Every burl is different
Every so often while hiking I find a tree with a burl. Sometimes the burl is a small globular protrusion on a branch and…
Category: Plants
Clubmoss rich in history
Some plants catch your eye. During a walk on an overgrown road I was noticing the mosses and kinnikinnick along the road edges. Then I…
Elderberry a versatile plant throughout history
After finding only a few huckleberries and not wanting to come home empty-handed, I spied some elderberries along the road. Luckily I had just looked…
Wild edible fruits beginning to ripen
Summer is here and so are the wild fruits beginning with serviceberries and thimbleberries. The blue to purple fruit of the serviceberry ripens on six…
Identifying orchids in North Idaho
The orchids in North Idaho aren’t as spectacular as tropical orchids but they have their own attractiveness. Some of the orchid flowers are so small…
More to ferns than fronds
Thalli. Sporangia. Sori. Pinnae. Frond. As foreign as these words may seem, they refer to a plant we see all the time–ferns. You won’t find…
Skunk cabbage true to its name
Whether the winter is short or long, the first flower is a joyful sight–even if its name is skunk cabbage. The bright yellow flowers emerge…
Roots do more than anchor a tree
Remember the incredible wind storms last summer? Tall ponderosa pines were bent over under the forty mile an hour winds. Some trees came crashing down…
Not your Christmas mistletoe
Tis’ the season for mistletoe hanging in doorways to add romantic cheer. True mistletoe may spread cheer but another mistletoe–dwarf mistletoe–doesn’t spread cheer throughout the…
Western hemlock tolerate life in the shadows
Fastest. Strongest. Survival of the fittest. When push comes to shove in nature, usually the weak or meek don’t survive. And in the case of…
Do you know your cones?
Plink, plink, plink, plop. Plink, plink, plink, plop. The sound of a busy squirrel harvesting cones as they drop to the forest floor. The squirrel…
The never-ending aspen
One of my favorite sounds is the rustling of aspen leaves in the wind. While most leaves are attached to branches with round stems, quaking…
Clubmoss rich in history
Some plants catch your eye. During a walk on an overgrown road I was noticing the mosses and kinnikinnick along the road edges. Then I…
Elderberry a versatile plant throughout history
After finding only a few huckleberries and not wanting to come home empty-handed, I spied some elderberries along the road. Luckily I had just looked…
Wild edible fruits beginning to ripen
Summer is here and so are the wild fruits beginning with serviceberries and thimbleberries. The blue to purple fruit of the serviceberry ripens on six…
Identifying orchids in North Idaho
The orchids in North Idaho aren’t as spectacular as tropical orchids but they have their own attractiveness. Some of the orchid flowers are so small…
More to ferns than fronds
Thalli. Sporangia. Sori. Pinnae. Frond. As foreign as these words may seem, they refer to a plant we see all the time–ferns. You won’t find…
Skunk cabbage true to its name
Whether the winter is short or long, the first flower is a joyful sight–even if its name is skunk cabbage. The bright yellow flowers emerge…
Roots do more than anchor a tree
Remember the incredible wind storms last summer? Tall ponderosa pines were bent over under the forty mile an hour winds. Some trees came crashing down…
Not your Christmas mistletoe
Tis’ the season for mistletoe hanging in doorways to add romantic cheer. True mistletoe may spread cheer but another mistletoe–dwarf mistletoe–doesn’t spread cheer throughout the…
Western hemlock tolerate life in the shadows
Fastest. Strongest. Survival of the fittest. When push comes to shove in nature, usually the weak or meek don’t survive. And in the case of…
Do you know your cones?
Plink, plink, plink, plop. Plink, plink, plink, plop. The sound of a busy squirrel harvesting cones as they drop to the forest floor. The squirrel…
The never-ending aspen
One of my favorite sounds is the rustling of aspen leaves in the wind. While most leaves are attached to branches with round stems, quaking…