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Plants in the Granite

Being a desert area with little rain, what grows there? Turns out, lots of stuff. We were not there at the peak of the flower bloom (we missed the cactus flowers for sure) but we still saw lots of color. The reds really stand out. Red paintbrush and a red milkvetch. Most of the other plants were new to me. The purple and white low growing flowers sometimes carpeted an area of granite gravel. It was a harsh place for pretty things. We didn’t see a lot of pollinator type insects. Most of the bugs we saw were tiny no-see-ums that came out in clouds around dusk and were quite annoying.

Granite

The girls and I recently returned from a nearly three-week road trip to California, Nevada and Oregon. Our main destinations can be designated by the types of rock that dominated the landscape – granite, sandstone and basalt. This is the first part of the granite region.

We camped for a week on the edge of the eastern Sierra’s in the midst of all shapes of rocks with the snow-capped mountains as our constant backdrop. The views were never ending and always amazing. We met our friends from Montana there, including Willow’s half sister, Juniper (Junie). They were dubbed the botanical sisters and we soon learned that they were two peas in a pod, constantly playing and always looking for each other. They proved the old saying, a tired dog is a good dog. There will be pictures of them in a later post, although not too many. They were too fast.

There’s going to be an overload of posts coming from this area. It was my favorite and I look forward to seeing it again.

Evening Walk

The girls and I took the camper out for one night (it was supposed to be two nights) as a shakedown cruise before we get fully into camping season. Sadly, there is a water leak to be fixed. Wish us luck on that. Because of the leak and windy weather we returned after one night.

We chose a campground about 100 miles from home, far enough away to seem really different from here but close enough for a short trip. It is located along the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, a very dramatic landscape. You can learn more about the historic floods here.

After dinner, the girls and I enjoyed a long walk through the basalt coulees and sagebrush, listening to birds and searching for tiny wildflowers. Sunset and moonrise were delightful. The landscape is beyond amazing and the skyscape was equally lovely that night.

Signs of Spring

Here at home, the snow is receding although it’s not all gone yet. Where it has gone, things are growing. And the honeybees are out searching for their own signs of spring. The first wildflowers are steershead and yellow bells. In the garden, chives, daffodils and parsley are all up and growing.

Spring Birding

The girls and I had a field trip day at the big river this week. Somehow, we picked the nicest day ever this year, so far. It got up to 64 and sunny with clear blue skies! I had hoped we might see or hear some cranes but no luck. I feel like they are late getting up here. We did see many herons and cormorants on their nests and flying back and forth. Also, a few raptors, lots of ducks, some loons (maybe some that we see during the summer in the Highlands?), killdeer, many blackbirds, a pair of grebes I have not identified (probably Horned or Eared) and others. And a beaver. Willow found lots of sticks and stinky things. And she likes to watch birds. Sky really just enjoyed the day, getting in and out of the river and finding her own sticks. If you look closely at the big nest near the end, you will see the top of the head of its resident.