Yep, we’re having a Mystery Flora post on a Monday. Seattle suffered another heatwave over the weekend, my uterus is gleefully torturing me, and I’m very much looking forward to more unconsciousness. Therefore, we are doing something fun and easy that doesn’t require Dana to expend precious brain energy.

Besides, you’ll love these fetching little things. They’re so delicate! A barely-there filigree against the gray volcanic ash on the Cowlitz River banks.

I’ve given you a clue up there. What rhymes with fetch? Also, you have identified a close cousin of these little delights in the past.

This next photo will make it even easier:

Oh, yes, that’s a member of the legume family! No doubt about it. I was actually squeeing too hard over the wee pink flowers to notice the long seed pod thingy at the time, but my camera sees all, knows all.

There were a few of these lovely little plants scattered in an area of mostly-bare volcanic sand. You’d barely notice them: they’re so airy they’re rather hard to see, even though they’re long.

Do you want to know how tiny? Here’s a flower with my thumb for scale.

It’s amazing how pretty the members of the legume family are. There were some lovely pink pea flowers closer to the park, about the only things still alive on that drought-stricken bank.

It wasn’t a great trip for flowers, due to our not having more than a few drops of rain since the spring. It’s been unbelievably dry for western Washington. But a few hardy little plants put out their blooms, and you get some pretties, whilst Dana goes and collapses from heat exhaustion. Enjoy!