Bruce's Trees

Bruce's Trees

An album of the tree species and native shrubs I have planted or taken care of since purchasing the 1st Cowiche Creek property in 1986 and the land adjoining it in 1994. Contains 87 images.

In 1986 we received 12 Douglas Fir trees as a gift from my sister and brother in law and they all grew into large trees. This became the start of "Bruce's Trees". The picture is how part of them look today standing inside their area. Today I take care of over 500 trees and shrubs. Many more are left to grow naturally as they always have. Notice all the Basalt rocks, they're common here.

Cowiche creek in early May during high water. Everything is turning green as the Spring rains keep the ground damp. Looking Southeast from our home with the Larch grove in the background. You can see the Snowberry bushes on the lower left, with Water Birch trees on both sides of the creek.

"Pretty Mountain" is the centerpiece of our property and the Sagebrush Steppe areas are home to most of our native wildflowers. It has lots of basalt rocks that are covered with colorful Lichens. It has a different environment between the North and South sides, because the angle of the Sun is different on them. This is an example of the beautiful sunrises we often enjoy.

Looking from the deck of our home, the grove of trees across Cowiche Creek on the West side of "Pretty Mountain" is made up of primarily Douglas Fir trees. We started with the trees on the right in 1986. Water Birches are in the front along Cowiche Creek and "The Thicket" is also visible, beyond the Douglas Fir trees.

Along the Westside of "Pretty Mountain" is a place I call "The Thicket". It was a natural area with seeping springs caused by leaks in the old Yakima-Tieton irrigation system. It dried up after the canal was piped and all the Aspen trees died. Birds and wild animals live in it and I keep fresh water at all times and rabbit pellets in feeders over the Winter for their use.

Looking South of "Pretty Mountain" across Cowiche Creek is the "Pine Grove" with Western Larches growing nearer the creek as you ascend the trail. Most, but not all the trees in the "Pine Grove" are Ponderosa Pine. Western Ceder trees are on both sides of the creek if you follow it South to our property border.

This is a view looking East through the "Pine Grove" on the Southeast hillside above Cowiche Creek.

A juvenile Bald Eagle flying in the "Pine Grove" as he searches for something to eat. Red-tailed and other hawks are common here riding the air currents around "Pretty Mountain" as are Ravens and Turkey Vultures.

Walking North from our home is the "North Slope" grove of trees. This has a few older trees, but has mostly been cleared of weeds and and planted with conifer trees in the last 5 years. The larger deciduous trees visible are native Black Hawthorns.

Antelope Bitterbrush is part of the native environment here and although I prune and take care of a few of them, most survive just fine on their own. They have a pale yellow bloom in the Spring that sets them off from everything else. Many of them are mixed in with the Tall Sagebrush and survive fine in the dry, hot climate.

The Black Hawthorn is a native tree and common to this dry area. It has pretty white flowers with black berries and has long thorns on its stems. There are many growing wild on our property. The local wildlife like the berries and I even see Marmots way up in the tree gorging themselves.

The Blue Elderberry is a native shrub or tree found in our area and common along Cowiche Creek. We have many that I just let go native and do their own thing. They have large clusters of white flowers that form a cluster of small bluish berries in the Summer. With water they can grow fast and send out many shoots from the crown every year. Ever hear of Elderberry wine?

Colorado Blue Spruce cones. A large, elongated cone that hangs down. The cones in this image are not mature yet and have not opened yet.

The Common Snowberry bush is native to the area and also in the mountains. It forms a small thicket of plants and has white berries over the Fall and Winter and small pink flowers in the Spring. I let them grow natively on our property and have a nice group of them.

The Creeping Oregon Grape is a common shrub and very similar to Tall Oregon Grape. It has different leaves though, rounder and duller in color, but the grapes look the same. I have a couple large patches of these that grow natively and keep spreading via root feeders.

Douglas Fir cones. These are not a true Fir tree, as the cones hang down like Spruces. The Firs normally have the cones pointed upright. Notice the little bracts on the cone with 3 points, found only on the Douglas Fir cone.

Douglas Fir imature cones. Notice the little Pollywog looking bracts that appear on the mature cones.

The Eastern White Pine cone looks different than a Western White Pine cone. It has larger seed bracts (less) and is usually slimmer.

Englemann Spruce cones as they grow near the top of the tree. The cones hang down like all spruce trees. These are mature cones in the Fall.

The Golden Currant is one of the common bushes here and I have many that grow wild. They have maple like leaves, yellow flowers in the Spring and golden colored berries after. I let them grow natively whenever possible. The golden berries are very popular with the birds.

Grand Fir immture cones. The cones are usually near the top of the tree and point upward.

Gray Rabbitbrush is not as common here as Green Rabbitbrush. It has lighter green leaves and yellow flowers in the Fall. They grow with and get about the sames size as Sagebrush. Gray Rabbitbrush is about the same color as Sagebrush.

Green Rabbitbrush is very common here and has deep green leaves and yellow flowers in the Fall. It blooms earlier than Gray Rabbitbrush and is more common here than Gray Rabbitbtush.

The Lewis' Mock Orange was discovered by Lewis and Clark and is the state flower of Idaho. It is covered with white flowers in the Spring that give out a wonderful smell like Lilacs. It grows natively here and I have also planted some seedlings over the years.

Lodgepole Pine cone. These are normally all over the tree and hang on until a fire kills the tree or something knocks them off. They then fall and start a new tree in the ash of the old one. I have actually seen this actually happening in burn areas.

Lodgepole Pine cones, both immature and mature on the same tree.

Mountain Alder Catkins hanging down in mid February. The Catkin is the male part of the flower. Notice the tiny red buds above it. This is the female cone starting to form. They make small cones about 3/8th inch in diameter as they develop. The Catkins spread spores in the wind to fertilize them.

The Mugo Pine is a popular nursery tree and I have 5 Mugo Pine trees planted here. One is down in the rocks where a lot of Marmots live and they seem to like chewing on it occasionally, but it survives and keeps on growing.

Norway Spruce cone. These are normally near the top of the tree and hang down like all Spruces.

The Ocean Spray shrub is often seen along the roadside as you drive in the mountains. It grows natively on my neighbors land and I have planted 4 small shrubs to get them started here. It has clusters of ivory white flowers in the Spring that look like a white ocean spray hitting the rocks.

The Pacific Willow is a large tree that often grows majestically near water. Unfortunately the Beavers love to chew on it, but they keep on growing.

A male Catkin from a Pacific Willow tree as it gets ready to flower in the Spring just before leafing out.

A female Catkin from a Pacific Willow tree. Willows are either male or female, so all the Catkins on this tree were female and about twice as long as the male catkins.

Paper Birch Catkins in Early April as the tree starts to leaf out

The Pinyon Pine is native to areas like the Grand Canyon rim and so does quite well in our hot, dry climate. They have short needles in bundles of 2 and look similar to a Lodgepole Pine. I have two of the Pinyon Pine trees that I have planted in the pine grove.

The Pinyon Pine cone looks a lot like Lodgepole Pine cones, but they fall on the ground annually rather than hang on the tree until a fire burns the tree.

Ponderosa Pine cones. These grow all over the tree, sometimes in groups of 2 or 3.

Ponderosa Pine immature cone that has not opened up yet.

The Pussy Willow is common along the creek and mostly makes small to medium bushes with lots of limbs coming up. The Catkins are getting quite mature on this one.

Closeup of a male Pussy Willow Catkin after it has expanded from the Pussy Willow stage. This is from a male Pussy Willow bush. Willows have both male and female bushes with differant flowers on each. The bushes that have Pussy Willow blooms are actually male bushes.

The Quacking Aspen is a native tree that grows on our property. They are fast growing and they and the willows go up and down in population depending on when the Beavers move up and down the creek. They spread by root feeders forming a grove over time.

The Red Osier Dogwood is a pretty, native shrub with red limbs. It grows along the creek and helps hold the bank in place. Has pretty white flowers in the Spring and red limbs when the leaves drop off. Looks a lot like a clump of Willows.

The Rocky Mountain Juniper is native to the mountains and can take hot dry weather. I purchased 9 of these in the Spring of 2022. They have little blue berrylike cones when mature.

Scotch Pine cone. These are usually smaller than a Ponderosa Pine cone, but look similar.

Spiny Hopsage looks like Sagebrush from a distance and about the same size. The flowers look like small hop flowers as they bloom and eventually turn a burgundy color as they mature. The limps have sharp soines on them. Not very common here, but I have one large bush near one of my trails that I keep an eye on.

The Star Magnolia is one of the first trees we planted after we bought the second piece of property in 1994. It has done pretty well. The Star Magnolia is covered with pretty white flowers in the Spring.

Stiff Sagebrush is low growing and likes shallow, rocky soil. It can become very old even though it grows a little each year. Notice the yellow (Gold Speck) lichen on the limbs of the picture. This plant has been there a long time. It does not grow in the same deep soil as Tall Sagebrush. Also called Scabland Sagebrush.

Subalpine Fir cones are usually found crowded at the top of the tree, where they are eaten by birds and squirrels (at least here).

The Tall Oregon Grape shrub is the state flower of Oregon. It has shiny leaves with sharp points on them. It blooms a yellow flower cluster in the Spring that turns to grapelike berries in the Summer. I have many of these growing wild and encourage them to do so.

Tall Oregon Grape seeds or "Grapes". These usually appear in July and are eaten by the birds as they ripen. They are much smaller than domestic grapes and quite bitter to the taste. Some people make jam out of them.

The Tall Sagebrush is the common sagebrush found in Central Washington and much of the west. This picture is one we have that is the biggest one I have seen, about 20' wide and 2' at the base. I have litterally 1000's of clumps of Tall Sagebrush growing on our property. Sometimes called Big Sagebrush.

In the Spring of 2024, I added four Thimbleberry plants I purchased from a nursery. They have large maple leaves and fruit similar to raspberries. I have often seen them growing in the mountains.

This Black Tupelo tree was purchased through the internet and is primarily found in the Eastern USA. It is known for its deep red color leaves in the Fall. Sometimes here, the leaves just freeze and drop before turning red color.

The Utah Serviceberry is fairly rare here and I have only two wild mature plants growing on our property. It grows lower to the ground and spreads out more than the Western Serviceberry. It is covered with white flowers in the Spring.

The Water Birch grows primarily along or near the creek. It likes water or wet places. It grows natively here and I have planted a few down by the creek to fill in where needed. In Fall the leaves turn a pretty color of yellow before dropping for the year.

The Western Larch does well here especially in the deep sandy soil near the creek. Sometime called a Tamarack, it does not do well in the dry ground high above the creek. The Larch is deciduous, turning a golden color before dropping its leaves in the Fall. I have 48 of the Western Larch trees that I have planted.

The Western Larch cones are small and lots of them. They turn deep brown when mature and drop all over the ground.

The Western Red Ceder cone does not look like a normal cone and is very small and many of them that form clumps along the branches.

The Western Serviceberry is a popular tree among the hills here and often seen on mountain sides. I have many that grow wild here and for the most part, I leave them to do so. I do prune and shape some of them. This one is a small tree I moved to a location near the Pine Grove several years ago. It is growing more each year.

The Western White Pine cone is large and has more seed bracts than the Eastern White Pine.

The White Fir cone is found in groups near the top of the tree and points up.

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