September, 2025

October 17, 2025 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

In September we visited an art festival, and went on two hikes in the mountains, and one at the beach. I took my usual neighborhood walks, read a few books, and made very little notable progress on my ongoing knitting projects. At the end of the month, we flew to the east coast to visit family there (next post).

9/1 – Art in the Pearl

Some of my favorite artwork in this year’s show:

9/2 – Crescent and Cannon Beaches, OR

A hot day in Portland. We drove to the coast for a short hike to Crescent Beach in Ecola State Park, then went to Cannon Beach to walk near Haystack Rock at low tide.

View to Crescent Beach and Cannon Beach from Ecola Point.

Trail through the forest, about 3 miles round trip.

Descending to Crescent Beach, looking south.

We walked down the beach and found a spot to eat lunch.

Zooming in on Ecola Point, where we began our hike. We hiked back up after lunch.

After an ice cream break in Cannon Beach, we walked toward Haystack Rock. It wasn’t a particularly low low tide today. My husband took a much longer walk, while I found a good perch right in front of the Needles, and watched several pods of pelicans fly north along the breaker zone.

Zooming in on The Needles, with pelican.

9/10 – June Lake, Mt St Helens, WA

Another hot day. Another relatively easy hike, first to June Lake, then up onto some of the lava flows (Worm Flows) on the south side of the mountain (4 miles, 800 feet).

Some of the late wildflowers along the way:

June lake is calm, reflecting the waterfall coming out of the lava flow above.

Then we went up a fairly steep trail, and onto the Loowit Trail, and the lava flows:

A glimpse of the top of Mt St Helens beyond the clouds.

We went just high enough to get the full mountain view.

Zooming in on a glacier near the summit ridge.

The trail not taken ahead – our knees and balance had enough for the day.

We descended, with another stop at the beautifully reflective June Lake…

9/16 – Little Crater Lake, Mt Hood, OR

And yet another hot day! Another easy hike, first to Little Crater Lake, then to the eastern edge of Timothy Lake along the Pacific Crest Trail (3.5 miles, 50 feet).

This small artesian spring-fed lake is always a treat, with its deep turquoise color, reflections and transparency. An indulgent photo stop.

We walked to the eastern edge of Timothy Lake, then retraced our steps.

Pacific Crest Trail – nice and shady on a hot day.

We were told we could see Mt Hood from the Timothy Lake Dam, so we drove around the lake to see the view – it was just a glimpse over a ridge.

Neighborhood walks

Flowers and landscape elements I noticed in September:

I haven’t done much quilting lately, so I composed a concrete quilt from some of my favorite sidewalk cracks.

September books

I finished six books in September. The most inspiring was the biography of Robert Louis and Fanny Stevenson – A Wilder Shore, by Camille Peri. They were a very unusual couple for their time. He chose writing instead of the family business of lighthouse engineering. She grew up in rural Indiana, spent time with her first husband in the mining camps of Nevada, then in bohemian San Francisco, before going to France with her children to study art. They traveled all over the world, by horse carriage, train and ship, eventually settling in Samoa. It seems amazing to me that they were so widely travelled, and that she lived her own style, ignoring much of the expected behavior of a proper Victorian lady. I was inspired to reread my childhood copy of his poem, The Land of Counterpane, from A Child’s Garden of Verses, with illustration by Garth Williams – this is one of the definitive visual memories from my childhood – the quilt, and the imaginary play it inspired.

Also in Portland…

Things started to heat up. Deliberate misinformation reported a ‘war zone’ throughout the city. The only actual activity is near the Federal ICE facility in southwest Portland, where the true spirit of Portland is on display in peaceful protests that defend free speech and due process. I am writing this in October, when things have gotten crazier but in September, we were just getting ready for threatened invasion! I’m sure I will be adding something about the frogs next month.

Return to Bird Creek Meadows, Mt Adams, WA, July 22, 2025

August 30, 2025 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We hiked again where we have hiked before, through the lush wildflower meadows on the southern slopes of Mt Adams, on the Yakama Nation Tract D. We started at Bird Lake, and went counterclockwise uphill to the Hell Roaring Viewpoint of Mt Adams, then down along the Round the Mountain Trail and back to the lake (~5.5 miles, 1000 feet). We saw wildflowers, waterfalls, and some views through the burned forest, on a day when we only had fleeting glimpses of the mountain itself. The wildflower meadows were ‘beyond category’ today, and I took a lot of pictures!

Lower trail, from Bird Lake to Bluff Lake:

Bird Lake. Mountain not out, but pretty reflections in the lake.

Partridgefoot and lupine on the lower trail.

Next, continuing uphill to the Round the Mountain Trail:

Staircase Falls, just below the Round the Mountain Trail.

And continuing above the Round the Mountain Trail, on the Trail of Flowers, we finally had a glimpse of Mt Adams from under the clouds.

Bracted lousewort, with more magenta paintbrush and lupine

Orange paintbrush, yellow ‘daisies’ of some sort, and white sitka valerian.

And another view of Mt Adams as we hiked up to the next rock ledge.

The ledge along the upper Trail of Flowers Loop provides a view to the landscape to the south.

Looking south toward Oregon – blue arrow pointing to the smoke plume from the Burdoin Fire.

Closer view of the Burdoin Fire smoke plume.

And a wider view across the southern flanks of Mt Adams, and its ghostly forest, burned several times in the past twenty years.

We continued upward through more meadows to the Hellroaring Viewpoint…

Hellroaring Viewpoint – top of the mountain back under the clouds.

We retraced the trail back to the Trail of Flowers, then down to the Round the Mountain Trail, and continued westward through numerous meadows divided by small creeks that are all branches of Bird Creek.

And more meadows! Next we crossed a slight rise, and then descended to our start point, by going down the Crooked Creek drainage…

This slope along Crooked Creek was so colorful!

The slopes below Crooked Creek Falls are heavily burned, but the creeks are still colorful with flowers…

Monkey flower, lupine, Sitka valerian, paintbrush

And back to Bird Lake…

Back to Bird Lake, partial view of Mt Adams this afternoon.

Meanwhile, dark clouds formed a backdrop for these glowing ghost trees

And a last view of Mt Adams from the gravel road down.

It was a “wildflower bathing” day on the slopes of Mount Adams!

Thoughts on the Burdoin Fire, Columbia River Gorge, WA, July 2025

August 29, 2025 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Part 1 – in real time…

I wrote most of this post in July, as this event unfolded.

The Burdoin Mountain Fire started on Friday, July 18th, near Coyote Wall: a hot day, an east wind, and whoosh, by Sunday, July 20th, it had burned all the way east to the Klickitat River. In Portland, I followed news reports of evacuations of homes and families and communities; of firefighters on the ground and planes scooping water out of the Columbia River. I kept checking the map on the Watch Duty App – as the red line crept east, remembering all of the many hours we have spent in the fall, winter and spring, hiking the open grassy slopes and rocky cliffs above the river. Wildflowers and fall colors, all captured in my mind’s eye, and stored on my computer hard drive photo files…

July 19th fire boundary – Screenshot from the Watch Duty App.

July 24th fire boundary. Screenshot from the Watch Duty App

The biggest concern is for the area residents and their homes. I was keeping my fingers crossed for my favorite trees, too. I hoped the speed of the fire as it traveled through the grass would cause the conflagration to bypass some of the trees:

The guide tree above Rowland Lake – a tall ponderosa pine near the spot where we often have lunch when hiking the Labyrinth – it overlooks many of the trails here in its high perch – will it still be there?

Arrow pointing to the guide tree – from near the Labyrinth trailhead above Rowland Lake, October 24, 2024.

Guide ponderosa as seen from Rowland Wall, April 20, 2018.

Guide ponderosa from the west as we hike toward our lunch stop and turnaround point, December 16, 2017.

Lunch stop near the ponderosa, with all the eastern gorge on view, October 17, 2023.

Also along the Labyrinth Trail, my favorite oak grove:

Labyrinth oak grove in the spring, May 17, 2025.

Labyrinth oak grove in the fall, October 27, 2021.

The solitary oak tree that perches on the cliff edge is always photogenic, as seen going uphill, to the east:

And downhill, to the west:

On the way down, I always say goodbye to the one-eyed oak sentinel on the lower trail:

I have been browsing my photo library, and there are so many other beautiful trees there. As the red fire boundary moved farther east on the map, to the Catherine Creek slopes, I thought of the many ponderosa pines, and the small oak groves, including those guarding the fairy ponds:

Even farther east, there is my ‘ent’, a snag guarding the eastern slope where there is always so much birdsong in spring, and so many flowers!

Next I see fire has made its way all the way east to the Balfour-Klickitat Reserve where we go to see the juvenile bald eagles practicing flight in the small lagoon off of the mouth of the Klickitat River every winter…

We are in the Schroedinger phase…that is, all I know is the fire outline on the map, that keeps spreading eastward. I don’t know what has burned and what has survived.

Part 2 – Preliminary outcome report

As of this writing (late July), the fire is contained, evacuations lifted. Tragically, 19 homes were destroyed and 47 were damaged. No lives were lost. Local people have reported that the burned area was patchy in nature. Many trees were spared. The local residents have a difficult path ahead. Land managers will be monitoring the trail situation. We don’t usually hike here in summer. When the weather turns to cooler temperatures, I hope to find myself on these trails again, to visit my trees and report back.

View north toward the Burdoin Fire area from the Mosier Plateau, April 21, 2025, taken before the fire. All of this area north of the Columbia River is in the burn zone, from Coyote Wall, on the west, past the Catherine Creek slopes on the eastern edge, and farther east, all the way to the Klickitat River. The arrow points to my guide ponderosa, on the slope above the Labyrinth.

May 2025, Columbia River Gorge Wildflower Hikes

June 3, 2025 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We went on five hikes in May, all in the Columbia River Gorge, following the wildflower bloom…

May 6 – Lyle Cherry Orchard, WA

Warm and a bit windy today – we got a chance to see the waning balsam root – everyone’s favorite!

Purple ookow blooming on the Convict Road.

Ookow and the seedpods of Columbia desert parsley

On our drive home, we stopped briefly at the Catherine Creek Trailhead so I could get a peek at the bitterroot that blooms there – probably my only chance this season.

And there it was, on the rocky outcrop just above the parking lot.

Lewisia rediviva, bitterroot – one of my all time favorites!

May 10 – Cape Horn, WA

Tall larkspur season at Cape Horn – it is always a treat to walk on the neatly groomed trails here. Today we started at Strunk Road, and walked to one of the lower overlooks – less than two miles, but with rain in the forecast for the next few days, we took our opportunity.

White fringe cup and candy flower also prolific today.

Nancy Russell Overlook – we stop to look at the view and say, “Thank you!” to Nancy Russell for her conservation work.

Continuing downward, the purple path continues…

A few other flowers tucked in – Hooker’s fairy bells,

May 13 – Wahkeena-Multnomah Loop, OR

Back again to this five mile long, 1500 foot loop.

We began at Multnomah Falls, and started west along the old highway toward Wahkeena Falls.

After passing Wahkeena Falls, the trail ascends up many wildflower-filled switchbacks,

to Lemmon’s Viewpoint, overlooking the Columbia River.

Continuing up Wahkeena Creek, past Fairy Falls,

passing more wildflowers along the way. Columbia windflowers, and salal

After a lunch break at the trail junction, we walked eastward toward Multnomah Creek. This part of the trail has always felt rather magical to me – mostly flat, through a forest of tall firs. The undergrowth has changed a bit since the 2017 fire, but it is still one of my favorite places.

2013 Lookback – Magical trail before the fire.

May 2025, Lots of redstem ceanothus filling the forest floor under the burned trees.

Still very pretty, and with a view to the river…

More wildflowers along the trail as it descends into Multnomah Creek – thimbleberry, columbine, arnica.

Back to the trailhead at the bottom of Multnomah Falls.

May 22 – Cape Horn, WA, again

We wanted to take our son and his fiancee for a hike – though they didn’t bring proper shoes, and it was a bit rainy. We settled for going back to the tall larkspur-lined path from Strunk Road to the Nancy Russell Overlook at Cape Horn. It was less than two weeks since our previous visit, the tall larkspur were even more profuse, and the cow parsley were starting to spread their umbrella heads. Lovely, even with a bit of our Oregon sunshine misting us.

Previous week, May 10, with older hiking gentleman.

Same path, May 22nd, with cow parsley and a cute young couple.

May 27 – The Labyrinth, WA

The Labyrinth was one of the first trails we ever hiked in the eastern gorge, and we have returned many times. The path winds through piles of columnar basalt that provide some protection from the wind, and the views are great! Wildflowers change throughout the bloom season. Today was the first time I have seen this particular suite of flowers – blue and purple bachelor buttons and ookow; white buckwheat, yarrow, and mock orange; pink clarkia and onions; all accompanied by a full gauntlet of poison oak.

The first surprise – abundant wildflowers surrounding the Lower Labyrinth Waterfall on the old highway approach trail – mock orange, bachelor button, ookow, buckwheat, and monkeyflowers

More mock orange, poppies and buckwheat, the Columbia River, and Mt Hood.

Starting up the trail along Labyrinth Creek –

Buckwheat, golden grass with late season flowers.

Ookow, and bachelor buttons. The bachelor buttons are considered disturbed, but they do add a pretty color to the late season wildflower suite.

Continuing up along Labyrinth Creek –

Monkey flowers surrounding the upper waterfall

Homage to the poison oak gauntlet that we carefully walked through today.

Colorful slopes beneath one of the volcanic buttes.

My favorite oak grove, with a lush poison oak understory.

Lunch views, with mule deer…

It was getting warm, and I was losing my uphill motivation, but I wanted to go a little higher, to the rocky bluff where bitterroot blooms.

As I expected, the bitterroot is shriveled up – I’ll have to wait until next year.

Looking farther uphill, toward the slopes that lead to Coyote Wall – green grass turning to gold.

Another look at Mt Hood, then we begin the return hike…

I didn’t notice these White Brodiaea on the way up.

And past the waterfall again on our return to the trailhead.

It was beautiful day in the Labyrinth. But it is getting too hot for me in the eastern gorge – we may not be back until fall! I am going to southern Utah in June, where it is already very HOT, to help a family member. I may not hike much in the next month, but there will be red rocks and possibly some dinosaur tracks…

April 2025, on the trail, in search of wildflowers

May 22, 2025 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We went on one hike on April 1st, before my husband’s neck surgery on April 4th. After a couple of weeks of rest, we found some shorter, easier hikes in the last half of April, following the wildflower bloom, but keeping activity level within medical guidelines.

April 1 – Catherine Creek: Lower Tracy Hill – Arch Loop, WA

One of our usual trails. It was lovely to see the next phase of bloom in the meadows here.

View from the trailhead: the meadows are full of white saxifrage, also purple shooting stars, and a few camas beginning to bloom.

Looking south toward Mt Hood, the orchards of Mosier are glowing as the leaves unfurl.

Along the trail – rosy plectritus and purple broomrape.

Ponderosas reflected in a vernal pool, and yellow desert parsley.

Our trail passed above the ent who guards the slope…

On our return trail, we passed below the Arch, with eagles soaring above.

Some early bloomers were hanging on in this cliff shadow – gold stars and grass widows.

A few larkspur were just starting to bloom among them.

April 21 – Mitchell Point Tunnel and Mosier Plateau, OR

Last month I mentioned seeing the nearly completed Mitchell Point Tunnel from the highway as we drove by. The tunnel is now open. We stopped on our way to Mosier Plateau to see the views from the tunnel.

The new pedestrian and bicycle tunnel replaces the original automobile tunnel on the Old Columbia River Highway that was destroyed when Interstate 84 was built. The tunnel passes around the north side and through Mitchell Point.

Western view from the western tunnel entrance on a windy day.

There are five or six viewing windows in the 600 foot long tunnel.

View from the eastern opening toward the highway and the eastern gorge.

The western entry patio was comfortably sheltered from the wind today.

We walked a short way up the Mitchell Point Trail, which has been closed during tunnel construction. There were lots of wildflowers blooming in the woods. The trail becomes quite steep and rocky, and not suited for a surgical recovery hiker, so we didn’t go very far.

We drove on to Mosier Plateau, where the lower part of the hike is protected from the wind. Eventually, the trail emerges onto the open bench above the river, where the blooms and views were beautiful, but the wind too strong to want to walk the full length of the plateau.

Passing Mosier Creek Falls on the lower trail.

Heading uphill within Mosier Creek drainage, well protected from the wind.

Northward, toward the river – clumps of bright yellow balsam root bloom becoming more abundant.

On the windy plateau, looking west down the Columbia River and toward Mosier.

Northern view, looking directly at Coyote Wall in Washington

A perfect view of the black basalt outcrops of the labyrinth, where I can pick out a couple of my favorite trees.

And farther east toward Rowland Wall, Catherine Creek, and her famous Arch.

April 23 – Camassia Nature Preserve, West Linn, OR

A one mile loop trail through a natural area near Highway 205 and the Willamette River – somehow preserved from surrounding housing and industrial development.

Walking boardwalks through the green forest, with fringe cup and ferns.

A few blue-eyed Marys that always remind me of my sister.

Open meadows of camas and rosy plectritis

Cell tower osprey – the bird can see the Willamette River near Oregon City from their perch.

Trillium and violets in the forest on the return trail.

April 25 – Round Lake Lily Fields, Camas, WA

Another short, easy walk in a suburban area where large slopes of camas lilies are not far from housing developments.

Several paths wind through open slopes of camas lilies.

A few glacier lilies still blooming at the very top of the trail.

April 29 – Weldon Wagon Road, WA

The wind continued strong and steady all week in the Gorge. We chose this hike, in part because it has fabulous displays of balsam root along a smooth trail, but also because it is a bit protected from the relentless blasting wind in the main Columbia River corridor.

Bastard toadflax – my first time seeing this small white cluster flower.

Purple lupine and white manroot along the upper forest trail, just before the opening to…

the wide view across the balsamroot filled slopes.

We took a side trail up the ridge with a view to Mt Adams to the north for our lunch stop.

Back on the main trail, balsam root all the way…

The upper trail is wooded, with blue flowers of Pacific hound’s tongue and yellow violets in the understory.

Returning down the way we came. Pale pink phlox among the yellow balsamroot.

Our descending trail back down through the flowering slopes.

On the drive home, we stopped at the overlook on Highway 84 just below Corbett, where the perfectly calm air allowed a river mirror to form – we don’t see that very often on our gorge excursions.

Eastward, up river, Crown Point/Vista House on the right skyline.

Thus, we enjoyed another month of wildflower hikes, with more to come in May.

Wildflower Hiking in March, 2025

April 18, 2025April 18, 2025 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We enjoyed three wildflower hikes in the eastern Columbia River Gorge in March, all trails we have been to many times in different seasons. I love tracking the phases of wildflower bloom each time we go.

March 3 – Catherine Creek and Lower Labyrinth, WA

Early March is grass widow season at the lower elevations of the Catherine Creek and Labyrinth trail systems. My camera doesn’t do them justice, but the swaths of purple grass widows are so very pretty!

Fields of purple grass widows carpeted the lower meadows along the ADA Trail at Catherine Creek.

More grass widows on the rocky outcrops.

There was nothing blooming at the slightly higher elevation fairy ponds, so we went to the nearby Labyrinth/Old Highway 8 Trail to see what was happening there.

The Lower Labyrinth Falls along Old Hwy 8 was full.

The Upper Labyrinth Falls was also full, but there were no flowers up here.

The flowers were concentrated in the lower elevation areas…

Grass widows, gold stars, pink woodland stars.

March 11 – Rowena Crest, OR

The next week, on the Oregon side of the river, we saw more swaths of purple grass widows along Rowena Crest – both in the lower part of the Tom McCall Trail, and the Rowena Crest Trail.

We started by walking toward Tom McCall Point, where grass widows filled the meadows.

Grass widows and tiny white spring whitlow grass blooms

We walked through the oak tree lined Parsley Alley, and saw purple Columbia Desert Parsley beginning to bloom.

Looking east toward Lyle Cherry Orchard and the Rowena curves

We went back down, and walked all the way to the end of the Rowena Plateau Trail.

Grass widow meadows along Rowena Plateau Trail

Gold Stars in the meadows at the west end of the trail

Reflections in the ponds along the way provided some abstraction distractions…

We walked back along a side trail near the cliff edges – so many flowers!

March 18 – Rowland Wall/Stringbean Loop, WA

By mid-March in the Catherine Creek area, grass widows were joined by other flowers – saxifrage, gold stars, yellow bells, more of the parsleys, and the first balsam roots.

At the trailhead, white saxifrage were speckling the meadows along with grass widows.

Gold stars becoming abundant in the rocky areas overlooking the arch.

Plenty of grass widows, looking toward the orchards of Mosier.

The burn areas from last fall’s Top Of The World Fire are prominent around the trees, but the slopes have turned green.

There were many robins hopping along today. We watched these two playing in some puddles while we ate our lunch.

We continued uphill on the burned, but now green, slope of Sunflower Hill.

We dropped down over Rowland Wall, then decided to walk the inside-out switchbacks of the String Bean Trail. We didn’t find many flowers in the woodlands.

Looking back toward Rowland Wall, and the Needle.

We crossed the lava flows, then went back up over the wall at the lower trail.

We saw the first of the balsam roots blooming along the way

Plenty of yellow parsleys blooming along these west-facing slopes,

It was a beautiful day, and I am looking forward to the next phase of wildflower bloom in the eastern gorge!

Preview of Coming Attractions –

Driving home westward on Interstate 84, we passed under the base of Mitchell Point. The tunnel on the old highway was destroyed when I-84 was built, but has recently been reconstructed and reopened as part of the bike path through the gorge. I grabbed a photo as we passed – and we hope to walk there sometime soon. The views are supposed to be amazing!

Mitchell Point Tunnel, above the highway on the left.

February 2025…

March 13, 2025 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

The shortest month seemed very long. I went from skiing the neighborhood snow to admiring the early spring blooms. I knit, quilted, and read as productive activities to counter the political upheaval. We honored the boycots. I made progress on the recycle/repair/upcycle four-year home improvement project. And we went on two hikes.

Crafting/Home Improvement:

I started sewing these quilt blocks together

Back hall carpet installed, almost the last step in that project.

Reading – I read nine books last month, many by or about women: writers, artists, a river guide, a Supreme Court Justice. After watching the Bob Dylan movie last month (A Complete Unknown), I was very interested to read Suze Rotolo’s side of the story. She was a politically active artist. She made a lasting impression on Dylan and his music, but she wanted to pursue her own artistic and life goals, not be just another string on his guitar, his ‘chick’, who would wait for him while he did whatever, wherever in the world. I really admire her for that. There are many great, less celebrated women out there, and I plan to read more of their stories. Meanwhile, I have been listening to the early Bob Dylan music – it fits the mood of this time in the world.

The neighborhood:

February 14th – I always love a chance to get out my 35 year old cross country skis, and kick-glide for a couple of miles down the quiet, flat streets of Irvington. The snow was perfect this day! And almost completely gone the next day.

Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, our son and his fiancee were attending the Super Bowl Victory Parade! Wearing hats that I knit for them last year.

Around town – flowers and rainbows…

Rainbow seen while driving north on I-5 in Portland

Hiking –

We hiked out in the eastern Columbia River Gorge twice in February –

February 20th – Crawford Oaks, WA – We hiked about 5 miles on the Lower Vista Loop, past the full Eight Mile Creek Falls, and around the lower plateau. We saw very few early flowers and just a bit too much wind that day.

Salt and Pepper parsley, Dalles Mountain Ranch

February 27th – Memaloose Hills, OR – A beautiful, perfectly calm day. We could see the blue heron rookery on yonder cliff top and a few flowers. It was an easy, enjoyable 3.5 mile hike with dear friends.

Eastward view from the Memaloose Overlook

View to the north, with a peek at Mt Adams

Westward view, heron rookery circled in red

Trail up the south approach to Chatfield Hill

Lunch at the top, and a view to Mt Hood (photo credit to my husband).

Meanwhile, the news is worse every day – we are doing what we can, and trying to hold on to the glimmers and small victories. The daily reports of the shredding of the constitution by anti-empathic billionaires is trying every nerve, but I try to stay positive…

October 2024 chronology…

November 14, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

In the interest of keeping up, I’m posting a brief chronology of what I did in October after our visit to Mt Rainier during the first week.

Hikes and other adventures:

Portland Art Museum – Our son visited from Philadelphia, and we visited the Beatles photography exhibit during his stay…

I got my first glimpse of the extensive remodel of the Portland Airport.

Portland Art Museum – we all like the Beatles, and my husband and I are just old enough to remember the early 60’s.

Most of the photographs were taken by the Beatles during their early 60’s American tours.

Beatlemania from the inside of the car…

October 10 – Our son joined us on a hike from the East Crater Trailhead, Indian Heaven Wilderness, WA.

East Crater

Junction Lake

Small lake along the Old Cascade Crest trail

Frozen bog

October 16 – We went up to the Hoyt Arboretum in Forest Park to see the Japanese Maple, but it was still mostly green.

Vine maples changing

Japanese maple still green

October 18 – We hiked with friends in the eastern gorge, Lyle Cherry Orchard Trail, and could see over to the Catherine Creek area, where a controlled burn had spread to nearby forest.

Convict Road viewpoint

Lyle overlook, smoke from the Top of the World fire

Closer view of the fire

Wide view looking west

October 24 – Back in the eastern Washington gorge the next week, for one of those perfect fall hikes at the Labyrinth trail – colors blazing, views forever.

Rowland Lake, near the trailhead. A late bunch of poppies; destination ponderosa on the skyline.

Mt Hood on view

Hello to the trail guardian oak tree

Creek almost dry, but a few ponds in the stream bed

Oak leaves

Oak grove

Lunch view

Ponderosa near our destination…

From which we can see over to the controlled-burn area above Catherine Creek.

Going down past the ridgeline oak tree

A glorious day!

October 29 – We went back up to the Hoyt Arboretum, to see the maple tree now in nearly full color.

Meanwhile – Neighborhood walks…

Sunflower

Sumac

Shadow

Joan of Arc

GrantPark

Sumac and tupelo

Neighborhood Halloween –

Ghosts

Witches

Spider

Peanuts

Bushes with eyes

Neighborhood Hope – I am writing this in November, but we did have hope in October…all through the neighborhood.

Crafting – was mostly knitting, but also, near daily prep and painting over numerous patches in the walls from plumbing repairs.

Icelandic vest – just needs buttons

New gift hat started

Gift socks finished

Donation hat finished

Painting in progress

And I carved my Halloween pumpkin with inspiration from my kitchen sock monkey.

June 2024

July 14, 2024June 20, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

June, so far…Three hikes, watching the tomatoes grow, pulling weeds, checking off the medical and dental appointments, some home maintenance, and getting ready for travel. Then off we went to Iceland for three weeks… (See next post)

Some views from the tram plaza at OHSU:

Knitting – I’m making slow but pleasant progress on my Garter Mesh scarf, using the Linello yarn I bought in Innsbruck last summer. I enjoy watching the rainbow unfurl as I go. And I’ve got the second sock of a pair ready for airplane knitting.

Knitting in progress…

I started knitting an Emotional Support Chicken, using leftover sock yarn. So fun! This one really calls to me, even though I have other things to work on.

Garden – The tomatoes, basil, and flowers are growing – I have foiled the snails and squirrels so far. I’m hoping for an overgrown profusion of flowers and tomatoes when we return.

Tomatoes, basil and marigolds

Snapdragons, zinnias, cosmos, dahlias, and pentstemon.

Delphinium in the neighborhood

Hikes –

June 6 – Saddle Mountain, OR – We love this hike, though it seems steeper each year. The yellow monkey flowers were particularly bright this year, and I found the first of the Lewisia columbiana, just starting to bloom. All the Cascade Mountain peaks were out today.

Saddle Mountain from the trailhead, and a meadow of candy flowers

Monkey flowers along the trail

Topknot Rock

Meadows, approaching the penultimate high point.

But we still have to go down the saddle and then up to the summit; fortunately, the wildflowers pull me up.

Mts Rainier, St Helens and Adams from the top

Panorama – west to north – Pacific Ocean, Astoria

Panorama – north to east – The High Cascades: Mts Rainier, St Helens, Adams, Hood and even Jefferson in the haze south of the lower summit.

Some of the flowers:

Monkey flower and rosy plectritis

Iris

Meadow rue

Shooting stars and saxifrage

Prairie smoke

Paintbrush, viola, chickweed

Paintbrush, buttercup, checker mallow, phlox, chickweed

Lewisia columbiana

Saddle Mountain bittercress, fleabane

Tufted saxifrage

June 11 – Salmon Creek Greenway Trail and Klineline Pond, WA – One day our appointments were near Salmon Creek in southwest Washington, and we had some extra time for a walk here. It was okay – a bit too hot to walk very far on this unshaded trail, and far enough into the summer that things were getting a little weedy and dry – not a wilderness experience, but a valuable resource for locals – a swimming and fishing pond, a bike path along the creek, and nearby sports fields. We could hear lots of birds in the trees.

Bridge over Salmon Creek

Salmon Creek from the bridge

Klineline Pond

Another pond along the greenway

June 19 – Lookout Mountain, Oregon – Somehow we got the idea that this hike was accessible, and the trailhead (6000 feet) is, but half a mile and 400 more elevation feet up the trail, and it was all snow. We weren’t really equipped for that, so we spent a little time looking at the abundant shooting stars, marsh marigolds and buttercups in the High Prairie Trailhead meadow.

High Prairie Trailhead

400 feet higher – the trail disappeared under snow.

High Prairie Meadow, Mt St Helens beyond

Shooting stars and buttercups

Marsh Marigolds

On our return drive, we took a short walk on the Cook Meadows side trail that we explored last summer in July when it was bursting full of wildflowers. We saw just the beginnings of the bloom there.

Cook Meadows view of Mt Hood, June 2024

Same view, July 2023, with scarlet gillia

Some of the flowers we saw today:

Trillium, Oregon anemone

Balsam root

Jacob’s ladder

Dusky horkelia

Yellow paintbrush

The first of the season King/Coho salmon was available from a native fish market in Hood River, making our trip worthwhile, even if our hike was abbreviated.

And of course, Happy Solstice and Happy Pride Month!

Next stop, Iceland!

May 2024…

May 31, 2024 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

May was a busy month, with a visit from our daughter being the best part. We also planted our garden, and went on several hikes (next post). I cut out some new quilt block pieces and knit on several projects.

Sewing – Emily taught us to make her famous sock monkeys, and we got a good start. We will finish during her next visit.

Emily’s Sock Monkey

Other monkeys, in progress

Knitting – I finished a shawl and one sock, and started another scarf.

Modified Chloris Shawl

One sock done, one started.

Garter and Lace Scarf made from the Linello yarn I bought in Innsbruk last summer

Quilting – Friends All Around – I cut patches for quilt blocks from the leftover Transparency Quilt fabric.

Tentative patch placement – Modern Quilt Studio – Friends All Around blocks

Garden – We planted tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, marigolds, a few other flowers….

Neighborhood Rainbow – So many things blooming in our neighborhood! I collected a rainbow on my walk one day…

Art Experiences – Emily and I visited our friend Claire’s latest exhibit in a downtown hotel. I love her ability to capture the beauty I see all the time in our favorite natural places.

Paintings by Claire Christy-Tirado

Coyote Wall

View from Timberline

We also saw this nautilus when walking around downtown.

May 30th – We took a short hike at Brooks Memorial State Park outside of Goldendale, WA, then stopped to see the latest exhibit at Maryhill Museum.

The setting…

View from the museum plaza looking …east,

South,

And west.

I was particularly interested in seeing their new exhibit, a collection of historic and new paintings and photographs, arranged in geographic order from east to west along the Columbia River. I’ve shared a few of my favorites below.