Hot. Bad air from wildfire smoke but not as bad as it has been. Arrived about 2:30. Walked and photographed about an hour and thirty-five minutes. 119 images, 43 keepers. I always found shade and a fairly good sit-down for the macro photography.
Once again the only real objective was Artemisia tridentata, tall sagebrush in bloom.
It was not in bloom. But I could see some yellow on some buds if I took my glasses off.
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I drove to the west end of the park. I decided to walk up to the shrub mounds near north pond from the west end rather than attempt to get a little closer by driving around the park to the fireplug on Euclid
As a result, I noticed that the shrubs near the west end of the park were also on mounds. The mounds were quite low.
I left the trail to check the Apocynum androsaemifolium, spreading dogbane patch west of long rock ridge for fruit. There wasn’t much to see.
I am photographing the shrub mounds and identifying the shrubs on them as a guide for next year.
I went to the center mound of the three mounds just west north pond, where I left off recording the mounds last walk. The tall shrub and the small shrubs to the left are Amelanchier alnifolia, service berry or saskatoon. The low shrub to the right with red leaves is Ribes aureum, golden currant.
I walked back to the main trail to a basalt seat in the shade to photograph my specimens.
I was concerned about identifying the tall shrub of the north mound nearest north pond. I thought it might be Philadelphus lewisii, mock orange. From my photo seat I saw a scraggly little shrub beside the main trail and remembered that it was mock orange so I recorded it.
When I got to the north mound, near the north pond I was surprised to see no fruit at all on the tall shrub. I saw that its trunk and branches were very dark, blackboard gray. I remembered the ‘ganged’ buds and blossoms from last spring and decided the tall shrub was not mock orange but Prunus virginiana, choke cherry. Both plants have leaf points.
The low shrubs at the foot of the choke cherry were Symphoricarpos albus, snowberry.
The north mound of the second row of mounds had only two Crataegus douglasii, black hawthorn shrubs.
There were two more mounds to check in the second row but I was about out of gas. They will wait for next time.
I did want to get the ragged little Ceanothus sanguineus, Oregon
It just occurred to me that there is a dip down to north pond from the east and a rather long rise west from the pond before it crests and descends to the west end of the park. There isn’t much rise west of south pond.
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Artemisia tridentata, tall sagebrush
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Apocynum androsaemifolium, spreading dogbane
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| Center mound of the first row mounds west of north pond The three shrubs on the lleft are Amelanchier alnifolia, service berry or saskatoon the low shrub on the right with red leaves is Ribes aureum, golden currant |
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Amelanchier alnifolia, service berry or saskatoon
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| The main trail looking east from junction pine I think all three of the low shrubs on the right are Philadelphus lewisii, mock orange but I didn't verify that |
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| The two shrubs in front of the ponderosa are mock orange |
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Philadelphus lewisii, mock orange
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| The northern most of the three first row mounds west of north pond The tall shrub is Prunus virginiana, choke cherry The low shrub is Symphoricarpos albus, snowberry |
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| This photos doesn't adequately show the distinctive dark gray, blackboard gray, of the stems of choke cherry |
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| This is the northern most of the second row shrub mounds west of north pond. Both shrubs are Crataegus douglasii, black hawthorn |
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| A view to the south from highpoint rock the shrub to the right is Ceanothus sanguineus, Oregon tea tree |
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Ceanothus sanguineus,
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| A low angle view of long rock ridge from a photo-seat on a piece of basalt that is, presumably, its extension to the south |
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