A Wildflower Morning

So the post about this weekend was supposed to be titled, "Three People. Three Dogs. Four Backpacks. One Tent." It would have been all about our backpacking trip up Bear Creek in the Wallowa Mountains, in Oregon, with my husband and daughter. There would have been evergreen trees, a rushing, cold-water creek, meadows full of wildflowers, a little camp stove, and some yummy, homemade, camp food. The dogs would come along, even the 4 month old Poodle puppy. The older Poodle would even carry her own Poodle-sized backpack. Covid-19 has shut down many things, but it hasn't shut down nature. Nature heals many things. I needed to be out in nature. It was going to be the perfect weekend. But I'm not in control of everything. My dream weekend didn't happen. A new title is needed, "Did You Lose a Backpack?" We didn't leave home quite as early as we hoped this morning, but there would still be enough time to make it to our trailhead and get in a good ...

Get ready for an epic day of snorkeling photos.  The fish were thick today, both little ones and big ones. But first, we have to swim out there between the floating dock and the round observation building.  If you don't want to swim out, you can pay to walk out on the walkway above our heads.  But the real action is in the water. Judy's snorkel has the yellow tip, and Matt's is black.  This is the trip that got them excited about snorkeling. Convict Surgeonfish Acanthurus triostegus Picassofish Rhinecanthus aculeatus Threadfin Butterflyfish Chaetodon auriga Pacific double-saddle butterflyfish Chaetodon ulietenses Redfin Butterflyfish or Oval butterflyfish  Chaetodon lunulatus Yellowfin goatfish Mulloidichthys vanicolensis Trevally:  Is it a Bluefin at the top?  What is the white one? Is the big one a Bluefin Trevally?  Is the one in the lower right corner with the bu...