163 photos, 69 keepers – two hours – 92 degrees at the airport, probably midday. But I didn’t go out till 5 p. m.
I parked at the north entrance as the shortest walk to the Chondrilla juncea, rush skeleton weed on the east end of the North Trail.
Right at my parking spot was a Melilotus albus plant in bloom. It has no ‘common name’ listed in Burke. It looks a lot like Melilotus officinalis, yellow sweet clover but white blossoms instead of yellow blossoms. I’ll call it ‘white sweet clover’.
I cut a branch and started into the park looking for a shady place to make my photographs. That was the only blooming ‘white sweet clover’ I saw.
I cruised around the many rush skeleton weed plants and saw only one that might be in bloom. It was a small plant tucked under the huge Xmas tree fir. I pulled it and remembered that I was interested in the Lepidium sp that I had walked past on the way there. I doubled back and pulled what looked to be a typical specimen.
I hoped to demonstrate that it was a different species from Lepidium campestre, common pepper-weed that had bloomed earlier and was now in seed.
I remembered that I wanted to see how ‘hairy’ the plant I call Lotus unifoliolatus, American bird’s foot trefoil was. My photos say they are quite hairy. But I think I need further study, they are everywhere in the park. Some blossoms are white and some are pink. I need to demonstrate that the hairiness or smoothness is or is not associated with color.
The question is, are there two similar Lotus species. The evolved plant list has Lotus micranthus here. Burke says L. micranthus is ‘mostly glabrous’ … hairless. I have only noticed hairy plants.
Carr has only L. unifoliolatus in this area. Both Burke and Turner have L. micranthus only on the west side of the state.
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I found rather deep shade and a basalt outcrop to sit on near the east shore of North Pond
I tried, all day, to pay attention to the readings on the camera. I was seldom troubled with bleaching but most photos are ‘pale’ till I run up the ‘levels’ in the computer.
All of the macro photos are taken at 1/100th of a second at various aperture settings.
When I sat to make the photographs I thought I saw an Epilobium brachicarpum growing out of the basalt with a blossom on it. I worked very hard to get its environment then pulled it to get good images of the blossom.
The ‘blossom’ turned out to be the skeleton of a [perhaps] mayfly.
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A piece of grass was at hand so I photographed it and thought I would get more grasses later even though I don’t intend to try identify them this year.
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In the set of ‘landscapes’ is one taken from that seated position showing two levels of the pond grass and a scatter of a shorter grass in front of me.
The landscapes gathered at this point were taken at various times in the walk. Some were the usual pursuit of cloud photos. A couple were experiments with changing setting on the camera. I do need to read more of the camera documentation … reread it.
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The Trifolium longipes, long stalked clover patch seemed to be dominating some of the moderately tall, thick grasses east of the big willow of North Pond.
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The work I have been doing, getting the plant-lists into Excel reminded me of Psilocarphus oregonus, Oregon
They seem to be long past blossoming but the plant description in Burke is sufficiently opaque that I’m not sure. I need to know more about them.
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I attempted the ‘bottle brush’ grass but that was grasses enough for the day. There are lots more attractive grass seed-heads to photograph.
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The Madia glomerata, stinking tarweed are springing up alongside the main trail. I attempted to photograph a bud but … no tweezers.
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The Vicia villosa, hairy vetch is villainous. It’s everywhere, tangling everything, including, of course, my feet. I couldn’t get a ‘patch photos’ that suggests strongly enough its dominance.
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The other frequent flower of the moment is the American bird’s foot trefoil. It, too, is everywhere, but it is seldom tall enough to really catch the eye and it is never in thick ‘patches’.
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Grindelia squarrosa, curly-cup gum-weed has been the frequent flower since the first of June, about six weeks. It’s still everywhere but it seems to be fading.
I suppose it only seems more dominant than Centaurea cyanus, bachelor button because the bright yellow the gum-weed is seen farther if not more frequently.
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The tall, spindly, Perideridia gairdneri, yampah, is in bud. It’s a little easier to see now that it has buds. It is easy to see when it is in full bloom.
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I only saw two Epilobium brachicarpum, autumn willow-herb plants with buds that showed pink. The plants are still short. Some plants will be quite tall later.
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I walked over to check the little patch of Eriogonum niveum on fireplug trail. Nothing much happening yet. I didn’t check for buds.
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I saw only one Bidens vulgata, tall beggarticks, in bloom. The north side of the south pond is full of them. I didn’t look for buds.
I apparently forgot to do a ‘plant’ photo of the beggarticks. Next time.
I didn’t carry the plant I pulled very far but it was wilted and difficult to photograph by the time I got to it.
I did tour mosquito heaven, the bottom of South Pond, before I photographed it to see if I could find Lythrum salicaria, purple loosestrife. I didn’t see it last year. I’ve never seen it. The Burke photo suggests it’s a spectacular blossom.
Burke also says of L. salicaria: “Habitat: Noxious weed of standing water and wet ground.” Their ‘map’ has it in all but three counties of Washington , including Spokane County
I saw no sign of it.
I didn’t see or hear a mosquito while I was walking around the pond bottom but one did get me on the underside of my right elbow when I sat to do the photography.
As I was leaving south pond, headed for my car I stepped over some specks of red. Red has to be worth photographing.
I believe the plants to be Portulaca oleraceae, little hogweed, a weed I have always enjoyed. I look forward to watching it develop.
When I had a garden, a very long time ago, I pruned some and kept it watered. It made an attractive mat.
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| Melilotus albus, white sweet clover |
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| Chondrilla juncea, rush skeleton weed |
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| Lepidium sp. |
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| Lotus unifoliolatus, American bird's foot trefoil |
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| A deception |
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| unidentified grass |
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| three grass patches |
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| Tragopogon dubius, goat's beard, in seed, backlit |
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| clouds |
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| clouds |
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| Trifolium longipes, long stalked clover patch |
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| Psilocarphus oregonus, Oregon woolly heads |
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| nice stipule |
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| unidentified grass |
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| Madia glomerata, stinking tarweed |
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| Vicia villosa, hairy vetch patch |
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| Perideridia gairdneri, yampah in bud |
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| Epilobium brachicarpum, autumn willow-herb |
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| they will be taller later |
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| Eriogonum niveum, snow buckwheat there will be beautiful blossoms, none yet |
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| Bidens vulgata, tall beggarticks |
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| Portulaca oleraceae, little hogweed |
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