I love gray skies. They’re a giant soft source, wrapping the world in flattering light that is nearly perfect for photography. Given that it’s still spring in western Washington, we’ve had a lot of gray skies and rain lately. The forecast has been rain, alternating with showers, a bit of drizzle, some mist, and an occasional sun break. It’s a perfect time to head outdoors with a camera.
Woodland garden under overcast sky
On one of the last days of May I paid a visit to the native plant demonstration garden on Memorial Highway a few miles west of Mount Vernon. The weather was overcast with intermittent light rain. In other words, ideal for photographing specimen plants and flowers.
So what is it that makes overcast skies so nice for photography? Continue reading →
Pacific Dogwood is a showy northwest native tree that blooms from late April to late May. It’s just one of the dogwoods native to North America. The grove of dogwoods above was photographed last May along California Route 32 near Forest Ranch.
One of my memories of spring in West Virginia, where I grew up, is hillsides dotted with dogwood trees in bloom. Their showy white bracts, which look like giant petals, appear about the time the leaves are starting to unfold. The eastern species, Cornus florida, is commonly planted in home landscapes across North America. Continue reading →
It had been six years since my last visit to Waterworks Canyon, a gem of a place for early season wildflowers west of Yakima, Washington. This past Sunday I returned, this time with my wife, Natalie, and my son, Zach. Little had changed since April 2007, which is a good thing. This only significant difference is that a Washington Discover Pass is now required to park at the trailhead (Google map satellite view).
Bingen Lupines, Carey’s Balsamroot & Showy Phlox
The flowers were spectacular right from the beginning of the trail, which leaves Washington Route 410 about a quarter mile west of the junction with US 12 in Tieton Canyon a few miles west of Naches and Yakima. Pass through the gate and before you’ve made many steps the hillside explodes with brilliant yellow balsamroot, rich blue lupines, and bright pink showy phlox. These will be your showiest companions along much of the trail as you climb 1,000 feet or more up the canyon on a well-worn boot track, crossing and recrossing a small stream that sometimes disappears underground.
Ball-head Waterleaf
Most of the hike is on rocky ground in full sun, but there are a few sheltered and shady spots that hold a bit more moisture. Here you’ll find ball-head waterleaf and star-flowered false Solomon’s seal.
We also found patches of deep blue Menzies’ larkspur, pale blue trumped lungwort, and the last few blossoms on sagebrush buttercups. Prairie stars were thick on places, scattered among the grasses in others. Thompson’s paintbrush was just starting to show its yellow bracts, and linear-leaf daisies were still in bud.
Columbia Puccoon
There were numerous clumps of Columbia puccoon. This one, beside the stream, was among the nicest of them. This is a plant that nearly always grows in clumps like this. I can’t recall ever seeing just a single stem of it anywhere.
Western Rattlesnake
A special treat was encountering a small western rattlesnake along the trail. This guy (I presume it was a guy, but I didn’t try to determine its sex) was just a couple of feet off the trail in one of the wooded sections. I surprised it as I walked by, invoking the distinctive buzzing of its rattle. Natlie and Zach stopped below the snake and we all watched it for a while. I put my longest lens (70-200mm plus a 2x teleconverter) on my camera before photographing from a safe distance. This is not a subject I wanted to photograph up close with my pocket camera or iPhone. After I finished shooting Natalie and Zach stepped quietly past the snake and continued on up the trail.
I don’t encounter snakes of any kind very often when I’m out hiking, although when in rattler country I always keep my eyes and ears open for them. I would have been less surprised to encounter one out in the open among the rocks than in the woods. But I’m not a herptologist and don’t really know a whole lot about rattlesnake habitat and behavior.
Sunday morning Natalie said, “let’s go for a walk in the woods” and I suggested we hike the loop trail at the Stimpson Family Nature Reserve near Lake Whatcom. It’s an easy 3-mile loop through nice old- and second-growth forest, perfect for a quick getaway on a morning when light rain threatened.
Beaver pond wetland
Just a tenth of a mile up the trail there’s a viewpoint to a large beaver-built wetland. This is the view from the trail, with the wetland framed by western redcedars, Douglas-firs, and red huckleberries. The wetland plants are still brown, not yet having started their spring growth in the cold water.
This is a birth announcement of sorts. My close friends know I’ve been working with a small team for the last several months to create a new smartphone field guide to Washington state wildflowers. Washington Wildflowers went on sale April 8. It’s been a long journey, but we think it’s worth the wait. Keep reading for links to where to purchase it.
Washington Wildflowers launch screen
University of Washington Herbarium at the Burke Museum, the authors of Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest, and High Country Apps have partnered to produce the new Washington Wildflowers plant identification app for iOS and Android devices. The app provides images, species descriptions, range maps, bloom period, and technical descriptions for more than 850 common wildflowers, shrubs, and vines that occur in Washington and adjacent areas of British Columbia, Idaho, and Oregon. The majority of species included are native, but introduced species common to the region are covered as well in order to expand the usefulness of this resource. Most of the 850 species are illustrated with three photographs, usually a blossom detail, the entire plant, and often a habitat view. I made almost all of the photographs, the exceptions being a few plants I have yet to find. Continue reading →
Delicate pink blossoms, pendant atop curving scapes, single or in pairs, beam a spot of color among emerging green on the forest floor this month. Coast fawn lilies (Erythronium revolutum) are one of our ephemeral spring beauties in the Pacific Northwest.
Pink Fawn Lily blossoms
Coast fawn lily, also known as pink fawn lily, favors moist shady forests, including stream banks and other wet places, near the Pacific coast from British Columbia to California. According to Flora of North America it’s rarely found more than 100 km from the coast. Distribution is sporadic, and while the species is not rare I haven’t seen it myself in very many places.
Indian Plum blossoms
Spring is in the air. Days are getting longer, the soil is warming up, we’re getting a little less rain, and buds are swelling on the trees and shrubs. Some of the catkin-bearing trees are already blooming. But one of the first real signs of spring for me in the Northwest is when the Indian plum (Oemleria cerasiformis) blossoms open. Continue reading →
My lecture and workshop schedule is shaping up to be busy this year. I hope you’ll be able to join me for one or more of them.
I’ll be teaching photography classes for people with digital SLRs, pocket cameras, and iPhones. My native plant lectures include the dry area in central Washington and the region within walking distance of high tide.
I love to teach and my students consistently report how much fun they have and how much they learn in my classes.
I’d never heard the term “frost flowers” until one of my editors and customers requested photographs of the phenomenon late last year. This is a natural phenomenon that occurs during the freeze-thaw cycle, or at the beginning of winter in places that don’t cycle through warm and cold periods. Continue reading →
This month’s plant, a gorgeous little alpine penstemon from the Sierras, isn’t one that most people will be able to grow in their garden. I bring it to your attention because it’s one that triggers fond memories.
Mountain Pride next to a waterfall on the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park, 1974.
I saw Penstemon newberryi for the first time in the summer of 1974 on my first trip to Yosemite National Park. I was a 20-year old college student taking a couple of photo workshops at the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite valley. I photographed this brilliant red penstemon as part of a series of images around Waterwheel Falls in the Yosemite high country. Continue reading →
