May has come to the Walla Walla Valley and draped a blanket of bright green punctuated with hundreds of thousands of native flowers that are scarlet, sapphire, royal purple and saffron over the valley. One native plant currently in bloom is the sapphire blue flax.This spectacular native flower blooms north of town in the bunchgrass…
What a wonderful spring season it is in Walla Walla County. The above normal air temps in March allowed for early emergence of many wild flowers, insects/pollinators and the arrival of many migrant birds. It was so warm that many wild, native plants are up to ten days ahead of what is normal for this…
By Kirsten Telander Ah, the affirmation of Spring in the Walla Walla Valley. The town collectively feels the promise of a new season: the wheat and alfalfa provide for miles of green, winemakers visualize bud-break and chefs anticipate the local farms’ bounty. People continue to flock to our beloved, hip little hamlet for the wine,…
Here in beautiful Walla Walla County, where islands of native vegetation still survive and wildlife roams, you have a chance to catch a glimpse of three outstandingly mesmerizing wild flowers that bloom in the middle of March and then are gone until next spring. Everything in the natural world lives by a schedule that ensures…
February is here and with it, this year, is warm weather. Close to seventy degrees Fahrenheit last weekend; wildflowers are blooming, insects are out, but the most spectacular event is the arrival of the Snow Geese from southern California near the Salton Sea. These beautiful white native geese winter in northern Mexico and southern California;…
Here in Walla Walla County each new season brings with it unique and amazing beauty. This, the shortest season of the year, is no different. Life is energetic and diverse in this most wonderful county in southeastern Washington. Winter life is present in many thousands of waterfowl such as Common Mergansers, Northern Pintail Duck, Canvasback…
Just 14 short miles east of beautiful downtown Walla Walla lives a creature so amazing and wondrous that most folks never expect to see one in their lifetime. Many are unaware that while they are in Walla Walla this spectacular animal is looking down on them from the foothills of the Blue Mountains. I am…
By Kirsten Telander The first time my husband and I visited Walla Walla it was a warm day in October; a welcome change from the damp chill of Puget Sound. Now every fall we reminisce about that indelible first visit which left us pleasantly surprised… and actively relocating. We were delighted to discover the pumpkin…
By J. Andrew Rodriguez Cycling in Walla Walla leaves you breathless. Not because you’re going up the occasional winding hill, flanked on either side by wheat fields in their emerald youth. Nor because you are screaming down another hill overlooking acres of vineyards or apple orchards. It’s that the Walla Walla Valley just feels like…
By Catie McIntyre Walker We’re celebrating an anniversary here in the Walla Walla Valley. It’s the 30th Anniversary of when the Walla Walla Valley became an official American Viticultural Area (AVA). What does this mean and what is an AVA, you ask? An American Viticultural Area is a designated wine grape growing area that is…