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Category Archives: hike

Mountain Hike

The girls and I got a late start yesterday but still managed a very pleasant (mostly) hike in the mountains. The trailhead was only forty five minutes from home and there was no snow at the start. It was cloudy and spit a tiny bit of rain but not enough to get out my coat. Luna enjoyed the cool temperatures but not the rickety bridge across one of the big creek crossings. We hit snow about two thirds of the way to the lake and near the lake were walking on snow all the time. I had to be careful not to get to close to the edge and get my feet wet. Sky was ecstatic and of course, wanted me to throw sticks but I didn’t. It’s pretty shallow with logs under the surface where she could hurt her legs. As if to make up for the lack of stick throwing, she rolled in something unmentionable after we left the lake. I scrubbed her in the big creek using a hemlock branch but didn’t get it all. She had a bath at home.

Sky says the bridge is still good.
Cool bumble bee
Western white pine
Sunshine at the end of the hike

Nothing But Time

We had some nice days last week and it’s hard to just stay home and try to get the exercise we all need. The girls and I took a short drive and followed a dirt road to a small, mostly frozen lake. The temperature may have gone all the way to 70! Luna has increasing trouble with sunny warm days. At 13, it takes a toll. I was counting on a little creek for water for the dogs but Bowen Creek is already dry. Fortunately I brought water for them, just in case. The road was dusty with car and truck and mountain bike tracks. We saw and heard lots of birds and saw a small herd of deer climbing up the nearby mountainside. Almost back to the car, Sky took herself for a swim in a vernal pond while Luna lounged in a diminishing snowbank. Sky has been nursing a shoulder injury for weeks and is not allowed to jump or do any retrieving. It’s finally on the mend, we hope.

Snow-capped Mt Gardner above the Methow Valley
Aspens ready to burst into green
Dusty road
Lots of Mountain Bluebirds
Singing Western Meadowlark
Tiny wildflowers
That’s where the paragliders launch in healthier times
Mule deer
The dogs never saw the deer. I wonder why?
Ice-covered lake
Bubbles under the thin ice near the edge
The lake is lower than usual and the muck was quite stinky and full of snail shells
I had to search for this singing Yellow-rumped Warbler high in the cottonwood trees
Beautiful ponderosa pines
A pair of Mallards flew into the open water in front of us
Sky watched the Mallards
But then she returned to trying to talk me into throwing a stick for her
The hen Mallard said, ‘it’s time to go now’
And she went
He did too.
What do you call these little water skimming bugs?
Last year’s fireweed
Sky took herself swimming
Luna cooled herself in her own way
The first ballhead waterleaf I’ve seen blooming. Can you see all the pollinators on it? I counted at least five.
My first fully opened arrowleaf balsamroot

Here is the list of birds we saw and heard:

Mallard  6

California Quail  2

Dusky Grouse  1

Sora  1

Turkey Vulture  1

Northern Harrier  1

Bald Eagle  1

Red-tailed Hawk  1

Red-naped Sapsucker  1

Northern Flicker  3

American Kestrel  1

Say’s Phoebe  2

Black-billed Magpie  2

Common Raven  3

Black-capped Chickadee  5

Mountain Chickadee  2

Red-breasted Nuthatch  1

White-breasted Nuthatch  1

Mountain Bluebird  20

American Robin  15

Chipping Sparrow  1

Dark-eyed Junco  25

Vesper Sparrow  2

Spotted Towhee  3

Red-winged Blackbird  15

Yellow-rumped Warbler  1

Late Winter Hike

The girls and I ventured out into the hills last week. Our path was sometimes covered with crusty or soft snow, mud and occasionally dirt. The steep south-facing slopes are bare and dry but other locations not so much. At the top of our climb, it was windy. Very windy. No flowers yet and very few birds but that’s changing quickly.

Remnants of an old foundation
Watch out for old barbed wire
New growth
Looks like she could fly right into that wind!
bunch grass
Last year’s balsamroot
Too much knapweed, or barnaby as they call it around here
Looking down valley
Squalls in the mountains.

Scenes from a Walk

Not enough snow for skiing but cold enough that a person needs to wear warm clothes. The dogs don’t seem to mind. Few birds around. I did see my first of the season Northern Shrike. Also Black-billed Magpie, Mountain Chickadees, Common Raven, Northern Flicker and Red-tailed Hawk.

Ponderosa pine cone
Wolf lichen on pine bark
Sagebrushh
Pockets of blue sky
New growth

A Snowy Hike

Last week’s hike – a mixture of fall and winter.

Sky is pretty excited to be out in the snow

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Luna knows it’s good to have a more sedate pace

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