630 degrees!

What a difference a week makes!  We've seen how quickly flowers start blooming, but when you get 7 days of 90 degrees (7 x 90 = 630, that is!) all the plants start to go into retreat.  Last week I mentioned how the top of the Hayden trail was full of color.  Well, this week things have really quieted down.  Although everything is still blooming, many of the plants don't have as many blooms and some of the color has faded.  Some cooler weather and rain would help.

As I was coming down the Hayden trail I did get one surprise.  On the side of the trail were several Nodding Onions with their purple blossoms nodding in the breeze.  We see Wild all over the mountain early in the year, but these tend to show up in the heat of summer.  The first time I saw them was after the big fire in 2008.  In an area of burned out Mountain Mahogany the Nodding Onions were sprouting, oblivious to the devastation that had just occurred, or maybe even helped by the heat.  The onions pictured below don't have as much color as the ones I saw the other day.

Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum)

When you're out on the mountain this week there are still lots of Purple and White Prairie Clover and Liatris (Gayfeather).  Also providing the gold color to the scene are the Bush and Common Sunflowers, Golden Asters and Curly-tip Gumweed.  Just starting to come out are Rabbitbrush, Goldeneye, and Klamathweed, more gold for the hills!

Gayfeather (Liatris punctata)

Let's hope for some rain and freshen up the mountain!