On Monday, May 23, Herb and I again checked our bluebird boxes on Goats Peak. It seems that we are fated to get no nesting bluebirds this year. Wrens continue to be interested in one or two of the boxes but I am afraid that they are too small and quick actioned for my trail cameras.

One of the nest boxes that we relocated to an orchard fence line had been quite a bit of interest from mule deer. The camera which monitors it had taken a video of a visit by deer and the 10 second strip showed 6 mule deer that leisurely filed past, all bucks. One of the deer stood for a time at the box, sniffing and licking the bottom of the box.

I took several pictures of wildflowers and the shrubs, Snowberry and Soopolalie . 

Brown-eyed Susan

Snowberry

Some of the Snowberry plants have some kind of disease, possibly some type of fungus. The leaves have red swellings covered with white hair-like projections.

Some of the Soopolalie bushes are now bearing red berries. Interior native peoples used to make a confection by whipping the berries, with a little water, into a pink froth.

Wild Strawberries are still available.

A couple of comments/corrections on my identification of plants in my last

post: The yellow flower labelled Short-beaked Agoseris is probably Nodding Microseris and the buckwheat is probably Sulphur Buckwheat.