Chattermarks

With a busy week behind us and another looming ahead Ian and I decided nothing sounded better than staying close to home.  Of course “staying close to home” while residing at the North Cascades Institute environmental learning center presents a handful of hiking and exploring options, ranging from technical climbs to lake side strolls.  We decided a leisurely hike was in order and headed up the Pyramid Lake trail. 

» Continue reading Pyramid Lake trail….a beautiful spring jaunt

I am always amazed at the difference a few days makes.  I leave the learning center for five days and come home to gentians, lilies and orchids!  Just wanted to share a few pictures and keep everyone up to date on what’s blooming in the North Cascades.

» Continue reading The colors of spring

“Cheerio~ Cheeriup~ Cheerio~ Cheeriup~” The American Robin’s song is a loud, optimistic voice of spring. However, at times here in the mountains it is difficult to hear the Robin because of the sheer number of springtime songsters! The colorful Varied Thrush sounds like someone unanswered phone in the woods. The tenacious Rufous Hummingbird buzzes, bugles and chirps. There are other, more difficult to identify, voices in our spring chorus.

» Continue reading New Forest Voices

Here in Western Washington many of us wait in anticipation for the coming of spring. Indications of this seasonal change are different for different people. For some it’s sighting the first of the migratory birds, blossoms of the indian plum, deer in their spring velvet, tulips bursting from the warm ground, or the eerie drumming of the ruffed grouse. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy and look forward to all of these milestones, but I am a backcountry skier.  Spring to me means smooth, fast, Cascade corn snow so I wait in anxious anticipation for the opening of Hwy. 20 over Washington Pass to access the deep snowpack and rugged mountains of the North Cascades.

» Continue reading Skiing into Spring

Friday, April 17th I tagged along with Amy Brown and Orlando Garcia, assisting with the Kulshan Creek Neighborhood Program. With the arrival of spring and the return of many migratory birds Amy had a wonderful afternoon planned, which included talking about our feathered friends and playing games. As we drove into the Kulshan Creek neighborhood the clouds that had been hanging around all day dissipated and the sun broke free.

» Continue reading Kulshan Creek kids migrate, mingle and munch

All around the learning center spring is in the air. Birds are chirping, blossoms blooming, mosquitoes buzzing. It’s a glorious change from the blanket of snow that has been on the ground throughout the last few months. Two weeks ago many of us grad students packed up some bags and left for a week of “spring break.” It felt odd at the time calling it such because the roads still had piles of snow on the sides, many trails were still covered, the air was still crisp with a touch of frost, and very few creatures were venturing out.

We returned to the learning center this week to find that our porches, which had been buried in snow from winter roofalanches, now had barely any remnants of snow. The trails no longer required waterproof shoes to keep your feet dry from the heaps of slush covering the paths. Birds have begun to sings and twitter about catching bugs and nesting. The most exciting part of it all however, is that the plants are beginning to blossom.

» Continue reading Spring explodes at the Learning Center

I woke this morning to what has become a common weather event at the learning center this spring, snow. Perhaps snow in April is “normal” and I’m simply not aware of what “normal” is here on the shores of Diablo Lake. What wasn’t normal however was the thin coat of snow-ice on the lake.

I have no explanation of why the lake was covered in a thin sheet of snow-ice this morning, just a handful of ideas.  So I’ve decided to share a few photos of this interesting event rather than speculating.  I would, however, love to hear readers stories of similar events and perhaps hear some of your speculations about why Diablo Lake was covered this morning in a slushy mix of snow and ice.

(Top photo) This is a view from the dam, note how much of the lake is covered.  (Above) An upclose look at the slushy mix of snow and ice.

Looking across Diablo Lake towards Highway 20.  The snow ice layer covered nearly the entire lake, aside from a few areas near the dam and around the islands.

A winter weather advisory is currently in effect for the west slopes of the Cascades, the trails around the learning center are covered with deep, crusty snow and still the buds on trees and shrubs around the learning center are hinting that they will soon open. There are too many reasons to list for loving this season; among them are the anticipation of spring, the splendor it prompts, a plethora of opportunities for questioning, observing and marveling, and astonishment at the resilience of nature.

I’m getting ahead of myself. I should start this post with a warning. I’m impatient. This is a fact that is recognized by many people in my life. I often joke that my twin sister got all of the patience. All of it. This character trait prompted me to explore the learning center a few days ago.  I was in search of the first spring buds.

» Continue reading Twig tracking: a sport for the impatient