July Wildflowers, South Canyon, Deschutes River, Bend OR

In July, it finally turned warm this year and the trail along the south Deschutes has turned dusty. While flowers were blooming profusely at the end of June, by mid-July, the early flowers had nearly disappeared. The main plant blooming in mid-July is the Large-flowered Collomia, which is really putting on a show. Specimens are now up over two feet high whereas two weeks prior, they were under a foot high, with a single terminal corona of blooms. Despite the ubiquity of the Collomias now, the undisputed champions of this season are the intensely red Scarlet Gilias.

Fireweed, ubiquitous in August, is just starting into bloom now and the Rabbitbrush is starting to show buds for its annual late summer and fall fireworks. In addition, the Snowberries whose white fruits we see all winter hanging on bare shrubs are just starting into bloom.

Fruits are much larger and more visible in mid-July: serviceberries, mountain ash, raspberries, rose hips, manzanita berries, dogwoods, wax currants going red, and some sunnier Oregon grapes starting to get a bluish cast at long last.

And by this time of year, we're seeing more and more plants starting to go to seed. The Yellow Salsify, which blooms all summer, is most noticeable right now by its giant seed heads. The blooms seem to be quite ephemeral, lasting perhaps 24 hours, in contrast to the giant seed heads which are far more durable than the far smaller dandelion seedheads.

Large-Flowered Collomia, Collomia grandiflora

Fireweed Just Starting, Chamerion angustifolium

Wax Currant Berries Ripening, Ribes cereum

Lewis' Mock Orange, Philadelphus lewisii

Oregon Grape Berries, Mahonia aquifolium

Pale Agoseris, Agoseris glauca

Woodland Pinedrops Starting to Open, Pterospora andromedea

Rabbitbrush Showing Buds, Ericameria nauseosa

Ocean Spray, Holodiscus discolor

Scarlet Gilia, Ipomopsis aggregata

Snowberries Beginning to Bloom, Symphoricarpos sp.

Red Osier Dogwood Berries Forming, Cornus sericea

Deschutes Monkeyflower, Diplacus deschutensis

Whitebark Raspberry, Rubus leucodermis

5-Foot High Prairie Junegrass, Koeleria macrantha

Yellow Salsify Seedhead, Tragopogon dubius

By the end of the month, very little was in bloom in comparison to mid-month. The Collomias are well on their way out along with the Gilias which are looking ragged after only 2-3 weeks in bloom. The berries have made big strides in ripening in the past two weeks, with the Oregon Grapes going deep blue and the Tatarian Honeysuckles going brilliant crimson.

The long-awaited Rabbitbrush and Goldenrods are just starting to come into flower now to accompany the Mulleins that are just barely open. All should be the riverside stars in August. And finally, the Western Spirea that has been teasing us with buds for months is now in its glory all up and down the river.

Escaped Alfalfa, Medicago sativa

White Sweetclover, Melilotus albus

Western Spirea, Spiraea douglasi 

Oregon Grapes Ripening, Mahonia aquifolium

Scarlet Berries on Tatarian Honeysuckle, Lonicera tatarica

Rough Hedge-Nettle, Stachys rigida

Goldenrod, Solidago sp.

The Ever Invasive Spotted Knapweed, Centaurea stoebe

The Glory of our Fall, Rubber Rabbitbrush, Ericameria nauseosa 

Meadow Checkermallow, Sildalcea campestris

Tiny, But Vibrant Common Mullein, Verbascum thapsus

Common Tansy, Tanacetum vulgare

A Surprise Visit

Late last week, Carter called me to start scheming on how to surprise his mother with a visit. Ann returned at the end of the conversation and I had to fake talking to someone else to preserve the surprise. Carter, being really quick witted, was fast on the uptake and got off the line.

Emma and Carter Surprised Ann

It is his summer block leave from the Army and he and his new wife Emma left Ft. Carson in Colorado Springs for a stay with Emma's grandmother in Geyserville (Sonoma). Carter was proposing to drive back from California via Bend and surprise Ann, whom he had already told that a visit this time would be impossible for reason of needing to close on his house back in the Springs.

There's a lot going on for Carter, eh? New wife, new house, and lots of homeowner and husband responsibilities that he's going to have to get up to speed on, really fast.

Long and short, Carter and Emma would drive through the night Monday, to arrive Tuesday morning and stay with us Tuesday night. Now, Ann is the snoop of all snoops and it is damn near impossible to surprise her, so Carter and I kept our radio silence until we exchanged last minute planning texts late on Monday evening. After texting him, I would text someone else so that the conversation chain with Carter would not be the first thing Ann would see if she were to glance at my phone.

We arranged it so that they would arrive in the morning while Ann and I were having coffee and doing our customary NYT Sunday crossword. I left the front door unlocked and texted Carter to come on in and surprise Ann. I figured the chances were slim as he has one of those very loudly tuned cars that all the cool kids drive: I could hear it coming down the street from a block away. Also, our front door sticks and I heard them open it. Ann apparently did not and I quickly engaged her in conversation about a puzzle clue to mask the stealthy creep down the hall.

Yes! We surprised the not easily surprised Ann!

Early Lunch: Chiang Mai-Style That at Wild Rose

Fun and Games with the Polaroid Camera at Spoken Moto

Goofballs at Crux

Crux Goodies for Back Home

Cards Against Humanity: How Low Can We Go?

Apparently Low Enough for Raucous Laughter

Dinner: Sōmen Salad with Shrimp and Edamame

Wednesday morning after our totally unexpected but most enjoyable visit with the kids, they headed back to Colorado and we headed west to the coast to escape the 100+ temperatures.

Floating the Deschutes

The big thing to do in Bend in the summer months is to float the Deschutes River through the middle of town. And yet, until just now in late July, we have not been out on the river. Rennika, our neighbor and friend from McMinnville, texted this week to let us know that she and two friends, Ben and Sarah, would be in town on Friday and that we were all floating the river. That was just the motivation that we needed, especially since they would be providing the tubes and transportation.

We have eyed the floaters, sometimes so thick that you could walk across the river from float to float without ever touching the water, with much envy this summer. But we just haven't gotten around to getting a float for the two of us. Now that we have been in the river, that's going to have to change so that we can make this a regular thing, especially on weekdays when the crowds are lighter.

Our roughly two-hour float took us from Riverbend Park off Columbia Ave. to Harmon Park, across the river from Drake Park. Parking is nearly impossible on the east side of the river at Drake Park, but much easier to find over on or near Harmon Blvd. on the west side. It's also a lot easier to outload the floats at the small dock in Harmon Park than it is to deal with the maddening crowds of floaters across the river.

Except for the rapids in the Whitewater Park north of the Colorado Street Bridge, the water appears to be very placid. The current, however, is deceptively strong as we all found out when getting into our floats. And given that the water is all snowmelt, it is cooler than it would seem given the air temperature in the 90s. But it was refreshing and relaxing all the way around. Life is good drifting down the river, beer in hand, not having a care in the world for a couple of hours.

The photos are pretty crappy because I shot them from inside a waterproof bag, a necessity because of the series of rapids just below the Colorado Street bridge through the Whitewater Park, rapids that guarantee that you will get soaked. I took some video going through the rapids but had to stop quickly as we found ourselves stranded on a couple of different sets of rocks. We also got a couple of strangers to shoot some shots and send them to us while we were on the water.

Getting Set at Riverbend Park

Lashing the Floats Together

On the Water at Last

Entering the Old Mill District

Nearing the Old Mill Pedestrian Bridge

Going by the Amphitheater

Shot by Other Floaters

Taken from Old Mill Bridge

Downstream of Old Mill,
Headed for Colorado Bridge and Rapids

Through the Rapids, Nearing Columbia Park

Columbia Park Footbridge

Nearing the End on Mirror Pond, Drake Park in Background

Lot of Mooches on Mirror Pond

Post Float Beers at Crux