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Despite wet, windy conditions, the girls and I managed to get out most days for some sort of walk, hike, ramble amid the beautiful trees, rocks, meadows of the north cascades. The colors were saturated and the air was fresh and clean. My favorite time of year.

The days are getting shorter, faster, it seems. Soon it will be dark after dinner and there won’t be any evening dogs walks. But for now, the weather is perfect and the light is lovely so we enjoy it while we can. Some chokecherries, nearly black, and snowberries still cling to the bushes. The serviceberries and currants are long gone, eaten by birds, coyotes, bears and Willow got some too. This is brown season. We have white season, green season, brown season and fire season. Fortunately, this year, fire season hasn’t been threatening to us, so far. With little or no precipitation in the forecast, we are not out of danger yet.

Have you ever been out in the dark and seen the Milky Way and shooting stars? Have you stayed out there for hours, watching the night sky revolve around you, or I should say, watching as you revolved around the night sky? If you can find yourself truly out in the dark, without extraneous light (not an easy thing to find), you will be amazed at what you can see, once your eyes adjust to the night sky.

Family photo sessions are always special, especially with my favorite loons. I hope to see them again soon.

The girls and I had a good hike this week. We covered a whole variety of habitats and saw lots of great wildflowers, some baby birds and beautiful blue butterflies. I had hoped the fireweed would be in full bloom but it was too early. The buckwheat and paintbrush were the real stars of the wildflower show. There were Mallard and goldeneye ducklings and I found two Lewis’s Woodpecker nests in burned snags. The aspens were full of bird song. I came across an active burrow that is home to what? Maybe a badger? The girls enjoyed cooling off in a lake and tussled over a stick too.

Who recognizes the location of the first photo?