May, 2021
Today was a day to hang around our trailers and our campsites, go for walks inside the campground, visit with each other throughout the day, read a book, take a nap, put our feet up and just relax. In truth, one or two of us did go out for a short, quick drive later in the day, but for the most part we just chilled. It was lovely!
Here we all are … our three trailers (all built by Escape Trailer Industries) and our tow vehicles.
Remember you can click on photos to enlarge them, depending on the device you are using to read this blog. Also, my original photos are much larger than the ones posted here on the blog (the photos here are small because of WordPress limitations) so if you ever want a copy of a photo in a larger format/size/resolution, please just let me know.
So there we were today, just relaxing and sitting around, walking and wandering close to our campsites. Later in the morning we all headed out along the path along the bluff again, and then to the “bench” of land that overlooks Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the San Juan islands and the Canadian islands. On a gorgeous day like today, how could you not go take a another look at this beautiful view?
We walked down the path in the photo above, out towards the edge of the land, then turned and looked back to where we had come from …
That’s a lot of land … open land that is evidently kept clear of shrubs and trees. The sign below explains why.
While we friends were out here wandering and roaming, there wasn’t another person anywhere in the area … just us (and the doggies).
The photo above was taken looking up at the hillside above us. There certainly were a lot of yellow flowers! These plants and their yellow flowers are what we call Scotch Broom. They are non-native, are considered a noxious weed, and are on the state’s Prohibited Plant List meaning it is illegal to sell, buy, transport them, or plant them. They are prolific! On the other hand, the flowers are really pretty.
And then I noticed that, every once in a while, actually quite rarely, there would be one shrub with yellow/RED flowers, like the one in the photo below.
These plants have been here for possibly hundreds of years. One wonders why there are so few plants with yellow/red flowers while the vast majority have pure yellow flowers.
After all of that exploration on the “bench” (thanks to blog reader Fritzi for naming it that, it’s a perfect description), we headed back along the upper path, along the edge of the woods. The tree in the photo below had obviously suffered its share of wind and weather and storms. It looked to me like the ground up close around the base of the tree might be a safe place to hide out, protected by all those branches.
Salal, above, a Pacific Northwest native in the “heath” family. The flowers become delicious, edible, dark purple-black berries. My mom made salal jam … mmmm, mmmm, good. The plant makes an excellent ground cover since it stays green year-round, and when left to its own devices (or even helped along a bit) it grows so thickly that it keeps out weeds naturally.
Oregon Grape (above), another well-loved Pacific Northwest native. It’s actually in the barberry family, not the grape family. The flower of this plant is the state flower of Oregon. Many parts of the plant have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes. Warning, the berries are tart! Even when ripe, if they are eaten right off the plant, they will make you screw up your face and wrinkle your nose! 🙂 But add something sweet to them and they make a delicious jam or jelly.
Douglas “fir” cones (above), and sprigs of bright green, soft, new growth. The very common Douglas Fir here in the Pacific Northwest is actually a member of the pine family. How goofy is that? They sure are handsome trees.
And, speaking of handsome, on one of our walks around the campground, this handsome lass (below) sat perfectly still, posing for the photograph. She’s a Townsend’s Chipmunk, which is, you guessed it, actually a member of the squirrel family.
It’s sure a funny world. We name so many things the opposite of what they are. Oregon Grape is not a grape. Douglas Fir is not a fir. A Townsend Chipmunk is actually a squirrel. And those beautiful Scotch Broom plants are so pretty and yet they are so invasive and troublesome … and, get this, in Australia the exact same plant is known as English Broom. Sometimes I think human beings are rather odd characters, don’t you? 🙂
That new header photo of the buck by the barn is great, nice light around his head.
He was perfectly poised for that light, wasn’t he. So nice of him to do that.
I always enjoy your photos and the information you share about flowers and plants. Your photos are excellent. What a beautiful corner of the world you live in!
Thanks Ruby, thanks very much. Yes, it surely is beautiful here.
I grew up in Ellensburg (in WA). That’s on the edge of the Cascade Mountains, so I grew up with and sure enjoyed lots of trees, and Oregon Grape and Salal and ferns and all those other PNW plants. Really nice to see photos of them. Nevada where I live now is pretty, but I sure miss the forests and the climate of Washington. Thanks for taking me back.
You are welcome! 🙂
Liked that little chipmunk or squirrel or alligator or whatever. 🙂 You must have the patience of a saint to get photos of animals like that. You are very good at it.
Thanks Bill. One of the reasons that I sometimes choose to hike/walk alone is so I can take all the time I want, and so I’m not distracted by friends walking with me, and so there is less noise. But also, when I see a critter in the area, I stop, then I move slowly (but steadily, I don’t stop completely) and I’ll stand sideways to the critter, then I turn my back, then I may even walk away a bit, all the time making a soft clicking noise or a noise like I’m eating something, then I either turn sideways and approach again or just back up to the critter and slowly turn around. A whole lot of the time, the little person simply sits or stands there and is probably wondering what the heck is that big critter doing? I do sometimes get some nice photos by doing that. On the other hand, I hope no one except the little critter is watching. 🙂 Most mammals will simply stay put and watch me, about 50% of the birds will stay put although they are more prone to flight.
Ha, alligator. 🙂
Beautiful to see your photos & read your whimsical stories Ann! We hope to see you soon! Love & big hugs 💕 M & M
Thanks Melaine. Love & big hugs right back atcha! 🙂 Say hi to my big sis for me ok?
Your blog is so much fun. All the really different things you show us. And sometimes you’re serious and sometimes you’re funny. I really like that Douglas Fir cone photo. I can almost smell it!
Thank you Susan. 🙂
I like that Douglas Fir photo too, a lot. I got your email address from your comment and have emailed you the larger version of the photo. Feel free to have it printed if you’d like. I might do so too.
I know Scotch Broom is a pain, it’s so invasive and kills everything else in sight. But I never really looked at it in bloom. Have to agree, Ann, it’s really pretty. But … but … that little chipmunk/squirrel is the best. 🙂
Janey
Yep, the squirrel/chipmunk is so cute. It was so cool that it let me get so close.
I like that header photo with the deer by the barn too. The flowers are gorgeous. The plant info is really interesting. I think you should enlarge and print and frame that Douglas Fir cone photo. But yes, the chipmunk/squirrel/alligator (LOL) is the best.
Lori, I’ve emailed you too, with the full size version of that Douglas Fir photo. It has become one of my favorite photos. Ha! alligator! 🙂 Bill is funny.
Do you remember when the freeway medians were filled with scotchbroom and the how wonderful it smelled when it was in full bloom?
Oh yes! And I remember a friend of mine getting headaches from it, though I never had any reaction to it. Another good friend of mine has allergies and is deathly allergic to Scotch Broom, I’d forgotten that until you talked here about the smell back in the day, decades ago, when Scotch Broom was a solid wall of plants/flowers along the median of our freeways here in Washington State … a solid wall. Some people describe the fragrance as “tart” but some people find the fragrance really sweet, maybe it depends on the variety. I suspect we will never be free of Scotch Broom here in Washington … and I have rather mixed feelings about that. We sure did see a lot of it in the medians and on all sides of the freeways and highways here. Maybe kind of like a crazy uncle … you love him and you wish he’d go away. 🙂
And yes, I always loved the smell of those flowers. 🙂