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A Short Break

To the mountains. The season to visit is short and seems shorter each year. Maybe because of aging and the sense that time flies ever faster each year, or maybe because of the impact from fires on our small community. Whatever it is, I always feel like I don’t get enough time in the mountains. So on Friday I left at noon, knowing it would be a long drive and I’d not have too much time, but it was worth it. The dogs were ecstatic to play in the old snow and I relished the early summer mountain wildflowers – some so similar to what bloomed here months ago and others much different. The weather was cool and there was a little bit of rain. We didn’t care.

The dogs really enjoy running and playing in snow. They take turns being the chaser and the chasee but Luna gets to decide when it’s game over.

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The flowers and the views were outstanding. Swainson’s and Hermit Thrushes sang from the tops of trees and under the brush.

A thrush, I think it is a Swainson’s Thrush.
Anemone?
Monkshood?
Phlox
Heather
Buttercup. These bloomed at home in April!
Arnica peaking out of the talus slope
A very interesting buttercup
I got a raindrop on my lens.

A Long Ways for a Short Trip

We spent last weekend in Virginia to attend Ken’s niece’s wedding. It was a GORGEOUS wedding in a beautiful setting – Riverside on the Potomoc. Wonderful photos from the wedding can be seen at Natalie Franke’s blog.

The photos here are from the time we spent exploring the countryside in between wedding events. Ken and his brother Carl and I were not directly involved in the planning or the wedding party so we had some spare time to enjoy the Virginia and Maryland countryside. The weather was cool and cloudy unlike home where it’s been unseasonably warm and sunny. We walked around historic Leesburg where we stayed for the weekend. We visited Ball’s Bluff Battlefield regional park and enjoyed a lovely walk in the woods to the shore of the Potomoc River and learned a bit about the battle. We crossed the river on White’s Ferry, a cable ferry quite unlike the Washington State ferries we are used to. And we walked along the C&O Canal along with hundreds of others. It was the date of the annual Sierra Club 25 and 50 mile walk that took participants all the way to Harper’s Ferry. We did not go that far. It’s a great place to walk or bike or bird with a nice path overlooking the unused canal and the deep hardwood forest.

After all the wedding events and staying up too late and over indulging, we were ready to come home. It’s always good to get away and travel often makes me appreciate what we have here ever so much.

A memorial for the confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War
In addition to this one, there were memorials for soldiers who have died in the wars since the Civil War
Dogwood was blooming everywhere
A newer courthouse made to look old
I loved these revolving gates.
National Cemetery at the Ball’s Bluff battlefield
Only one of the fallen soldiers was identified
Lots of stuff grows in the woods of Virginia
It’s so very green
Cool foliage
The Potomoc River
We are not lost
Green
Cool wildflower
Wet dandelion fluff
Deep green woods
Ken knows what tree this is
We crossed the Potomoc on a cable ferry
White’s Ferry
The Potomoc
The C&O Canal
Poison ivy
Black Vultures are common
The shore of Lake Michigan
Lake Chelan
Glacier Peak. See the mountains of the NW is always a welcome sight.

 

Winter Light

Yesterday Juliet and I went birding in the Conconully and Okanogan Highlands regions of our county. Birding was slow with not a lot of active birds around but the light on the snow-covered hills was enough to make us stop repeatedly and comment about the beauty that lay before us.

We were surprised to find a Yellow-rumped Warbler along the Okanogan river and closed out our birding day watching a Short-eared Owl hunting at dusk.

I wonder if this is a type of sun dog?
The Okanogan Highlands offer endless vistas
A glorious sunset before we had to go down into the fog-filled valley
And at the end of the day we were wowed by the same sort of colors we saw early in the morning when we descended from the Loup into the Okanogan Valley

Trying to Keep Cool

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.

 

 

This dog accompanied a long distance swimmer back and forth across the lake
Shooting stars in full bloom
Bog orchid
Elephant head
Heather
Silver forest from an old burn
Silky phacelia
Luna was SO happy to see snow
This is the snow field featured near the bottom of the blog post from last summer.
Clearly, I am equipped for whatever the day has to offer.
Jacob’s ladder
columbine
Something like fireweed but not fireweed
Phlox
Slate Peak. It’s pretty obvious from this point of view that the top was removed before the lookout was installed
Silky phacelia
Did you lose a glove?
Native rhododendron
Rosy pussytoes
Native rhododendron
Phlox with raindrops

 

 

Shades of Green

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.