Come with me...

 

The crow, at home...

 

It's a beautiful afternoon in the woods next to the wetlands.

 

And as the sun is setting, Beauregard is coming over to say he hopes it won't be quite as warm tomorrow. Good night, Beauregard...

 

Hidden Treasures! Even the grass is as beautiful as the flowers!

 

The bashful waterlily isn't sure it's safe to come up out of the water yet...

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The little house near Winlock, next to the double-tracked mainline...

 

Good morning!

 

The mountain is glowing, and venting a bit of steam at the base.

 

A wild rosebud!

 

Vote Smith! (From a few decades ago)

 

Flamboyant! There is no better word to describe the amazing wildflower called Indian Paintbrush than flamboyant!

 

We're being watched...

 

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it was 43 years ago that our favorite mountain blew up. It made quite a mess. But it's still beautiful!

 

Swallows!

 

Beautiful leaves, and beautiful flowers-- Hostas are amazing!

 

In and amongst the big leaves of the water plants, it's Mrs. Redwing Blackbird.

 

With their 6-foot wingspan, seeing a Great Blue Heron in flight is always amazing. Seeing two of them as they're heading home just before dark is even more amazing.

 

Beautiful, but quite poisonous... Foxglove (Digitalis)

 

Hope rises...

 

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A little bit of perfection on the forest floor...

 

Fly away...

 

The storm cell moves east-- away from us-- late in the afternoon. The air is clean, and our favorite tree is showing off its leaves.

 

There's just something about Foxglove (Digitalis) surrounded by ferns that proves that Mother Nature is a fabulous artist...

If you go into the woods today...

 

Just across the little road, our other local bull, Beauregard, is calling out for his friend, Throckmorton. Unless ladies are involved, they're happy to be in the same pasture together. Ah, Springtime!

 

There he is, up on that hill-- He's telling the whole world that he wants more good stuff to eat, and he'd sure like some company... That's Throckmorton, one of our local bulls. He really does have ears-- they're just hard to see.

 

The story of the apple tree...

From the time we moved into our house, about 30 years ago, we loved having the old apple tree near the back door.  But just a few years later we noticed that the leaves didn’t seem all healthy, and the apples were not at all good.  We decided to have the tree cut down just over 20 years ago.  We kept the stump for displaying garden art.  Somehow it belonged.  The following season we noticed a couple of shoots coming out of the ground around the stump.  Fast forward another couple of years, and we decided to let the shoots grow--- and grow they did!  Somehow the heart of the tree was still alive and was sending up new “limbs”.  It turned into quite a nice tree as the old stump rotted away.  Then we got a big surprise:  4 years ago the “limbs” sprouted a blossom or two!  And then the following year there were more blossoms and even 3 or 4 apples!  Last year the blossoms were magnificent and there was a bumper crop of apples.  There are blossoms galore this year, and we’re expecting more apples to follow!  The apples still aren’t very tasty, but the critters love them!  

I have no idea if other apple trees have this much will to survive, but we love this one!  I just took this picture on Saturday, and I think it’s perfect for Mother’s Day.

 

The ranch, many years ago...

 

There's a little bit of snow left on Minnie Peak (5610 ft. 1710m) at the north end of Coldwater Lake.

 

And now the little white flowers are out in the water plants. Spring is in full bloom. The yellow iris flowers add even more color.

 

A friend among the ferns...

 

Now everyone is popping up---and no wonder! They're celebrating Spring!

 

Lily Pads and reflections-- Even a bit of color in the clouds...

 

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Did you ever wonder what sort of plant is responsible for lily pads and water lilies? Here's a picture of what is normally underwater! Like a lady in the bath...

 

After the rain...

 

This part of the wetlands path was a log train right of way many decades ago. Mt. St. Helens is glowing with fresh snow to the east.

 

Standing tall!

 

A short distance away from the wetlands, the forest of Fir, Hemlock, and Cedar, is also bright with new growth.

 

There was a layer of clouds today, but still enough light to show off the new leaves and bright colors of the wetlands forest.

 

Under the boardwalk at Coldwater Lake, the remains of a blown-over tree is a reminder of the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens.

 

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It's nice to make new friends in the woods.

 

With a cloud sitting on top of Mt. St. Helens, it's easier to remember what it looked like before it blew 3000 feet of its top off in 1980.

 

A chipmunk, enjoying dinner...

 

Shall we go this way or that...?