Trail Camera

We've probably all seen the security camera photos that are popular on Facebook feeds these days. You know the type. Someone's UPS package is stolen from the front porch and caught on camera. Or vandals pass by in the night and key someone's car. But how much more positive and fun is it to view nature when it thinks it's unobserved!

A beautiful elk passes by in the freshly fallen snow. You know there are more not far away, as they travel as a harem with a dominant bull.

Can you tell what animal this is? It's a night shot, so a bit hard to make out. A coyote passed by the camera multiple times as it circled on a hunt.

Sometimes humans show up on the trail camera too! This is the forest service patrol who is passing by at a brisk pace. It's hunting season, so he is well identified in that bright orange vest!

Our camera also reveals that several hunters passed by, and more than once. Again, the bright safety orange is there so they can be seen. It looks like they are a bit cold!

Mostly we captured deer photos this autumn. This is one of my favorites --- a gentle, quiet deer walks softly through the snow.

Winter's Quiet

The seasons change, both in life and in nature.

 As winter nears, the snow falls and a sense of quiet fills nature's corners.

Like tufts of cotton, puffs of clouds waft through ridges and slopes. 

"Despite all I have seen and experienced, I still get the same simple thrill out of glimpsing a tiny patch of snow in a high mountain gully and feel the same urge to climb towards it."

Edmund Hillary

Winter. The season to "tuck in".

Quiet.

Snow.

Repose.

The Colors of Autumn

There is beauty in every season. Autumn brings a change of colors to the landscape. Yellows, golds, and purples are sending happy vibes through the mountain landscape. They are the colors of royalty! Fresh flowers mix with dried branches and twigs to create an interesting nature bouquet. There's always something interesting and colorful to find in nature!

Quietness & Solitude

Quiet beauty. Fragrance. Flutter.

The meadow is lush and green, thanks to the cool and rainy weather of June.

It was a cabin day. 

Sudo, the city dog, is taking it all in and seems to find that country life appeals to her too.

The view from our perch on the point. 

Yarrow fills the meadow.

We found a turkey feather near the fire pit. We didn't see any turkeys today, but they are around. We captured a flock of them on our cabin camera this week. The photos showed that they were quite content in the companionship of a beautiful deer. The cabin camera also revealed that a bobcat and coyote walked right on by at a leisurely pace during one night last week.

Sudo can run super fast! That's what greyhounds do! And since she is a sight-hound with inbred tendencies to run, we are extra careful to keep her near. Her leash is retractable, so she has good range. She's still a puppy and in training to return immediately when called. We are taking extra care not to lose her while she's in our care.

The wildflowers are beautiful and abundant right now. 

Sudo enjoyed exploring around the homestead cabin on the other side of the meadow. It needs a new coat of paint, but in the meantime, I am enjoying its chippy wear.

At dusk the woods can seem very dark!

Time for a bit of a rest before we return home.

Sudo was tired after her busy day. She was zonked out as soon as the truck was on the road. As we neared the base of the mountain we saw some deer right beside the road. We stopped to enjoy them. They were so contented eating from the pea field that they barely looked up! Sweet peas were all that they were concerned with. And sleep was all Sudo cared about. Quietness and solitude. Nature. Respite. 

The Longest Day

How did you spend "the longest day"? From here on out, each day will just get shorter and shorter, until the cycle starts all over again, of course. Yesterday we had 15 hours, 22 minutes, and 7 seconds of daylight. 

It was a perfect day to spend in nature. Lunch was complete with fresh foods of the season: blueberries, strawberries, Rainier cherries, and sweet onions. Fresh and local food is such a delight!

Sudo enjoyed the longest day too. She experienced her first visit to "the woods". She did quite well for a city dog. She loved attacking the pillows on the cabin sofas and took naps on a plaid, wool blanket. Actually, she took her naps burrowed under the wool blanket. She loves to be covered up! Later, she took a very long walk and actually wore herself out and begged to be carried for awhile.

There was a chill in the air and a campfire was welcoming and warming.

The wildflowers of the woods are transitioning into summer flowers. It seems like those plants that bloom with red blossoms don't show up until June. The Indian Paintbrush is lining "Paintbrush Lane" aka the winding road from gate to cabin.

Yesterday there were 24 hours of daylight at the North Pole. We didn't get close to that here, but the day was amazing anyway. How did you spend your longest day?

Happy summer!

Today I am linking up to Bernideen's Tea in the Garden

Keep Your Face to the Sunshine

The road up the mountain to our cabin is narrow, bumpy, and one-lane. It winds up steep grades and through dark woods. In some places the road opens up along the top of a grassy ridge that slopes deeply to a creek below. Sometimes I can't bear to look over the edge!  It takes while to get to the top and there is a lot of jostling along the way. Half-way up the mountain, two-wheel drive cars have to stop. It's too rough for them to carry on.

After many trips up and down the mountain, I have started to learn of special treats along the way. Last trip down we stopped by a puddle by the road that is fed by a spring until mid-summer. There are always tadpoles there this time of year, and we were not disappointed. Tiny little swimmers were skittering around with much glee!

In another spot, the road winds through some deep, dark woods. It's a good place to keep an eye out for bears! But animals are quick and difficult to spot, probably because our diesel motor warns them we are near. But the flowers don't wilt or fade as we draw close. The road opens up to a rocky hillside and in the early spring I make sure to say "please stop" if I see the pretty purple flowers of the shooting stars in bloom.

Shooting stars seem to love rocky soil! And sunshine! They cluster together in vibrant chorus of purple and green. I love their abundance! One has to keep careful watch, because they arrive and then the blossoms disappear in a few days time. One has to time the trip up the mountain "just right".

Shooting stars are not abundant "just anywhere" on the mountain. There are only a few spots that I have found them growing. I'm pretty excited that this spring I've found two small plants growing in the rocky soil on the sunny side of the cabin as well. I hope they multiply over time and provide us with a pretty purple haze each spring.

Lessons can be learned from the wildflowers of the woods. The shooting stars remind me that no matter how rocky or difficult the path, as long as one keeps their face to the sunshine, everything will turn out alright.

Shooting stars were one of my mother's favorite flowers. She stitched this pretty little wall-hanging on felt. It's one of my little treasures. Every time I see it, I'm reminded of the delight that she expressed during my growing up years. Whenever we would find shooting stars on our flower trips to the mountains she would express much joy! She was a botanist and although I didn't fully appreciate her love of flowers while I was a kid, it's grown on me and I appreciate the lessons she taught from nature. Especially from the flowers.

If you'd like to see some of the other May flowers from the mountain, click here.