There may not be any wildlife photos for a week or so given my absence, but that shouldn’t stop you from sending them to me.
Today we have some photos by Jim Blilie taken in Oregon. There are many flowers, but also some landscapes and a chonky sturgeon. Jim’s captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
These photos are from two locations near our home. The one an old standard for us and the other a new discovery.
First the old friend: The Bonneville Fish Hatchery and Sturgeon Center. This facility is an operating salmon hatchery; but it also has ponds of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) where you can feed the fish and two large ponds with White Sturgeon (Sinosturio transmontanus), including a very large one named Herman (Herman the Sturgeon). In addition, it has beautifully gardened grounds that make it feel like an arboretum. My photos are almost all of the flowers.
These were taken a couple of weeks ago during the peak of the rhododendron (Rhododendron spp.) flowering (one of my favorite flowers) so these concentrate on the rhodies.
Many iris (Iris spp.) and roses (Rosa spp.) were also blooming:
And one image of Herman the Sturgeon from the viewing window of the main pond:
Next is our new discovery: The Mill Creek Ridge Natural Area, above The Dalles, Oregon, owned by the Columbia Land Trust. This is a beautiful ridge that provides a rolling walk with 360-degree views of the Columbia River, Mount Hood, and Mount Adams (on a clearer day), once you make a stiff ascent of a few hundred vertical feet from the parking area. Another draw are the profuse wildflowers. We missed the peak wildflowers by a couple of weeks (another hiker reported identifying 26 species). We went on a weekday and had the entire place to ourselves.
The Columbia Land Trust does wonderful work in Oregon and Washington: They purchase key lands for habitat and recreation and preserve it undisturbed for present enjoyment and for the future. We have given them individual donations in the past and I just started a monthly donation to them. I ask your readers to please donate, if they can.
First, some of the general views from the ridge. Looking south:
Then looking northeast, including the city of The Dalles, Oregon and The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River:
Next are just a few of the flowers we saw.
Sticky-stem Penstemon (Penstemon glandulosus var. chelanensis):
I think this is: Frasera albicaulis, commonly known as whitestem Frasera or white-stemmed elkweed:
I think this is: Common Stork’s Bill (Erodium cicutarium:
Paintbrush (Castilleja sp.):
Finally, the signpost at the parking area, giving general information:
The albicaulis really pops – the color contrast is exquisite –
The landscapes are [ whoosh ] … exhilarating, yet serene..
Thanks Jim. These are beautiful as always. You have settled into unbelievably gorgeous surroundings. Thank you for continuing to share them with us.
Beautiful photos!
Very nice! Thank you for sharing these.
What a gorgeous area.
Herman is so photogenic and poses well! What a delight to see.
Thanks!
The rhododendron, camellias, and irises look so familiar—just like our Northwest garden a few weeks ago. We don’t have a single sturgeon, unfortunately.
Great pictures!
Great flower pics! Thanks.
Before I retired, I went to Oregon in June every other year for a decade or more. The flowers were so amazing — fields and fields of color. Just stunning. Good to see Oregon flowers today!
Ohhhhhh — these are all just amazing photos — so much depth, detail and character in a wide range of subjects. Thank you for another great post!