Skip navigation

Last Week in the Garden

This week’s weather has been less than desirable. I suppose I should not complain about the rain and I don’t mind that too much but it’s also been darned cold and when it’s not raining, the wind is blowing. Last week was warm and pleasant and I managed to get a few images from the garden. With all the rain, the garden is looking much different now!

 

This Pine Siskin was obsessed with our dandelions. We have a good crop this year.

May172013_0047

 

Johnny-jump-ups

May172013_0058

 

Columbine

May172013_0071

 

So far, the deer don’t eat columbine, knock on wood.

May172013_0074

 

Iceland poppy

May172013_0081

 

Something else the deer don’t eat

May172013_0083

 

We are eating radishes and greens from the fenced, vegetable garden now

May172013_0090

 

Honeybees

Ken’s honeybees are an endless source of questions and wonderment. He enjoys working with them and checking on them from time to time to see how the hives are doing. Are they strong? Are they too strong? Will they swarm? What are they eating? Will we get honey this year? How do we keep other bees from stealing the honey? There are more questions than answers. One friend said while you need to keep an eye on them, there is so much time when you are not watching and who knows what is happening then.

 

Ken ‘smokes’ the bees as he opens the hives

May192013_0001

 

Smoking calms the bees

May192013_0003

 

Pulling a frame from a hive as a bee watches

May192013_0010

 

These are new hives this year

May192013_0022

 

The bees are making brood and storing food

May192013_0026

 

May192013_0014

 

Ken points out a possible queen cell to the neighbors and their golden retrievers

May192013_0054

 

 

May192013_0012

 

Many frames are not yet filled. It is early in the season

May192013_0034

 

 

May192013_0055

 

There’s some honey! We got to taste it.

May192013_0075

Golden Retrievers

Our part-time neighbors have a beautiful pair of golden retrievers. Yesterday, after a long weekend of fun with their family and friends they come up to visit while Ken worked with his bees. The dogs are beautiful and real sweethearts. Sadie is the mom and Oggie (the doggie) is her pup. I could not resist making a few images of them.

 

 

Wednesday Walk

Someone else coined the term ‘cardio Wednesdays’ and I’ve taken it to heart. Three weeks in a row Luna and I have joined other dogs and women for a brisk uphill hike to someplace with a great view and wonderful wildflowers. This week we went down-valley to hike with Lindsey and her three canine companions in a canyon pretty much in her backyard. We walked an abandoned road up, up, up til we came to a tremendous viewpoint of the snow-covered Sawtooth Mountains underlined with banks of yellow balsamroot sunflowers. Then we followed the ridge to a flat spot, the site of an old hunters’ camp, where we rested before heading down the other side of the ridge. It was a great morning hike.

Ponderosa pines have a wonderful scent when the sun hits the bark

2013-05-15_10-15-08_948

A puffball emerges from the forest duff

2013-05-15_09-57-27_905

The Sawtooth’s lie between the Methow Valley and Lake Chelan

2013-05-15_09-39-30_888

Evidence of old logging activity

May152013_0018

Luna catches her breath

May152013_0005

Balsamroot

May152013_0008

 

and more balsamroot

May152013_0009

 

and still more

May152013_0013

Moose is an old dog who still loves his walks

2013-05-15_10-25-28_599

A relic, possibly from an old hunting camp

2013-05-15_10-17-33_230

Arnica lines this forest floor. I missed getting photos of the blooming patches.

2013-05-15_10-52-48_867

A tremendous wildlife tree

2013-05-15_10-57-54_234

 

and another one

2013-05-15_11-07-55_304

Down through fields of balsamroot

2013-05-15_11-05-44_325

Lindsey points out another trail we could have taken

May152013_0023

 

May152013_0027

Shiny beetle on lupine buds

May152013_0022

Looking back up

May152013_0030

Yesterday’s Wildflowers

This is the height of the wildflower season on our hill. The elevation of our house is about 1850′ and the colors of spring can be fleeting in this arid climate. Yesterday, before the wind came up, I was particularly struck with the beauty and diversity of this dry site’s wildflowers. Last week’s warm weather has been replaced with the more expected breezy and cool weather of spring.

 

Balsamroot, Balsamorhiza sagittata – the signature spring flower of for this valley

2013-05-12_09-09-57_329

 

Thompson’s paintbrush (I think), Castilleja thompsonii

2013-05-12_09-12-29_836

 

 

2013-05-12_09-12-43_641

 

Calochortus sp (sometimes referred to as Cat’s ear)

2013-05-12_09-14-11_754

 

Agoseris sp., again I am not sure

2013-05-12_09-14-39_195

 

I am pretty sure this is bastard toadflax (not a pretty name for a delicate flower), however where I have seen it before it was more of a salmon color. Comandra umbellata

2013-05-12_09-25-04_789

 

 

2013-05-12_09-25-48_414

 

Columbia puccoon, Lithospermum ruderale

2013-05-12_09-32-53_49

 

Bitterbrush, Purshia tridentata

2013-05-12_09-33-26_517

 

Lupine, Lupinus sp

2013-05-12_09-48-20_219

 

And another view of balsamroot, looking down-valley to Balky Hill and beyond

2013-05-12_09-31-32_625