Badger Mountain versus Skagit Valley Tulips

                                

Long leaf phlox

I took a hike up Badger Mountain south of Richland, Washington late last week. I did the same hike last November. This time of year is a great time for flowers and the hike did not disappoint. My ability to identify very many plants and flowers is severely limited, but regardless I can still appreciate the flower display. It’s a great hike with sweeping views covering hundreds of miles and lots small scale things to observe as well. This time of year provides the best flora displays, but there are lots of other plants that will bloom later and some that have barely begun to grow.

Carey's balsamroot

Cushion fleabane

Rosey balsamroot

Upland larkspur

Bingen lupines

This is the first of a series posts I am planning on Badger Mountain and the broader landscape that includes Badger Mountain. Part of what I want to do with Reading the Washington Landscape is to better understand the landscapes we see in Washington. Badger Mountain looks the way it does because of its geology, climate, ecosystem, history and land use policies. More posts on those subjects will follow. And I will add future land use policies will define greatly how Badger Mountain will look in the future.

Thanks to all the hard work from Friends of Badger Mountain  http://www.friendsofbadger.org/ . They have worked to make a great landscape even better.