Sunday, May 25, 2014

Confluence


The confluence of the Spokane and the Little Spokane Rivers was the site of a major Spokane village, and later the site of Spokane House - a fur trading outpost of the Hudson's Bay Company. Nowadays, I always see fishermen on the point between the two rivers. 


As I drove home from Suncrest today, I had some extra time to see the rivers. I parked my car at the trail head and hiked to the confluence. A group of Nepali immigrants was fishing at the point. 


The trail between the parking lot and the point is almost like a separate mini-ecosystem. The plants are green and lush. As an aside, some folks haven't seen my beard. It's kind of an experiment. 


The dried stalks of cattails 
stand among the new growth. 


Does anyone know the name 
of these little blue flowers? 


According to Wikipedia, the yellow iris is considered an aquatic invasive species in many jurisdictions. They tend to push out other species and become nearly impossible to eradicate. However, they are quite beautiful, and they reportedly remove heavy metals from the water. That might not be so bad in the Spokane River. 




Red osier dogwood flowers. 


The yellow iris formed a barrier 
between the water and the shore, 
followed by a secondary layer of buttercups. 


Buttercups. 


Cow parsnip.



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