Thanks to Nearby Nature’s Park Host for sharing Alton Baker Park and our Learnscape virtually with everyone who can’t be there personally this spring.
May 24: Western columbine in the park — such a celebration of color!May 21: The Alton Baker Park Host’s House looks wonderfully green and flowery and alive these days!May 19: Wild cucumber reminds us that we’re all connected.
May 13: Spring perfectly illustrates this Kalapuya Talking Stone.May 9: Cow parsnip glows with the joy of a sunny day.
April 30: Time to go out and see the Delphinium (larkspur) in Alton Baker Park right now. Truly spectacular!April 26: Checker Lily in Alton Baker Park. You might miss this beauty if you’re not looking carefully!
April 22: Celebrating Earth Day today with a reminder that in order to thrive, we all need the sun AND the rain.April 21: Camas bud burst from above — a lovely new perspective on this elegant spring wildflower. Its bulbs, roasted and processed into camas cakes, were an important source of food for the native Kalapuya people.
April 17: The delicate male flowers of meadow rue, like tiny chandeliers, bloom in the Wildflower Hollow. Meadow rue is dioecious, meaning the male and female flowers are on separate plants.April 15: Delphinium, or Wizard Hats as nick-named by one Nearby Nature volunteer, are popping up all along the bike path and in the Wildflower Hollow.April 13: “Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness.” – Why I Wake Early, Mary OliverApril 10: Look closely. Natural treasures are everywhere.
April 6: Our year around friend the Great Blue Heron patiently watching for lunch.
April 3: New buds in Nearby Nature’s Learnscape
March 31: The Kalapuya Talking Stones remain steadfast in rain and sun, winter and spring.March 30: Fruit trees in Alton Baker Park are blooming! “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” — Anais NinMarch 26: Blue sky day next to the Willamette River.March 25: Trillium blooming in the park — a true sign that spring has sprung.March 23: Calendula blooms in the Learnscape. Sunshine on a cloudy day.
March 21: Hummingbirds regularly visit the red-flowering currant growing in the Learnscape. We see them as well as hear them whirring through the garden.March 20: Smilacina (False Solomon’s Seal) is getting ready to bloom the Wildflower Hollow. Soon the area will be awash in the glorious fragrance of this wildflower.