I found these two praying mantises at the Mima Mound Nature Area south of Olympia, Washington. I’m not an expert on insects so can’t say if these are both the same species or etc. But they are interesting little critters. They are cannabalistic, though.
I have been posting a lot of views of the Olympic National Park and the big trees. I spend a lot of time there, mostly since it’s close to home. But occasionally I do travel to other areas and experience nature in other environments. The image above shows some open pine woods and grasslands down in California in Inyo National Forest. At least that’s my memory … my notes are sketchy on that trip.
On the other hand, the image below is back up in Washington, but down along the Nisqually River Delta area in a section of the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge that is no long accessible. What a difference in woods.
These two shots were taken while I was on the hike up Hurricane Hill in the Olympic National Park (described some in my last post). We stopped at a bench to sit and eat a snack lunch. I thought that they showed the difference in the environment in a relatively short distance. Looking west you look across the Elwha River valley to the Bailey Range, on the far side of which is the Hoh Rainforest. Meanwhile, below is the area just below the summit of Hurricane Hill and a look at one of the drier areas of the Olympics (near the western boundary of the rain shadow).
This is the Fort Worden Parade Grounds in Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend, WA. It get a lot of folks flying kites and having picnics … and there are usually a few deer wandering and grazing. Just glad I don’t have to mow it!
This is a section of trail/maintenance road in Fort Worden State Park. It gets a lot of use, since it runs over to North Beach County Park … and the parking there does not require the State Park pass/fee.