Not much time for a long walk with the dogs today so we made the most of it with sightings of a Great Horned Owl, Gray Catbird, American Kestral and two Rubber Boas.
This one is about eighteen inches long.
I was up early and out on the wet hillside this morning, hoping to hear birds and try to figure out which ones were singing. It was a glorious morning after all the rain we’ve had this week. Rubber boots were the fashion statement of the morning. I meant to take the big camera but, somehow managed to leave it behind so once again, Instagram to the rescue. Really, I mean to get serious about photography again. Soon. Really.
That’s our nicest pine tree
The ground is starting to heal nicely after the April 17th brush fire
Sunrise!
I think these are Douglas sunflowers
I don’t think the pines down in the draw are going to survive
Here’s something new
Lots of chokecherry blossoms this year
Target practice?
And birds. Here is the list of birds I was able to identify by sight or sound:
California Quail
Dusky Grouse
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Rufous Hummingbird
Calliope Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Western Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Say’s Phoebe
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
House Wren
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Western Tanager
Black-headed Grosbeak
Brewer’s Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Cassin’s Finch
Pine Siskin
June showers bring? June flowers? Well maybe a few more days of green hillsides in the Methow. Also good conditions for garden photos.
Walking or dancing Egyptian top-setting onions
Native columbine
Pretty flowering catnip mint
Poppy bud
Raspberry flowers
Ken’s bees have been busy in the berry patch.
Hop vine
I know it’s probably hard to believe but in addition to doing tons of personal work in my photography, I also am a professional photographer. Recently I was hired to create cover and featured photos for Methow Arts quarterly Arts magazine. They always feature a local artist and in this valley, there are lots to choose from. This season Julie Wenzel, creative director at the Merc Playhouse was the featured artist. I love the theatre and photographing there so it was a good match for me.
Here is Julie with her two month old baby directing a rehearsal of a readers’ theatre.
More photos from our shoots can be seen at my Reflected Light Images blog.
The Methow Arts article can be seen here.
I confess. I like Instagram. Ok. It’s alright to like Instagram. And sometimes it is just easier to carry the phone rather than a camera or both.
Lots of small wildflowers blooming on our hill now. The Balsamroot and Lupine are past their peak at this elevation. Now, there are more blues to be seen, some pinks and yellows too.
Bitterroot, Lewisia rediviva. On our hillside, it is much whiter, less pink than in other places, such as Patterson Mountain
Cat’s ear lily, Calachortus lyalli
A yellow violet (an oxymoron of a name), Viola sp. I don’t know which one.
I’ve always referred to this as a Brodiaea but looking at my field guide, I think its name has been changed to Triteleia grandiflora
Evidence that our part time neighbors celebrated the holiday weekend riding up and down our road on quads while drinking and tossing their litter around.
More bitterroot
And tired dogs.
My Everyday Photos 