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Tag Archives: wildflowers

Yellow, As Far As You Can See

This has been the spring of the balsamroot super bloom in our valley! Most years there is a nice display of the arrowleaf balsamroot but it sure seems like this year is over the top! It is starting to fade on the lower hills and with the upcoming hot weather, the flowers will be gone in just a few days. In addition to the balsamroot, there are two or more kinds of lupine, several varieties of lomatium and larkspur too. It all made a good backdrop to photograph the girls. Willow has not yet learned how to pose for the camera and Sky seems a bit tired of it but I keep trying. There was a prescribed burn up by Mazama and its smoke lingered in the air.

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.

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.

Hiking with Dogs

Sky and I enjoyed a hike with the curly red dogs, members of the Good Girls’ Club, and Kim recently. Sky is trying to teach them to pose for group photos and after they were a little tired, they started to get the hang of it. The paintbrush and lupine were stunning in the midday sun and the views were perfect. And look at that poodle’s smile!

So Many Wildflowers

And rocks. And dogs. And views. And a butterfly. And a bug. And a Cooper’s Hawk.

It was a gloriously sunny day for a hike. Not the best photo conditions with midday sunshine and wind. Still it was beautiful and these flowers are so fleeting. I may not see them again this summer.

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