Native Plants Fuel the Hummingbird Highway

North Central Washington is on the map for migrating neotropical Rufous, Calliope, and Black-chinned hummingbirds, as they fly thousands of miles from their wintering habitats in the mountains of Western Mexico northward, as far north as southern Alaska. During migration they fly during the day, and use early mornings and late evenings to fuel up on nectar, insects, and sugar water in feeders. Abundant nectar-producing flowers on early-blooming native shrubs like Serviceberry and Currents offer critical calories that fuel long-distant flight. Continue Reading →

Curious About … Serviceberry?

For just a short week in early April, the ravines in the Wenatchee Foothills are bursting with serviceberry blossoms. Continue Reading →

Big Sagebrush Haiku

I am thankful for a particular stately sagebrush that I walked by on January snow walks in the Wenatchee Foothills. Each time I arrived, I wondered what lesson this sentinel Continue Reading →

Announcing the Wenatchee Area Field Guide

The Wenatchee Area Field Guide is light-weight, waterproof, and fits into your pocket. Use to help identify common native plants and animals Continue Reading →

Shrub-steppe Sprouts from a Forgotten Seed Cache

Forgotten seed caches sometimes sprout in the shrub-steppe. Rodents like deer mice, voles, and pocket gophers cache seeds from antelope bitterbrush and lupine that if un-eaten, sprout and grow in to the next generation of plants. Continue Reading →

Central Washington’s Rebounding Pygmy Rabbits

Situated north of Ephrata on state-owned lands in a sagebrush-covered coulee, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is successfully running an innovative, semi-wild pygmy rabbit recovery program, now in Continue Reading →

The Amazing Tale of Sagebrush Galls

If you’ve stopped trailside to look at a big sagebrush (Artemesia tridentata), it’s likely you’ve noticed  grape-like growths attached to a leaf or stem.    Some are round, smooth and reddish, Continue Reading →

New guide points out our native shrubs, trees

June in the Wenatchee Valley is peak bloom time for many native shrubs that form dense thickets in foothill ravines and alongside streams. Have you caught a whiff of sweet Continue Reading →

In appreciation of sagebrush

In our arid region of low rainfall, cold winters and hot dry summers, big sagebrush grows 5-8 feet tall, forming a canopy above a sea of grasses, smaller shrubs, and wildflowers.   Wildlife species from birds to mammals to insects utilize sagebrush for food, shelter, and nesting materials. Continue Reading →