In the past 5 days I completed the backyard retaining wall, rebuilt approximately 80 feet of fencing, set posts for 20 feet of new fencing, played roughly ten hours of Ultimate Frisbee (4 different days), biked about 70 miles, and crashed my bike in the middle of the road (endo-ing over the handlebars and successfully tucking-and-rolling on the pavement to moderate bruising and minimal road-rash). I’m sore everywhere, my hands are raw, and I feel like I can’t consume enough food to keep up with the caloric burn. I sat down at my desk on Tuesday morning after the long weekend to a moment of exhalation, legs quivering lightly, unaccustomed to the state of repose. I can’t remember charging this hard in a long time. Feels good.

I went hiking on the Umtanum Creek canyon trail a few weeks ago (April 28). This is only about 20 miles from our house, but somehow I never managed to swing by on our last WA adventure. Neat easy (level) hike with archetype shrub-steppe vegetation and some scenic rock cliffs. These photos show the Yakima area about as green as it ever gets. With the last couple weeks of incessant sun, the hills around here are already browning up.

Golden currant, Ribes aureum, supposedly makes good jams.

I hiked as far as the last photo. Further on, the canyon was closed for raptor nesting season in the cliffs.

The new (old) digs. The sale price ended up being $20k less than what we sold if for in ’09, no complaints. I was able to move in last weekend, but since the house was vacant I’ve been puttering around doing yard work a little bit before that. Mostly trying to get grass established prior to any dog paws blasting across the back yard.

It’s pretty empty in the house right now (I’m sleeping on a sleeping bag on the floor), but other than that it feels about the same as last time.

Photos taken this morning, front yard and back yard with a new retaining wall I started yesterday:

Went rock climbing near Moon Rocks in the Tieton River canyon for most of the day today. Holy smokes, what a fun day. All sport climbs, mostly 5.9ish. Steep, jumbled basalt with lots of juggy holds. On my first climb of the day I popped up too quickly just starting off the ground and promptly bashed my head into the underside of a rock leaving a gross patch of scalp hair stuck to the rock (found later when someone mistook it for an animal on the rock – hey, what’s that? oh, just part of your head), but somehow no blood. Rest of the day was cherry though.

Photos. Lowering off of the day’s first climb and climbing near the top of the last climb of the day.

I went on a four-hour bike ride through Cowiche Canyon yesterday. Super fun zipping up and down the single track trails. Snapped a few more nerdy plant pictures while out and about. Offloading them here for future reference. I think the Death Camas was kind of a cool find.

Cowiche Canyon uplands single track bike path and view to the south of Yakima:

Artemisia rigida (Stiff sagebrush):

Ribes cereum (Squaw currant):

Balsamorhiza hookeri (Hooker’s balsamroot):

Astragalus purshii (Woolly-pod locoweed):

Zigadenus venenosus (Death camas):

Balsamorhiza sagittata (Arrow-leaf balsamroot):

Brodiaea howellii (Brodiaea): (left photo)
Allium sp. (Wild onion): (right photo)