Salmon Creek Sunrise

Mt. Hood in the background.

Lingering

Fall seems to be lasting extra long this year, mild and on the dry side, which is the forecast I heard. Something about a warm water "blob" in the Pacific Ocean. Of course oak trees are notorious for holding their leaves, but it's not just the oaks. Lots of leaves yet to drop! I think we will be raking in December. This pretty little grouping of Oregon oaks is in a park along the Washington side of the Columbia. 

Familiar Places

Back to a familiar spot on the WSU trails...quiet, shady little Mill Creek. There's a little foot bridge behind me, and it's just a few steps down the bank before you can dip your toes in the water.  I used to stop here with Clover, especially on hot days so she could get a drink. This was my first trip here without her, which felt really strange. I'm realizing that I spend a lot less time outdoors and also a lot less time photographing since she passed away. It's starting to feel like it's time for a new puppy at our house.

At the Herb Farm

Echinacea field

Lilies

Two spring lilies that I like to photograph. 

I've never seen them blooming right next to each other before! 

Camas Lily and Avalanche Lily. 

Back to the Ranch

Balsam Root and Lupine are blooming this week at the Dalles Mountain Ranch in the Columbia Gorge. And this year, the wildflower season happened to coincide with a warm spell and almost no wind. Last year I visited several times, and was nearly blown off my feet by gale force winds each time...so sunny, mild, and 75 was a real treat!  I walked a loop near Eightmile Creek that wound through some of the thicker patches of blooms. The flowers are fickle, tending to cover some hills and leave others bare, and that has caused me some trouble with wide-angle landscape photos in previous years. I decided to really focus on landscape shots during my trip.  And maybe I overdid it a bit, because I realized once I got home that I actually don't have a single close-up photo to show for my shoot. I do like this scene though, because it shows the rolling hills and patches of flowers, and the beautiful weather.

Awakening

Well, I'm finally coming out of hibernation...such a long absence on the blog!  My last photo was snowy, and this scene in eastern Washington (somewhere between Richland and Walla Walla) looks like early summer.  We're actually still in spring here, and it's been an overcast, rainy, and colder than usual spring which is why I've not been out with my camera much.  I think that's about to change because we've got sunshine all week so wildflowers should really start blooming soon!  As for today's photo...I can't resist an occasional puffy cloud, cheery sky photo.  And when I was in eastern Washington earlier this week it was still gloomy and drizzly west of the gorge, so this sunshine was something to savor! It also happened to be super windy, which shows a bit on the crops that are all bending in the wind.  Sorry to not know what is growing here; I forgot to take a close look. At the time I was more interested in the wheat growing along the edge of the field; leftover from last season, and the fact that the "soil" seemed to be mostly sand.

And Just Like That It's Fall

Sort of unusual for summer to linger into October, but that's the lucky weather we've been having in Southwest Washington this month.  Last week we woke up one day, freezing around the house all morning, before figuring out we needed to turn on the heater!  So sunny and 70s in the day and low 40s at night is how the week has gone.  And yesterday, we even had a little fog!  Exciting only because it's fresh right now.  (I'll be so sick of fog by the end of winter.) Clover and I walked to the little creek on the campus trails to see how it looked in a thin fog.  This involved hat and gloves, although I shed them before the end of the walk.  I liked the light; a thin fog adds just the right amount of diffusion for a photo with some depth.  I'll try this spot again once the Big Leaf Maples really start turning yellow.  (Plus I'm intending to get out with my camera a few times a week, so hopefully more active on the blog this month and next.)

Eclipse

The view from WSU-Vancouver.  I think we were at 99% coverage, 

but the effect was really cool in my camera!

Out Standing in My Field

Ok, so it's not my field ... and yes, it's an awful pun ...
but it is the field that drew us up to the San Juan Islands last month.

That's because I'm the trip planner at my house, and I happen to love lavender.

I don't have a field. I have a tiny hedgerow along my driveway.  

Actually...it's more potential than hedgerow.  

And I wanted to make sure I was shaping it up just right. 

So that it can grow up to be a hedgerow someday.

Mid-July was the Lavender Festival at Pelindaba Lavender in Friday Harbor.

As far as festivals go, it has a lot to learn! You need more than a bunch of craft booths and a band. 

I wanted to see a demonstration on extracting lavender oil, but we missed that, 

so all in all it was kind of a bust. Other than it smelled wonderful! 

And Bill got some lavender ice cream.

The photography was so so because it was hot and bright and the whole island is one big ball of glare, so photography after 8am and before 6pm is almost a waste of time. 

And we were glamping which was really fun, so I wasn't inclined to get up early with my camera ...

 the draw of fresh coffee on a camp stove! 

But we did get to visit the San Juans in July which wouldn't have happened otherwise!  

San Juan Island

Lime Kiln Lighthouse on the western side of San Juan Island.

Historical info on the lighthouse found at this link: Lighthouse Friends.
I was interested to read that a Spanish explorer named the islands San Juan and Orcas in honor of his benefactor, a Mexican Viceroy by the name of Juan Vincente de Guemes Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo (Orcas coming from Horcasitas, which suggests that Orcas whales are named for the island, where they can often be spotted, and not the other way around! 

Eight Mile Creek

Ok, no creek visible in this photo, but Eight Mile Creek cuts through the Dalles Mountain Ranch, and it's pretty easy to follow its route. Just look for the line of White Oaks and other trees supported by the creek as it meanders through the otherwise treeless terrain. 

Snag Reflection

I thought this was a pretty interesting tree snag reflection at Round Lake in Camas. 

I was thinking the photo might look too busy, but I have to say I don't mind it at all. 

Linking to Weekend Reflections.

White Camas Lily

While I was still in the camas field, photographing the chocolate lily in yesterday's post, the same wildflower couple called to me to point out a white camas lily. They informed me that each year they have a competition to see who will find the first white camas. This year the wife won. If only I could photograph faster...I could have followed them through the park and photographed all their finds! 

Chocolate Lily

Fritillaria lanceolata (Perhaps) 

I wasn't even aware of this lily until a couple of wildflower hikers pointed it out a few weeks ago in Camas. I saw lots later in the week at Memaloose Trail in Oregon, but they were fading fast at that point. Next year I need to remember to look for them at Memaloose in late April. 

Dalles Mountain Ranch

Razor Clam Dig

Taking a break from spring wildflowers to post a clamming photo from two weekends ago.  This was only our second trip clamming at Long Beach; the first time wasn't nearly this crowded.  This time happened to be the last open weekend of the season, coinciding with a clamming festival, plus an increase in max harvest from 15 to 25 clams per person. So the beach ended up crowded like a sunny summer day. We thought it would be a good idea to go during the festival because there was going to be a clamming demonstration (and we weren't that good at it the first time, so we needed some instruction!)  We never saw the festival demonstration though.  We didn't need it with so many demonstrations going on along the beach.  I'm happy to say we had success, although not nearly as much as the locals.  They all have a mesh bag hanging off their waist to hold their clams, so it's real easy to see how many clams someone has found.  The tool involved is called a clam gun. It's not really a gun, just a hollow tube with handles. Once you spot a clam (and this is usually a dimple in the sand that develops when you stomp or pound around), then you push the clam gun deep into the sand and pull it back out, extracting a tube of sand that you sift through, and hopefully find a razor clam inside.  It's a bit of work, especially on a crowded day like this when the beach is picked-over. But the clams are so tasty, and it's fun to work for your supper like that!

Sunrise

First light on the balsam root flowers last week at the Dalles Mountain Ranch.

It took surprisingly long from the actual sunrise to the time the sun finally hit these hills. 

Razor Clam Season

A Beautiful Spring Day

We've got some perfect spring weather today.  Our forecast calls for showers throughout the day.  That means sunglasses, and an umbrella, and probably a few rainbows. 

 A great day to celebrate the 7th Anniversary of 45 Journal!

Linking to Weekend Reflections.