October 2022 – Hiking

November 30, 2022 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Three mostly repeat hikes in October: Vista Ridge on Mt Hood, Indian Heaven Wilderness in Washington, and Oaks Bottom in Portland.

10/3 – Vista Ridge, Mt Hood

This is one of my favorite hikes on Mt Hood – especially during wildflower season. Today we enjoyed the fall colors in the burn zone – bright red huckleberries, white pearly everlasting, pink fireweed; and greeted a few of my haunted tree friends.

Huckleberries, pearly everlasting, and Mt Hood

Fireweed

We stopped in Wy’East basin (5800 feet) for lunch, then hiked a little higher, toward Barrett Spur.

Wy’East Basin above the Timberline Trail

Huckleberry foliage and faded wild flowers

Toward Barrett Spur and Mt Hood

North view, toward Mt Adams and Mt Rainier, behind the haze

We returned back down the Vista Ridge Trail, about 6.5 miles, 1500 feet for the day.

Pasque flowers

Huckleberry foliage

I stopped to look more closely at the fireweed – the four-petal flowers produce curly and fuzzy seedheads. On closer look, I noticed the seed casing split into four strands that curled away as the fuzzy seedheads emerged. I am not a botanist but found this fascinating.

Very few fireweed flowers still on view.

This four-part split seed caught my eye as I walked by. That is when I noticed this pattern on all the plants, though most were more fuzzy or curly, and less noticeable.

Fuzzier seeds, ready to fly.

We took a moment to look out east from Vista Ridge, toward The Pinnacle and Mt Hood, and the remains of the Dollar Lake Fire of 2011.

Farewell for the year to the haunted trees, by now knee deep in snow….

10/11 – Thomas Lake to Rock Lake to the Old Cascade Crest Trail, Indian Heaven Wilderness

A beautiful fall day. We found the huckleberry foliage still changing – some bright red, some still green, in the faded summer meadows, and no mosquitos!

Thomas Lake – Rock Lakes – Old Cascade Crest Trail Loop. About 7 miles, 800 feet.

Beautiful reflections in Heather Lake.

We continued past the first lakes on the trail, up hill, to the viewpoint of Mt St Helens,

and a glimpse of Mt Rainier.

Rock Lakes lunch stop

After lunch, we continued east beyond Rock Lakes, toward East Crater, to the junction with the Old Cascade Crest Trail. We had followed it north before, today we were trying the south trail.

There are many small lakes along this route.

The trail eventually crosses a large meadow, with a view of Gifford Peak beyond.

Looking back north toward East Crater, shortly before this trail intersects the Blue Lake Trail.

A shrinking lake near the trail junction.

At the trail junction, we headed north again to complete the loop. The Old Cascade Crest Trail is still used, and easy to walk, though it does not show up on recent trail maps.

Another peek at Mt St Helens beyond Eunice Lake on our return hike.

10/17 – Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, Portland

The standard 3 mile loop around the Wildlife Refuge, partly on the bike path, partly on dirt trails around the wetlands.

Wetlands and mausoleum mural from the bike path

Cooper’s hawk

Wood ducks

Oaks Amusement Park across the wetlands

Reflections

Hint of fall…

Later in the month we went to Washington, DC, where there were some long city/mall/museum walks, and to Shenandoah National Park, VA, where there were three other hikes, described in the next post.

September 2022 Hiking….

November 16, 2022 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

I went on three hikes in September, in Portland, Mt Adams and Indian Heaven.

9/14 – Macleay Park to Pittock Mansion: Finishing the Wildwood Trail, Portland, OR

During the early pandemic in the spring of 2020, travel was restricted. Many parks and trails were closed. We tried long neighborhood walks, but concrete is hard on the feet! I missed the dirt trails and nature. When local trails reopened, we turned to the Wildwood Trail in nearby Forest Park to keep our hiking habit going. We had hiked parts of Forest Park over the years, but usually prefer further destinations with views, waterfalls or mountain tops. The Forest Park trails are fine for nearby forest hikes, but are often crowded with trail runners and neighborhood hikers, and there aren’t many views. Nevertheless, we set a goal to try to hike the full 30 mile length of the Wildwood Trail in sections – especially after the realization set in that the pandemic restrictions were going to last longer than we first imagined. As of this month, there was one section left (not counting the section between miles 14 and 15 that is closed for repair). Early September had been too hot and/or smoky in our usual destinations to hike much, but after a day of rain we found time to hike this last section.

Upper Macleay Park Trailhead

Pittock Mansion

The views were limited on this overcast day, but the seasonal flowerbeds provided some bright colors.

Views to downtown Portland from Pittock mansion

Seasonal flower beds

We returned to our starting place, then added to our mileage by hiking a few of the trails on the nearby Audubon reserve – again a bit nondescript on this between seasons day – too late for summer flowers, too early for fall colors. Our total for the day was about 4 miles, and 700 feet.

Trail map for the Bird Sanctuary

Muddy trails

Douglas Fir deck

9/20 – Bird Creek Meadows, Mt Adams, WA

This area has been mostly closed since the 2015 Cougar Creek Fire. The Yakama people have opened the hiking trails for the month of September the last two years, and we finally made it out there this year. Our pre-fire hikes in the area were during peak wildflower season in a place where the bloom is as fine as any in the Cascades. We saw the beginnings of fall color on our hike today, while appreciating the repairs that have been made to the fire damaged trails. It was beautiful!

Our GPS track – 7 miles, 1350 feet

Bird Lake Trailhead, Mt Adams

Up toward Bluff Lake through the 2015 burn zone.

Green undergrowth

View to Mt Hood through the haze.

Bluff Lake, Mt Adams through the trees on the left.

Huckleberry foliage

Staircase Falls

Mt Adams

Hellebore, huckleberry

We reached the Hellroaring Viewpoint, then continued upward on the Climber Trail for a short way:

Hellroaring Viewpoint

Hellroaring Falls

Mt Adams Glaciers

Glacier View

Moraine and ridge toward the Climbers’ trail

Higher meadows

View east – Little Mt Adams and Heart Lake

Our turnaround point, looking north…

and looking east.

Our return hike circled through the western meadows, past Crooked Creek Falls, and then down through the burn zone again, to Bird Lake.

Gentian blooming in the huckleberry patches

Late season meadows

Crooked Creek Falls

Back down into the burn zone

Crooked Creek

Back to Bird Lake

Lookback photos from 2013 compared to 2022, looking south from the below Hellroaring Viewpoint –

August 2013

September 2022

And one of the wildflower meadows of summer 2013:

Bird Creek Meadows, Mt Adams, August 2013

9/27 – Indian Heaven Wilderness – Cultus Campground to Wapiki Lake Overlook

GPS track – about 8 miles, 1700 feet.

We had also hiked this trail before. Again, we caught the beginnings of the fall colors in the higher elevations, and in the more open meadows and huckleberry fields.

Trailhead

Panorama looking north from the shoulder of Bird Mountain

Sawtooth Mountain and Mt Rainier

Mt Adams

We passed Cultus Lake on our way to the Wapiki Lake overlook:

Cultus lake

Lemei Rock

Huckleberry foliage

A very few late huckleberries

Wapiki Lake Overlook

Mt Adams

Wapiki Lake

On our return hike, the smoke had blown in from a nearby fire, obscuring the mountain views we had enjoyed earlier…..

Toward Sawtooth and Mt Rainier

Toward Mt Adams

We were too early for full fall color. We passed this same pond near Cultus Lake last year, in early October, after there had been rain. I remember spending a lot of time here marveling at the colors. This year, late September, only a little color and no pond yet.

Pond near Cultus Lake, October 8, 2021

Same pond area, September 27, 2022

It is lovely to see these places in different seasons!

I am catching up on blog posts – on to October…

Four views of Wy’east, August, 2022

September 7, 2022December 15, 2022 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Our four August hikes all had views to Mt Hood and to some of the other Cascade volcanoes.

from Lookout Mountain

Mts Hood and Jefferson from Three Corner Rock, WA

from Elk Meadows

from the East Eliot Moraine near Cooper Spur Shelter

Location Map

August 4 – Lookout Mountain

We took this short hike with our daughter on a hot day. There were late season wildflowers, views from Mt Rainier to the Three Sisters, and a head on view of the east side of Mt Hood.

High Prairie Trailhead

Paintbrush, Sitka valerian, and asters in the meadows

Mt Hood from the trail pinnacle. Elk Meadows are on the other side of the ridge in the middle distance.

Mt Jefferson and the Sisters to the south

Scarlet gillia, Oregon sunshine, buckwheat and penstemon on the upper slopes

August 16 – Three Corner Rock, WA

Another hot day with a slow pace. Again we could see three Cascade volcanoes to the north, and Mts Hood and Jefferson to the south beyond the telecommunication towers. Most of the way we were on the Pacific Crest Trail. We were passed by about twenty north bound hikers on their first Washington trail section.

Approaching Three Corner Rock

View south to Mts Hood and Jefferson

View north to Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier and Mt Adams

August 22 – Cloud Cap to the Timberline Trail High Point

A favorite walk, up the glacier moraine, toward the Eliot Glacier, then along the edge of the sky to the High Point on the Timberline Trail. Every year I that am lucky enough to hike here I take the same pictures, but they are always meaningful to me!

Mt Hood comes into view after a short, steep hike up to the crest of the East Eliot Moraine.

Mt Hood, Eliot Glacier

Washington Cascade Peaks to the north – St Helens, Rainier and Adams.

This year I noticed a humongous boulder perched on the edge of the moraine…

We continued up the moraine, taking in the Eliot Glacier views before turning south toward the Cooper Spur Shelter.

Foot of the Eliot Glacier in the valley

Foot of the mountain glacier

crevasses

a waterfall

more crevasses

Peak up close

From the Shelter we walked south on the Timberline Trail, up to the high point at about 7400 feet.

Cooper Spur Shelter

Not much snow left on the trail

Looking up about 4000 feet to the top of the mountain

Penstemon

Ground squirrel

View south from our rest stop on the ridge near the trail high point. The Timberline Trail goes down toward Gnarl Ridge. Mt Jefferson and the Three Sisters are on the horizon.

While looking back up at Mt Hood from the high point I could hear water flowing out from the snow banks.

Melting snow on this hot day.

We made our way back along the edge of the sky…

We continued down the Timberline Trail below the shelter instead of going up to the moraine.

Long slope between the peak and Cooper Spur Shelter.

Our down trail goes below the shelter,

toward the Cloud Cap campground.

Near Tilly Jane Creek, I looked up at the East Eliot Moraine and saw the precarious boulder I had noticed on the way up.

Precarious boulder perched on the edge of the East Eliot Moraine

Will it still be here next year?

Late season gentian and monkey flowers in Tilly Jane Creek

August 30 – Elk Meadows

Our first time to this location in a while. Most of the meadows were beyond bloom, except for late season gentians, fireweed, and goldenrod.

Clark Creek, with a beautiful bridge.

Newton Creek is more difficult to cross.

This log was fairly easy to cross, but more difficult if one has fear of heights or balance problems. One of the reasons we haven’t been here for a while.

The seven to nine switchbacks after Newton Creek can be a shady hanging garden. On this hot day, most of the flowers were past bloom, but we did appreciate the shade.

Third switchback viewpoint

Nearby crosshatch tree

Fringed grass of Parnassus and aster

Dried out cow parsley, aster and goldenrod

Lunch view from the first meadow opening – plenty of gentian in the mostly dry meadows.

A scrub jay watched us eat lunch.

After lunch we circled round the perimeter trail, then went to the shelter in the middle of Elk Meadows. We saw plenty of aster seed heads, some arnica in the shady areas,

also fireweed,

and false hellebore.

Wide meadows near the shelter had swaths of goldenrod.

View back to the shelter, and to the burned forest atop Blue Grass Ridge.

Mt Hood close up!

We returned the way we came, back down the switchbacks, over the log bridge, planning to return sometime soon to see fall colors, and maybe to extend our hike up to Gnarl Ridge and the Timberline Trail.

Catching up in July 2022

July 31, 2022 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Time to write again. We traveled from mid-June to mid-July to Scotland and Iceland. On return I was swamped with jetlag and reentry and hot weather. Life seems to move along twice as fast, time always doubling, and I barely have time to look back, while moving forward, while still living a semi-Covid life. My next post has photo highlights of the trip. This post is catching up with life back in my Portland neighborhood.

Neighborhood –

I always see so many interesting things as I walk through my neighborhood. This month, a tiny tree door I hadn’t noticed before, more sidewalk ponies and chickens, a new poetry post, and so many bright flowers, including at least three colors of cone flowers. We were home in time to get plenty of berries in the freezer, and I had the good luck of partaking of a pineapple upsidedown cake at my book group meeting.

Hikes-

July 15, Vista Ridge – Before this current heat wave, we went with a friend up Vista Ridge on the north side of Mt Hood, hoping to see the avalanche lilies. We hiked up to the snow level, about 5300 feet, not quite up to the Timberline Trail. On the way down, I noticed a couple of my haunted tree friends still standing.

Avalanche lilies blooming on the burned forest floor; Washington Cascade peaks in the distance.

Avalanche lilies

Snow, Mt Hood

Lilies poking up through the melting snow

Mt Hood and Barret Spur

Close up, crevasses forming

Deeper snow – time to turnaround

Avalanche lilies

Haunted tree, Mt Hood

Another haunted tree, Washington peaks beyond.

July 28, Bayocean Spit near Tillamook – Full on heat wave, we drove out to the coast to lovely 65 degrees weather, and walked an 8 mile loop around the spit that bounds Tillamook Bay. Fog, shorebirds, not many people. Lovely!

Over the dune to the foggy beach

North to the jetty, fog lifting

Sanderlings, sand pipers and plovers

Tide coming in

The jetty

Pelicans

Tillamook Bay, gulls,

a couple of Caspian terns

and Yellowlegs.

Knitting-

Not much. I had travel socks, but was too busy looking and planning to knit. None of the wool stores were open when we saw them, either in Scotland or Iceland. I did buy some commercial sock yarn at a variety store in Iceland, so have added those skeins to my queue. On return I knitted the tiniest of Sarah Schira’s gnomes, called Gnibblet, to keep up with her Year of Gnomes challenge. This was the month for it. I have a more ambitious one planned for August.

Sock yarn from Iceland

Gnibblet

Now I am sort of caught up, and looking forward to August, when there are some family visits planned. I’m hoping heat and viruses won’t derail us, knock on wood!

May 2022, at home

June 3, 2022 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

It has been a rainy month in Portland. Many spring flowers were late, but they did bloom. I planted tomatoes and basil and marigolds, and I hope they grow. There was plenty of knitting time for gnomes, hats and socks. The terrible school shooting in Uvalde, Texas on May 24th has put a damper on everything, though it is a sunny 74 degrees out today. I may live in a bubble, and I don’t think all guns are bad, well somedays I do, but the lack of action on this issue is so frustrating, and deadly, and it happens everywhere in our country and rarely anywhere else. I find some comfort in seeing so many social media posts that agree with me. I have collected quite a few via screenshots, and I am posting them here, for me, to remind me that many share my anguish and sadness and frustration.

Knitting –

Make Gnome Mistake – the May Mystery Knitalong with Imagined Landscapes

New socks for a gift

Two sets of Knitted Knockers, made for donation to KnittedKnockers.org, who provide prosthetics to mastectomy patients.

I made three hats for donation to the Puddletown Knitters Guild service project.

I started a new pair of travel knitting socks to take on our upcoming Scotland and Iceland trip.

Not knitting – we painted one of the bedrooms.

Garden

The neighborhood tulip strip looks even better this month.

Native irises

Rhodies

First roses of the year

Tomatoes and basil

Anti-Gun Violence Memes, mostly from Instagram:

Background checks and limits on assault weapons and ammunition could prevent these senseless deaths. This time I am privileged to be witnessing from a great distance, though it has happened nearby – an average of 544 gun deaths per year in my state. And, ‘no person is an island’ – we all suffer each time.

My actions:

We donate money to advocacy groups, and vote in every election.

Next month we have some international travel planned, so it may be a while before I post again…..

Hiking in May 2022

May 31, 2022September 9, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Our four hikes in May were all repeat hikes for us, east out of the Portland rain, to see spring wildflowers in the Columbia River Gorge.

5/4 – Tom McCall Point

One of our favorite hikes (3.5 miles, 1000 feet) with wildflowers and mountain and river views.

Balsamroot and lupine on the lower plateau

Fern-leaf desert parsley and poison oak in Parsley Alley

Paintbrush and balsamroot all the way up the mountain

Chocolate lilies

View to Lyle and Rowena Crest

Mt Adams

View to the Cherry Orchard cliffs from the top of Tom McCall Point

And, a flock of American pelicans flying upriver…we’ve never seen that before!

5/10 – Bitterroot Trail at Catherine Creek

Another easy loop (3.5 miles, 800 feet), my favorite bitterroot flowers in bloom, and amazing views the whole way.

Bitterroot blooming on the rocky balds near the trail head.

Poppies and bachelor buttons along the road

Bitteroot, camas and monkey flowers near the fairy pools.

Bitterroot – Lewisia rediviva

Cluster lilies, orchards of Mosier

Meadowlark

Rosy plectritis and bitterroot

Upriver view at the Balsamroot cairn

Downriver view, giant anvil cloud southeast of Mt Hood

Top of Rowland Wall. I found that one giant cluster of bitterroot that I always look for.

Giant bitterroot cluster, not in bloom;

Another beautiful bitterroot cluster, in bloom.

5/13 – Weldon Wagon Road

A hike with friends along gorgeous slopes of blooming balsam root flowers (5 miles, 1200 feet).

Lower oak woodland

Western tanager flying near the balsamroot

The open slopes in bloom

Open slopes

Parsley and balsamroot

Flowery meadows along the trail

Lupine dew

Balsamroot

Dogwood in the lower forest

5/26 – Hamilton Mountain

This can be a more difficult loop hike (8 miles, and 2200 feet), but we chose to go just to the upper set of rocky switchbacks, then return the way we came (5 miles, 1550 feet). I got to see the smaller cousin of the bitterroot – Lewisia columbiana, on the upper cliffs just as the weather was starting to turn.

Lots of white flowers blooming in the forest

Equisetum (horsetail)

Rodney Falls

Pool of the Winds

View across the gorge from the Little Hamilton summit meadows

Larkspur, parsley, and chickweed blooming down the slope

Bonneville Dam and the eastern gorge

Hamilton Mountain- we are only going to the upper rocky switchback section, circled.

Most of the Lewisia columbiana was not blooming yet,

but there were some patches on a sunny cliff.

Chocolate lilies, phlox and parsley on the lower cliffs

We felt a smattering of rain as we hiked down, but managed to sneak this hike out from under the nose of the weather gods. The real rain didn’t start until we were on our way home.

April 2022

May 3, 2022September 11, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We returned from our east coast trip early in the month, happy to see our bulbs and crabapple tree in full bloom.

Checker lilies

Tulips

Crabapple

On April 11th we had an unusual late season snowstorm covering all the blossoms. It melted within a day, and though hail, wind and rain hit sporadically that week, we were also treated to several rainbows.

Snow on the crabapple blossoms

and tulips

Hail and crabapple blossoms

Sunny deluge

Rainbow

We hiked the Lyle Cherry Orchard West Loop on April 6th, – our second time on this new trail. Today we saw the early spring flowers, the always spectacular views, and a lot less wind compared to our hike here last December!

Eastern gorge, red poison oak beginning to leaf out.

Death camas in abundance throughout the lower plateau.

Death camus

Mt Adams from the upper trail

Pink filaree carpeting the upper oak groves

shooting stars

glacier lilies

fiddleneck

View to the western gorge and early balsam root blooms.

Balsamroot

On April 15th, we took a quick loop through Tryon Creek on our annual spring hike to see the trillium and skunk cabbage….

trillium

skunk cabbage

salmonberry

Big leaf maple, Tryon Creek

April 21st to 27th we travelled to the southwest, Nevada and Utah, the subject of my next post.

On return to Portland, the neon green of our city glowed from the airplane window. I was pleased to see the dogwoods and azaleas in the neighborhood in full bloom.

Tulips

My knitting this month:

April Gnome – Gno Fun Like Gnome Fun (Sarah Schira) – made for an east coast friend.

Backcountry hat – Guild service project

Morning Dew hat – Guild service project

Mercury Sox

New yarn from Local Yarn Shop Day

And…I celebrate the approval of our new Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson…though her presence will probably not be enough to thwart the regressive decisions looming….

The wisdom of Ruth Bader Ginsberg

January 2022 in Portland

February 4, 2022January 25, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

The first couple of weeks were very cold, followed by many days of rain dripping down the windows, yarn loops sliding by on the needles, and just a few sun breaks. A tsunami from Tonga, the Omicron surge just beginning to decline, a trip to Joshua Tree cancelled…another pandemic month in Portland.

Hikes:

1/9/2022 Wildwood Trail to Pittock Mansion in Portland – A rare sunny day – everyone out on the trails – we continued our section hike of the Wildwood Trail, completing about 3 more miles as we hiked up and back to Pittock Mansion from the arboretum, crossing the new Barbara Walker Bridge for the first time.

Up until last year, hikers had to scurry across the very busy Burnside Street.

Barbara Walker Bridge.

Urban trail graffiti

We reached the 1914 Pittock Mansion, and walked around to the viewing areas…

Pittock Mansion

Views from the property to the Cascade Mountains…

Mt Hood

Portland and Mt Hood

Mt St Helens

Mt Rainier beyond Mt St Helens

Returning back over the Barbara Walker Crossing…

1/12/2022 Eagles and snow near Lyle, WA – Our annual trip to see the eagles at the Balfour/Klickitat Preserve:

Calm Columbia River looking east from the Hood River Bridge.

Snowy ground near Coyote Wall.

We walked to the eagle viewing area near the mouth of the Klickitat River:

Osage oranges along the trail

Frozen lakeshore, eagle flying above the island

Eagle and ducks

Looking up Klickitat Canyon – white eagle heads in the trees.

Bald eagle

Bald eagle

We saw more than twenty today.

Looking south to Tom McCall Point.

Next we walked some of the trails at nearby Catherine Creek.

Snowy slopes at Catherine Creek

Frozen Fairy Ponds

The arch

Mt Hood and the orchards of Mosier

Eastern Gorge

Grass widow foliage, but no blooms.

The waterfall.

1/18/2022 Swans at Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge, WA – We walked the 2.5 mile Oaks to Wetland Trail.

Swans in the distance, from the railroad bridge

Fungus

Belted kingfisher

Trumpeter swans

Then we drove the auto tour, looking for more swans.

Plenty of tundra and trumpeter swans in the northern lake…

American coot

Northern harrier next to the road.

1/28/2020 Chehalem Ridge Nature Park, OR – Our first visit to this new park south of Forest Grove. We walked almost six miles on the trails, quiet today with a few views of the distant mountains.

Chehalem Ridge Nature Park

Mt St Helens and Mt Adams

Farmlands and Coast Range to the west

Mt Rainier and Mt St Helens

Neighborhood:

On our first sunny day, I went outside for what seemed like the first time in weeks, to see blue sky and low angle winter shadows:

1/16/2022 – Another sunny day, we met friends and walked a long loop on the hilly streets south of downtown Portland.

Mt Hood from SW Portland

Mt Hood and the Tilikum Bridge over the Willamette River

By the end of the month, viburnum and crocus were beginning to bloom…

Viburnum

First crocus blooms of the year

Hexagonal sidewalk

Knitting:

I did get a lot of knitting done this month, since the outdoors were so inclement. And I am still meeting once or twice weekly with my knitting group over Zoom.

Winding yarn on my new swift.

Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Shawl, in progress

New pile of yarn from the guild to make hats for our service project.

I used online tutorials to learn Tunisian crochet.

I finished a languishing WIP – The Ella Improv Cowl, by Cecelia Campochiaro, using marling and sequence knitting techniques.

A Gnoah gnome, (Imagined Landscapes), sent via Intergalactic Gnome Transport to the burgeoning colony in Washington DC.

Addenda:

The volcano in Tonga!

The snow in DC.

Other adventures – January 10th was the 4th anniversary of my pituitary surgery. With constant vigilance and good doctors, all my hormone levels are now within the normal range. I feel healthy and strong and grateful for early diagnosis and the miracles of modern medical science, especially the monthly injections that keep the acromegaly in check.

On to February – pandemic numbers are going down in our neck of the woods – we may actually travel somewhere – stay tuned.

November 2021 report…

December 4, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

A month that sped by, interludes of rain and wind and another atmospheric river, a few hikes, some knitting, and a family Thanksgiving celebration indoors…

Hikes:

November 5th – Wildwood Trail, miles 0 to 1.5, Portland, OR

On a sunny afternoon, we walked the first section of the Wildwood Trail as part of a 3 mile loop. We saw some late fall color, a bald eagle, and a few other interesting trees.

liquidambar

oak

bald eagle

Redwood trees

Huggable!

Monkey puzzle trees

Not huggable!

I only have about 3 miles left to have completed all 30 miles of the trail.

November 10th – Catherine Creek – Bitterroot/Stringbean/Rowland Wall trails, WA

Another 4.5 mile loop on a sunny day in the eastern Gorge, Washington side.

Up the Bitterroot Trail, view to Catherine Creek Arch.

Oak groves on the west side of Rowland Wall.

Spotted towhee

Lunch view to the east toward Rowland Wall

another towhee?

Handsome old tree snag

Westward view

Back over Rowland Wall

Orchards of Mosier

We took a quick stop to check out the bald eagle nesting grounds on the nearby Klickitat River, knowing it was probably too early to see them.

No bald eagles yet,

but plenty of Osage Oranges,

and some small birds in the bushes.

Three bushtits

Spotted towhee

November 18th – Deschutes River Trail, OR

A two hour drive to get out of the rain – a pleasant 5 mile walk with friends…

Canada geese near the trailhead

The river level is high!

Some fall colors along the banks

Cliff views as we start uphill…

View back to the river mouth.

November 23rd – Stonehenge, WA

Again we drove east, looking for good weather. We found sun, but too much wind! We drove through the wind power installations in the hills, then stopped for our lunch break at the Stonehenge replica/ WWI Memorial near Maryhill, WA.

Rainbow and white caps on the Columbia River, from the Hood River Bridge.

Driving through wind power country…

Stonehenge Memorial out on a bluff over the Columbia River…

West toward Hood River

Eastward views

North…

Sun on the cliffs near Lyle, WA, as we drive back west into the rain.

Thanksgiving:

We celebrated with friends,

Thanksgiving table, 2021

Some turkeys were not eaten

while this bird feasted on the rudbeckia seedheads in our front yard:

Knitting

Mostly on a brioche project. I have become quite experienced at repairing knitted purls and vice versa.

Neighborhood

Many walks during the dry intervals. Leaves saying goodbye…

and this guy looking to the future…

The rest of October, 2021: knitting, neighborhood, more hikes…

November 3, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

A transitional month – the last of the summer flowers, leaves turning and falling, more rain, an atmospheric river event. We got our Covid booster shots, are poised for reentry, again, again, again, again….

Knitting, etc:

I knitted some little creatures – a gnome, three cats and a witch, and finished a pair of socks. My collection of twelve hats and a cowl are blocked and ready for donation to a local women’s shelter. I sewed potholders and a door light curtain for my daughter.

Witch and Cat (Susan B Anderson)

Mystery gnome Gnorwen (Sarah Schira)

Twelve hats and a cowl for donation

Weaving Socks (verybusymonkey)

New potholders for a gift

Tiny Speckled Window Cat (Sara Elizabeth Kellner) for a gift

Another Tiny Window Cat for me

Around the neighborhood:

Colors of the season:

Sunflowers

Crabapples

Two more hikes, besides our Mt Adams and Eagle Creek adventures:

With more frequent rain in western Oregon, we go east of the mountains, beyond the rain shadow.

10/21/2021 Tom McCall Point, Oregon: Orange oak trees, views of Mt Adams and Mt Hood, and a surprise viewing of a buck near the top of the mountain.

Tom McCall Point

Parsley Alley

Oak leaves

Oak tree

Memaloose Hills

Mt Adams, Washington slopes

Mt Adams

Mt Hood

Buck

Dried balsam root and puffy clouds

Summit view

10/27/2021 The Labyrinth, Washington: A saunter with our son through some of my favorite basalt piles and oak groves on an overcast day with sun breaks.

Oak grove

Orchards of Mosier

Friendly tree

Columbia River Gorge

New Zealand Albatross update: The chick Tiaki that I watched in the webcam from the time it was laid as an egg last fall, to its fledging in September 2021, has flown across the South Pacific Ocean to the coast of South America.

Screenshot from the NZ/DOC tracking page.

And some inspiration for staying positive…

Internet meme – author unknown.