Friday's Flower

At Barkerville, British Columbia

Sights

Wildlife:

Grouse (1) access road
Ground Squirrel - Barkerville townsite
Rabbit (1) road's edge Barkerville Hwy.
Moose (1) about to come out of a ditch Barkerville Hwy.
Deer (1) at forest's edge
Moose (1) on the way home, in a ditch

Wildflowers:

Plumes of Goatsbeard all along the Barkerville Hwy. (cream-coloured)
Hawkweed everywhere (orange, considered invasive)
Buttercups (yellow)
Indian Paintbrush (red)
Lupine (purple)

Summertime

Barkerville, British Columbia

reddened, swelled bumps on legs and arms;
horrible bites itching like mad.
several mosquitoes must have feasted on me at night
while I slept inside the camper van at B'ville.
I didn't stand a chance!

I have tried all the remedies -
Absorbine Jr., Calamine Lotion, Lanacane -
products from the pharmacy shelf
that work to a certain degree.

then I recalled the baking soda paste
that my mother used to dab
on each one of my bites
to prevent scratching and infection.

today, as I mixed and applied this soothing mixture,
I thought of those long ago times
and the white dots that I wore
during mosquito season on the prairies.  

~ April

Flowers on Hillside/Barkerville, British Columbia

Lupin and Paintbrush

Barkerville, B.C.

I saw this pretty yellow flower in an historic cemetery (from the days of the Cariboo Gold Rush) that I visited last July, but I don't know what it's called. It may be that someone planted it there, or possibly, it is one of the many wild flowers that grow among the grave sites.

More wonderful flowers at Today's Flowers.

Barkerville Trip Continued....

with a few more interesting plants that were in bloom along the trails and at our campsite.

Bracted Lousewort (also known as Wood Betony)
I was drawn to its colour and lovely fern like leaves.

I think this is called Black Twinberry (Shrub). Both the paired tubular
yellow flowers (shown above) and the berries have bracts at their base.

Hawkweed - termed a noxious weed by some in areas
where it is becoming more common and invasive.

Hooked Buttercup - named for the hooks on the ends of the seeds.

Street scene at Barkerville (1860s British Columbia heritage gold rush town) - A quick look through the guest book reveals that visitors from as far away as the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Scotland, England and Nova Scotia (Canada) arrive here every year. Many of the miners were from Scotland, England, Ireland, China, Germany, Wales, the United States and eastern Canada.

Wildflowers Around Barkerville

These are some of my photos from a recent camping trip to Barkerville (an historic B.C. gold rush town of the 1860s). Elevation: 1290 metres (4200 feet). Located 88 km (55 miles) east of Quesnel, B.C. on Highway 26. The elevation at Quesnel is 474 metres (1555 feet).

Five-leaved Bramble (Dwarf Shrub)

Showy Pussy-toes (Sunflower family)

Marsh Valerian - numerous small white flowers with protruding styles and stamens.

Thimbleberry (Shrub) - the petals have been described as resembling "crinkled tissue paper".

Sitka Burnet (Rose family) - the European species of this flower is red-brown in colour, hence the name "burnet" or "brunette".

Bunchberry (Dwarf Dogwood) - very conspicuous and widespread along the edges of the trails.

White Bog-Orchid (also known as "scent-candle") - found at low to high elevations.