It's Wednesday So We Walk

I thought I'd have this finished by now, but I still have some fiddly little bits to stitch around the border. Soon!

Between gardening, bird watching, and ambling about I haven't stitched much.  Nonetheless this is the perfect time of year to take a stroll.

Look at all the shades of green! 

And there's an occasional pop of color like the seeds of the Vine Maple.

I tend to take close-ups of blossoms and ignore the shape of the shrub or tree.  So here's a large shrub of Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor). It must be 20' or more and is almost drooping under the weight of its flowers.

The flowers start out as little bubbles.

Then they explode and become foamy.  As you can see it is a well-named shrub!

Here's another well-named plant - Oregon Sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum). This is the only plant I found on our property, though I did find more close by.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Douglas' Spiraea (Spiraea douglasii) blooming.  As with most everything this year, it seems to be a week or two early than in past years. 

Oh look!

One of the rewards on this particular walk is a nice spread of Narrowleaf Mule's Ears (Wyethia augustifolia).   

These cheery small sunflowers are only a couple of feet tall.

They get their name from their long wide leaves - mule's ears! 

The same area was dotted with Bachelor Buttons.  I wonder how they got there!

Also in bloom - False Bugbane (Trautvetteria caroliniensis), a weirdly named plant!

We have a nice group of our native Tiger Lily, the Columbia Lily (Lilium columbianum) this year. 

I always worry as the deer are prone to eating them before they bloom.

Deep deep deep in the shade, I found a Lewis's Mock Orange glowing in the shadows; ours next to the house in the bright sunlight is already done blooming.  

CAn you tell what conditions the Seep-spring Monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus) likes? Besides shade, it needs moist soil with no drainage.  These plants are growing in a swampy seep so I do not dare walk closer.

As I've commented before, we have a super crop of Hazel nuts this year!

While everyone is waiting for the Hazel nuts to ripen, they can eat Bitter Cherries (Prunus emarginata)!  All kinds of birds like Robins and Cedar Waxwings eat these cherries.  I saw a flash of yellow and red in the tree - a Western Tanager I think. 

Chip says it's the Early Rodent who beats the birds and gets the cherries!