The off season botanist

"Never mistake motion for action"

Ernest Hemingway

Old Ernest would have been proud of me this weekend, I had a fun little weekend getaway to Central Oregon, culminating with a Backcountry ski trip into the Ochoco Mountains and topped off with a steak dinner with nothing but Irish Whiskey to wash it down with. The masculinity was palpable. 

So I could have easily filled a post with some great shots of snow covered peaks and conifer laden vista views from 5,500' up the Summit Rd. where vehicles aren't allowed and the only sound is the wind and the squish of snow under the skis. But noodling around the tiny house a fellow horticulturalist friend and I rented tucked away on a corner of a Lama Ranch in Terrebonne, I managed to find some botanical treats interesting enough to discuss. 

Salvia dorii
At least that's what I think it is growing out of the thick intra canyon basalt lava of the Crooked River Gorge, whose steep walls are composed of layers of rock laid down around 780,000 years ago.

 I say think, because this was definitely a mint, with it's square stems, the spoon shaped wooly leaves certainly fitting the bill for dorii, but it being lat January and temperatures having dipped into the teens while we were there, with a light dusting of snow. The tell tale flowers that would make it certain are months away.

Ribes velutinum
Another shot of the unique flora growing above the Crooked River in the area of Terrabonne.

I have a bit of a weakness for Ribes species, even having toyed around with the thought of going into the blackcurrant production business for a few years now and collecting various different cultivars for medicinal and culinary benefits of the berries. I'm pretty sure this is velutinum but as mentioned again it's the middle of winter so the off season botanist is an apt title for this blog entry. The area had some amazing Junipers like nature crafted bonsai of a millenial suffering for lack of water in the summer and warmth in the winter, the roots finding paths to deep soils wherever possible in the decaying lava flows of past ages.

Amazing diversity of confiers in the Ochoco Mountains.
I'm thinking of a wildflower discovery trip in the spring to this same spot above Bandit Springs.

So the offseason botanist is in full effect, looking for signs of life in rock crevices and outcrops. Dreaming of the spring season so full of color and not as long off as it once seemed. 

Speaking of old Hemingway, the quote above is so appropriate. I heard this radio bit on how kids with developmental disabilities are being left behind in an increasingly underfunded school system. An official was quoted on the radio program as saying we put "Compliance before Performance". It so parallels the new environmental paradigm in clean water compliance which has taken on a similar mantra with new regulations that are lax on protecting our environment, unfortunately putting people who care in the similar position of achieving "Compliance before Performance". Well I say you can have both. Much like the saying Talk minus Action equals Zero, Hemingway had it figured out half a century ago.........

The weather is cleaning up for some sunshine this week. Should start seeing some bulbs shooting into bloom soon enough. 

Cheers, 

Mark