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Another Floriferous Hike

Thursday was one of our first real summer-like days with highs in the valley over 90 and in the mountains, it was 75. Perfect hiking temperature for the two-leggeds. Luna thought it was a bit too hot for her and often sought respite in the shade. The hike is 9.4 miles round trip in bright open sunshine most of the way. I will have to consider that for hikes with Luna who will be thirteen in October. Not that I am ready to leave her behind. I am quite sure it would break her heart if I took Sky hiking and left her at home. Luna is always excited to go for an adventure and bounces with joy at the thought of going someplace in the car.

So many wildflowers. And I have so much to learn. And the geology. Oh my. Lots to see.

Lewisia columbiana carpeted the rocky hillsides
Lewisia
Puffball
Darned yellow composite
Agoseris aurantiaca
Castilleja sp
Aquilegia formosa, Western columbine
I hope they like dogs.
Luna rests in the shade
Penstemon and darned yellow composite
Penstemon and bumblebee
Chamerion latifolium, closely resembles fireweed but much shorter
aster
Anemone drummondii
Castilleja sp
Buckwheat
Tiny Sedum, maybe lanceolatum
The good girl gang

Mid-summer Hike

This was a repeat of a hike we did back in early June. As you might imagine, the snow patches have disappeared and there are fewer ladybugs. There are more flowers. The views were spectacular again from Mt Baker to Glacier Peak, the North Cascades, the Central Cascades and the Okanogan Highlands. I saw quite a few mushrooms of various kinds, in particular puffballs. Also had a great view of a juvenile Golden Eagle flying below the summit of Tiffany Mountain. And Horned Larks, youngsters and adults too. It was a fine day in the mountains.

Stop and smell the flowers
So many rocks
Little Tiffany and Tiffany Lake
Rock Mountain
Luna didn’t want to sit
Ladybugs
juvenile Golden Eagle
Lots of puffball mushrooms
What kind of caterpillar?
adult Horned Lark
baby Horned Lark

Many Shades of Green and Other Colors

As promised, here are the pretty photos from last week’s hike. So many shades of green dotted with wildflowers of all colors. It was really lovely. We continuously ooohed and ahhhhed!

Taking in the view at the start of the hike
Slate Peak in the distance
a sedum
Anemone or pasque flower
Anemone seedheads
magenta paintbrush
a sedge, Carex sp
So many shades of green
Shooting stars and other tiny flowers
Elephant head
heather
Pretty nice day
orange paintbrush and a buckwheat
glacier lily
Hurry up everybody!
silky phacelia
a thistle
Girl Gang

Dogs Just Want To Have Fun

The girl gang – Molly, Luna, Sky, Mary and me – went for a hike yesterday and I have lots of pretty pictures of flowers and trees and mountains. And I’ll post those later. But for now, here are three happy dogs celebrating snow in July!

What’s really remarkable about this is that just ten days earlier, Molly was bitten by a rattlesnake! It was a dangerous and scary situation. She went to the vet pretty quick and got the right antidote and other meds and before they knew it, she was back on her feet. This was her first big outing. She didn’t seem to be slowed down one bit. Amazing!

Sky perfected the one-legged catch.
Molly does the downhill roll
Luna just wants to chill in the snow
Shake
Molly – look, I’ve got a stick
Who needs a stick when I can fly!
Shake
Catch
Catch

Labradors Don’t Shed

Maybe you’ve seen that saying – Labradors don’t shed; they emit magical fibers of love and joy and I think this image proves it.

From a recent wedding I photographed in the hills above Winthrop. Soon to appear in the blog at my website.