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Lost Lake Wildflowers

We were fortunate to be at Lost Lake on the weekend when the Okanogan Highlands Alliance was leading a native plant walk on the 65 acres of wetlands and uplands they purchased last year. It is a remarkable place with an incredible variety of botanical species, some quite rare, and I feel lucky that the OHA was able to preserve this spot and share it with the public. George Thornton, president of their board, led the walk. He has many years of experience doing plant surveys for the US Forest Service and is well versed in the flora of the region. And he’s a good trip leader; in his other life he is a school teacher.

 

George ponders a question about the forest.

 

Bog Orchid

 

Gentianella propinqua
fourpart dwarf gentian

 

Lots of lupines blooming everywhere

 

Pyrola asarifolia
pink wintergreen

 

Twinflower (I need to get its Latin name)

 

As I paddled my boat, I was fascinated by the various shapes of the waterlillies. I don’t know if these are natives or not.

 

 

 

Lost Lake in the Okanogan Highlands

Ken and I had a nice getaway to Lost Lake in the Okanogan Highlands last weekend. While the weather was not perfect, it was never too cold or wet and we had a great time. A nice lady stayed with our dogs so we were able to kayak, fish, ride bikes and just have a relaxing time at this gem of a place. For me, it is sort of like ‘On Golden Pond’ with nesting loons, a quiet lake surrounded by forest, some camps, and a few cabins nestled along the edge.

Morning on Patterson Lake

This morning started out to be another ho,t still day, similar to yesterday. At Patterson Lake, birds were singing, insects buzzing and a few early risers were out fishing and stretching their muscles on the water. I paddled my kayak from one end to the other and back, listening to birds and buzzing insects from the trees. I saw an Osprey catch a fish; heard woodpeckers tapping on trees; saw turtles sunning themselves on logs. It was a good morning to be out on the water.

 

 

 

a Common Goldeneye chick

 

Here the chick is reunited with its family

 

I saw this moth thrashing around in the water

 

and brought it onto my boat to dry its tattered leaves.

Later I left it in a tree.

 

Evening in the Garden

With good weather finally happening, the garden is really coming to life with new growth and flowers everywhere. Evening light, just before sunset gives all the foliage and blooms a glow you don’t see during the day and I find it irrisistable. One day this week the constant breeze or gusty winds finally quit and I was able to photograph the sights around my house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This seems like a lot of images for a blog post. There were many more they didn’t make the cut!

It’s Shedding Season

If you’re a mountain goat, that is.

In early summer, when the road up to Harts Pass first is drivable, a person can frequently get lucky and see the local mountain goats at a natural salt lick. It is shortly past the scary section of the road when it goes into the trees and just over the steep edge of the downhill side. Sometimes the goats will be on the road. They seem quite familiar and used to the minimal traffic passing by so a car or truck makes a good blind for observation or photography. I’ve only seen them in this season when they are shedding big chunks of fur and looking mangy. There are young ones and the moms tend to keep them away from the cars. Here are a few that I saw today.