Harbinger

 Grass Widows (Olsynium douglasii) blooming on the bluffs overlooking the Columbia Gorge. 

Skyview

Drove through downpours the entire way into the gorge today.  We were dressed for the weather; rain boots, rain coats, camera cover.  But as often the case around Hood River, the weather changed.  Ah, sunshine!  I almost forgot what it felt like! (At least the rain boots came in handy!)

Linking to Weekend Reflections.

The Bright Side

We've been blessed with an abundance of rain this year, and the moss is at its greenest. 

Hopefully this will mean a bumper crop of wildflowers this spring too. 

Forest Veiled View

What an Interesting web of wispy green branches 

in the understory of this Douglas Fir-Big Leaf Maple forest.

 And so many of last year's maple leaves caught in the web, suspended mid-fall. 

Origami

Snow yesterday! Hard to believe, but big flakes starting falling in the morning, and at the point that they started sticking, I figured that Clover and I should hurry to the park to photograph the witch hazel. I have a strong suspicion it was blooming during our January snows, branches in the bottom right of the image we're done blooming at the point I found the tree, and I was sorry to miss seeing the blooms covered in snow. Of course by the time I got to the park, the snow had ended and a drizzly rain began. I decided, based on my recent idea that this witch hazel is a Japanese variety (Hamamelis japonica), to try for an image that looks like a floral origami paper. So that's the theme today.

Torii

Thinking some more about the witch hazel plant I found in the park last week, in my post Witch Hazel (2-25-17). First, I did buy myself the Chinese Witch Hazel (Hamamelis mollis) plant for sale at Yard and Garden Land.  It's nice, and blooming beautifully, but I can tell that it's not the same as the witch hazel in the park.  My little plant has smaller blooms, downward facing, straighter branches, and is faster growing. It got me wondering if the tree in the park was a Japanese Witch Hazel (Hamamelis japonica), and that got me thinking about an old gate not too far from the witch hazel plant.  I think it's a Japanese torii, Shinto gate, and was part of the old homestead that used to be on this land.  I think the witch hazel, the gate, and a small dammed up pond are all that is left of the original home.  I searched around the area for a foundation but can't find anything or even guess where the home would have been located.  But given that the gate is Japanese, that also makes me think that the plant is Japanese.  One thing is for sure, Japanese or Chinese, it's a very old cultivar, and not one that can be purchased in nurseries these days.  I took a small cutting, and bought some rooting hormone, to try to propagate it.  Evidently witch hazels are not the easiest to grow from cuttings, but I'm following the instructions carefully, and I'll know in a few months if I succeeded or not.  In the meantime, my next step is to check the county records to find out who lived here, when did they build, when was it torn down, etc.  To be continued...