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Tag Archives: wildflowers

What is Cottongrass?

Last summer I saw photos of cottongrass growing in meadows in Montana and I thought I really need to go see those places! Earlier this summer, I saw a small patch of cottongrass on one of my hikes in a small wet meadow and it made me think about a large wet meadow that I like to visit. Fortunately I was there earlier this month and indeed, there was cottongrass, lots of it! Why haven’t I noticed it before?

I learned that it likes acidic conditions and since this place has heather and huckleberries, I assume the soil is acidic. It also likes peat bogs. Anybody know of any peat bogs in good condition? There are many varieties of cottongrass (Eriophorum sp.) growing in vastly different climates around the world but all seem similar, needing acidic conditions. Washington Wildflowers lists one for our state – Chamisso’s cottongrass or russet cotton-grass (Eriophorum chamissonis). The range map does not show it in this area.

Hot Summer Hike

This was almost two weeks ago when the high temperatures here in the valley were over 100. I had hoped we’d find some relief in the mountains and chose a hike that took us to 8000′. It still felt hot and very exposed. The wildflowers were beautiful. The bugs were brutal. Willow agreed. On the way home, we stopped to cool off in the creek and Willow was very grateful. Sky didn’t get to go. She is facing some health issues so I won’t be taking her on longer summer hikes. It’s hard to get old and miss out on the fun.

Wildflower Views

I really do need to get a macro lens.

Spring Hike in the Mountains

The girls and I enjoyed an early mountain hike on Friday. The weather forecast was perfect and we’ve had so few perfect weather days, it seemed silly to stay home and work. I had heard the road was snow-free to the trailhead and beyond. We had little snow so Spring has come early to the high country.

This area burned nearly twenty years ago and many of the dead trees are still standing. Of course, some fell over during the winter. We had to make our way around, under or over them. The young trees coming in are primarily lodgepole pine. Lodgepole cones are serotinous, meaning they need fire to open and release their seeds. There are also some spruce (Englemann?) and subalpine fir. Willows are the main deciduous trees. I think the little blue flowers are Polemonium (Jacob’s ladder), the pink ones are Geum triflorum (prairie smoke) and the white ones are an Anemone. Along the road to the trailhead, multiple kinds of penstemon were in full bloom, many growing right out of the rocks.

Moose poop littered the trail but we did not see any of them. Also, there was some carnivore poop.

The dogs were delighted to see snow. I struggled to keep Willow off the ice. It was thin along the edges. She did practice her log walking and only fell in once!

A Fine Day for a Hike

The girls and I. How many times do I start one of these posts with that phrase? Well, once again, the girls and I had a lovely hike under blue skies. Wildflowers were starting to fade and water was scarce where I expect to see it most of the summer. This is the case everywhere right now. Fire season is upon us and our skies are smoky. We wish for rain but so far, nothing measurable.

As for the green hat, Willow found it. She took a hard right off the trail and went about 30 meters and ran back with it. She had smelled it and was so proud and happy to find it! She played with it and tossed it in the air and did no damage to it despite how it looks. I got it away from her and I need to get it to a lost and found. Later she found a folding saw that was rusted shut.

We attempted an old fashioned selfie with the camera’s timer but I think we will need to try it again, maybe with a remote instead. Willow has little patience for staying while I fiddle with things. The girls were super happy to find the last snow field and rolled and played in it for quite a while.