Mid July: Air Still Clear, Meadow Still Wildflowering

It’s only in the mid to high 90’s the last few days, the air is still pretty clear, and things are still pretty green in the depths of Summer up here on the hill.

Or more specifically, the meadow at the bottom of the hill. The yellow blooms from the last few weeks have faded and been replaced by vast swaths of violet and purple wildflowers dancing in the breeze.

Things are still pretty green, considering it’s mid-July and hot.

But dang, the feeling of being in the middle of several acres of wind swept wildflowers. Just dang.

 

 

End of June: Summer Wildflowers

While the end of May had not been the psychedelic extravaganza of purple lupines I’d hoped for, the end of June has been outstanding in other ways.

The wildflower seeds planted in the fall came up in one part of the south east face of the hill. Where, alas, more little manzanita is also growing.

Only a couple California Poppy seeds, of all that I broadcast, actually grew and bloomed.

Amazingly, our 10 acre meadow at the bottom of the northeast side of the hill was still a vast sea of wildflowers and still green into July.

The yellow flowers open fully in the morning and yell ‘hello!’ at the blazing sun in the sky.

The summer so far has been pretty mild with mostly clear air and an ever changing palette of wildflowers lasting longer past the end of Spring than I recall seeing in past years.

Pretty dang outstanding.

End of June: Mowing

There’s about 700 feet of gravel driveway from the county road up to the hill and by the end of June, it all needed to be mowed.  So a couple of days before my brother and nephew were set to visit, I broke out the mower and got to work.

Oh how I mowed and mowed and mowed some more.

I mowed up and down our oh so steep driveway and on the hill around the cabin. Then I started mowing the wide old logging road connecting our driveway with the meadow at the bottom of the hill.

I really love my Green Works 80 volt battery powered mower. It plows through tall grass and, more importantly, it also cuts through the tough, woody patches of thick mountain misery growing under the trees.

Aside from reducing the fire danger along the road and around the cabin, mowing means it’s possible to walk without the scourge of foxtails getting in your shoes and socks.

So 3 days of pushing the mower back and forth and up and down but oh so worth it.