Wow, some amazing colors out there this fall. Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures and knowledge, it was a pleasure to read and really brightened my day on a cold and foggy morning.
Tanya, just love your fall color and observation photos. Especially taken by the 1st one, madrone is my favorite tree.
I noted the huge clusters of madrone fruit this year along 30th Ave between I5 & Hilyard, Eugene.
We did have the most amazing fall colors this year~ Gail
Glad to cut the tree out for few personal reasons as well others to benefit from being removed. Good to see ya made up there some pretty amazing things to be found in that direction. =)
Thank you!!! Love all your Tortoiseshells!! FABULOUS…Yes we have them too but not in this quantity…Our Viola praemorsa are up and blooming…haven’t seen the V. sheltoniis yet…searching… The Trout lilies are up and the Calochortus are close behind here in So Oregon…
You are correct….rain is minimal…scary as hell…
Love you post…HAPPY HIKING>>.Oh!!! Found a Western Pond turtle cross heavy traffis …took him home to join our wild turtles…we have about thirteen that have stayed for about twenty years…and have new babies every year..they can leave if they want to…but I just wanted him out of traffic..AND YESTERday at (UGH!!) walmart…there was a lady tree frog crossing the parking lot…in traffic!!!! I caught her turned her loose in our garden to join our troop of tree frogs… MANY HUGS TO YOU HAVE FUN…PRAY FOR RAIN!!
I’m so happy to see this post. I’m headed to Deer Creek on Friday with my school, Columbine school of botanical studies. Cant wait to see these beauties.
Your account of peeing to attract butterflies is exactly what got me this photo of California tortoiseshells (mostly) on a April day at the Middle Fork Applegate trailhead! This was in about 2008, I called them piddle puddlers, lol.
I could not get groups of them to land in the sun where I needed them, so ….
(Please see Oregon Wildflowers in the comments under Greg Leif’s link to this website.
Hi Tanya, Thanks for a great report and beautiful photographs. Sorry I had to miss the trip. With all our recent rain, it looks like the wildflowers were really spectacular. Wanted to mention that last spring when I visited Staley Creek bridge, hiking a short distance upstream I spotted two beautiful Harlequin ducks swimming in a quiet section of the creek. Something else to watch for when you visit that site in the future. Also, small world it seems, as the guy you met while walking back from the bluff is Dave Shroeder who I’ve worked with as a regular volunteer at the FBP Native Plant Nursery. He told me he had a new border collie named Scout who apparently has a lot of energy! Sorry to hear the chorus frogs weren’t singing.
The bee is a metallic blue female Andrena. White patch of short hairs medial to the eyes, and pollen on hind legs (not under abdomen) differentiate her from a metallic blue Osmia.
What a wonderful hike…so many wonderful spring flowers that are long gone here!!!(at 2400 feet)…Beautiful photos… Hope we can get together someday…. I appreciate these poss!!!
Wonderful!! Great hike…love that “Old” growth…that Gina was walking through…Nice Lewisia nevadensis……little jewels…and …YES our natives are far more exciting than any lousy fireworks!!!
Thanks for sharing your outstanding photos. I wish my old legs could climb up the steep slopes you trek. Alas, I must be satisfied with reading your descriptions and viewing the photos. But that’s not a bad thing. I enjoy it and walk flatter trails.
This year I discovered several Platanthera transversa growing near our cabin in the Sierra foothills. I just collected one plant that was done flowering. Do you have experience germinating/growing the seeds?
No, I’ve never tried to grow any orchids from seed, but I do sometimes collect seeds and toss them around places on my property where there are other orchids. I can’t tell if that works or not, but I do hope so!
FABULOUS!!! So few man made rock gardens can do this justice!!! Great photos…We are tring to finish this garden we started in 2016 …and seeing the NATURAL ONES here..are so inspiring>>>I’m so grateful you include me on these hikes…Lupinus lepidus lobbii…one of my favorites…someday I’ll get it to grow in this garden..
And…my Orobanche uniflora!!! WHY did they change the name?? Oh…I know…to keep us on our toes!!! HUGS!!
.
You mentioned tabpoles moving altogether in the same direction in dead toad pond. I have seen this in a much bigger pond. All were moving left to right when we looked down at the shore, or counter-clockwise. Do you remember the direction you observed? Maybe it is genetically implanted??
HI!!! Great Loved this post!!! Nice to see a COOL WET SPOT!!! Love that “saxifrage”…and great TOAD!!! Our tads have all changed into their tree Frog outfits,,,a lot this year… BUT where are our birds??? No Black Capped Grosbeaks this year…
Thank you for all the photos…and great “story”,, Stay cool Would love to see the new saxifrage book!!!
Thank you!!! I love this NATURAL Rock garden!!! Perfect…Great trip you had… I love exploring our back roads. The tragedies I’m spotting where over logging has occurred…not to mention loss of Doug Fir , Ponderosa Pine and others to beetle and fungus because of drought… Is heart breaking… keep it up!! My presentation went very well… and we had a GOOD crowd
Finally – and long overdue – want to thank you for your wonderful posts! It’s high time I let you know how much I enjoy reading your notes, seeing your photos, and your excellent knowledge of Botany!!
And great photo of the hummingbird! Thank you very much!
OH TANYA!!!!! MY GOSH!!! I have to keep this…and read again.. Beautiful beautiful photos… Thank you!! What you are also talking about SCARES ME SILLY!! They are doing more and more damage to OUR WILDERNESS!! Fucking brute logging corps… Sorry but I have to say this…We are seeing this in our mountains too…not just the burns but the CLEARCUTS..with no care for the future…unless it makes money for them..
My Presentation went well… I totally understand why you couldn’t make it..I’d love to get together with you this next year!!! You have an electric car!!! YAY!!! We have a Toyota RAV HYBRID that we adore… BUT…we will eventually go electric…That FORD f150 LIGHTNING…will be the TRUCK…got to get more charging stations…OKay NOW I’ll go back a REALLY READ this!! Thank you.. Love and HUGS!!!
That inchworm! What a fascinating thing you witnessed right there! As a kid, I spent some time in the Glide area so this post was especially fun. I’m so glad there were no fires this year. Hopefully this will be the new trend.
Thanks for the ID, Lori!
I was hoping you’d be able to identify them for me. I had thought they might be Calippe fritillaries based on the large triangular marginal spots, but I wasn’t confident enough to put a name on them.
Wonderful post with great photo of ants on caterpillar. You seeing the start of the Cedar Creek fire which burned all summer long which is devastating but the sign of our times. I want to revisit Waldo lake after I watched salmon spawn right below/beside my kayak the year before the fire. Thank you Tanya for sharing your trips with us.
OMG!!!! WOW…so glad you are safe!!! Gorgeous photos…Love the caterpillars… Is the same one that lays eggs on the Lupine ( Lupinus bicolor) ?? My knowledge is scant here…but I love these butterflies…
The Cedar Creek fire was a frightening event…along with the other fires that burned this summer… I am so grateful that you were nor nearer… Too near to be sure!!!
Thank you… Love the ants tending this caterpillar…
Tanya, hi & seasons greetings. I’ll add a big “thank you” for the great field trip reports. Each is a fair amount of work in the field & on the computer. About the ants: I am not a myrmecologist, but have an interest in ants. I’d guess the ants in your photos are Formica obscuripes, Thatching Ants for the character of debris on their nests. This species is polymorphic, with differing sizes. The smaller ants are likely the same species, from the same nest. Your caterpillar probably exuding something sugary to attract the ants, which would in turn, protect it from predators. Apologies if you already know all this.
I do know that the ants tend the caterpillars to get “honeydew” and in turn protect the caterpillars from wasps and other predators. That’s probably why the caterpillars are able to hang out in the open like that. According to Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies, “Most blue larvae have a “honeydew gland” on the seventh abdominal segment. About half our species are myrmecophilous (ant attended).” I know very little about ants, however, so thank you so much for the ID and for explaining that the smaller ants might be the same species. So many things to learn about—one can never get bored studying nature!
OH!! TANYA!!! WOW… Exciting and incredible…Your photos are such a gift!!! Not only for the wonderful…and RARE plants but the very ROCK FACES themselves… true rock gardens..So glad you are careful!! Both of you… Thank you for a memorable year and all the wonderful places you’ve visited…climbed..hiked!!! You take us all with you…
HAPPY NEW YEAR…and I wish you great explorations in this NEW YEAR…and more rare…and difficult plants to discover!!
Another great hike….do you contribute seed to NARGS?? I just got my order in…This was the first year that I had contributed…my meager finds…Much fun!! Love your little “Mountain Beavers”!! Ant tending Eriogonum caterpillar…very cool!!! Your plant knowledge is outstanding..I’m working on mine…so much to learn…
I agree with your assessment of Gorman’s aster in that I’m pretty positive there’s quite a bit more out there than we know of. Like you said, the habitat it is found in is often just tough enough to get to that many casual hikers (and botanists!) just don’t visit the places it occurs enough or at the right time of year. Hopefully, you got a GPS location and are able to put a short report together for Willamette NF, ORBIC, and Oregon Flora!
Cheers and Happy New Year from “Northern Oregon”! – Jason
Yes, Jason, I will share my sighting with the appropriate folks (something else for the to-do list). Sharing my findings is one of the reasons I created this website!
I have long loved Symbol Rock which my wife and I came across one day while camping. I read that it was holy to the Indians (I can look for the source if you would like), which is something that I can easily imagine.
Everage Flat used to be called Youngs Flat. It is on Road 21, south of Hills Creek Reservoir, just south of the intersection of Youngs Creek Road 2129. The hidden swamp is downhill a short way on the northwest side of the area.
Tanya, thank you for your excellent report On our Patterson recon trip and especially for the great photos. I’m going to forward it on to my field trip participants to give them a glimpse of what’s to come this Saturday.
Tanya,
What a wonderful story. I wish I were going on your field trip. I love your blog and think that you could easily make it into a book when you are done working for OFP. Give Bill sullivan a little competition.
They will love your field trip! Good for you for rescuing those sweet tadpoles. My Asclepias cordifolia is blooming now so fingers crossed your attendees get to see it blooming too.
Wow, some amazing colors out there this fall. Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures and knowledge, it was a pleasure to read and really brightened my day on a cold and foggy morning.
Cheers,
Jason
Tanya, just love your fall color and observation photos. Especially taken by the 1st one, madrone is my favorite tree.
I noted the huge clusters of madrone fruit this year along 30th Ave between I5 & Hilyard, Eugene.
We did have the most amazing fall colors this year~ Gail
Glad to cut the tree out for few personal reasons as well others to benefit from being removed. Good to see ya made up there some pretty amazing things to be found in that direction. =)
Good to see your new postings. I am still held captive by winter chores. Do hope to get out soon.
Thank you!!! Love all your Tortoiseshells!! FABULOUS…Yes we have them too but not in this quantity…Our Viola praemorsa are up and blooming…haven’t seen the V. sheltoniis yet…searching… The Trout lilies are up and the Calochortus are close behind here in So Oregon…
You are correct….rain is minimal…scary as hell…
Love you post…HAPPY HIKING>>.Oh!!! Found a Western Pond turtle cross heavy traffis …took him home to join our wild turtles…we have about thirteen that have stayed for about twenty years…and have new babies every year..they can leave if they want to…but I just wanted him out of traffic..AND YESTERday at (UGH!!) walmart…there was a lady tree frog crossing the parking lot…in traffic!!!! I caught her turned her loose in our garden to join our troop of tree frogs… MANY HUGS TO YOU HAVE FUN…PRAY FOR RAIN!!
Leigh in Trail….
Thanks for letting us know about what is blooming down your way. And extra thanks for all you do to save wildlife!! And yes, pray for rain!
I’m so happy to see this post. I’m headed to Deer Creek on Friday with my school, Columbine school of botanical studies. Cant wait to see these beauties.
Your account of peeing to attract butterflies is exactly what got me this photo of California tortoiseshells (mostly) on a April day at the Middle Fork Applegate trailhead! This was in about 2008, I called them piddle puddlers, lol.
I could not get groups of them to land in the sun where I needed them, so ….
(Please see Oregon Wildflowers in the comments under Greg Leif’s link to this website.
Hi Tanya, Thanks for a great report and beautiful photographs. Sorry I had to miss the trip. With all our recent rain, it looks like the wildflowers were really spectacular. Wanted to mention that last spring when I visited Staley Creek bridge, hiking a short distance upstream I spotted two beautiful Harlequin ducks swimming in a quiet section of the creek. Something else to watch for when you visit that site in the future. Also, small world it seems, as the guy you met while walking back from the bluff is Dave Shroeder who I’ve worked with as a regular volunteer at the FBP Native Plant Nursery. He told me he had a new border collie named Scout who apparently has a lot of energy! Sorry to hear the chorus frogs weren’t singing.
You are amazing! Thank you for this report.
Sometimes the pollinator population may be “lost” among huge fields of flowers — relatively — so many flowers, so few pollinators …
The bee is a metallic blue female Andrena. White patch of short hairs medial to the eyes, and pollen on hind legs (not under abdomen) differentiate her from a metallic blue Osmia.
Thanks, Lori!
Thank you!!!
What a wonderful hike…so many wonderful spring flowers that are long gone here!!!(at 2400 feet)…Beautiful photos… Hope we can get together someday…. I appreciate these poss!!!
Leigh Blake, Trail, Oregon
Wonderful!! Great hike…love that “Old” growth…that Gina was walking through…Nice Lewisia nevadensis……little jewels…and …YES our natives are far more exciting than any lousy fireworks!!!
Thank you!!!
Leigh
Thanks for sharing your outstanding photos. I wish my old legs could climb up the steep slopes you trek. Alas, I must be satisfied with reading your descriptions and viewing the photos. But that’s not a bad thing. I enjoy it and walk flatter trails.
Very interesting! Thank you!
This year I discovered several Platanthera transversa growing near our cabin in the Sierra foothills. I just collected one plant that was done flowering. Do you have experience germinating/growing the seeds?
thanks
Heinrich 510-254-1225
No, I’ve never tried to grow any orchids from seed, but I do sometimes collect seeds and toss them around places on my property where there are other orchids. I can’t tell if that works or not, but I do hope so!
FABULOUS!!! So few man made rock gardens can do this justice!!! Great photos…We are tring to finish this garden we started in 2016 …and seeing the NATURAL ONES here..are so inspiring>>>I’m so grateful you include me on these hikes…Lupinus lepidus lobbii…one of my favorites…someday I’ll get it to grow in this garden..
And…my Orobanche uniflora!!! WHY did they change the name?? Oh…I know…to keep us on our toes!!! HUGS!!
.
You mentioned tabpoles moving altogether in the same direction in dead toad pond. I have seen this in a much bigger pond. All were moving left to right when we looked down at the shore, or counter-clockwise. Do you remember the direction you observed? Maybe it is genetically implanted??
Love your reports. Lmk if you ever take people out on field trips, please!
Wonderful post, as usual. Which species of Trillium enthralled the Pale Swallowtail?
HI!!! Great Loved this post!!! Nice to see a COOL WET SPOT!!! Love that “saxifrage”…and great TOAD!!! Our tads have all changed into their tree Frog outfits,,,a lot this year… BUT where are our birds??? No Black Capped Grosbeaks this year…
Thank you for all the photos…and great “story”,, Stay cool Would love to see the new saxifrage book!!!
Happy Hiking!!!
Thank you!!! I love this NATURAL Rock garden!!! Perfect…Great trip you had… I love exploring our back roads. The tragedies I’m spotting where over logging has occurred…not to mention loss of Doug Fir , Ponderosa Pine and others to beetle and fungus because of drought… Is heart breaking… keep it up!! My presentation went very well… and we had a GOOD crowd
Again…thank you
Finally – and long overdue – want to thank you for your wonderful posts! It’s high time I let you know how much I enjoy reading your notes, seeing your photos, and your excellent knowledge of Botany!!
And great photo of the hummingbird! Thank you very much!
Thanks for the kind words, Katie!
Great photos and a very engaging story.
OH TANYA!!!!! MY GOSH!!! I have to keep this…and read again.. Beautiful beautiful photos… Thank you!! What you are also talking about SCARES ME SILLY!! They are doing more and more damage to OUR WILDERNESS!! Fucking brute logging corps… Sorry but I have to say this…We are seeing this in our mountains too…not just the burns but the CLEARCUTS..with no care for the future…unless it makes money for them..
My Presentation went well… I totally understand why you couldn’t make it..I’d love to get together with you this next year!!! You have an electric car!!! YAY!!! We have a Toyota RAV HYBRID that we adore… BUT…we will eventually go electric…That FORD f150 LIGHTNING…will be the TRUCK…got to get more charging stations…OKay NOW I’ll go back a REALLY READ this!! Thank you.. Love and HUGS!!!
That inchworm! What a fascinating thing you witnessed right there! As a kid, I spent some time in the Glide area so this post was especially fun. I’m so glad there were no fires this year. Hopefully this will be the new trend.
Definitely mating Callippe fritillaries. I have netted many of those jewel wasps thinking that they were bees!
Thanks for the ID, Lori!
I was hoping you’d be able to identify them for me. I had thought they might be Calippe fritillaries based on the large triangular marginal spots, but I wasn’t confident enough to put a name on them.
Wonderful post with great photo of ants on caterpillar. You seeing the start of the Cedar Creek fire which burned all summer long which is devastating but the sign of our times. I want to revisit Waldo lake after I watched salmon spawn right below/beside my kayak the year before the fire. Thank you Tanya for sharing your trips with us.
OMG!!!! WOW…so glad you are safe!!! Gorgeous photos…Love the caterpillars… Is the same one that lays eggs on the Lupine ( Lupinus bicolor) ?? My knowledge is scant here…but I love these butterflies…
The Cedar Creek fire was a frightening event…along with the other fires that burned this summer… I am so grateful that you were nor nearer… Too near to be sure!!!
Thank you… Love the ants tending this caterpillar…
THANK YOU!!!
Tanya, hi & seasons greetings. I’ll add a big “thank you” for the great field trip reports. Each is a fair amount of work in the field & on the computer. About the ants: I am not a myrmecologist, but have an interest in ants. I’d guess the ants in your photos are Formica obscuripes, Thatching Ants for the character of debris on their nests. This species is polymorphic, with differing sizes. The smaller ants are likely the same species, from the same nest. Your caterpillar probably exuding something sugary to attract the ants, which would in turn, protect it from predators. Apologies if you already know all this.
Hi Kate,
I do know that the ants tend the caterpillars to get “honeydew” and in turn protect the caterpillars from wasps and other predators. That’s probably why the caterpillars are able to hang out in the open like that. According to Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies, “Most blue larvae have a “honeydew gland” on the seventh abdominal segment. About half our species are myrmecophilous (ant attended).” I know very little about ants, however, so thank you so much for the ID and for explaining that the smaller ants might be the same species. So many things to learn about—one can never get bored studying nature!
OH!! TANYA!!! WOW… Exciting and incredible…Your photos are such a gift!!! Not only for the wonderful…and RARE plants but the very ROCK FACES themselves… true rock gardens..So glad you are careful!! Both of you… Thank you for a memorable year and all the wonderful places you’ve visited…climbed..hiked!!! You take us all with you…
HAPPY NEW YEAR…and I wish you great explorations in this NEW YEAR…and more rare…and difficult plants to discover!!
Many hugs!! THANK YOU!!
Another great hike….do you contribute seed to NARGS?? I just got my order in…This was the first year that I had contributed…my meager finds…Much fun!! Love your little “Mountain Beavers”!! Ant tending Eriogonum caterpillar…very cool!!! Your plant knowledge is outstanding..I’m working on mine…so much to learn…
THANK YOU!!
Happy New Year, Tanya. Here’s to a happy, healthy Mother Earth in 2023.
Hi Tanya!
I agree with your assessment of Gorman’s aster in that I’m pretty positive there’s quite a bit more out there than we know of. Like you said, the habitat it is found in is often just tough enough to get to that many casual hikers (and botanists!) just don’t visit the places it occurs enough or at the right time of year. Hopefully, you got a GPS location and are able to put a short report together for Willamette NF, ORBIC, and Oregon Flora!
Cheers and Happy New Year from “Northern Oregon”! – Jason
Fantastic! Excellent work, so exciting!!!
Yes, Jason, I will share my sighting with the appropriate folks (something else for the to-do list). Sharing my findings is one of the reasons I created this website!
I have long loved Symbol Rock which my wife and I came across one day while camping. I read that it was holy to the Indians (I can look for the source if you would like), which is something that I can easily imagine.
Where is the Everage Flat Picnic Area? I can’t find it in any Google search. I’m interested in that small skunk cabbage swamp.
Hi Dave,
Everage Flat used to be called Youngs Flat. It is on Road 21, south of Hills Creek Reservoir, just south of the intersection of Youngs Creek Road 2129. The hidden swamp is downhill a short way on the northwest side of the area.
I’m praying for June rains too and for a cool summer. Thank you for sharing.
That is bad news. If it doesn’t rain in June we could be in for a major drought and Nasty fire season.
Tanya, thank you for your excellent report On our Patterson recon trip and especially for the great photos. I’m going to forward it on to my field trip participants to give them a glimpse of what’s to come this Saturday.
Tanya,
What a wonderful story. I wish I were going on your field trip. I love your blog and think that you could easily make it into a book when you are done working for OFP. Give Bill sullivan a little competition.
They will love your field trip! Good for you for rescuing those sweet tadpoles. My Asclepias cordifolia is blooming now so fingers crossed your attendees get to see it blooming too.