I've found the nest of a pair of red-shouldered hawks, across the creek and 2/3 of the way up a Ponderosa Pine tree. I believe Mama Hawk is setting, so I'll be watching for babies soon.
Enjoying the ever-changing landscape of wildflowers blooming on our property, and delighting in their beauty.
Shooting Stars, Ponderosa Pine, and Incense Cedar
Found a new friend and a great wildflower hiking trail.
Spent days tackling a thicket of over-grown blackberries with a pair of pruning shears, and uncovered three kinds of native ferns, wild iris, wild rose, and native spiraea growing along a water-filled swale.
Wild Ginger and Deer Fern
Visited several nurseries in town and bought native shrubs to fill in my large collection of wild plants already growing here.
Have visions of creating a native botanical garden here on our property, but for now, will be content with planting a little at a time.
Wild Lilac (ceonothus) and Kinnikkinnick
Here are all the native plants found growing on our property so far (and many are just leafing out, popping up, or beginning to bloom, so I'm sure this list will grow):
Trees
Douglas Fir Pseudotsuga menziesii
Incense Cedar Calocedrus decurrens
Pacific Madrone Arbutus menziesii
Ponderosa Pine Pinus
ponderosa
California Black Oak Quercus kelloggii
Oregon White Oak Quercus garryana
Black Cottonwood Populus trichocarpa
Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens
Red Alder Alnus Rubra
Shrubs
Hairy Manzanita Arctostaphylos columbiana
Buckbrush Ceanothus cuneatus
Wild Lilac, Deerbrush Cenothus integerrimus
Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus
Ocean Spray Holodiscus discolor
Pacific Ninebark Physocarpus capitatus
Clustered Wild Rose Rosa Pisocarpa
Evergreen Huckleberry Vaccinium ovatum
Douglas Spiraea Spiraea douglasii
Wildflowers
Camas Lily Camassia quamash
Pink Fawn Lily, Henderson’s Fawn Lily Erythronium hendersonii
Shooting Star, Henderson’s Shooting Star Dodecatheon hendersonii
Woodland Star Lithophragum parviflora or affine
Oregon Saxifrage Saxifraga oregano
Buttercups Ranunculus
Western Spring Beauty Claytonia lanceolata
Pacific Bleeding Heart Dicentra Formosa
Yellow Violet
Wild Ginger Asarum caudatum
Ferns
Lady Fern Athyrium filix-femina
Sword Fern Polystichum munitum
Wood Fern Dryopteris expansa
Deer Fern Blechnum spicant
Will I get back to writing again? Yes, probably soon. But right now, I'm enjoying a refreshing break. Besides - Benson Botanical Gardens has kind of a nice ring to it, don't you think?
What refreshes your soul? Is it being out in the open, or something else?
2 comments:
Man, would I love to have YOUR backyard! How beautiful to be able to step out there and voila' - nature!
Patti
I know, Patti, and it's so beautiful right now, it's also pretty distracting from my writing career - at the moment. Maybe in the heat of the summer I'll come inside and do some writing. Everything in its time is a good motto, IMO. :-)
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