Sunrise Hike at Hog Lake

I woke up at 5:30 on Sunday and quickly headed west to start a short hike to watch the Sun rise over the basaltic cliffs at Hog Lake west of Spokane. It was a pleasant, if not a bit cool, pre-dawn stroll. I took some photos of the Aspens as the sun climbed higher in the mostly clear sky. A raven, of course, accompanied me for awhile grounding me as always. I was just leaving this favorite spot of mine as a few hunters began to arrive. I arrived home for a full day of chores and family activities by nine o'clock in the morning.

James Slavin Conservation Area

I hiked this area just 10 miles south of my home. It is a 600 acre former farm/ranch with restored wetlands. It has a varied topography from upland sage to fields of chest high grass. I am rehabilitating from a recent back injury and subsequent hip injury while I was protecting my back. It is getting better but too slow for my taste; five weeks now. I only went about 2.5 miles but I had plenty of time to stop and do some nature appreciation. In an open meadow I watched as a regal Eastern Kingbird leaped from his perch to gracefully capture flying insects. I also observed that there were no specimens of Mock Orange where I was hiking but on north facing hillsides there were many, many Ninebark bushes. They both must have very different growing preferences. The Mock Orange is blooming profusely at home right now but many of those are on south facing slopes.