With Ashland temperatures in in the 90’s and upwards, we decided to hike up to Siskiyou Peak on Mt. Ashland. There were lots of wildflowers and clear, blue skies. Our intrepid friend/hikers, Ross and Taffy, joined us for a lovely day.

With spring, the vetch on the Ashland hills across the valley from our house, is in full color. Our friends, the Swanson’s, live on that side of the valley and invited us to hike up into the glory with their trusty companion, Ollie, a delightful Australian labradoodle. And yes, he did run free . . . and became so loaded with stickers and burrs he had to be carried. (Note: snow on Mt. Ashland).

Since moving to Oregon in 2007 the snow storms have been few and far between. I wouldn't call this one in January 2020 an actual snow storm, but it did snow! It's always so beautiful to look out the window to our deck and watch the flakes falling.

We hardly needed to shovel the driveway but up on the hiking trails above Ashland it was a different ...