Near Plain, Washington

 After leaving Derby Canyon early in the morning on the 10th of June, we went on to the town of Plain, north of Leavenworth.  We visited a site outside the town looking for the rare Clustered Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium fasciculatum), also known as the Brownie Lady's Slipper.

We quickly found a lot of the Western Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata var. occidentalis) in the woods.  They seem to be very abundant this year and this site was no exception.  We searched everywhere for the Lady's Slipper, however, and in the end only found four plants.

We spent quite some time photographing them, not an easy task on the steep slopes where they grow and also took a few other pictures of the area and the wildflowers there before going on to our final hiking destination, Chiwaukum Creek, west of Leavenworth.

We had also been to the area about a month earlier and took a few pictures then as well, especially of the Oregon Anemones (Anemone oregana) in bloom.  At that time we found some of the native orchids growing in the woods but not yet blooming.

Derby Canyon Revisted

On our way home from Spokane and Medical Lake on the 10th of June we left early in the morning to give ourselves a bit of time for some sightseeing and hiking.  Our first stop was Derby Canyon, a favorite place of ours.  We went to see the Brownie Peony in bloom, but we were too late - it was already finished.

We did climb the ridge to see what other wildflowers were in bloom and found, as expected the Western Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata var. occidentalis) and the Lyall's Mariposa Lily (Calochortus lyallii), along with a number of other interesting wildflowers.

Western Spotted Coralroot

Lyall's Mariposa Lily

Tall Silvercrown

Shrubby Penstemon

After an hour or so exploring we were leaving and saw the Mountain Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium montanum) growing on the bank right along the road.  There were only six plants, but they were all in flower, two smaller plants right at the roadside that looked like seedlings, and four larger plants with two flowers each.

We went back to where we had parked the car and walked back up the road to take pictures, a little difficult in the low light (the sun was just coming up), and with the plants growing on a rather steep bank.  We spent another hour or so taking pictures of this elegant orchid.

Au Sable Institute and Cornet Bay

I had been working long hours and Edward had been job hunting and we were both weary of it all and decided to take Friday morning (June 3) off and do a bit of hiking.  It turned into a beautiful sunny day as we drove to Whidbey Island to visit two of our favorite spots there.

We went first to the Pacific Rim Campus of the Au Sable Institute just south of Coupeville and took a walk through their woods looking for orchids in bloom.  This is one of the few known locations of the Ozette Coralroot, a rare variety of the Spotted Coralroot found only in Washington State.

Walking through the woods we found a few Fairy Slippers still in bloom and many plants of the Western Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata var. occidentalis), some of them in large clumps.  We found both the brown stemmed and the red-stemmed forms of the plant.

We also found a few that seemed to be intermediate between the Western Spotted and the Ozette, but perhaps they only represent more of the variation within this species.  In any case, I had never seen so many of them in one location and never so many in this location.  They were everywhere.

We found the Ozette Coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata var. ozettensis), too, but not as many as previous years.  Nor were they in bloom, but have several weeks to go before they bloom.  We've seen them in full bloom in early June, but this year everything is late due to a long spell of cold rainy weather.

Finished at Au Sable, we went back to the north end of Whidbey Island and the area of Deception Pass State Park.  We visited the part of the park that borders the south side of Cornet Bay and hiked the area around Hoypus Hill, looking for the Western Coralroot (C. mertensiana).

We found them in their usual haunts but they, too, were just beginning to bloom.  We took some pictures, but will have to go back when they are at their peak.  They are also very late this year as a result of the weather.  It was obvious though that both the purple and yellow-stemmed varieties were present.

We managed to get pictures also a small blue butterfly and of a Fox Sparrow, but there was little else to photograph and toward the end of the morning we were lost a bit on the winding trails and were trying to find our way rather than thinking about pictures.

The Chuckanuts

We have had the coldest April on record since the 1800's and twice our normal amount of rainfall - April was not a great month and May has not been much better so far.  Today was chilly and cloudy, at least in the morning, but I did manage to get out for a little while.  Went to the Chuckanuts, the low mountain range, south of Bellingham and the only place where the North Cascades come down to meet the sea.

There wasn't a lot blooming, the tide was in at the beaches and there wasn't a lot to see there, but I did check out a few spots.  Went to see how the Corallorhiza striata were doing along the Interurban Trail.  From there walked to Clayton Beach in Larrabee State Park and found the tide in.  Drove finally to the south end of Chuckanut Drive and took some time exposures of a cascade on the creek there.

First, the Corallorhizas, which were just starting to bloom.  For those who do not know, these are leafless, saprophytic orchids that get their nourishment from decaying organic material and not through the process of photosynthesis.  There is an area along the Interurban Trail where these grown in some profusion, an area I know through my good friend Marti Anderson.

From the area where the Corallorhizas were found I drove to the parking lot for Clayton Beach and walked to the beach, but was disappointed to find the tide in (note to self: check the tide table next time).  The only picture I too was of the flowers of the Salmonberry, about the only thing in bloom.  Saw no insects or butterflies, though they are usually to be seen along that trail.

Finished there I drove to the parking lot of the Oyster Creek Inn and scrambled down to the creek to get some time exposures of the cascade that comes down the hill and then under a bridge on the drive and past the restaurant.  Not the most exciting day, but at least I was able to get out for a little while and get the few pictures that I've posted here.