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The Garden Last Week

Last week, before the temperatures rose to the nineties, the garden was vibrant and full of color. This week, it seems tired and droopy, no matter how often we water. Fortunately I made some images last week and captured it at its prettiest, so far, this year. It was full of pollinators – mostly Ken’s honeybees.

Cabbage with leeks
Raspberries
Bean trellis
Bean vines
Robin’s nest over the garden. It’s her second brood this year. She complains whenever we go in the garden.
Echincea
Echinacea
Echinacea
Echinacea with bee
Green-eyed Susan
Green-eyed Susan
Daylilly
Lavender
Lavender
Lavender
Salvia
Poppy pod
Hollyhock
hollyhock with bee
Raspberries – I can’t keep up with picking them
Yellow yarrow
Radish flower
Volunteer pumpkin/squash flower
Volunteer squash/pumpkin
Volunteer squash/pumpkin
Dill
Sunflower
Leek flower with honey bee
Sunflower – all of this year’s sunflowers are volunteers
Sunflower
Sunflower
Leek flower with honey bee
Leek flower with honey bee
Leek with honey bee
Leek flower with honey bee
Leek with honey bee
Volunteer poppy – late bloomer
Volunteer poppy near the compost pile
Volunteer pumpkin/squash
Echinacea with bee
Sweet pea
Leek flower with bee
Leek flower with honey bees
This tomato will be striped, orange and yellow, when ripe
And one more raspberry

Blue Lake Views

The trail to Blue Lake is easy to get to and the short distance – 2.2 miles – makes it a popular destination. From my house, it’s less than an hour to the trailhead, all on paved highway. No bumpety bump roads to contend with. Yesterday’s weather forecast showed thunder and lightning all morning and into the afternoon but, like as often happens, the forecast was wrong and the storm passed by ten am. I met Juliet in town and we were off to relish a few moments in the mountains together before we both get busy going in opposite directions.

 

 

The lake is just over that ridge
Blue Lake lives up to its name
White heather flowers
Considering a swim
We can’t get enough of this view
Whistler Meadows
This is where the mosquitoes come from
Backside of the iconic Liberty Bell formation
Heather
How old was that tree when it died? What kind was it? How long ago since it died?
Backing up to get the shot
The outlet
An old cabin. What an amazing place to spend the short summer.
Two boys and their dad watch trout in the small outlet stream
This image does not do justice to these delicate flowers
Lupine
White rhododendron, a native wildflower, very unlike the rhodies seen in NW gardens
Hemlock with its telltale tipping over top
The outlet stream
On the trail
A lousewort
Polemonium, Jacob’s Ladder
A little pond near the trailhead
Elephanthead, another lousewort

Goat Peak

With the long-anticipated forecast of summer weather I wanted to hike to Goat Peak before it gets dusty and dry so I was up early yesterday and go to the trailhead by 8:00. Along the way I saw at least six snowshoe hares and some cows that gave me baleful looks. It was a chilly 55 degrees and misty clouds were being carried along by the mountain breezes. It’s a short hike to the 7000′ elevation lookout – 2 1/2 miles according to the guide book – with 1400′ elevation gain. It’s a tad bit steep for my tastes. I like getting to a prominent point like that but sometimes the walk down is harder on the body than the walk up. My knees ached and my feet hurt when I was done. Luna and I enjoyed the scenery and flowers even if we never got the BIG view.

 

 

Goat Creek
Tiger lily
Snowshoe hare
Cows on our public lands
The start of the trail
This way
buttercups
Glacier lilies
Spring beauty. It bloomed down here a couple months ago
Luna on the trail
Glacier lilies
Close to the top
A view of the lookout through the mist
Tiny Western Larch cones
Many trees have snapped in the past six months. This is a recent break.
Lomatium near the lookout
Goat Peak with a bit of blue sky
Watching the mist blow around the valley
Red bug on the side of the lookout
This view changed constantly
Luna kept the chipmunks from stealing our food.
A little bit more of the mountains
The dreaded hug. See http://movethehut.org/index.html for more info
A rock memorial
Luna loves snow
An outhouse with a view
More blue sky
Yellow buttercups and groundsel
Waterleaf. This bloom a couple months ago down here
Lewisia
Lupine and Buckwheat
Long-horned beetle
Forget-me-nots
Forget-me-nots
A stream for cooling off on the way down the mountain
ahhhh.
Scarlet gilia along the road

Looking for Winter Birds

Jenny and I went in search of wintering birds in eastern Okanogan County yesterday. It was a long day of driving over bumpy, sometimes muddy and puddle-filled roads, avoiding cows – lots of cows – and enjoying long vistas. The weather was very non-typical of early December. Normally we’d be battling cold winds, crusty snow on the ground, fog, rain or snow falling. Or maybe, all of the above. Instead, we had mostly blue skies, bare ground, and green fields of verdant winter wheat dotted with glacial erratics from the last ice age. In other words, it was a great day to see birds! The birds did not get the memo. They were few and far between and while we saw interesting species like Snow Buntings and Common Redpolls, Northern Shrikes and Rough-legged Hawks, we missed out on the iconic Snowy Owls and Gyrfalcons. Still, it was a good day with good company to explore a fascinating landscape.

 

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A glacial erratic splitting in two

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We walked all around this stand of aspens and found one Great-horned Owl and some chickadees

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An interesting mark left by someone before us

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Old scratches in aspen bark

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A bird’s nest at eye level

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Jenny found this. She identified it as a praying mantis egg case. Pretty cool!

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Lots of cows means lots of cow pies to avoid. Some had mushrooms growing out of them.

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A suvey marker.

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A sharp curve in the road

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Moses Mountain in the distance. A special place on the Colville Reservation

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art?

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history.

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Frosty Morning Walk

Luna and I walked at the Twisp Ponds this morning. She is still recovering from her unfortunate incident on Sunday so I am trying to keep her calm and it is not always easy. The leash helps but then I was also carrying binoculars and my big camera in addition to making a few shots with my phone. It was a bit of a juggling act. Luna needs to recuperate for one to two weeks before she can get back to being Luna again. It will be a challenge. Rimadyl helps.

Cottonwoods reflected in an opening in the ice

 

Grasses frozen in time

 

Frosty leaves on a bridge in black and white

 

and color

 

Whose nest?

 

The only bird I saw this morning. I heard crows in the distance

 

Remains of a bird

 

Frosty oregon grape in black and white

 

and vivid color

 

Remains of a paper wasp nest. Where do they go in the cold months?

 

Ice near the bridge