A crow decided to take a walk in the wetlands. His name is Russell.

 

Springtime peacefulness and beauty...

 

Coldwater Peak with clouds...

 

"Sit down," said the old tree, "and talk to me for a while. Is Ike still President? Have you people grown up yet?" We talked for a while, and then I went home.

 

You can think of me anyplace, but remember me in the forest...

 

A tiny flower with a big personality!

 

Well ventilated! The airflow is excellent!

 

Friendly swallows!

 

One last picture from Johnston Ridge: If you look in the opposite direction from yesterday's post, you'll see Minnie Peak instead of Mt. St. Helens. It's the darker range in the center of this shot. I love the sky! It's a late Fall image, so the flowers are gone. I wish they'd reopen the road to Johnston Ridge this year, but it will be 2027.

 

This was the same day and the same general area as yesterday's picture. This is the Lewit viewpoint on Johnston Ridge. The view of the Mount Saint Helens crater is the best you can get to by car, and the wildflowers are beautiful. Again-- the road to Johnston Ridge was washed out a couple of years back and is not expected to be open again until 2027. The Toutle River Valley is between the ridge and the mountain-- about 2 thousand feet straight down.

 

Here's a shot from one of my favorite spots on Johnston Ridge. The Indian Paintbrush and other wildflowers add color to the foreground. Nearly 2 thousand feet below, you can see the Toutle River. And Mt. St. Helens is looming to the right. The river cuts through the ash and debris from the eruption 45 years ago. This shot is a few years old. I can't get a new one because a landslide closed the highway to the Lewit Viewpoint and the Johnston Ridge Visitors Center. They hope to have it reopened in 2027. By the way, those areas of green in the valley are tall trees. It's a long way down!

A special note to Joaquin:  I still can't get through to your blog on any of my browsers.  Frustrating.
 

Here's another shot on Johnston Ridge from a few years back. It will be 2027 before the road gets fixed. and we can go up there again. But when that picture was taken, it had been 42 years since the volcanic explosion blew it down along with thousands of others. I bet it's still there.

 

I took this picture three years ago on Johnston Ridge, the best place for views into Mt. St. Helens' caldera. The Indian Paintbrush grows like crazy there, and the remains of a giant tree blown over in the blast 45 years ago dominate this picture. I'm sad to say we haven't been able to go back up there since May of 2023, when a massive landslide closed the highway. The damage was severe, and a new bridge is being built, but repairs will take until 2027. I'm glad we have our pictures to look at.

 

This is a chipmunk. They like to hang out with tourists and beg for goodies to eat. There are always some at the wetlands walk, and I love watching them.

 

This is just part of a huge flower farm next to the Cowlitz River, near Toledo, Washington. Even without the blooms, it's nice to see.

 

Come on, people, let's straighten up and fly right!

 

It's me! The king of the backyard! I can see everything from here! We rarely see our harmless little garden snakes anymore-- the trees and bushes have made it too shady for them to sun themselves.

 

Resting near the tracks... We have a number of pioneer graveyards in the area-- and it's always interesting to see the names and dates. There are many who fought in the Civil War, and the many that followed. The saddest thing is that all older graveyards have a large number of children under 5. We've come a long way in the last 100 years.

 

have you ever wondered what it's like under the bridge?

 

He doesn't get out much anymore, but the birds sit on him, and the flowers like to hear him talk about the old days.

 

Rain on the way...

 

Time warp! We saw this perfect old car in a little town about 20 miles north of us.

 

The sun sets on another family farm...

 

There's a dreamlike quality to how this picture turned out-- especially since the clouds are hiding the mountain's blown-off top. You can easily imagine a pointy top, just like most of the other Cascade volcanoes. We're looking across the wetlands to Silver Lake, with Mt. St. Helens looming in the distance.

 

Hello--- Anybody home?

 

Like a princess surrounded by loving subjects...

 

His songs are very colorful today...

 

Everything grows in the deepest parts of the forest. The moss grows on the trees, and ferns grow in the moss! It's another way nature seems to say things will be alright.

 

I don't know what that is growing on the side of that tree, but it doesn't look happy...

 

Hidden...

 

Getting that last drop...