A Rainy Stitch, A Rainy Walk

I decided to finish up a rainy April by stitching this Noah's Ark.  It's called "Noah's Sampler" and is from a Leisure Arts pamphlet.

I mentioned on Wednesday's post that Spring waits for no one.  As that is the case, I have more pictures to share, so even though the weather is cool and unsettled, I'm headed back outside to continue my walk.  

The cherry tree at the foot of our driveway glows under a gray sky.

And our poor spindly Apple tree is doing its best to set fruit this year.

Even after two years of posting about wildflowers, I continue to run across ones that are new-to-me.  This is called Hooker's Fairy Bells (Disporum hookeri).  I found it growing in the deep moist shade. 

Here's the Large False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum racemosum) in bloom.  It too like the shade.  Just two weeks ago the leaves were just beginning to unfurl - now it's blooming - Spring is FAST!

This, I think is a wild mustard of some sort - further research needed.  It is growing in a sunny location.

My sister went on a run Sunday morning, and mentioned that she'd seen some wild Bleeding Hearts.  I walked down a couple of days later and found a lovely bank of Pacific Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra formosa).  They happily inhabited a shaded bank with several small rivulets gurgling downward.  Really a lush carpet-like display of feathery leaves and dainty blossoms. 

This though was the Big Surprise on my walk!  

In an earlier post I'd challenged myself to find some Lady Slippers or Fairy Slippers (Calypso bulbosa) on our property, or in the woods nearby.  Well, I looked in places where I'd seen them in years past - to no avail.  On Wednesday I had a notion to head up a shaded forested driveway for about 100 feet or so.  And there they were!  Dozens and dozens of Lady Slippers blooming happily in the moss and duff under a deep, dark Douglas Fir canopy.  I was SO pleased!    

On a sunny bank, I found a small group of Tiger Lilies (Lilium columbianum) growing.  They won't be in bloom until July or so.

This is the time of year that Western Meadow Rue (Thalictrum occidentale) is at its best.  The flower is very interesting as the stamens hang downward. 

I blogged about this beauty last year.  And still, I have not been able to identify it - except what it is NOT!  It is NOT a forget-me-not.  I think it is a member of the Cynoglossum family.  I'm hopeful that a native plant show in mid-May will help me to identify it.

This delicate little flower is called Prairie Star (Lithophragma parviforum).  It grows in open grasslands, though I found it in the shade along a creek bed.

This is called Western Spring Beauty (Claytonia lanceolata).  It prefers a moist, shaded area to grow.

It is interesting just how many wildflowers are shade lovers including the Star Flowered False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum stellatum).  We have a nice patch growing near the foot of our driveway under the shade of a large Oak tree.  

This picture is washed out in the bright sunlight, and does not do the Red Flowered Currant (Ribes sanguineum) justice.  This shrub is Nirvana for our local Hummingbirds.  I'll try for another picture on a cloudy day.  

I'm tired and you probably are too.  Time to go inside and get organized for the upcoming weekend!