Cowiche Canyon, Snow Mountain Ranch

I went out to Cowiche Canyon for a couple of hours Fri afternoon. The red osier dogwood & choke cherry are in full bloom and all the trees & shrubs have leafed out. The creek is a medly of green & white. I saw a few other flowers, but the balsamroot is largely past and the lupine hasn't bloomed yet. The hillsides are still green, though, so it's a beautiful time to be in the canyon.
On Sat afternoon I walked what we are calling the Rocky Top Loop from the Rocky Top trailhead on Cowiche Mtn (not Snow Mtn Ranch proper). It's not well marked yet, but will be by early June. The balsamroot was largely past here as well, but there was some nice lupine & Oregon sunshine and lots of beautiful thyme-leaf desert buckwheat.