Our Home Sweet Home Site For 3 Days

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A lovely rushing stream borders the back of the property. Formerly populous Native American tribes resided around Mt. Rainier [the Yakama, Puyallup, Nisqually, Muckleshoot, (Lower) Cowlitz, Taidnapam ("Upper Cowlitz"), & Klickitat]. As Whites came it was unlikely they would move eastward in the face of the invasion, & impossible to move westward. Bountiful ferns grow along the river valleys together with masses of moss, liverworts, and lichens, forming a beautiful, delicate, intricate cover for the forest floor. Ruth ate a delicious salad with her tasty, tender dandelions, and enjoyed terrific dandelion tea [http://www.dandeliontea.org]. The extended family gathers around the fireplace on our last evening, June 29 (in front of the camera on self-timer).
Over the kitchen countertop a welcome sight greets our eyes for our wonderful stay at the foot of Mount Rainier, highest peak in the Cascades, highest point in Washington. A rhododendron in full bloom behind our delightful cabin, built to enjoy this region of the Northern Cascade Range. We loved our too-brief stay in this fabulous cabin, as locals say, "close to heaven because it's so close to Mt. Rainier". Super picnic spot, with a fire pit and cascading fountain near the hot tub we enjoyed lounging in every evening.
Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus var. parviflorus), an attractive shrub common on roadsides. As with other raspberries, it is not a true berry, but an aggregate fruit of numerous drupelets around a central core; carefully removing the drupelets leaves a hollow fruit which bears a resemblance to a thimble, and thus the plant name. Oxeye daisy, Chrysanthemum leucanthemum, a common introduced invasive (noxious) weed, is a perennial member of the Asteraceae family, the same family as sunflower. The oxeye daisy is a prolific seed producer; one healthy, robust plant produces up to 26,000 seeds. Imported into the USA from Europe as a contaminant in seed—and as an ornamental with a long-admired, beautiful flower—it quickly escaped cultivation and is considered a common pest. Cow Parsnip, Heracleum maximum (Heracleum lanatum), the largest species of the carrot family in North America, common from sea level to subalpine elevations.
Tiger Lily, Lilium columbianum (also known as Columbian lily and Oregon lily). Yes, soft rain drizzles down on us again. Vibrant orange spotted tiger lily flowers hang with petals reaching up, one of the most popular western wildflowers. A leaf hopper perches on the stem of a tiger lily blossom. Tiger Lily (more formally known as Columbia Lily), a native perennial with the the sparkling luster of speckled blooms.
An heirloom plant from our cabin owner's grandmother. A Great (or, Coastal) Hedgenettle (Stachys chamissonis), an herb in the Mint Family (Lamiaceae), native to the U.S.A. Six views of a showy tiger lily wildflower growing out front. Lily gives us a feminine name from Hebrew: Susan (Sue). Slender tiger lily stems support luxurious, nodding flowers.
Beautiful rhododendron blooming in the back of the cabin. The genus Rhododendron (which includes azaleas) can be grown almost anywhere in the world—from the tropics to the Himalayas—and includes many cultivated hybrids. Rhododendron [> Greek "rhodo" (red, rose) & "dendron" (tree)] is a genus of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. Most rhododendrons tolerate shade, are not shade-loving.

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