A May Basket of Delights

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May...

I didn't hold much promise of a fine day out since leaving work at 10am, all was gloomy and blustery. I decided to go see what was happening in Washington Park. The advantage of rain shadow or convergence zone didn't come to mind. Simply go and take what comes.

Well Hooray for rain shadow and convergence zone. As soon as I got north of the Snohomish county line, the rains let up and upon reaching the park, I was in broken skies and sun.

I walked the now familiar loop road looking for new and interesting things. A Robins egg shows that the first brood of nestlings have hatched.

At Green Point, there were few of the Shooting Stars which had dominated the grass edge in the rocks. Today, a small clump of Chocolate Lily sat unexpectedly on the rocky edge. I later found a wonderful array of them on a mossy bank further inside the island. The are exceptionally difficult to spot with their green dappled tops.

Many of the slopes were well filled with mature forms of Sea Blush and Camas. I spotted small buds of wild onions, most not yet opened.

Many bumblebees taking advantage of all the blooming Sea Blush and I spotted one butterfly. I was getting ready to take a picture when a White-crowned sparrow swooped in and narrowly missed catching it. I tried to get a fun picture of fuzzy bumblebees in the flowers but they were far too lively and fast for my camera.

I stumbled unexpectedly upon a young Red-tailed Hawk in the grass. Clearly it had something . It jumped up with its prize... a writhing snake. It was not until I got home and loaded my pictures up I looked long and hard at the snake. It is green and flat and I don't really know of a snake here that looks like this. The tide was out and the rocky tide pool were just below the slope. I thought it might be an eel, but when asked on Flickr someone I respect as a naturalist answered he felt it was a snake of unknown species.

For a closer look at this photo you can see the original size ( click the magnify icon)

www.flicker.com/photos/meanderingwa/

There were many people out enjoying the fine day. These folks were enjoying their private fishing spot.

As usual there were many people walking the loop. I chose the woodland trail through the center of the park and had it all to myself.

The Salal is in bloom and I encountered some new plants that make we want to return in a week to see how they progress.

I believe this is a Mitrewort, thought I don't know which of two species it is. I asked for some id help on Flickr.

I am not sure what this is but I am hoping it is Pinedrops. I have never seen except in pictures and I will make a mental note to return and double check this trail. There were a couple other mystery growths that gave no clues as to what they are, simply foreign to my eyes.

The Spotted Coralroots were more bountiful.

Nootka Roses had lost a lot of petals to the rain, but these two were prime.

Orange Honeysuckle dangle from a lot of middle story shrubs and trees. Most concerning to me is that I have still to see or hear a Rufous Hummingbird this year. They should have been very busy in the area I found this honeysuckle. There are also a lot of Salmonberry and these two plants should be hummer magnets.

This park remains one of the most remarkable places in this region. I have never seen such diverse plant life anywhere on this side of the Cascades.

Trying to Find the Rainshadow

After Fridays storm I knew my plans for the weekend would need to be quickly altered. Going over to the east side was out of the question. Piles of snow in the mountains. I-5 southbound on Friday afternoon...I think I could walk over the pass faster. A solid parking lot from Tacoma to down past Centralia.

The dry side and the wonderful area in the Columbia Gorge will have to wait.

But I need to find someplace where I could remotely feel protected from the tag end of the storm. Going over to Sequim and the rain shadow was out of the question given the delays in the ferry system. I could catch a rain shadow effect on the arc of Whidbey Island north to the San Juans so I headed north to my current favorite place, Washington Park. I vowed to explore someplace new so I added Deception Pass to my long day.

Driving along Hwy 20 I made a quick stop to collect the usual tulip field shots. They certainly did well in the weather and I am a bit disappointed that there is not a hint of sunshine to make these colors pop.

Washington Park seems to have survived the onslaught of the storm with only a few trees down. I arrived plenty early and made my way out to Green Point. This shoreline is known for its wildflowers. I wondered what would have become of them since it faces full open west right on the water.

The Shooting Stars, for all their delicacy , were magnificent.

Further along the road, the Fawn Lily were a bit rain sodden. I noticed far more Fairyslipper orchids than before. They were in abundance in their usual mossy grove.

I skirted along the south facing Serpentine slope and that is when it started. Snow pellets. I guess not as saturating as rain. So much for protection from the Olympic Rain shadow. I was again struck by how well the flowers, looking so delicate, stood up to the harsh weather of the previous 24 hours.

After passing through the open slope I re-entered the conifer woods. I knew that there was a possibility for Rattlesnake Plantain, an orchid, here. I slowed way down and really looked everywhere.


A tall stalk and bud caught my eye. I stepped a bit closer and then it popped out at me, a Chocolate Lily.

The nodding green bell blends in perfectly with the mossy slope behind it. But what a delight to see what the underside looks like.

I suspect I missed other specimens.

I was totally thrilled, this was a very much hoped for find, a first. I was back on the trail and within a few steps another flower captured me. At first glance I thought it was the Rattlesnake Plantain, but when I got up close, definitely not. A Spotted Coralroot orchid, another first find.

The sunlight filtering through the trees hit this one just right. Notice the raindrops, by now I was pretty damp.

One thing new in the park was the up-tick in bird song. I could hear kinglets, warblers of several kinds and finches all singing. Noticeably missing, however was the sound of Rufous Hummingbird in a large grove of Salmonberry. I heard in the recent weeks about some concern over the Washington population of this rather common hummingbird. No one has stated any thoughts on where their life cycle is failing. These birds are sturdy migrants North to Alaska from Mexico.

I was perfectly content with my visit to Washington Park and wondered what could possibly top it at Deception Pass.

Deception Pass SP is the most heavily visited park in the state. The biggest attraction is the bridge spanning Deception Pass. I personally think this is one of the most "scary" bridges around. Very narrow, VERY high up. There are people walking on narrow sidewalks on both sides. Usually the wind is pretty fierce. Motor homes seem to occupy more that their fair share of the two lanes.

I parked on the south side of the bridge and hiked up from there to Goose Rock. The distance is short and steep through conifer woods. Just the thing to rev up the energy. At the top the area is open and a bald scour. During the ice ages this area was left bare rock. Over time small amounts of dirt have built up. It is not sufficient to support trees like the woodlands below but mosses and grasses along with wildflowers flourish.

There were mats of Kinnikinnick with their pretty pink lantern. This was a widely used medicinal plant. It is a diuretic and was said to have some interesting effects when cut with tobacco.

I found paintbrush and Naked Broomrape, the purple flower. It is a parasite. There is a member of the genus in England that is parasitic on Scotch Broom. Pojar et al suggests we should intorduce that pretty flower here.!!! I agree.

I crossed the bridge to visit the small rocky island that divides the span. I could see trails wandering all over and through my binoculars got a hint that there was something interesting there.

Camas. The most abundant slopes of Common Camas I have seen so far.

I wandered all over and aside from the Camas and many other delights, I found a little bit of Sunshine

Oregon Sunshine

So many people are reluctant to venture out on trails like those on this slope. I am sorry that they might have missed the opportunity to experience the wildflowers up close.

I paused on the bridge to get the usual photos. It is hard to convey how high this bridge is until you get to see the ants on the beach.

and from the beach below you can appreciate the scope of part of the span. This is the south half.

I found this lady on the beach just looking for pretty rocks. Who needs a warm sunny day to enjoy. There were folks out with picnics (including bottles of wine) wearing down vests and jackets.

You just cannot stop loving the outdoors because of a little harsh weather.