At the Herb Farm

Echinacea field

Mt. Adams farmstead

Another view of Mt. Adams from my trip to Trout Lake last weekend, this time from the edge of an old farmstead. According to a sign at the entrance, the farm dates back to the turn of the 20th Century. I suppose the wetland area in the foreground is merely the result of heavy rains that came through a few days earlier and soil tending toward clay. It's probably all dried out by now. Glad it was there during my visit because it gave me a chance to frame a reflection of the mountain.

Linking to Weekend Reflection.

Anime

I always love seeing animated buildings; I appreciate the imagined personality. 

Hello, happy little shack or barn! Whatever you are, you look content with it. 

Self-actualized shack. 

I Use Antlers in All of My Decorating

...My what a guy, that Gaston. 

(Favorite song line from Disney's Beauty and the Beast)

Just happened upon this fabulous ranch entrance south of Trout Lake yesterday.  I'm really kicking myself for not taking a moment to change out my lens and get a wider view of the really charming ranch.  I felt uncomfortable hovering in the entrance, but when I was backing around to leave, the owner showed up, returning from his trip to town with a wagon load of hay.  He was super friendly, asking if we needed help, and he looked just like the (imagined, stereotypical) rancher who would live here.  Even though it's a close up, I guess you can get the idea a little bit.  

The Road Less Traveled

View to the other side of the road from last week's post.  I'm getting a little behind on the blog, between finishing up the calendar and getting my garden planted.  I've got a little backlog of photos though, so hope I can catch up on posting this week and next.  As far as the photo, I was in Trout Lake looking for a particular herb farm that I visited earlier this spring.  I remembered it was on Glenwood Rd., and when I saw the sign for BZ-Glenwood Hwy I thought that was it.  Multiple times I felt like I was on a new road, and yet I kept going because I was just sure Glenwood was right.  After a while I was quite sure I'd made a wrong turn, but it was just so pretty that I continued down the road and decided to visit the herb farm on my next visit (which will be on Friday). All these yellow flowers, plus the camas growing along the edge of the road, line an area signed Conboy Lake Wildlife Refuge. We didn't plan for a trip through a wildlife refuge, and our dog Clover was in the car.  So I'm thinking that if I have time, I'll visit the herb farm and check out the refuge when I'm back in Trout Lake later this week. 

Old Fence

Old barbed wire fences all over the place around Trout Lake.  I liked the negative space created with this mossy old post against the snow. 

Linking to Good Fences at Run*A*Round Ranch.

Blue Sky

A bright and sunny day at Trout Lake, near Mt. Adams.  Elevation at Trout Lake, 1800 ft. It was probably 50 degrees yesterday, and forecast to hit 60 today, so the snow is melting away. A winter blue is not my favorite, but after our rainy winter I'll take it! Cute little tree farm in the foreground.

Snow Lines

Deep in the Pear Orchard

Late afternoon in Trout Lake.  

2012 Fire

Seems like lots of wild fires burning along the west coast this summer. We've got an unusually hot and dry summer this yeR in the Pacific Northwest. Driving up to Bird Creek Meadow just north of Trout Lake, Washington, you pass through remnants of a forest fire, which I believe burned during the summer of 2012.

Bird Creek

I made a little stop at these falls along my adventurous drive to Bird Creek Meadow.  A very minimal bridge crossed this creek, and just after the bridge was the first tiny turnout on my route.  It turns out that this unmarked creek was none other than Bird Creek, which maybe seems intuitive, but the number of rivers and creeks flowing from Mt. Adams is quite numerous, so I wasn't making any assumptions.  Especially since I drove maybe 3 or 4 miles past this creek to the trail head.  The area around the small falls and turnout was surprisingly inviting, given the ruggedness of the drive thus far, and it seemed to me like a marvelous spot for a picnic table.  Lots of inviting flat rocks around though, so I'm imaging this as a nice little rest stop the next time I venture up to Mt. Adams.