Friday, May 2, 2014

A Spring Walk in the Woods


Spring is in full bloom here in the foothills
 of the Cascades.

Everything is growing and blooming, 

the bees are buzzing,


and the air is fragrant with the scent of flowers. 

(And the scent of the local stables,
but only when down-wind)


So come along with me
 and we will take a little walk
 to meet the flowers. 


I have no idea what type of crab-apple this is,
but the blossoms are a lovely mauve,
 and the tiny, sour apples are a favorite of the birds.


As we pass through the gate...


The flowers in my heart shaped rock garden
 want you to come a little closer.....


Rock Cress blooms....


among Forget-Me-Not,


beside Creeping Phlox.


Fringe-cup, a wild relative of Coral Bells,
adds height. 

It is not quite in bloom, 
but will have tiny green bells
fringed with pink.

These grow abundantly along the edges of the forest
and readily reseed themselves.
I have encouraged them along.



As we walk past the garden we see the giant Holly tree.
It is loaded with red berries in winter, much to the bird's delight.

It has reseeded itself everywhere.
They say it is invasive here,
but a lovely invasive that the birds enjoy.


Forget-Me-Not.


Whitey impatiently waits.....


Pink and blue wildflowers, are strewn about like confetti.


Tiny wild Cranesbill (Herb Robert)
grow everywhere.


A leafy bower


Red Elderberry fills the forest clearings
 with their pungent, frothy white blooms.


Soon, clusters of bright red berries will form,
providing an important food source
for migrating birds,


Including the Western Tanager.
Every year we have a nesting pair
that arrives just as the berries ripen.

Their warble is as pretty as their good looks.


Salmon Berry - so named for the color of it's raspberry-like berry,
light up the forest with their rose colored blooms.

These are an important nectar source
 for hummingbirds and insects
 in early spring when few things are blooming.


Western Bleeding Heart carpet the forest floor


 with dainty lavender-rose 'hearts'.


There are Ferns of all types....


Including in the trees!


Pink Current is another hummingbird favorite
 and lovely to encounter in the forest.


We follow Whitey down the woodland path.
Elderberry bloom alongside.



Trillium turn from white to lavender before fading away for another year.



Big Leaf Maple's six inch flower clusters
will form the winged seed heads
that are favorites of native Douglas Squirrels.
One tree can produce hundreds.

In autumn when the winds start to blow,
they spin to the ground in aerial ballets.


Tall Oregon Grape send up yellow, sweet scented racemes,
 which will be followed by blue berries that were dried and eaten by Native Peoples.


Bracken Fern slowly unwind as they reach skywards.

This tall fern is poisonous to livestock,
but the bitter aroma ward off the curious.


Highly scented white Viburnum attract bees by the dozens.

Can you see Mt. Rainier peeking through the foliage?


But with shadows getting long, we should return home.


It's been a beautiful day.


I hope you enjoyed our walk to meet the flowers.


Champ enjoyed it, too!

xoxo

To be overcome by the fragrance of flowers
 is a delectable form of defeat.

-Beverly Nichols-

Today I am linking to:
Floral Friday

http://www.underlockandkeyblog.com/search/label/floral%20friday



26 comments:

  1. They are beautiful Mrs Karen.
    I love your garden, house, woods, dogs, and you know it right?
    I talked about you to Sean today. :) I even mentioned thank you on my facebook to you. I never can't say enough thank you to God that I could meet you here.

    Always good to see your psot.
    Blessing and have a wonderful weekend.

    Blessing,
    Delvalina

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  2. That was a lovely walk in your Springtime with lots of lovely flowers.
    Merle........................

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  3. Just stunning! Thank you for taking us on this beautiful virtual walk. And hello to Whitey and Champ!

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  4. Hi Karen,

    I can see how beautiful the walk must have been - the garden is beautiful - love the forget-me-nots. Such a special place to walk with your lovely dogs.
    Happy weekend
    Hugs
    Carolyn

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  5. Thank you Karen for taking us on this amazing walk with you. I would love to explore those lush green forests around there. I love the picture of the Western Tanager :)

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  6. Good morning, Karen!
    Going through that beautiful gate was like entering Narnia. Such an abundance of flora -and a couple of faunas whose initials are C & W!! :)
    My blog is now not updating on your site. Big sigh. Oh well! Come see my new post?
    I hope you and Blue Eyes have a wonderful weekend. xxoo, m

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  7. So beautiful. Cannot wait for things to bloom here! And love your little fur model. :-)

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  8. Everything looks so beautiful and all within such a small area! Hope that you are having a good weekend. xx

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  9. too sweet! i was wondering where your other pup was, so glad you included him. :)

    your area is LOADED! so lush and beautiful!

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  10. Your walks are always lovely, but today the walk was gorgeous with all the colour. I love the crab apple, the colour is quite antique. Have a wonderful weekend. xx

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  11. So, so, so pretty - flowers to bird to fences. I want some bleeding hearts - they are so beautiful.

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  12. what a lovely tour, you had me sold when you mentioned all the pretty fragrances in the air, if only our computer screens has smell-o-vision!

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  13. That was one amazing walk! So many beauties to enjoy. You are surrounded in God's glorious nature, how blessed.
    Thank you for inviting us along with you and your furry friends. :-)
    Joy! Debbie

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  14. Oh, what beauty you've shared, Karen. I felt like I was walking along with you enjoying the great outdoors. Thanks for taking me along. xo

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  15. Dearest Karen,
    Lovely walk and what a treat to have the Western Tanager live on your property!
    Hugs and happy Sunday!
    Mariette

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  16. OH MY GOSH, Karen. What a fantastic post! You outdid yourself with this one. Not only are your gardens beautiful your photos showcase it all perfectly. I would love to see it all in person. I am so jealous of your beautiful gardens! xo Diana

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  17. So in love with your springtime photos... especially the second one! Very nice post.

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  18. I can't tell you what a great pleasure it was to come along on this walk with you! Your garden is very beautiful. I love how you have encouraged all the native species, and how bright it is even with so much shade. Just lovely. It looks so effortless and natural but I'm sure you've put a lot of work and thought into it.

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  19. What a wonderful ride! I love to walk and watch the flowers! Ah, what a beauty you shared .... I felt like I was walking with you. thank you for this tour! Kiss and a beautiful week my friend.

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  20. I love to see all the different flowers that grow in your very own Eden. And that Western Tanager is spectacular!

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  21. I love it when you take us for a walk with you, Karen - your space in the universe is so full of life! xo

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  22. Karen!!! Your garden is so alive it is just knock me out of my seat beautiful! Where do I even begin! The blooms on your trees and those ferns reaching for the sky are stunning! As is your rock garden! There are just shouts of color everywhere!! What a magical place it is! And that photo that you took of the Western Tanager is STUNNING!!!!! Wishing you a wonderful week ahead friend! Nicole xoxo

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  23. Ι'm a country girl in the heart, so, strolling through the woods was such an exciting experience Karen! Your area is really very lovely and the green so abundant...A real pleasure to be there!

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  24. You encountered the loveliest blooms and blossoms on your walk! I thoroughly enjoyed this virtual visit :)

    Rowena @ rolala loves

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  25. What a gorgeous post! I really love that little bird! So bright and beautiful. A delight to visit you here!

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Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are important to me and are very much appreciated. xx Karen

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