Many Colors of the Rainbow

This time of year the weather is tumultuous. Today it was warm enough for us to go on our hike/walk in a pair of shorts. Just a few hours later it was cold rain, thunder, and lightning as I finished off planting a few plants: artichokes (the others were killed in last years severe freeze), lovage, summer squash, and a tomato plant. Let's hope that a late frost doesn't come in like last year.

This walk/trail that we have is just outside our backdoor and is a remnant of the logging activity in the area. Most of the 3-hour hike (40-minute mountain bike ride) is on abandoned logging roads that are used by horse riders, an occasional ATV, and us.
During the winter time it is very muddy, but now there are few puddles left. Minus a few stretches through clearcuts, it is a wonderful stroll through the forest land of the leeward side of the Coast Range.

The green permeates the land. In two months the surrounding lands will be hard as concrete, but beneath the forest canopy the green will still flourish. This time of year it is so lush.


Beauty comes in many colors. The Poison Oak is so beautiful in the various shades of red, green, and yellow, but the oils are things to stay away from. What competitive advantage does the urushiol give to the plant? I know it is a deterrent from me doing anything to it, but it is such a delayed response, what advantage is there for the plant? It is so prolific in our area that it will restrict my bike rides. There is one bush that we hike by that is over 10 feet tall.

Today there were a lot of Mariposa Lilies along the drainage ditches that weren't there when we walked last week.

At one point along the walk there were a couple of these butterflies/moths.
Susan and I were having this discussion about whether they were moths or butterflies. Some experts say that you can only tell through genetic testing...
guess we'll leave this to any of you who are "experts". It was great seeing these and the Mariposa Lily near by since mariposa means butterfly in Spanish.

Just around the corner from us is this large field of Camas Lily. This plant was such a vital part of the indigenous people's life. It is a beautiful part of the rainbow of life in our area.


We came across a series of "wildlife trees"- these are trees that have been left for the express purpose of preserving habitat for wildlife. One tree in particular seemed to be a nesting spot for a Red-Shafted Flicker. There were a number of hollows carved into the decaying tree. This is one very small indication of how things have changed ... only a few years ago there was negligible attention given to keeping habitat for animals.

I do wonder how our environmental laws will prevail when natural resources become more strained. When the competition for petroleum, uranium, chromium, and other resources become more and more adversarial, how much are we willing to let go of? With the rise of the radical conservative fringes in the world (like the "tea party" folks in the U.S.), how much will be left for the flickers, Spotted Owl, and Marbled Murret? I think most people want a healthy environment... but they don't want to suffer any difficulties by having to give up something that they want.

Still, the beauty is all around us. The storms and rain mixed with the sun bring us the rainbow. I don't think there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but this is a jewel and glad that we get to walk along the path.