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Tag Archives: fall

Fall Comes to Tiffany Mountain

Yesterday I hiked to Tiffany Mountain again. You may recall that Luna and I walked that trail back in July. Pictures are here. This time, my friend Marcy and her dog Guthrie went along. It started out fairly chilly with Marcy wearing a wool sweater but soon we were warm and enjoying the trail. It was good to be at a high elevation. Our valley is full of smoke from forest fires burning in various places throughought north central Washington. It looks like some will burn til the snow falls. Right now, there is no rain in the forecast to dampen them.

Tiffany looks much different than it did in July. At that time the snow was newly melted and the ground was moist and wildflowers were coming in to bloom. Yesterday, the trail was dusty; most flowers were dried and the grass was crisp. The verdant greens were gone replaced with dusty yellows and oranges. The first larch trees have turned yellow.

 

Exuberant dogs, happy to out of the car and on the trail

 

Stopping for a break in the sun, Guthrie expressed interest in my snacks

 

Layers of forest fire smoke fill the valleys and obliterate the views

 

A cool rock

 

If there’s an edge, Luna will stand next to it and look down

 

Tiffany Lake in the distance

 

Lunch away from the edge and sheltered from the breeze. The smoke is getting higher.

 

Looking back at the mountain top

 

Lots to photograph along the trail

 

We both enjoyed this red leafed plant with tiny leaves.

 

Fall colors

 

And still some paintbrush in bloom!

 

The first yellow larch trees

 

We were late for the fireweed flowers

 

The seedheads are pretty interesting and still colorful

 

An old burned forest.

 

The Neighbors’ Chickens

Our neighbors have a fabulous garden and I imagine that part of that is due to their chickens. These stocky egg layers spend much time scratching and eating bugs and making fertilizer within the protected confines of the garden. When I visited yesterday, the big red rooster was ruling the roost, so to speak, chasing away hens that got too close to where he was foraging and making sure others were producing fertile eggs. Mostly the hens ignored him and went about their business – eating, pooping and laying eggs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Rainbow-filled Day

The weather has moved on to fall. All signs point to it. Yesterday smoke columns showed up all over the valley as folks worked on clearing up brush and weeds from summer projects. A Bald Eagle landed on one of our pines. It has replaced the Osprey and Red-tailed Hawks of summer. We moved the camper into a neighbor’s barn. I worked on cleaning up the garden. Rain showers came and went alternating with rainbows and sunshine. This double rainbow extended across the valley. I’m sure there are pots of gold out there somewhere.

Wasp nest

Another nice walk today. Juliet and I rambled around in the upper Rendezvous for most of the morning. There was some smoke from controlled burning in Fawn Creek but other than that, skies were clear and the air was cool. We saw a few birds, some deer, lots of squirrels and a chipmunk or two. We came across at least four piles of moose droppings, none too fresh; and some bear poop. Well, I stepped in the bear poop.

One of my favorite sights was of an intact wasp nest. We had already run across one that had been pulled from its tree and dismantled. This one was still perfect and right at eye level and stinging insects around. On the ground, there were remains of an earlier nest. WAs it from earlier this year or the remains from last year? These nests are amazing structures and simply made out of spit. How do they do it? If you know more about these and the specific species that make them, I’d like to learn about them.

There is a hole on the top. It’s a little bit ragged and I wonder if it was made by a bird or is part of the original structure?

Hole on the bottom for quick exit and entrance

I really like the way it is formed around the branches that support it.