This sweet-smelling perennial can be found in wet areas next to rivers, streams, bogs, or seep zones. These were found near the Azure and Clearwater Rivers in Wells Gray. <a href=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/azure-037r.jpg”><img class=”aligncenter size-large wp-image-11066″ src=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/azure-037r-380×640.jpg” alt=”azure 037r” width=”380″ height=”640″ /></a>The slender green stalks grow to about 1m high. Waxy, white flowers with a greenish tinge face outward along the stem. …Continue reading…
quaw currant is a 1m (+/-) high shrub that grows on the lower slopes of the area, in grasslands, ponderosa pine and douglas fir forests, and on rocky open slopes. The green, fan-shaped leaves bud and emerge in early spring. Urn-shaped pink flowers are displayed in late spring. Small red berries appear in summer. We find them bitter and not …Continue reading…
Coyotes are common in our hills but they are elusive animals. We do spot them, but we see their signs often. Their tracks are easy to identify: The scats resemble those of all dogs, but we usually see embedded hair from eating rodents. We also saw bones scattered in the hills. The skull is often pulled away from the skeleton …Continue reading…
Mallards are dabbling ducks that are found throughout North America. Flocks can often be seen in City parks in Kamloops, even in winter. This group was spotted on McArthur Island. Many mallards migrate south in the late fall, but in milder winters, some couples (pair bonds) will overstay in our area. They are very adaptable to eating both natural and …Continue reading…
Sitka valerian is one of the most abundant wildflowers in damp alpine meadows. It graces the meadows on Tod Mountain, Mount Revelstoke, and Trophy Meadows in the summer. It is a perennial that grows 1 to 4 feet tall from a woody base. Leaves are found in 2-5 pairs up the stem. The flowers are pink-white and fade to white …Continue reading…
hite geraniums are perennials that grow in mid-elevation meadows and open forests. They grow between 40 and 80 cm on hairy stalks with a woody base. The flowers are white or pink-white with purple veins. The leaves are paired along the stalks and divided into blades. After flowering, the seedheads are shaped like a stork’s bill. At the end of …Continue reading…
The Melissa Blue Butterfly belongs to the family Lycaenidae, which means “gossamer wings.” There are a dozen similar species, some of which are hard to tell apart. The photo below is likely a female Melissa Blue, but given the elevation of the location (4300 feet) could possibly be a Northern Blue. Melissa’s Blue/Northern Blue can be found in the Southern …Continue reading…
While hiking through the canyons of Utah and Arizona, we have encountered these long, thin snakes on several occasions. They grow up to 2.5 metres long . This one was spotted in Horseshoe Canyon, not far from the Great Gallery. <a href=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/Moab-One-436cr.jpg”><img class=”aligncenter size-large wp-image-10937″ src=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/Moab-One-436cr-509×640.jpg” alt=”Moab One 436cr” width=”509″ height=”640″ /></a>These snakes are not venomous. They are active during …Continue reading…
Wild asparagus grows in moist, open spots in the Kamloops-Thompson area. We have seen it in the floodlands near Kamloops Lake poking up through the muds and silts, in roadside ditches, in the grasslands near ponds and seeps, and on open hillsides where a natural seep keeps the ground moist. On the Valleyview Silt Bluffs Trails, several mature specimens can …Continue reading…
Blue clematis is a perennial vine that grows in the open mixed forests of our area. We most often see it in gullies, where it climbs up shrubs to get to the sunlight. Even in the garden, we use the phrase “heads in the sun, feet in the shade.” For this reason, it will not be found on south-facing, exposed …Continue reading…
When we hike in the hills in the melting snows we can see a web-like growth on the ground. Woven among the grasses and leaves lie fine strands of fungal mycelium. The mold gets invisibly embedded in the snow and becomes visible on the grass as the snow disappears. The mold requires moist conditions, so once its protective snow cover …Continue reading…
Morels are prized by mushroom hunters in B.C. They appear in the spring, but at higher altitudes, at the end of spring too. There are several types, but we most often see the common morel (first photo) and the black morel (second photo). These simple, but distinctive cap mushrooms are honeycomb-like. They are usually found in forests and black morels …Continue reading…
Marsh marigolds are a perennial found in wet areas in the alpine and subalpine. We see them at the edge of small ponds, seeps, and snowmelt areas in early summer on Tod Mountain, Trophy Meadows, and in the alpine medows in the Selkirks and Monashees. The leaves are toxic, but First Nations in Alaska boiled the parts of the plant …Continue reading…
Chukars are round-bellied partridges that have spread from their native Asian habitats to North America as feral populations. They have multiplied in our area and we can now spot them in the lower Batchelor Hills, near Deep Lake, and on the Sun Rivers Bench in flocks/coveys. Chukar pair off in summer to breed. Males are loud and showy in the …Continue reading…
Scarlet gilia is a colorful perennial flower that grows mostly on arid, south-facing slopes south of Kamloops. The bright red color and trumpet shaped flowers make it easy to identify. These were spotted on the rocky lower slopes of Okanagan Mountain in May. It is sometimes referred to as sky rocket. Traditional people used the plant for medicinal purposes. The …Continue reading…
Leatherleaf saxifrage is a perennial found in alpine and subalpine wet areas. Most of the saxifrages are found in rocky, alpine locations. Leatherleaf is often spotted alongside streams, snowmelt seeps, and drainage areas. The flowers are small and white, but when the petals fall, we are left with a cluster of red seed capsules. The stems are often sticky, hairy, …Continue reading…