and I’ve been slow and pokey.
The Channeled Scablands...
of eastern Washington were carved by enormous catastrophic floods escaping glacial Lake Missoula in Montana about 10 to 12,000 years ago, plucking and scouring the basalt bedrock creating numerous lake basins and wetlands. Fish Lake, seen below this beautifully calm morning, is such a lake and is sustained through the hot, dry summers by groundwater recharge.
Fish Lake, Spokane County, Washington. (Click on image to enlarge.)
Canada Geese...
watching the hazy sunset.
Canada Geese (Branta canadensis).
Activity in the wetlands...
this evening was terrifically entertaining as a variety of creatures came alive in the cooler twilight.
The Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) is a large flycatcher.
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).
North American beaver (Castor canadensis) on patrol.
Hanging out...
at the bottom of the bat house on a warm afternoon.
Big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) enjoying some outdoor ventilation from the hot interior of the bat house. Look closely, there are two other individuals on the back wall. Believe it or not, they will not occupy a shaded bat house as they prefer it hot, a major reason why some bat houses fail to attract bats.
Bats need friends! Here’s a free on-line booklet (.pdf) with plans to build bat houses and it explains how to locate them properly so that bats will find and occupy their new summer home.
It's not easy being green...
or so I’ve been led to believe by a certain popular amphibious puppet-philosopher. However, I strongly disagree as I present the Forest Green RadRover 5 “Limited Edition” that is now my ride in the Pacific Northwest. The green color is certainly apropos to this region, just as my orange-trimmed version is suited for red rock canyon country. (Yeah, I like these bikes and they are enormously fun to ride.)
Bike porn at Fish Lake showing off a shiny new e-MTB nearly prepped for adventure. I’m going to add the black front rack and a rear platform so that I can haul my biggest camera lens and tripod. There are a lot of accessible wetlands throughout the area and this is the perfect quiet field vehicle.
Fire near Fish Lake...
broke out just as I pedaled along the bike trail there late this afternoon, with fire fighting crews responding quickly because of the early reports called in by observers on the lake. This small fire was either ignited by a railroad-caused spark or a careless smoker sitting on a bench along the trail. It is very fortunate that it did not grow into anything larger, thanks to the fire crews on continuous standby right now. Kudos to the crews!
Railroad grade on the right and Fish Lake on the left behind the trees. The fire may have started where the crew is working with the hose on the right, next to the rail line. Alternatively, a smoker sitting on a trail side bench near the red vehicle could be the source.
Station 31 responded from Cheney, as well as several engines from the Department of Natural Resources, utilizing the Fish Lake bicycle trail for closest access.
The fire was entirely contained between the railroad grade and the bicycle trail. The ~10 mph winds pushed it into this narrow strip of brush and trees with the paved trail serving as a fire break. Lucky this time.
UPDATE: The morning after the fire in a view towards the northeast showing the basalt ridge on which it ran, with the railroad in the cut on the right. No more than one acre burned. Again, very lucky.
Under the stars...
in the backyard observatory this warm evening. Wonderful.
Chattering House Wrens...
make quite the racket and are busy tending to their family nesting in the back wall of my cedar-sided home.
Adult House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) at the entrance to the nest and, if you look closely, you can spy two open mouths inside the cavity. The dark brown box to the left is an occupied bat house!
Bringing home the bacon to the newborns.
UPDATE: A fledgling House Wren (left) being taught how to hunt insects in the bark of a ponderosa pine tree. Pay attention now!
My stealthy buddy...
that hangs out near the birdbath, especially on hot days.
Strongly backlit Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) at dusk.
Milky Way over Amber Lake...
in the Channeled Scablands of eastern Washington.
The Lance Hill Observatory...
is opening for business soon, but requires some cleaning and calibration before serious use this summer season. My father helped me erect this roll-off roof observatory to house my Meade LX-200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on a permanent mount in the late 1990s.
Yeah, the ponderosa pines interfere with the southeastern horizon, but I don’t have the heart to cut them down. I’m still able to easily observe the planets as they move along the ecliptic.
Bat lives matter...
because these tiny nocturnal mammals consume enormous quantities of insects, pollinate a variety of plants and widely disperse seeds among other beneficial ecological contributions. Sadly, this little one fell from a bat house and roasted quickly in the sun before I could return it to the box.
Recently born big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), about one inch long.
Unfortunately, superstition and Hollywood have given bats a bad name. Learn more about the wonderful world of bats at Bat Conservation International.
Bats need friends! Here’s a free on-line booklet (.pdf) with plans to build bat houses and it explains how to locate them properly so that bats will find and occupy their new summer home. (My late wife, bat biologist Donna Hensley, compiled the first editions of this handbook, and now has disappeared from the credits. Shame on Merlin Tuttle and BCI. Very unprofessional.)
Happy Independence Day...
Red, white and blue fireworks above Rapid City, South Dakota on the 4th of July 2018.
Juvenile Western Osprey...
takes flight above Fish Lake mid-morning. I had been watching this bird working the lake a little earlier from my SUP, and when it settled down I made my closest approach and captured these mediocre shots.
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus).
Colorful aquatic flowers...
on the lake early this morning. Once again, the early SUP-er gets to experience the calm and quiet and color on the water in blissful solitude. Priceless.
The beautiful blossom of the introduced fragrant waterlily (Nymphaea odorata) which is not at all fragrant.
The bulbous and buoyant flower of the native great yellow pond-lily (Nuphar polysepala).
The early paddle boarder...
gets the lake all to themselves. Wonderful.
High temperature records...
are being broken throughout the Pacific Northwest today, even here in the Spokane area, where temperatures have risen to 110 deg F at my cabin in the pines! The heat seems to be following me, so it’s time to pump up the stand-up paddle board and hit the local lakes.
Click on the graph showing the annual high temperature at the Spokane International Airport since 1890 to enlarge. The two warmest points on the time series are both 208 deg F, occurring in 1928 and 1961.
And it’s not over yet. Here’s the forecast:
UPDATE: The official temperature recorded at the airport was 109 deg F at 4:00 pm PDT on 29 June 2021 making it the highest temperature recorded during the period of record, and the highest temperature in 60 years. This is weather, not climate.
This wise owl...
is perched on the shady side of a ponderosa pine tree on this 100+ deg F afternoon, about 20 feet directly above the water-filled birdbath!
Well camouflaged Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus).
UPDATE: Trailcam image caught at 9:43 pm PDT the following evening!
British Isles image collection...
has been added to the Gallery and features photos that I captured in 2019 with Apex Expeditions during our circumnavigation of the archipelago, including the Shetlands, Saint Kilda, and Fair and May Isles. Use the main menu to navigate to the Gallery and enjoy!
Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica). I’m told by my Icelandic friends that they are not only cute, but delicious too!