K ~ Kittitas

Kittitas


Kittitas county , located on the east side of the Cascade slope is the heart of Washington state. Its ecology ranges from high mountain and conifer forests to sagebrush steppe and upland grasslands. In the heart of the county irrigation farming supports one of the best hay growing acreage in the United States.

To the north the county is dominated by the Stewart Range (Mt Stewart 9415 ft) and the geologically distinct Wenatchee Lobe. The plant life of this high altitude region is filled with diverse species found few other places in the world.

I have spent many hours exploring the county and I return to it over and over as I can drive 1 ½ hour from home and be in a place so high and quiet that the beat of my own heart is too noisy.

Quite a number of photos in this month’s project were taken in Kittitas. This photo is taken from Umtanum Road above Ellensberg. This high plateau is currently home to the L.T. Murray Wildlife Management Area . In the late 1800 and early 1900 this area was farmed and ranched for wheat.

Field Trip : Chumstick Mountain

Sunday I spent a very long day over at Chumstick Mountain with the Washington Native Plant Society.



This area was over run by the Entiat Fire in 1994 and it was very interesting to see the environment and recovery 15 year on.


The main feature of the trip was the Tweedy's Lewisia in abundance and the transition from broken forest to mountain top. Much of the area was over run by forest fire. There are cleared slopes and some slopes appear to have slipped due to loss of timber support. The Tweedy's love this environment.

It was a beautiful day and as we climbed the temperatures dropped. Down in Leavenworth it was a comfortable 80 degrees ,up on the mountain top it was a windy 65. It was easy to be out in the open under these conditions and the hours slipped by.

One member of the trip was a mushroom expert and she was most helpful in teaching me about some basics of the common edible mushrooms. I hope to put her lesson to work this coming weekend with a return to Red Top, if the weather is favorable.

We found puffballs and I brought a couple home. The large one I brought was perfect. Here it is cut open.

The view of the countryside was wonderful. The Stewart Range was in full view, this time from the northeast aspect.

To the east you can see the agriculture areas of the Waterville Plateau. At one point we could just seen a glimpse of the Columbia River.

This picture gives you an idea of the lengths some of us go to to get the shot. It was a beautiful open hillside filled with flowers and bugs.

The ubiquitous unknown little green bug ( in Spring Beauty)

Flower Crab Spider trying hard to stay out of the light

and Swarming Ladybugs at the very top. I have encountered this odd scene before at the 7000 ft level. Ladybugs all over, hiding in every possible place.

A couple who live near Leavenworth invited us to come see the Mountain Ladyslipper and Phantom Orchids on their property. I could not say no and was thrilled to finally see this local beauty in full bloom.