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Tag Archives: wildflowers

Late Winter

Still lots of snow on the ground and with cold nights it is firm enough to walk on. Some days it is slush. Luna and Sam and I have been out quite a bit recently and the dogs are finding lots of interesting smells. Most are from the deer and voles, I think. But you’d have to ask Luna and Sam to know for sure.

 

 Yarrow against the sparkling snow

 

A serviceberry leaf still clings to the stem.

 

I think this is a big buckwheat. Or maybe a lomatium. I’m pretty sure it’s a buckwheat. I’ll remember in a couple of months when it starts growing again.

 

I found this fresh looking pair of antlers under a pine tree. It seems early for sheds.

 

 

Tiffany Mountain

There are still wildflowers blooming on Tiffany Mountain! It’s over 8200′ elevation so the snow hasn’t been gone too long. The hike starts out in a burned forest and climbs steeply for a while and then it’s out in the open before approaching the last pull to the top. Lots of birds teased us flying back and forth in the snags. We were able to see Yellow-rumped Warblers, White-crowned Sparrows, Pine Siskens, Clarks Nutcrackers and several other species. On the slope to the top, there were scads of Horned Larks and we were able to see many migrating raptors including a Golden Eagle, Prairie Falcon, Coopers Hawks and others. Weather was perfect for the hike although a little bit hot, almost opressive, on the way down through the burned forest. We cooled our feet in Boulder Creek and felt much better. And driving down Mary noticed a cinnamon black bear! It was a beautiful animal and quickly lumbered up the hill and away from us.

trail through the burned forest

Fireweed

Mary in front of Tiffany

Lupine

old wood and nails at the top. I wonder if there used to be a lookout?

Who piled these nails?

an old survey marker

A young Horned Lark that doesn’t know it ought to be afraid of us.

yoga practice

Lots of ladybugs in the rocks on top

Whoooo is watching us?

North Cascades Wildflowers

Last week Juliet and I got away to the Harts Pass area for a ‘hike’ which turned out to be more of a plant walk than a vigorous outdoor exercise. Weather was perfect and bugs didn’t bug us too much. Flowers were great! Such a huge variety. She is much better than I am at identifying all the individuals or finding them in a field guide. On a good day, I can come up with family ID but seldom can I tell you the proper name of an individual plant. I carried a camera with only one lens – a macro – and no tripod. It was a little breezy so the tripod would not have helped. I was glad to leave the extra weight behind. The elevation is over 6000′ and there were still snow patches around. We also looked at and heard birds, bugs, butterflies and some mammals – a marmot, a big chipmunk, pikas AND we saw a Jumping Mouse on the way up. It had a little round body with an incredibly long tail and it jumped across the road with leaps and bounds! It was a lifer for me. What fun.

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.

 

 

 

Patterson Mountain Wildflowers

Despite a windy morning, Suzanne and I had a nice hike to the top of Patterson Mountain. The calendar says it is summer and yet the wildflowers still look like spring. I was surprised to see so many alliums in bloom. Some areas were carpeted with them. And still there are lots of bitterroot. In addition to wildflowers we saw a pair of Golden Eagles, a Lazuli Bunting and other birds. We are SO lucky to live here!

Bitterroot

 

Allium and a yellow buckwheat

 

A tiny daisy, maybe an aster?

 

Allium and its shadow

 

A hummingbird visits scarlet gillia to collect nectar with Mount Gardner in the background