It's really finally here...

I think it's here to stay too! It's been a rough one this winter, but I'm so excited to post the first "current blooms" list. More on that later, but first I wanted to share with you a couple of pics from my walk to get the list.

We often get asked if we have any waterfalls at Wahkeena. The answer is yes! They're just really really small! When we have good rains like we have had recently, the spring fed streams run a little harder. So I snapped a picture of one of the tiny waterfalls.

Another uplifting thing to see in spring are the early butterflies. Mourning Cloaks and Question Marks are two of the earliest. You can see the former on a warm day in later winter sometimes. Today I almost stepped on one who was resting in the middle of the trail. I took this picture of him after I had disturbed him. Can you see why I didn't see him the first time?

Well, on to the list! Many of these are cultivated flowers, but this early in the spring they are just as welcome as the native ones! For those of you who are new to the blog, these flowers can all be seen around the Nature Center or from the trails. A couple of these that I have listed I only found one or two today, but with the sustained warm weather more will follow quickly.

Bloodroot - Vinca - Daffodil - Grape Hyacinth - Forsythia - Speedwell - Small Flowered Bittercress - Coltsfoot - Spicebush - Rue Anemone - Cut-Leaved Toothwort - Yellow Violet - Blue Cohosh - Spring Beauty - Hepatica - Confederate Violet