Desert color

A field of arrow-leaf balsamroot in the John Day Basin

As the winter snows recede our weekly explorations take us to more distant places. The high desert, typically painted in dusty tones, is a deep green hue. Sage and desert grasses are taking advantage of the available water with a spring growth spurt. Mixed in this lush carpet are spots of color.

Spring Basin Wilderness home to rare desert wildflowers

Desert blooms are often tiny little flowers that show themselves for a few weeks in the spring. The week’s adventures allowed for the capture of a wide variety of desert fauna.

Yellow daisies line the road as we climb the east face of the Sutton Mountains.
We found desert paintbrush while hiking the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge
Microseris
Looking at the Warner Valley below you can see the transition from lakes and wetlands, to grasslands and sage steppe. Spring is a great time to explore the greening of Oregon’s high desert.

3 Replies to “Desert color”

    1. IDing turned out to be a lot harder than we initially planned. Have Taylor, R. Sagebrush Country, a Wildflower Sanctuary.7th, 1992. Mt. Press. Missoula, MT …it’s great for high desert travels. We also used Turner, M & Gustafson, P. Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest. 2006, Timber Press. PDX. the later is more comprehensive but the pictures are not as helpful.

      1. funny how you always need more than one guide book for both flowers and birds! Ours are all focused on the coast. Maybe we’ll need to broaden the book shelf.

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