some Wood Ducks and a pair of Hooded Mergansers and Canada Geese, in addition to lots of singing Yellow-rumped Warblers and other song birds. It was nice to get out if even for just a short while. Today I’m a little sore but mostly tolerable still.

 

 

Patterson Mountain, still covered in yellow
A male Hooded Merganser trying to get a female’s attention.
Sky just now noticed me
Ken teaches the dogs about fishing tackle.
Sky was very interested in the fishing. Luna was along for the ride.
He caught several trout
Supper?

Hillsides Covered with Yellow

Balsamroot sunflowers are in full bloom this week. Their sunny color paints the hillsides of the Methow valley with vivid pigments that invite you to get up and go outdoors. If you’re not out in the hills this week, you are making a mistake. MA and I took the dogs to Patterson Mountain, a popular and easily accessible hiking trail near here.  There were several cars at the trailhead so we knew others were out ahead of us and we did see them but mostly they were leaving as we were arriving so on top of the mountain we had it mostly to ourselves, except for a talkative raven.

The contrast of green hills crowned with yellow and the snow-covered mountains and blue skies surely make this the prettiest time of the year. There were other flowers – rock cress, shooting stars, blue bells, serviceberry, even a late twin flower. The bitterroot were not yet blooming. That surprised me. But the star of the day was the Balsamroot.

What a day!
Sky in the flowers
Luna and Sky
Frida stops to smell the flowers
Oh yeah, you have to drink it all in!
That yellow lab joined us for a short time.
Sky found a stick! Imagine that.
Sky followed the sign indicating a switchback in the trail. Isn’t she a smart girl?
Oh yeah, perfect day on the trail.
Oh look, Sky followed another sign.
Patterson lake with Mt Gardener on the left and the Wolf Creek and the upper Methow on the right
Even though they got to go swimming before the hike, the sun is starting to slow them down.
This Dusky Grouse stayed put as all the dogs walked by and then when MA went past it finally could not stand it and had to get up and walk giving me a great look!
Handsome bird in the flowers.
Resting on the mountain top
We love our snow-covered mountains.
Luna, where have you been?
Heading down.
The flowers and the mountains.
My favorite time of the year.

Out with the Dogs

The dogs and I went up-valley on Friday for a change of scenery. The pass is still closed so traffic is light up there. That will change soon. The dogs were happy to see some dwindling snow patches and I enjoyed looking at the rivers and streams. Lost River was running clear while all the other streams were muddy with runoff. Glacier lilies were blooming where the snow had just melted. Butterflies probed into old dog poop looking for nutrients. Chipping Sparrows, Willow Flycatchers and many other birds sang their songs of spring time.

I always stop for this view.
Glacier lily
Glacier lily
Spring beauty
Buttercup
I should know the name of this mountain
This bridge is nerve-wracking for me. In the summer I wade across the river but not now.
Sky was not as confident as Luna
Luna says it’s a piece of cake.
Quite the rushing river
A small waterfall
Fresh cottonwood leaves
Cottonwood leaves in black and white
Cedar and sunlight
Forest and the trees
This creek must have escaped its culvert. Now it is going across the road.
That’s where the road should be.
Luna gets a stick out of the muddy torrent
Even muddy, it’s still pretty
Butterflies. How many do you see?
Disgusting, I know.
Sky is curious.

A Dock for Diving and Fishing Too

I had told MA that we needed a dock to see if Sky would ‘dock dive’. It seems a bit lofty to think of an eight month old puppy being ready to take on the big world of dock diving but her enthusiasm for swimming seems to be boundless. MA said she knew where there was a dock but the lake might still be frozen. She likes to go there before spring really arrives and other folks are fishing up there. So we loaded the dogs and headed into the mountains. Sure enough, we hit snow on a shady part and I fretted about going through it without snow tires but when I saw how much farther we had to go, I bucked up and drove my subaru through it without any problem. There was some snow that was pretty soft and squishy but we got through that too. Finally made it to the top and then had a reasonably short walk to the lake. Most of it was still ice-covered but not around the dock. And sure enough, Sky was happy to jump off the dock and swim for a stick or the tennis ball that she found in the campground. Luna was happy to watch. Frida jumped a couple of times too. After a while the dogs and I went for a walk and left MA to her fishing and when she was done with her worms, she had five nice trout for supper! On the way home, we saw a Dusky Grouse and he must have seen something he liked about us or my car because he soon puffed up in all of his courtship finery.

Sky retrieved sticks that the other dogs left behind
Reflections in water pooled on the ice
Chipmunks watched us
A Mallard drake walks on ice
A pair of Ring-necked Ducks
The male Ring-necked Duck
Ponderosa pines and a bluebird sky. What could be prettier?
If she can’t pick it up, she can climb on to it
Tiny puffballs
Clear cold water
Luna thinks this is not a good idea
Frida is a good dog to take fishing
Beautiful spot
That’s a keeper!
Just before Sky jumped in to see if she could retrieve it
Dusky Grouse

A Rare, Rainy Day

It seems like the snow just recently melted and yet, already everything is dusty so this morning it was lovely to wake to the smell of petrichor – the pleasant smell that comes with rain after a dry spell. Thanks to Mary Ann for sharing this word with me. It’s just a very light rain so things will not be moist for long. I’ll be watering tiny garden plants again tomorrow or the next day.

The dogs and I had a nice slow walk around our hillside. I am still nursing a sore back so I don’t do anything quickly. It was a good opportunity to study the small plants growing in our normally arid landscape.

This lupine grows near our house is often the first to bloom. It is next to a rock so probably benefits from the reflected heat and light.
Serviceberry in full bloom!
Old serviceberry along our road
Choke cherry, not yet blooming
Dog with a stick in a hurry.
Balsamroot
Balsamroot in front of our neighbors’ small barn
Tent caterpillars on a bitterbrush. They seem smaller than last year.
Currant
I don’t know this one
Bitterroot leaves
Tiny lomatium.
Bluebells
Mullein. Some say it’s native; others say it’s introduced. It has lots of medicinal qualities. It is beautiful. Birds like it. However, it is very invasive.