We drove up to our little cabin in Tonasket last Thursday and came back today.  We didn’t time it on purpose to avoid the storms that were being predicted all weekend, but it worked out well!

Below are some pictures of what we saw/experienced on our long weekend.

The larches were in their glory near the cabin–I couldn’t resist taking pictures that I’ve probably taken a thousand times before!

You can see here how larch needles cover the ground everywhere near the trees.

My best hiking buddy, Bodhi.  He’s ten now, so not quite as active, but he keeps me company on three mile hikes!

Not a fun picture, but a strange one.  This is the second toad I’ve found apparently run over on the same stretch of dirt road in several years.  That wouldn’t be strange, except that the “traffic” on this road is maybe 2-3 cars a day!  The odds are in the toads’ favor, and yet two of them have failed to cross the road!

More larches…

And more…

And more…

The shrubs in the meadow add a wonderful contrast to the grass and the trees.  There is a subtlety, that, contrasted with autumn’s boldness, comes across as bold, as well.

I’m not positive what this plant is, but I’ve been lured in by its gorgeous leaves before.  It may be an alien–it appears on driveways and other disturbed places.

Very few plants were still blooming as autumn was throwing down cold nights, but I saw dozens of blue bells all over the mountains.

More larches, firs and pines…

 

Bodhi traipsing through the tall grass.

An old crag standing out against a moment of blue sky.

A spectacular larch in the meadow.

Aspens as a backdrop for a smaller, brighter larch tree.

This was the most amazing thing we saw all weekend–ten turkeys scurrying across the meadow one morning.  We hadn’t seen turkeys near the cabin  in seven years!

Before the turkeys realized we were talking about them, they were in a more relaxed formation.

Leon and two Lhasa Apsos at nap time.  We sleep SO MUCH there and it never seems to be enough!

Amongst all the Douglas firs, larches and Ponderosa pines, there are a few odd trees out.  This is one of them.  There is a short line of these and their seedlings popping up around in one very specific area near our cabin.  I think this is a spruce of some kind, but need to investigate further.

Close-up of the needles to help me identify later.  There are also noble firs around the area that I’ve seen.  I assume these trees have been brought in by residents over the years.

Mona is NOT a good hiking partner.  She won’t go past the driveway anymore!  But she looks awfully cute!  And she loves being up in the country.

A close-up.

A larch amid darker trees.

I saw this gorgeous bug on the door frame of a neighboring cabin.  Bugs were a big part of this cabin trip–our cabin was full of flies and wasps that came out as soon as the temperatures got above about sixty degrees.  I caught at least a hundred and fifty flies and passed them outside.  I hope they found somewhere else to winter over.

Chipmunks were not hibernating yet.  I got a picture of this little guy’s tail, mostly.

Bodhi pointing out a particularly showy larch tree.

 

We call Bodhi our billy goat–and you can see why here–he loves scrambling up rocks (or furniture) and loves to be on top.

It is tough for a shrub to stand out when all around them are brilliant yellow larch trees.  This stand of wild roses held up well to the competition.

These are a fantastic combination of yellow, green, red and orange–and the red stems really set it all off.

Another view…

Another….

This trip was about cows, too.  There is some drama about the cows being welcomed by some property owners and not others.  The ranchers rely on the free range land.   However, the cows can cause damage and “yuck” pretty much everywhere.  Leon and I like the cows, but we can sure understand the problem.

Another stand-out larch brightening its dark area of the forest.