Lyle, Klickitat County, WA: We returned to Catherine Creek. A strong breeze was blowing, enough to discourage photography. To our surprise the flower bloom has greatly diminished. One could find only an occasional grass widow and Dodecatheon survives only in sheltered patches. Death Camas is the prevalent species on display this week.
A question comes to mind though. We saw several invasive species such as Himalaya blackberry (Rubus procerus). Is it appropriate to remove these plants? We also found henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) in bloom. It is very small but attractive, yet, it is also a non-native.
We ended the day by returning to the Oregon side of the river on the free bridge at The Dalles. We took the Rowena exit west bound on I-84 to looked for Glacier Lily (Erythronium grandiflorum). We discovered that the bloom cycle is waning for that species as well. Light was poor for photography so we will make another trip under better conditions.
byLarry
