Liz and I made a pact to “experience Spring” this year – to get out into wilder lands to see and feel the progression of wildflowers, leaf-outs, and scents. It is something that was very much a part of me in Minnesota, but I haven’t made the same connections to the turning of the seasons here.
These flowers are from two hikes, Dimple Hill (1500 ft, north side of Corvallis) on Easter, and Finley Wildlife Refuge (8 miles south of town) last Sunday.
Dimple Hill:
Fairyslipper (Calypso bulbosa), a surprisingly common orchid
Western Trillium (Trillium ovatum)
Finley:
Pacific Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa)
Milkmaids (Cardamine californica)
White Fawn Lily (Erythronium oregonum) - a relative of Minnesota's trout lilies
Tall Oregon-grape (Mahonia aquifolium)
Oregon Iris (Iris tenax)
Western Buttercup (Ranunculus occidentalis)
Yesterday we drove to Portland to pick up a nucleus hive – our first bees this year. We stopped at the arboretum to explore their collection of blooming Magnolia trees.
Magnolia!
A wonderland of petals
All shades of white and pink