'elfin creek'

Viburnum edule. High Bush Cranberry bushes.

What is this new plant I keep running into? Is it American Milk Vetch? I mentioned it before, finding it close to 'moose skull lake'. It is another Astragulus. Astragulus americanus, or is it a white flowered Hedysarum? It is not flowering yet, I look so much forward to that. It looks surprisingly out of place here, it looks coastal, lush, robust. Today I did find it in abundance in a place that looked very coastal, as in the rain forest in Haines Alaska.

I set out to find, where the creek that flows out of 'moose skull lake', goes underground. I started on the power line where it is underground. It's a gully in which the High Bush Cranberry grows, this is a berry bush that grows abundantly on the coast of Alaska here (Haines and Skagway).

I didn't bring a compass. And before I set out into the thick forest. I check exactly where the sun is. I have gotten lost here picking berries. I think the creek meanders more then I realize. Close to the centre of the gully the undergrowth is very thick. I first walk along it in the more open forest. By the time I cut towards it. I find the creek! I decide to back track. Indeed I find the place where it just disappears. All I can say it is a wild place; wet and green, high undergrowth and lots of logs, dead fall. I do like it. I cut back to what I think is east, planning to come out on the little road, behind my place. Ah! the sun is totally obscured by clouds. You guessed it! lost. I end up by the creek again, not knowing I am lost. Delighted; "oh, it has two channels here". I follow it for a while, till I realize it flows in the wrong direction. There are pyrolas and twinflowers blooming. And it is right around here I find the American Milk Vetch. But how do I get out of here? Either way I will find my way home. But once I've done a total 180, without realizing it. It is very hard for me to wrap my mind around which way is which. Walking in what seems to be the opposite direction, I do come out by the little road. Thank you elves!

Astragalus agrestis

smell it.

June 29 2008
Flower day! Everyday is flower day these days. I have a beautiful bouquet on the table, all picked in my garden.

My best friend Sue Herbrick came out today. She is working on a booklet with the most common wildflowers, for the children she is working with. Suits me just fine! I will look for the Astragulus agrestis. The purple milk vetch that smells so nice. I have positively identified it, but nowhere on the Internet or in the literature I can find that it has fragrance. The endlessness of information. The more you know, the more questions. I love it.

Sue and I bent over the Jacob's Ladder, she points out that some have pointed petals. They seem to all be the same species - Beautiful Jacob's ladder-. But indeed, some have slightly pointed petals , some perfectly round and some with a little notch. Another puzzling one for me is the Blacktipped Groundsel; I always thought I recognized it as a plant with a small rosette of leaves on the ground, long stems and a cluster of yellow ray flowers. The black tips being on the bracts(which hold the flower) right? Today we come upon this succulent one , everything big and abundant. Is it the same species? or?
As we walk , look and talk, Sue is taking photos and I still am on the look-out for the Astragalus. We are in the fire smart, where I saw it yesterday. Today it is nowhere to be seen. At the end, by the descent to the highway, we turn east and follow the elk and deer trail on top of the bank. It is a lovely trail, amazingly I haven't been on it for a long time. Thank you Sue, for loving trails (instead of bushwhacking).
We stop by an open grassy slope and sit on the rocks, overlooking the Mendenhall river meadows , again, but from a different angle. It is beautiful. From here we turn back.

After Sue is gone I walk along the driveway. And guess what? On the south exposed side, among other flowers it is lined with Astragalus agrestis.

Alexander alatus

Abundance

The Strawberries are ripe. The tiny little wild strawberries. Jane and I found them, on a hot spot.
Yesterday coming back on to the highway after a walk in the wind, they were a needed, delicious snack. I had not brought water or food, because I hadn't plan on going very far, but because of the wind I was a little dehydrated.

'Abundance', I call this posting, as there is always so many experiences to enjoy. Everywhere I step there's something to marvel about. As you know, I do sometimes have the urge to take the car, but then I just have to ask myself; what I desire that moment; and it is, That!
Marvelling, I could call it. And then I know again, that as by just looking up, there is something marvelous. The Peewee is quiet now and sits on its nest continiously. Marvelous, yes?

Abundance also revers to the strawberries, I know once the strawberry season starts, I could pick berries 24 hours a day, (daylight permitting) till the snow covers the ground. The sequence around here is: strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, saskatoon berries, black currents, blueberries, high bush cranberries and at the end low bush cranberries and crowberries. And all the other less abundant berries in between.

Lesser Yellowlegs

I jumped on my bike towards the 911 pond, to meet my friends; the Lesser Yellowlegs. And here is finally a photo. What a graceful flyer! It flies so close to me, because again I am in their territory and I don't know if they like it. I promise to always know my place. Talking about that, I try to be very respectful in nature. today I walked by one single blooming violet. What a treat, I have never seen them around here. Can you imagine if I by accident had stepped on it!

Anyway, back to the beginning, As soon as I am on the trail, I come to the Queen of the woods. The Larkspur is blooming.It's a big column, one and a half meter high, And a queen it is, she's elegant, beautiful, deep blue in color. She knows her place too as she is not...... She is related to the garden delphinium, which is more of a 'show-of'. The open path here, (fire-smart) is full of blues and yellows. I come upon another treasure, that is newly blooming, a purple Astragalus, a Milk vetch. It smells like sweet peas! It is from the pea family and today I promise to find out who she exactly is. As I sweep down the bank towards the highway, here there is no sign of a trail, and it appears I come straight out of the woods. There are two bicyclist on the road. It is a happy meeting. They are Swiss and they are biking from Prudhoe Bay to Vancouver. Amazing! They had been tried by the weather today, and I was also dressed for rain and cold, but as it turns out by the time I come back it is warmer and definitely sunnier. I am happy for them too.

At the 911 pond the grass is so green and tall. It is rippling in the wind. There is no duck in sight as the water is rough. I also see no sign of the Swans. I hope one is peacefully sitting on the nest and not visible because of the tall grass. Because there are no birds to look at I wander a little farther to the South on the east side of the pond. I am wearing my rain boots. The terrain here is.... marsh land.I find an egg-shell. It really looks like a regular chicken egg, I wonder who is it from. Let me know if you might have a suggestion. I come to more little ponds in the green,green grass. The water here is still rough, but less so and I do see 2 Lesser Scaups and 2 Buffle heads, males and females. The male Bufflehead by it self , and in another pond the three others together. This is kind of where I saw the 2 moose last time and I don't want to venture any further, in case I run in to them. or rather mother Moose running into me. On my way back I climb a tree to see if I can see the Swans. I am almost blown out of the tree and Ha! there are my friends, one in the grass, 50 yards from me, and others start flying and screaming at me. Time to go. I still do meet a Savanna Sparrow, and some Red-winged Black-birds.

One more note, as for the color blue, beside the many blue flowers and butterflies on the trail, there are the blue dragonflies. One is a Enallagma, a Boreal or Northern Bluet! And for the color yellow. Higher up I find a bright yellow butterfly, which is a Clouded Sulpher( Colias philodice).

evening light

When I come home, evening June 27, the sun is still up. And is so till around 11 pm. As I am hardly ever up this late I take some photos from evening sun light shining on the trees. Peacefully enjoying the ever changing light. I realize Jane made the best compliment ever about my garden. As she was standing right in the middle of it, she asked; "where is your garden?"

I enjoy my wild place, till it becomes dusk. It won't really get dark at night till.... I let you know.

Beaches

This morning I worked on my blog. Let me know if you like the changes. I had the hardest time again, and didn't get it as I would have liked it. And now it is raining out.

Yesterday was a wonderful day! June 27 2008. A whole day with my friend Jane Jacobs. We did a photo shoot to update my blog. She took the picture of me on my own rock. "thanks Jane!"
In the morning I am up early as on most days. It's blue skies ,with white puffy clouds. Warm when the sun is out, cool when it is behind the clouds. Some times the wind picks up and then it's calm again. As in our conversations. We climbed up 'crocus hill' via a round about way. The aspen trees are turning grey, because of a little bug, that makes intricate patterns in the leaves, by eating it. The meadows in the view look like golf courses though, so green.

We make photos of me on top of the hill, but at the end we choose one that Jane took right behind the shop here. I do love that rock, it's the only on of its kind on the property. It is a rock that was left by a melting ice flow,on the beach, when this was Lake Champagne, maybe only 3000 years ago. (see: From trail to highway. a book by the Champagne-Aishihik Band.)

In the evening we drive out to Kusawa Lake. Looking down on the lake when you drive towards it the lake is sooo blue. A deep dark blue. It is actually the blue of the side bar on the Yukon flag. Reaching the lake we go for a walk on the, sometimes sandy, beach. When we cut through the forest, there is the fragrance of roses. They bloom everywhere now, but here very abundantly. In my own garden they bloom too, different again, few flowers but very deep pink in color.

The sun is still above the mountains, and makes for beautiful views. Kusawa lake is very very long, many days paddling, but it is rather narrow between high mountains on the east and west. We leave when the sun sets behind those giants.