When smoke gets in your eyes…

Intense smoke from western wildfires has settled upon us, and made it nearly impossible to see the horizon. It is time to focus on the world immediately underfoot! I took a short walk in the woods along the coulee cliffs and found some interesting things to look at up close, such as this pine cone, resting atop a bunch of silver sage.

Woodhouse toads love our water tanks; I found three in the tank at once today. We gave them a board to crawl up on and hop out to freedom when they are done swimming and feasting.

Sandstone slabs pile up in their angle of repose above Coulee Creek

Golden currant leaves in the sunshine – the flowers and berries are long gone.

Ponderosa pine bark flakes off in puzzle pieces

I took shelter from the heat in a juniper bush, and sat to watch a chickadee sing. Below me, the team of horses paced along the fence and whinnied, wondering where I had gone.

The scar on this tree looks a bit like a mitten surrounded by barnacles. It could be that the ocean is on my mind after a trip to the astounding Oregon coast last weekend.

Skunkbush sumac, another favorite forest shrub.

I took this photo before the smoke settled in on us last week – somewhere there is blue sky with fluffy white cumulus clouds!

The obligatory photo of Doc – he loves to rest around the corner in the washroom, but always manages to keep an eye on me.