Today we're going to take a walk east of the Cascade Mountains. The Cascade Mountain Range runs for over 700 miles from southern British Columbia to Northern California. In Oregon the Cascades change weather, the soil, the trees, the birds, and many of the animals from west to east. Oregon for example has more miles of volcanic soil than any other US state except for Hawaii - all of it in the Cascades and to the east.
So let's see what the ponderosa pine and quaking aspen forests of eastern Oregon have to offer. I'll bet you are surprised by the bounty.
A lovely silvery lupine.
I saw this funky plant on the pine forest floor everywhere.
Aspens fronting pine.
My columbine bloomed in May - east of the Cascades it bloomed in mid-June.
Rather than having spring and summer, the growing season is compressed into "spummer"!
Native flax
A native yarrow.
Another lupine.
Pine cones - it's a commercial business to gather pine cones. They are bagged and shipped overseas.
Love the color of this moss / lichen.
Yep, we're in Horse Country!
The seed pod of a native peony.
A very young fir tree.
The bark of a mature ponderosa pine.
This is a fungus - sometime of Indian Pipe. It needs a nice thick duff of pine needles to grow.
I think it's time to take a break. We'll resume tomorrow.
I enjoyed this post very much Beth. I had that exact columbine in my garden back at our home. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Beth! You have no idea how much I needed this virtual walk today. I have been stuck inside at my computer all day. You posted photos of things I have never seen before! And I had no idea that gathering pine cones was a commercial business. I wonder what they use them for overseas?
ReplyDeleteWonderful walk. First thing that took my breath away was your photo of the mountains--wow! And look at all that snow still! Wow! When I go walking around here, I have no idea what lots of the names of the plants and trees are! Hugs!
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