Needle Ice, kammeis (German), shimo bashira (japanese), pipkrake (Swedish)

Freezing weather usually brings ice crystals growing out of the ground. This years crop is unusual in that the crystals are up to 2" long.

What ever is on the surface gets pushed upward - dirt, roots, or Doug Fir needles

Indian Plum, Oemleria cerasiformis

The fruit from this small tree is fairly tasty, but there is very little to eat as the seeds are huge. Red stems, dark blue fruit, and green leaves make for an interesting color combination.

Immature fruit:

Mature fruit:
Finally got a picture today (February 28, 2010) of the flowers that appear in early Spring:

Icy Little Salmon Creek

With the recent cold weather, Little Salmon Creek is starting to get icy. Water is flowing behind this 2 foot tall frozen waterfall:

Water flowing underneath interesting patterns in the ice:

Creeping Buttercup, Ranunculus repens

An introduced perennial, Creeping Buttercup is common in pastures and toxic to cattle.  This specimen was photographed in Lucia Falls County Park in SW Washington.