What We Have Been Seeing

This post is just a random collection of images and comments. These are some of what we have been seeing in this part of the country as we travel around.

We see a lot of Redhead Ducks on the various ponds and lakes. This is just a fun image with a pair, male and female, of Redhead and three turtles just sunning themselves on a log in the warming sun. Not sure what species the turtles might be.

We stopped to look at a historical site on one of our jaunts around. This flower was growing on a big rock adjacent to the site. There were several of them on the rock. Our friends Rodger and Ginger identified the flower as a Bitterroot. It is a really pretty flower.

There are numerous lakes and large rivers around here. There are also a lot of Osprey. This nest was out in an apple orchard not far from Spectacle Lake west of Tonasket which is a small town south of where we are.

We call this picture “It Might Rain”. We were coming around the end of Palmer Lake heading back home. The rain clouds were falling. We missed most of the moisture.

We thought this sign humorous and a good play on words. There is a lot of cattle ranching around here and a lot of horses. The message is trying to get you to use certified weed free hay when feeding livestock and transporting the critters around. They don’t want to transport noxious weeds.

This is orchard country. There are vast tracts of apples and cherries and a variety of fruits and other things that grow on trees. It is early in the season and with the cold weather in February the fruit ripening is a little late. We are hoping to get some Rainer cherries before we are scheduled to leave.

In traveling around, we can quickly go from the low country of open fields and far reaching views to higher mountains with more closed in conifer forests. This is a view along Beth Lake showing a higher elevation lake and the gorgeous scenery.

In contrast to the above image, here is one view of Fields Lake that shows the more open grassland terrain. There are lots of birds in and around Fields Lake. It appears to be surrounded by private land but we did see two kayakers on the lake during one of our visits.

Just as we leave Fields Lake we have this vista. It gives one a good feel for some parts of the country side. The brown field in the foreground has been plowed in preparation for planting.

Here is a Western Wood-Peewee or maybe a Willow Flycatcher. We are trying to determine which species. If you get a chance, let us know what you think it might be and why you have made that determination. We find it fun to try and figure out "What bird is That?".

This is the Similkameen River that comes out of Canada and connects near here with the Okanagan before heading south to join the Columbia. This image was taken about 3 miles upriver from where we are staying here in Oroville. This river runs right behind our trailer and it is a calming influence to watch on a quiet evening.

We ate lunch at a Mexican Restaurant called Rancho Chico in Tonasket. We thought it was quite good food, well prepared and nicely presented. They have very colorful decorations all around the establishment. This is the door to the ladies restroom. It is quite eye catching and well done.

We took a drive south to Conconully Reservoir for a look around. On a side road we found this Dusky Grouse. It was fairly cooperative as we tried to get its picture. We don’t get to see grouse that often, we shall trying looking for them more.

About 8 miles from here is Wannacut Lake. It is about 2-3 miles long, spring fed, and almost 200 feet deep at its deepest point. There are several homes around the lake but not overly crowded. It seems to be a great spot with one resort and a public fishing access point.

Here is Mom and the Kids. This is a Common Goldeneye with 8 young ones in tow. This image was taken at Beaver Lake up in the conifers. Hopefully they will all make it to adulthood.

We hope you enjoyed this brief look at what we have been seeing. This is really fascinating country, a very diverse collection of habitats within close proximity to our present location. You really should come up here and take a long look around, great place.

Please let us know if you have any questions or comments. All the best – George & Deanna