Category: Flowers

Tired of the constant rain the last few weeks, I headed east of the mountains to Wenas near Naches for three days last week. Unfortunately I found out that this year, at least, it’s nearly mpossible to escape the rain in Washington or Oregon. The three days I stayed in Wenas were probably the wettest days I’ve ever camped in. My Gore-Tex boots sprung a leak, my expensive Gore-Tex gaiters leaked, every pair of socks I brought with me were soaked, and those I’d worn the first day didn’t dry out after two days in the car.

I did manage to see and photograph a number of birds I’ve never seen before, but it was so cloudy and so dark that most of the photographs are marginal, at best. In fact, the best pictures of the trip were those of flowers, like this beautiful wild Iris,

this Lupine,

and these gold flowers that I’ve only seen in Colorado before this weekend.

Ironically, most of what little sunshine I saw was coming home and driving up the west side of Mt Rainier.

As I followed the river home, I stopped several times to bathe in the pools of light created by the rains higher up on the mountain.

Luckily, beauty always seems to find a way to shine through.

Perhaps one of the reasons I’m so motivated to work on our yard is that it looks shabbier than I can ever remember it looking. We had a sudden week of deep freezing just before Christmas and it has taken its toll on the front flowerbed that the previous homeowner had planted. Over half the plants died, to be replaced by weeds.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the deer seem even peskier than in previous years, eating the tulips that flower in the front bed quicker than I can get a picture of them. These two

are the only survivors from ten that were in full bloom when I went to bed the previous night.

Skye is almost as hard on the flowers in the backyard. He doesn’t eat them, but this pretty tulip

T

is one of the few that has managed to escape Skye’s trampling on the flowerbed, when he isn’t burying his bone.

One of my few real triumphs so far is this Jack-in-the-Pulpit

that I bought last year when I visited the Weyerhaeuser Rhododendron Garden.

Hopefully things will improve when I finally get a fence around the flowerbeds in the back and transplant what tulips are left in the front to the backyard.

This weekend’s sunshine dragged me away from my computer long enough to get some photos, and today’s cold temperatures forced me inside again so I was able to post them today. I also got a few bird pictures I liked, but strangely enough the highlight of the weekend for me was the flowers.

Though these croci in downtown Port Orchard were beginning to show signs of nearing the end of their blossoming season, it was impossible to ignore the brilliantly lit whites and purples.

The daffodils are out in full force, too, and, even though I have had terrible luck getting a photograph of them I like nearly as much as I do them, I couldn’t resist trying once again:

The real surprise of the weekend, though, was an ancient apple tree breaking into full bloom.

My heart gave a leap when I saw this, knowing Spring must really be here, no matter what the calendar might say.