Government House May 13, 2011

Here are some of the flowers in bloom in mid May.

I seem to recall a TV news report not long ago about neighbours of Government House being annoyed that they hadn't been consulted before unsightly wire had been added to the top of the rock walls around the property.

Apparently the purpose was to keep the deer out. These deer, however, are resting inside the walls. I don't know how long the beehives have been there and whether or not they are used.

Government House April 11, 2010

A few pictures from an afternoon walk around the grounds.

Group of three photos, clockwise from bottom left: small pinecones, white bleeding hearts, tulips.

More tulips.

And a peony! I love peonies - don't know exactly why. This is the first one I've seen this year.

Crows were splashing around, bathing in a small pond.

In the lower woodlands, camas were in bloom.

And here were more 'Easter lilies'.

But most surprising was to find deer. These grounds are not far from downtown.

At the duck pond at the front of the grounds was another surprise. This turtle was a fair size, maybe 10" long or so.

Government House grounds April 30, 2009

There are lots of camas flowers here this year.

I knew that native North Americans cooked and ate the bulbs but didn't know they also turned them into flour and made bread! The Nez Perce offered this bread to Lewis and Clark expedition travellers. Apparently the women held rights to family camas patches and used surplus bulbs for trading. I don't personally know anyone who has eaten a camas bulb... but I'd sure like to try that bread.

A teapot of towhees!

Well, no, just one. I'm completely confused as to its current name, but to me this delightful little bird is still a rufous-sided towhee.

Towhee trivia from the net:

• From their 'che-wink' call, I guess, this bird is also known as a chewink.
• Chewink is mentioned in a Robert Frost poem about blueberries.
• The towhee also known for its 'drink your teeee' call, which might have something to do with a group of them supposedly being called a 'teapot of towhees' (or a tangle of towhees). Hmm, from a murder of crows to a teapot of towhees.
• The female doesn't fly directly to the nest but lands nearby and walks to the nest.