Got some clouds this morning but they should be breaking up before too long because the forecast says a sunny 72° today! Absolutely lovely!

No one at the garden this morning! That's nice. I wonder if I can find some birds!

Oh hey! There's some Bushtits here as well! Not that they pause long enough for me to look at them! ha.

And at my plot... oh my gosh, the Lettuces! We've got these over here that had popped up the other day...

And there's a whole clump of lettuces here!!

And this pretty thing over here!

Salad! Ha! I can't help it! My hopes are up!

Well. This is the view of the big trellis from my center pathway...

And here's what the volunteer Cosmos plants on the other side look like!

And so many more blossoms on the way!!

I've gathered the day's harvest, but the Zucchini is so big! When I load up the small backpack, the Zuc sticks out several inches and I can't zipper it shut!

I take your picture?

Nope! haha. Okay. Maybe another time.

Tag: october 2025

There's been some sprinkles this morning, but it's not enough to even register. The record just says trace.

But I'll need to grab the rain jacket and in thinking about that, I finally remembered to grab this stupid book.

I had found it in a Little Free Library, and look at that cover... Greendaughter. That looks like something I should read! haha. I'm actually more into science fiction, but it's hard to refuse some nature based fantasy!

But it was awful!! Bahaha!

Seriously. I didn't care about the main characters. And then half the damn book is war preparations. War preparations! ...laying out all the siege prep and you people do this and we've got to put the refugees over here and oh, this group isn't going to join us, and and and. Gah.

*shakes head* Awful. And boring! I do not know why a woman would want to write that.

And yet, she did. And I had to be suckered into reading it with pretty cover art! *laughs*

So I'm getting rid of it today. Putting it into another Little Free Library...

... Which is almost empty. This LFL regularly filles up and empties. I'm not sure why. I've wondered if people are stealing the books, and leaving it empty. But I don't know.

I walk down to the creek... and aww! There's a single frog singing here! ha, the trace amount of wet and the clouds today must have him thinking about the breeding season in a few months.

Plus, I'm amused to see that Beaver chopped tree coming back to life!

I'm walking past the Community Garden today. At the back of the Events Center, there's a couple Killdeers running around. They don't let me get close enough, tho.

I decide to visit the Solidarity Garden.

You know, it really is impressive how volunteers have transformed this little corner of parking lot! There's still some flowers blooming.

But this Fig bush catches my attention!

All the fruits!

I've never eaten a home grown fig. I wonder if I like them. Woody plants are not allowed in the Community Garden, but I've seen a couple gardeners grow fig trees in huge pots.

I'm walking around the loop and heading home. Walktober? Well! That sounds fun!

∞ WeWalkLane: Walktober

That's cool!! But I glance at the events, and it doesn't look like there's anything happening nearby.

The Coffee Shop Hop would be awesome, but that's all outside my usual walking area, too far away. I'd have to take the bus to get there. Bummer.

Back at the creek, the Nootka Roses are making some hips.

Tag: october 2025

This is a Sunchoke in the corner plot, mine doesn't have so many blooms yet.

Here's my Sunchoke.

Poor pathetic thing. It's Trying to make some blooms! But I can make it pretty today!

Still some happy bugs munching on the Goldenrod!

Oh! A third Lettuce seedling has popped up right next to the second one!

Three Lettuces Growing! It kind of gives me hope! Wouldn't it be nice to have some salad, after everything else in the garden has died back! Mmmm!

(Dangit. I should not hope.)

The blue bits are fallen Borage blossoms! Aren't they pretty!

And I just noticed this tiny and over ripe Lemon Cucumber under the small trellis! I'm not going to pick it, it's a little too far gone.

That's some volunteer clover on the left, one of the Avocado trees on the right. And in between...

A Geranium! We have several kinds of wild Geraniums that grow here. This one will have small white or light pink flowers, if it gets that far.

Ha. This one wandered thru my plot again!

And back at home, I've cut up some Sungolds to freeze!

Tag: october 2025

∞ Trump Gets Away With Sh*tting On Half The Country Because That's The Whole GOP Platform Anyway... Name one Republican policy that isn't about hurting someone.

I have been thinking along these lines as well, ever since the start of the government shutdown.

Here's my understanding of the situation...

The government was providing extra funds to ObamaCare so that even poor people could get some health insurance. Those funds are expiring and now many millions of people aren't going to be able to afford the health insuranace any more.

Republicans are fine with this and don't want to put any more money towards ObamaCare.

((( Except, hey. Didn't DOGE come thru, earlier this year and remove all the waste and fraud from the government? Shouldn't the government have loads of money now, for this kind of thing? hmmm??? )))

((( What's that, you say? It doesn't work like that? All of DOGE's actions actually cost the government billions of dollars? DOGE actually Created waste and fraud and America will NEVER recover from the damage done. Not to mention all the people who have died because of what DOGE did. DIED! And Are DYING! And Will DIE! )))

((( *Screaming* ))) ((( and taking a breath. Well that was a nice little tangent. But perhaps we could FOCUS on the original topic, eh! )))

So. Republicans don't want to put any money to ObamaCare. But Democrats absolutely do. In fact, they are kind of putting their foot down about it. They aren't going to sign off on anything unless all that money gets back to ObamaCare again.

And then we have Speaker Mike Johnson, who is not a leader, who has no effing clue about how to lead. or compromise. And a compromise is what is ALWAYS needed when trying to govern. Right?

But to boil it all down. Dems want people to have health insurance, and by extension, health care. Repubs want... what exactly? They want people to not have health insurance? What are people supposed to do? Just die? Is that what Repubs actually want?

I just cannot understand. I do not fucking get it.

Well. The article above is not about this, but it's a good read, if you're interested!

Tag: october 2025

I'm at my plot, and I'm looking around for something to do. I feel like I should be doing something here... But, really, most of the veggies are still alive and doing stuff. Winter Cleanup is in the future. But I do decide to take the poor Patty Pan to the compost pile.

The second tiny Lettuce, about 1cm tall.

And the volunteer Snap Pea!

A few more blooms on the Sunchoke!

Other people have let their volunteer Tomatillos grow as well!!

oh, hey! This guy again! Still muddy!

And Still running away!

Back at home, I'm freezing some more veggies!

I've lost track of how many of these small bags of Wax Beans I've done. Like 5 or 6 maybe. And this is the first bag of tomatoes

I wanted a full bag of Green Zebras, but half of the ones I got today weren't quite ripe. So I threw in a couple small Brandywines.

And then I needed to do something else. I hate working in the kitchen! Chopping up those Wax Beans and small tomatoes only took, what? like 10minutes or so. But it's left me annoyed!

ha.

Tag: october 2025

This one made me cry. and pisses me off to no end.

∞ Blind man, 4 ft 6, dragged by six ICE Agents in Portland

Roughing up a blind man? What is wrong with people?? I don't know why we have to live in this time line.

And yet again... If ICE is willing to pull this shit on citizens, when they know they are being recorded... What is happening to the people in their custody???

Tag: october 2025

Ah, there's nothing like a little bad photography first thing in the morning!

Some of the trees are starting to be lovely.

I walked out to the Leaning Tree saplings, and was trying to figure out a better way to get their picture... This is the invasive Tree of Heaven, the three saplings and then the trees lining the street back there are getting pretty.

Yeah, this angle doesn't work for the saplings either. Sighs. But the trees in the back are pretty.

There's a bunch of birds in the garden plot, some of them scatter as I walk up. But there's a few left.

Oh hey! The rain has brought up another Lettuce seedling!!

And I am still overly impressed with the amazing volunteer Cosmos!

And then someone just casually walks thru my garden plot.

Doesn't even acknowledge my presence or anything. Entirely rude!

I didn't gather any veggies today. I just didn't feel like it, tho there are some Wax Beans and a Crookneck I could've taken home.

I'm heading out, and here's that rude person again.

I call to him again, but he still doesn't look up at me. Maybe he's deaf?

Hmm. I kind of doubt that. I think he's just really good at ignorning humans! *laughs*

These guys were putting up this fence as I walked out this morning. A little connecting section. Looks like they're done now...

But I have to wonder... that is one ugly fence. Sticking up like that? Have these guys ever put up a chain link fence before??! *laughs*

Homeless people hang out at that junction there, so I'm sure they are just trying to keep them away.

On the one hand, I'm glad. There are bushes on the left in front of the creek and that used to be a winter sparrow hang out. I used to get all the best bird photos there!

But with the homeless people right here, the birds aren't here anymore. And that's a bummer. But making things more difficult for homeless people isn't a real solution. and that makes me sad as well.

The Magnolia seeds look so much like candy!

Tag: october 2025

The sun is shining after a night of off and on rain. And there's a breeze bringing down the acorns in little gusts. They bang loudly when they hit the pavement. Surprisingly loud, actually.

The rain makes it feel more like autumn to me. Tho I'm still not ready to let go of the summer!

This morning, before I headed out for my walk, I noticed... Oh My Gosh! The Spider Plant is blooming!!

(And that's the African Violet in the background!)

The Spider plant is old, and I didn't think it would ever bloom again and I was sad about that. But a couple years ago, I had transplanted it and planted it's little spiderlet clones in with the big plant.

They must have grown up! Ha, and now I'll need to be sweeping up the seeds as they fall! I don't know how they get pollinated, but I was sweeping up seeds from the original plant for many, many years.

And I'm out! I'm heading to Stewart Pond today, since I def don't need to water the little Lettuce after last night's rain.

I think I am physically incapable of walking past Persimmons without taking photos!

I'm walking thru the little bit of forest...

And there's a single Pacific Chorus Frog singing here!

Their breeding season starts in November or December, so this guy is only practicing his song! And once we get some rain going, some of this forest turns into shallow ponds where the tadpoles can grow up!

oof, blurry. A Flicker, and she's just too far away.

The fallen oak tree is still here.

I wonder if they will just leave it. One more obstacle for the Frisbee golf course!

At the last golf hole, there's a family of Bluebirds!

Again, she's too far away for decent photography. That's just how it goes some days!

Tag: september 2025

∞ ICE Beats More US Citizens, Can't Seem To Shake 'Gestapo' Label Somehow Yeah, we know, that headline makes us a terrorist.

If they are beating US citizens without fear of reprisals, what do you think is happening to the immigrants?!

Tag: september 2025

You know what. I just need to mention this article.

∞ How To Lie About Left-Wing Terrorism Like A Common Axios And/Or Trump Fascist! Come join the Ministry of Truth, it's fun and easy!

Fascinating. The Charts are fascinating.

And a couple of Very Intersting quotes...

Maybe we should read the actual study from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and see if that enlightens us as to what this is all about?
...
We see that blue line representing left-wing terrorism, which we guess you could say is "spiking" if you consider the difference between "one incident" and "five incidents" to be "spiking."

AND...

What looks more remarkable to us is ... is that giant red line showing alllll that right-wing terrorism, just towering over left-wing terrorism every single year except the current one, which shows a curious drop to just, allegedly, one incident this year, namely the assassinations of Mark and Melissa Hortman in Minnesota.
...
But does it really feel like there's only been one incident of right-wing terrorism this year in the US? It sure doesn't feel that way to us.
...
Oh.
We guess reporting on right-wing terrorism changes if you pardon all the terrorists and/or dress them up in an ICE uniform and give them a salary.

Yeah.

Tag: september 2025

It's been sprinkling off and on this morning, and there's a few days of light rain in the forecast.

Hello?

You are not here for the Paparazzi? oh. okay.

I'm at the garden, but because of the bit of wet, there's no other humans here! Yay!

These are pretty! Japanese Anemones.

I still haven't figured out what these purple things are.

The Community Garden's Bird Bath art installation.

I'm walking down the aisle towards my plot, and these dusky rose Cosmos catch my eye.

My goodness! What a unique colour! I love them!

I've arrived at my plot, and it's started to rain pretty good. No big deal, but it's a little bit too warm in the rain jacket!

I admire the Avocado trees... Here's one in the fallow area.

The one under the Brandywine.

But then I get distracted before I look at the Avocado tree under the little trellis...

There are FIVE Locust Borers here today! Yay! Poor things aren't moving around at all. A little too chilly for them I guess.

And then I have to admire my own Cosmos!!

And then... Yep, one more loop around the Community Garden!!

Canna Lily.

But really, the leaves are more interesting than the flowers!!

Our native Showy Milkweed is releasing it's seeds.

Tag: september 2025

Oh! First Gull of the season! We always have a few around over the winter!

He's getting mobbed by some crows. haha!

For some reason, Birders get all mad when you call them Seagulls. *laughs* (and laughing at the structure of that sentence, ha!)

I mean, sure, we are 60miles from the sea. But can you actually look at a gull, hear their voice, Without thinking of the sea??!

(I don't know enough about gulls to say what species this is.)

The Brandywine is starting to look a little rough, with a bunch of leaves dying.

The Green Zebra tomato is essentially dead, tho it's got a couple more fruits on it. It didn't last very long, and I don't think I will grow it again. It was fine, and interesting, but nothing special.

I wonder what next year's experimental tomato will be!!

The little Perth Pride is a beautiful plant. But I'm not sure I will get any tomatoes from it...

But that was my own fault for over watering it, so I missed the first fruits due to cracking.

And the volunteer Tomatillo next to it isn't going to have enough time to ripen it's fruits, either. bummer.

Nevermind! Look at the Cosmos! We are up to two dozen blooms today!

And loads more on the way!

And look over here! The Sunchoke has it's first blooms!!!

Yay! The seeds made here will make the birds happy!

I've eaten a good handful of Sungolds here today... but this is the first time I've come to the garden and not gathered any veggies to take home!

The veg is starting to wind down... and I'm not ready for that to happen! Wai! How can summer be over already??

Tag: september 2025

Yay! Oh my gosh! So much fun!

So many people!

I took about a million pictures and it's going to take me a few minutes to get them together.

Meantime, here's some local news, including photos!!

∞ KLCC Latest 'No Kings' rally brings out thousands in many Oregon communities

∞ KVAL No Kings 18 Oct (wow, loads of photos here!)

∞ LookOut Eugene Springfield Photos: Thousands take to Eugene streets for 'No Kings 2' rally

∞ (Sorry, this one is Wired Mag, and they have a paywall.) Scenes From Saturday's Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests Organizers say the No Kings protests drew more than 7 million people across 2,700 cities. The crowds included high-profile politicians, A-list celebrities, and more than a few creative inflatables.

Tag: october 2025

Ha! Party! Someone was setting off fireworks last night! I heard them thru the open window.

This Scrub Jay has a Gooseberry. It might not be ripe, and it looked like the Scrub Jay was looking for a place to bury it!

Maybe the Scrub Jay is going to try to make a Gooseberry raisin! *laughs* I think we get too much rain for that! But Good Luck, My Dear!

At the garden I pass by the illegal grape vine that someone planted at the fence. The top of the vine died in the heat of August, but the base has come back to life!

This is someone else's Sunchoke... mine hasn't started blooming yet.

But this is my Cosmos, and all those other buds make me happy!

And happy Bumblebees!

I am just so pleased!

Not so pleased with this, tho. Stupid Lettuce... still the only one that has come up. It's made a second leaf, which has also been munched.

well, whatever. There's a little pea plant that has volunteered in the Lettuce area! It's a cute little thing!

The day's harvest.

And one last look at the delightful Cosmos!

The Crazy Lady wasn't here again today, but her daughter has these lovely Dahlias!

Tag: september 2025

And I am protesting today!

It's cloudy this morning but the forecast says it'll be mostly sunny today and 69°. Sounds great!

Looks like they are saying more than 2700 events today... all across the US, including a couple dozen across the world! (Yay! Thank you for your support!)

I'm excited and nervous! But it'll be loads of fun!

Stay tuned for photos!!

Tag: october 2025

Okay! I am bound and determined to have a better day than yesterday!

This kitty lives on the next block over from the Community Garden, and I've seen him around a few times lately.

I continue on... I saw these cones out, just after Blazey's old spot on the bike path. I was worried, I could hear the machinery...

But it's okay! Phew! They are just trimming this beautiful Walnut tree. Not cutting it down!

I get to the garden, about the same time as yesterday. And so far, Crazy Lady isn't here.

Good.

The Goldenrod is a happening place!

That's the butt end of a Spotted Cucumber Beetle on the right. On the left... hmm.

Oh, a Hoverfly!

Hoverflies are interesting little creatures! Over 6000 species, all over the world!

And slowly but surely, I've been relaxing. I don't think Crazy Lady is coming to the garden today!

And I stand up and look around... and oh my gosh!

MY COSMOS!!!

White ones! Along with the red violet ones that started blooming the other day!!

I had vaguely noticed the white blooms yesterday, but got annoyed and left before I took pictures.

So that is awesome!

As I left, I turned and tried to capture the gestalt of the huge cosmos and the rest of the big trellis. But the picture doesn't really do it justice! ha.

On the way home...

Oh Woolly Bear! The bike path is not safe for you!

With a little bit of encouragement, she climbs up into my hand.

Their little feet feel funny! I put her in the grass. I hope she finds a good place to hibernate.

And then!

Later in the day, I've rcvd the email to renew the Community Garden plot for next year...

And Borage is OFF the invasive list!! Yay!

There's just a note about keeping it a foot away from the border of your plot!

Yay! I'm so glad I don't have to worry about that any more!!

Tag: september 2025

At the garden... Well. The single Lettuce is still there. Still a little bit munched. Not really growing. And you know what I have decided?

Lettuce is stupid.

*laughs*

But over on the gorgeous Goldenrod, I've found three Locust Borers eating pollen and nectar!!

It's a party. Or will be soon. This one is practicing her moves for Twister! haha.

I'm going around, getting some food to take home...

And then the Crazy Lady comes in. And this time she is not supervised.

Yep. I knew it.

She was banned from the garden last year... and I don't know why we even bother to have Community Garden rules. And we've got Compliance Checks this week...

And thinking about THAT, and how they've got my beautiful Borage, companion plant supreme, on the damn invasive list of banned plants. Oh boy!

If they even think about dinging me and my Borage! I will throw the biggest fit you have ever seen!

Yeah. My brain is screaming.

I try to distract myself with flowers.

but, nah. I'm done here today. I go walk it off.

Tag: september 2025

The Goldenrod is full of bugs and it makes me happy!

Beetles and bees! There's a second Locust Borer now!

A new kind of wasp!

And still, everyone getting along!

There's a second volunteer Butternut making a squash. But it's small, maybe 9inches, and there's not going to be time for it to ripen.

The Old German started out making very small tomatoes, about 2inch diameter. It's now making some bigger ones -- this one is a good 3inches.

But it's still not normal... Old Germans are supposed to be huge, 2pounds and marbled orange and red. These taste okay, but they also lack the subtle fruity notes.

And again, I don't know if the problem is with the plant, maybe it's genetics got messed up. Or if there's something wrong with the dirt. The Brandywine is right next to it, and it's doing great.

well. No use complaining, especially at this late date!

The Cosmos is getting a few more flowers ready!

The Crooknecks are terribly mildewed, but still trying to make squashes!

It looked like my one tiny lettuce wasn't growing at all, but using the zoom... it's being munched. WAI!

dang it. I really thought I had a chance with some fall lettuce. crud.

Okay. Look at happy things...

Oh look! The Woodland Skippers are here again!!

So interesting! I don't think I've ever seen them at the garden. I wonder what has brought them, this year!

Okay. Get the harvest into the backpack and head out.

And at the creek... It's White Patch!!

His adult feathers are coming in. I'm a little worried that I won't be able to recognize him... right now the feathers across his back are kind of a rich chestnut colour. Not that you can tell, by any of my crappy photos! haha!

Tag: september 2025

Haha, it looks like she's waving or something, but I think I just got the photo as she dropped the nut she was holding!

Time to mow the parks!

The tractor has three mowing attachments, one on each side and one behind. So he's cutting the grass in probably 15feet swaths. That doesn't make it quick work tho. This park alone is 8 acres, and the other half of the park across the road is 6 acres.

Further up the trail, some Crows are yelling about something.

Or, actually, they are yelling about someONE! ha, they were mobbing a hawk.

Other birds were watching the show as well.

But I never figured out who the hawk was.

Oh well.

I get to the Community Garden and GAH. The crazy family is here Again.

They've been here every day, the last few days. And I'm just getting sick of having to deal with humans on both sides of my plot.

I am glad that the Crazy Lady has supervision. But my garden time is not peaceful when I'm busy being annoyed!

So here I am, crouched down behind the small trellis... yes, I'm kind of hiding! *laughs*

But then I notice, oh hey, there's a Love in the Mist blooming here!

That's nice! I gather up the days harvest.

As I'm heading out, I happen to glance at the dirt I've been watering... Oh my gosh! A Lettuce has come up!

Yay! That's great! Maybe more will come up!

... well. Hang on. I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's see if this Lettuce lives more than three days before I start hoping about more! *laughs*

Tag: september 2025

The day started with a bit of fog! It burned off quickly, but there's still some in the hills!

I arrive at the Community Garden, and oh my gosh! There are several Woodland Skipper Butterflies on my neighbor's flowers!!

No luck there. Oh, hello! You don't mind the camera? Great!

Their tongue! Cutest Photo EVER!!!

And then I get into my garden plot... My Cosmos is blooming!!!

Yay!

I'm going to do a little bit of work today. I've noticed the Comfrey has grown up a bit, back behind the Crooknecks.

This is the second year that I've been trying to get rid of this invasive thing! I really love the flowers, little purple bells that the Honey Bees fit in perfectly. In 2023, I let a Comfrey get gigantic! It's footprint was well over 6x8feet! It was glorious!

But it was taking up too much space, and I decided to get rid of it. I dug out the roots that fall. And I've been trying to murder it, ever since! *laughs* The leaves keep showing up and I just can't dig down deep enough to get the roots they are coming from.

Eventually the roots will die from lack of energy... but letting the leaves get that big is not helping that process along! haha! So it'll probably be another couple years of murdering leaves as they show.

There's another new bug on the beautiful Goldenrod!!

A very leggy Beetle! Aw, her face looks like a snake! ha!

And my other friends are here as well! The Locust Borer and some Spotted Cucumber Beetles.

I double check on the Echinacea that Roz gave me the other day. It's all good!

And there's a good harvest today.

I'm packed up to go, but happen to notice the Sunchoke...

It's got some flower buds going!! Yay!

Tag: september 2025

It's been sprinkling since the middle of the night. The rainy season doesn't officially start until October, but I'm sure the trees and all are enjoying the bit of early rain!

As for me, I would rather not have to wear the rain jacket when it's so warm. The high today is 73° and it's already approaching 60° when I leave the house. Bleh. The rain jacket is like a sauna.

But there's nothing for it. I have to protect the camera from most of the drips!

These are interesting. Brazilian Bellflowers!

Henrietta! Long time, no see!

Well! I wonder where he's been hanging out all summer! ha, probably at a nest somewhere! I hope his babies all fledged successfully!!

I am heading for the neighborhood to the south, so this is the last of the wildlife I'll see today.

That's okay. I enjoy looking at the flowers in everyone's yards.

I see this Little Free Library, and decide to go up a new street!

Awesome use of an old newspaper vending machine!!

Oh hey! There's a little walk thru to the next neighborhood!

These are unique! Some kind of Dahlias, I think.

They've seen better days, but still stunning!

Tag: september 2025

Yesterday in the mail, a Jury Summons came for me!

I've got a relatively low jury number, so I assume this time I might actually have to go in.

I don't mind.

I think this is the 4th jury summons I've gotten in my life?

I got one when I was in college, for a different city than I was living in. I got out of that one!

I had to go to the courthouse for my summons when I lived in Phoenix. That was kind of interesting, because I had never been downtown! ha. It was a busy place, sitting in a big room filled with people. They'd call up people for a couple of groups. I finally got dismissed in the afternoon.

The 3rd Jury Summons was here, just a couple years ago. My jury number was high, like 300 and some. When I phoned in that morning, I was outside the range of those who needed to go in to the courthouse.

Maybe this summons will be an interesting one!

Aww! The first Hooded Mergansers at the creek!

Trouble maker! There was a Mallard napping on a rock in the middle of the creek. These two paddled straight up to him and the male poked the Mallard with his beak!

Bahaha! The Mallard was surprised. But he just paddled off, probably with an eye roll. Mallards are a lot bigger than the small Hooded Mergansers!

Both the male and female are molting. They look funny without their hood!

Hooded Mergansers live here, year round. But they tend to dispurse in the fall. It's nice to see ducks other than Mallards at the creek!

Oh hey! I assume this is the same youngster I saw yesterday.

A little too far away for decent photography. Oh well. This one is probably the last Green Heron in the area...

Don't you feel like migrating, Little One? Sure, you could stay here. But all your friends are in Mexico!

I'm walking out to the Leaning Tree saplings.

That stupid, invasive Tree of Heaven is still here too.

Walking back, the Kingfisher flew by. Silently again. weird. I thought she was back to defending her territory.

In the garden, the Locust Borer is still munching on the Goldenrod.

Haha... it looks like she's got an itch on her arm!

Do bugs get itches even with an exoskeleton? They must. Everyone with nerves must get itches.

The mildew has gotten pretty bad on the Patty Pan. But it's still making squashes, one by one.

The Perth Pride is growing it's next set of tomatoes. And this time, I've learned my lesson: I'm not watering it at all!

The single Butternut.

*laughs* The smallest harvest!

I just didn't feel like getting Wax Beans or going thru the tomato plants today.

I keep bringing home the Tomatillos... but the ones from the plants I bought, hmm, just aren't as tasty as the volunteers that I've always had.

They are supposed to fall off the plant when they are ripe, but I think these ones are getting over ripe by the time they fall. They just don't have that wonderful, sharp lime taste, like they should.

And the fact that they are yellow instead of green. Maybe they are just a different variety.

I prefer the wild ones! Too bad the couple of tomatillo plants that did volunteer this year, are all too late to make fruit.

On the way home, I meet a new butterfly!!

Unfortunately, she doesn't let me get close, and then she flies away too quickly.

She's a Sulfur Butterfly, but there's a bunch of different species and I don't know how to tell them apart with just one crappy photo!

Ha. Oh well!

Tag: september 2025

Aw! Green Heron!!

Another juvenile. And she's all tucked up like an egg with a beak and legs. ha.

My Dear? Isn't it time to migrate?

Green Herons are so beautiful, close up. But all their colours turn into decent camoflague. Just sticks and leaves here!

I get to the garden, and YAY! There's a bug on the Goldenrod!!! A Beautiful Bug!

I thought she was a wasp at first, with those bold lines!!

But when I got closer, I can see she is a beetle!

I thought all her lovely designs would make her easy to find when I googled... But I was getting nothing.

But I was searching for black and yellow beetles in Oregon... when I dropped that parameter, I found her right away.

Locust Borer.

And all the photos show Locust Borers on Goldenrod blooms! haha!

There's some Spotted Cucumber Beetles on the Goldenrod as well. These are the friendly and cute ones. It was the Striped Cuc Beetles that were part of the problem, murdering plants this spring.

So. Locust Borer sounds like a bad thing, right?

But nope! They are good!

Originally Locust Borers were native in the same range as Black Locust Trees, a smallish area in eastern US. But, as humans expanded the range of the Black Locust Tree, the Locust Borer Beetles came with!

And it's a good thing, because Black Locust Trees are beautiful AND pretty darn invasive. So Locust Borers serve an important function to keep the trees in check!

On top of that, their babies, growing up under the bark of Locust trees... are excellent food for Woodpeckers!

So! Locust Borers... Super cool beetles!

And looks like everyone is getting along here, on the single Goldenrod!

Well! Good to learn new things! But back at the garden, I'm getting the day's harvest.

And being amused at the Goldfinches antics!

Tag: september 2025

I'm out on the bike path and there are several Crow families out with me. Probably 20 birds or so. Swooping and playing in the wind! They are having fun!

Then a few broke off to play King of the Tree!!

:)

They crack me up! I wish I could join their play!

Some new graffiti!

The clouds are breaking up as I get into the garden. and I decide... Today's the Day! It's time to look up the Mystery Flower!

Goldenrod.

And, yep... Mom was right, in her part of America, it is considered a weed. haha!

But it's been domesticated, and there are a lot of varieties for sale! And as a native wildflower, it supports a LOT of native bugs! And this is the part I am excited about!!

The pollen is heavy and sticky... That yellow reminds me of pine pollen that flies and coats everything. But Goldenrod pollen is too heavy to fly, so it doesn't cause allergies at all!

But it's so sweet and wonderful that the bugs eat it up! Oh yeah! Let's bring the bugs!

And when we get to the point of seeds, I'm going to try to save some for next year! Oh! Goldenrod also has rhizomes! Great! Tho of course, that might not survive our rainy winter.

I'm gathering the day's harvest...

At home, I'm all caught up with summer squash, so I've let this zuc get massive to give me more to eat! It won't fit in the backpack! The end sticks out! 2 pounds, 3 ounces!

We do have more tomatoes and tomatillos than we can eat! I've been eating them like mad, trying to get rid of them.

As I prepare my meals, I always think, oh, you can't have too much Brandywine! But then when I'm done, I'm all, bleh, heartburn! *laughs*

I decide to run the hoe up the middle of the plot... We've got Compliance Checks coming up at the end of the month, and I know they hate all my wildflowers. damn them anyway.

But then the crazy family shows up.

Last year, this was the lady who completely destroyed her daughter's garden plot next to mine. Ripped out all the plants and flowers. It was terrible!

Crazy Lady had been Uninvited from the garden, and I THOUGHT they had changed the rules so that a family could only have one plot.

But here we are again... crazy family still has the left side plot AND the diagonal right plot.

I am glad that Crazy Lady has, uh, supervision. But what's to keep her from coming in by herself? And if the garden director isn't going to follow their own stupid rules, and allow the crazies back, with multiple plots?

I'm annoyed. And generally discombobulated that I have to deal with humans on both sides of my plot. So I leave.

But on the way out.

Oh! I wish I had noticed this little one and gotten a decent photo. What a cutie!!

Walking home. Some Bittersweet Nightshade. (It's not Deadly... ) *laughs*

Hello, Cloudy Sky! So nice to see you!

Tag: september 2025

Yesterday was a randomly very hot day. It hit 93°, going four degrees over the forecast. And it's been mid-70s and thereabouts for the past ten days.

To be 83° today, and ya know... I would wish for more days in the 80s! We've skipped that part since it basically went from the 90s to the 70s!

It makes me feel like we've missed the end of the summer!

I head out into the sun.

I hear the Kingfisher rattling, declaring her territory behind me. I stop at a clearing where I can see down to the water, hoping to glimpse her as she flies by.

But nope. Arg. She stopped just before my clearing, rattled again and then flew back the way she came. I hear one more fading rattle call before she flies out of hearing.

Foo. How am I to figure out who she is if I can't even see her!!! *laughs*

I arrive at the garden and a spot of red catches my eye in the Strawberry patch!

I eat it! Yum! And there's more on the way!

And while I'm back here, I see the Avocado tree under the Brandywine is making another set of leaves!

The Tomatillo under the big trellis... this is the one that I dug up from the path.

It's started some fruits, but I don't think they'll have time to get big or ripen. Not sure if there just hasn't been enough time, or if the shade from the beans has slowed it down.

And underneath, a volunteer tomato plant has made a couple cherry tomatoes.

Red cherry tomatoes are definitely what I think of, for the second generation Sungolds... This volunteer over here, with orange cherry tomatoes is pretty unusual!

And of course, I'm checking on the volunteer Cosmos...

But, underneath! Oh my gosh!

Yay! The first Cosmos bloom!!!

So that's exciting!

Here's the Avocado tree growing under the cucumber trellis.

And there are actually a couple Avocado Trees growing in the fallow area! This is the biggest one.

*laughs* I just love them! I don't know what will happen to them over the winter. Will they rot in all the Wet Prairie puddles? Or will they survive to come back next year?

Hm. I think I'm going to mark them during the winter... It makes me nervous to set up tomato cages over the leaf mulch we are required to put down, because you can't see them. They are near invisible and dangerous to anyone walking thru. Maybe I can mark the cages with some fluorescent tape or something.

I will think about it... there's a long time to go before we get to that point!

Tag: september 2025

I finally went thru my seed packets this morning and found some Lettuce seeds!

It's been ages since I had cleared a place for them in the garden plot. Just took me a while to get organized.

What else is new?

On the way to the Garden, I meet up with the duck with the white patch on his neck again.

But jeez! Am I ever going to get a decent photo of this fellow???

It seems not!

I get to the garden and start putzing around... and there's a Cabbage White Butterfly standing on one of Kevin's Zinnias!! Oh what a beautiful picture!

And the Butterfly flies away as I get the camera. sheesh. Oh well.

And the Mystery Flower... I'm gonna look up to see what this is, soon.

Yes, soon.

I decided to grab those smaller Brandywines I noticed yesterday. They aren't quite ripe, but I don't want them to possibly crack from the bit of rain we got the other night.

I saw movement when I went to get the ziplocks out of the backpack... A Spider!

Oh My Dear! You don't want to be trapped in the backpack!

I went to scoop them out ... and that spider JUMPED!!

A Jumping Spider!

Ha, a black spider with a red mark. Very very cute, and eventually I got her out!

No photo, unfortunately, but I googled her when I got home. Possibly a Bold Jumping Spider? Ha, how descriptive!

Okay! Here's the Lettuces I planted today...

The ButterCrunch - doesn't that sound yummy! - is from 2020, and I threw down a lot of that just to get rid of it.

The Lofty Salad is from 2023, and that should grow fine...

Except this is my garden plot we are talking about here. So probably nothing will grow!

*Laughs* Let's see. The back of the packets say 2 to 15 days to germination. So, I'm gonna be here every day for the next two weeks to water the dirt here!

great. I have one more look at the Zinnias.

No butterflies. ha.

Tag: september 2025

Last night, sleeping under the open window, it got cold! I kept waking up to fiddle with the blankets.

Finally at 3:33am, I got up and put the quilts on the bed!

(What's that? I could've just closed the window?
ha! Never!)

The Cosmos gets ever closer to blooming!

The Brandywine has some smaller tomatoes that are ripening... these are barely 3inches. And that's fine! I've got plenty to eat at home!

The Patty Pan always looks like it's going to be bursting with fruits soon...

But the plant is so small, it can't support more than one squash at a time. So all those other ones coming on, won't do anything. sighs!

I turn around and it occurs to me to check on the dry bean again... what was it called? That freebie that I got with the Perth Pride tomato...

I push Wax Bean leaves aside... and Yes!!

Sorana or Pescia beans! There are several pods now! Yay!

I need some Wax Beans for my meals, I've frozen all the other's I've gathered!

I'm heading out but I stop to look at my right side neighbor. They've abandoned the plot, but the flowers that have come up at the front are pretty.

oh, haha. The butt of a Crab Spider in the Cosmos!

Oh Hey! Cloudy Sky!!

*laughs* I've got the exposure on the camera pushed way down for the sunny garden, and didn't punch it up enough to get portraits in the shade. oh well!

Tag: september 2025

Just so we are clear!

I am signed up for the Oct18 protest and am excited about going!

It's going to be huge and it's going to be a ton of fun! I hope you will join me!! All events are explicitly peaceful and family friendy!

You can find an event near you at the site...

∞ NoKings.org

Tag: october 2025

A bit of rain last night and there were puddles on my window sill this morning... really glad I thought to unplug the little fan that sits on the sill!

There's still a 40% chance of rain by the time I head out, but I'm leaving the rain jacket behind again.

At the garden plot, this is the Perth Pride, one of the freebie veggie starts I got at the beginning of the summer.

It's supposed to be a dwarf variety, and sure enough, it's not grown much but that's probably just because it took a while to get over being so root bound.

It is a cute little thing tho!

The yellow in the background there is a volunteer Tomatillo, and the darker green is Fava...

Ha, I called this the Fallow Area but there's a few plants here!

Besides the Green Zuc and the Sungold, which are actually producing some food - not a lot, but some! - I had also planted Fava to help the soil since it's a nitrogen fixer. And it's just a nice plant to have around, especially since no Borage is growing on this side.

That was enough Wax Beans that I cut them up and froze them! My fifth small bag so far!

Someone's pretty, pretty Peppers!

I don't grow Peppers, myself. I don't like them. Partner really likes various kinds of peppers, but he does not eat vegetables on a regular basis... so the couple times I tried Pepper plants in the past, the fruits mostly just went to waste.

But maybe next year, I will give Peppers another go.

*Imagining the Future*

You know, Guinea Pigs like to eat Bell Peppers.

It's been a few years since I've had a pet... Mostly I don't want the responsibility of taking care of someone without a job and steady pay.

But I do miss having Guinea Pigs around. And Partner does as well. sighs.

Tag: september 2025

Eugene is celebrating the grand opening of another section of the Downtown Riverfront Park... The Plaza includes event space and a playground with a splash pad.

The grand opening celebration includes music and food, and it just sounded fun and I wanted to go!

But the car being what it is - half dead, and well on it's way to totally dead - I decided to drive to the closest parking lot at the river and then walk the rest of the way. Around two miles of the most beautiful section of the Ruth Bascom Riverbank Trail!

And of course, I couldn't just walk by the Rose Garden!

I am such a sucker for the roses, but I don't spend too much time in the Rose Garden.

Here's my first glimpse of the Plaza. The band is just getting set up.

Yesterday was cloudy and cool, but today is a glorious day for the new splash pad!

I watch the kids playing in the water for a bit. oh my gosh they are having a blast and it makes me happy!

I decide to walk a little further. Ha... this round thing in the viewing platform was spraying water as well!

A group of friends was trying to get their dog to run thru the water. Dog looked like she had a good bit of Lab, but she was not having it with the spray! haha!

The old Steam Plant is the next project for the park.

They want to redevelop this building to be a mixed use public space with restaurants and retail space, and a hotel and office space above!

It sounds lovely, and I would totally buy a snack and a drink here! But it's going to cost the big bucks, and who knows when it will be done.

I start to wander back to the party. There's a woman, strangely crouching down and fiddling with her phone. And when I get closer... Woolly Bears!!!

The woman rescued her Woolly Bear from the sidewalk, and I walk down and rescue a couple more!

I don't know why the Woolly Bears insist on walking on the sidewalk, but it's really not safe for them.

I'm coming up the boardwalk, there's more people at the park and the band is starting to play.

I stop in the shade of the Art Pavillion and listen to the band for a while.

People are lined up at the food truck, and the people running the bike valet are getting busy. There's some families sitting in the grassy area in front of the band.

There are good vibes all around and everyone is having a good time! I'm so glad I came out here today!!

But, eventually, it's time to head back. On the way I run into a family of wild Turkeys!! Here's Mama!

She's got three kids with her!

As I'm watching them, I realize one of the kids is quite a bit smaller than the other two. Here's Mama at the back, the smaller child in the middle...

I wonder if she is a runt, or an adoptee.

Here's some better photos, from yesterday's Plaza celebration...

∞ Eugene celebrates Downtown Riverfront Park Plaza grand opening: Photos

Tag: september 2025

Oh hey! It's Mackerel Sky Again! Good Morning!

At the garden, I decide to leave that Green Zuc on the plant to grow a little bit more...

And that makes room in the backpack so I can get a Beet instead!

This is the third beet I've pulled up to eat, and it's big, but not as big as the last one. It's probably around 1.5pounds.

I am doing a bit of weeding around the Patty Pan today... maybe some more air flow will help it survive the stupid mildew.

The biggest volunteer tomato plant is there as well, and I stop to admire it. It has damage from Flea Beetles on the bottom leaves, but the top leaves are pretty!

It's a second generation Sungold... The tomatoes are the right colour, but a bit bigger than normal Sungolds. And they are not sweet like Sungolds should be, but they actually have pretty good flavor! I'm not getting many cherry tomatoes from this plant, it def isn't prolific like a Sungold, but I'm glad I let it grow!!

I also stop to admire Kevin's Nasturtiums which are leaning into my plot from his raised beds.

Nobody around! I'm gonna look at the flock of American Goldfinches!

Huh. This is an interesting plant!

Tag: september 2025

3 April 1934 - 1 October 2025

∞ A Note From Patrick: Remembering Jane Goodall

∞ Attenborough and Prince William lead tributes to Dr Jane Goodall

Tag: october 2025

Mackerel Sky!

So nice to see you!

I start gathering the days harvest at my plot, when I hear an Anna singing from Kevin's plot!

I'm sure it's the same youngster who I saw the other day!

Oh, I hope he stakes out a territory here and stays!! It would be so lovely to have a Garden Supervisor again!

The volunteer Butternut and the Green Zuc are the only squash plants that are free from mildew, which is getting worse during these gloomy days of high humidity. I try not to look at them!

As I was harvesting all those Sungolds, arg, about half of them were cracked and had to be tossed! We only got 0.09 inches of rain! But it's too much for the tomato plants!

The big trellis, making me ever so happy with the Wax Beans and the growing Cosmos!

The first buds on the Cosmos are coming along! Yay, I can't wait!!

And the front Nasturtium is just lovely. Nevermind the stupid Crookneck leaves, dying of mildew!

I look around, and don't see any humans! Walk About!

Oh, haha! I didn't realize I was being watched by someone with a lot of eyes!!

And when I get home, I bagged those Wax Beans to freeze...

uh, oops! What day is it? *laughs* I wrote the wrong date! But this is the fourth bag of Wax Beans, so far.

Tag: september 2025

We got a bit of rain yesterday evening, and I don't need to go to the garden... so I'm heading out in the opposite direction.

These are pretty!

And my cute friend must be waiting here to get warmed up before she begins her day!

The Hawthorns have had a very good year... all of them are just exploding with pomes!

The prairie at Stewart is lovely as ever.

There's a few guys playing Frisbee Golf today, but they haven't scared away all the birds. I can hear some singing in the forest!

Not that I'm deemed worthy of decent photography!

*laughs*

Oh well.

ha, Apples are pomes, too!

They still haven't taken out this fallen Oak tree. I wonder if it's an obstacle on the course.

huh. With those big, blue shoulder patches, I thought this was Henrietta... but looking at the photo, it's definitely not!

Always nice to meet someone new!

Tag: september 2025

The seasons are moving right along, and here is some proof.

Some apples are munched by the squirrels! A tasty treat for them!

I walk across to look at the pear tree. Wow, it's prolific!

A couple of the pears have been munched by squirrels as well, tho it takes me a minute to see any just because there are so many pears!

It's another gloomy day, nice and cool with a high of 72° and a 40% chance of rain this morning. And the same in the forecast until friday when we might get a little warm up of 80°.

For the garden, I'd ask for more 80° days! And, honestly the sudden drop from the 90s to the low 70s has me all discombobulated!

With the tiny bit of rain yesterday, and a good chance of rain tonight, I don't need to water at the garden. There is a Zuc that's getting big tho, so I do need to stop by. But I'm going to walk a bit first!

As I walk by the Community Garden, I hear my friend the Kingfisher again, laughing as she flies by, over the creek. But will I ever get to see her?

And then I get buzzed by a Hummingbird! He's a little flash of orange, another Rufous Hummer!! He is heading for the garden to refuel for his migration.

It starts sprinkling when I approach Dragonfly Land.

I've got my rain jacket in the backpack today! But I don't pull it out. It'll be too hot to wear, so I just drape my arm over the camera.

I don't go too much further, and soon I'm back at the Garden. The Echinacea that Roz gave me yesterday is still looking good!

The Patty Pan... poor mildewy thing!

But the Wax Beans on the right are looking great.

I glance over the Cosmos... Oh Yay!

Kevin's Zinnias and the Pet Nasturtium!

Bahaha... I was Trying to focus on the Goldfinch in the middle. But does the camera ever listen??!

I walk about and am delighted with this plot!

Heading home. But on the way, I come across this boy!

It's pretty unusual to see one of our native Western Grey Squirrels here. They prefer a bit of forest!

And so muddy! ha, where have you been digging, my dear!!

Tag: september 2025

8:25am the day starts with dark clouds and another thunderstorm! It keeps rumbling until 8:50 or so! A couple sprinkles of rain.

When I finally got organized, I walked out the door without my rain jacket. Oops!

I think about going back for it, because it does start sprinkling again. But, no, the sprinkles are so light, I barely notice it. If it does get dire, I can put the camera into a plastic bag from the backpack to keep it dry!

But no extra protection for the camera is needed... after about 10mins the bit of wet stops coming from the sky!

I've brought the kitchen scraps in the backpack, to toss on the Community Garden compost pile. But I see there aren't any cars in the parking lot and decide to walkabout!

But after looking at the rather disheveled pollinator garden, I see that my friend Roz is here, with his bike, puttering in his plot.

I stopped to chat with him for a minute.

He has started keeping his old sunflower stalks, just like I do. And he points out some little holes in a stalk that is still standing from last year...

I look, with curiousity, and he says a woodpecker made the holes. He even has a video that he shows me on his phone... sure enough, a little Downy Woodpecker is hammering at the stalk, looking for bugs!

(That's awesome, but oh bummer, I can't find the video on his YouTube channel. I'll have to ask him to upload it, the next time I see him!)

I love all the flowers in his plot and I say I wish I had more flowers. He offers one of his Echinacea, he says they pop up all over the place.

Ha! I tell him I wasn't planning on doing any work today, I don't even have my little hand spade with me! But he says we can get a shovel out of the tool shed, and yep, okay!

He digs up a half grown Echinacea and I thank him profusely and take the plant and it's dirt on the shovel to my plot at the other end of the Community Garden.

Now. Where to put it. I do want it towards the front. But maybe not in the newly cleared spot where I want to plant lettuce seeds? hmm.

I put it in the Beet patch.

I hope it lives!

I gather up the days harvest.

And then do my own puttering.

The Green Zuc has a couple squashes coming on.

And the Patty Pan is thinking about some.

The big trellis.

The Volunteer Cosmos has some branches as tall as the trellis, 4feet! But still no sign of flowering.

At the other side of the trellis, the Mystery Flower and the Basil are hanging out under the ProCut Plum Sunflower.

It's probably time to google the Mystery Plant... but I kinda like it being a mystery! And I think it's pretty despite my Mom thinking it's a weed!

And I look around and see no humans. I think Roz left, shortly after I took his Echinacea. And no one else has shown up!

So I'm walking about after all!

I wish I knew what this plant stalk is that this American Goldfinsh is standing on... there are several finches eating stuff from them!

But that Red Amaranth in the background is making for some really nice photos!

And the lightning this morning? There were almost 1,000 strikes!! Wow...

The National Weather Service reported 600 cloud-to-cloud strikes and 300 to 400 cloud-to-ground strikes.

But then...

∞ Fire sparked at Spencer Butte, likely by lightning

Yikes!! Spencer Butte is the hill on the south side of town, a wonderful place to hike.

But it's also just a mile or so from Cascade Raptor Center, and you can imagine how alarmed they were when they saw the smoke!!

One of the staff there, headed out on the Ridgeline Trail to find the fire... and they ran into the fire fighters who were also on the trail looking for the fire! They had to leave the fire truck behind because there's no roads up there!

They found the fire and it took a while to deal with because everything is dry from the summer. But they got it and they watched it over night to make sure it was out.

And meantime, the Raptor Center had only activated the very first part of their evacuation plan... calling volunteers to say "Get Ready!"

I don't know how many birds they have in their hospital right now. But the article said that all the birds who live there are trained to jump in a crate so they can be moved out quickly.

It's really reassuring to know that there are plans in place to save everyone, in case of a wildfire. The Humane Society had a scare this year as well, and they were ready for it, too!

Tag: september 2025

Overcast today, and I decide to walk in the opposite direction. I won't see much wildlife this way but it's nice to take a break from the same mile I walk every day to and from the Community Garden!

I walk a little bit along the bike path before turning south, and Look! A Blonde Duck!

Nevermind the crappy photo. Because this is the second identifiable Mallard I've found this season! Along with the duck with the white patch on his neck, I'll have all the ducks named by winter! haha!

They've finally finished the upgrades on the bridge.

Just need to draw some lines on the road. Too bad the traffic on my road isn't noticeably better.

This bush of Asters is just lovely!

I had Asters at the front of the garden plot, many years ago. I killed them eventually, of course, but I think they lived a couple years.

I really like Asters... I should get some and try again next year! I should just have more flowers in general!

This type of Hibiscus does really well here.

They survive our mild winters, and grow into huge bushes!

I'm heading home in a loop, and the clouds are breaking up. It's pretty early, but a couple of the trees are showing some autumn colour!

I pass by the Persimmon tree, and can't resist it's beauty.

Tag: september 2025

∞ These Supreme Court justices want you to just shut up already

Trump's bought and paid for SCOTUS is so utterly despicable.

Amy Coney Barrett: I think the Constitution is alive and well. I don't know what a constitutional crisis would look like. I don't think that we are currently in a constitutional crisis, however. I think our country remains committed to the rule of law. I think we have functioning courts.

Jeez. It makes you wonder... is she a moron? As a trump nominee, as a cult member, yes, I think it's very very possible that she's a moron.

but my god. The Rule of Law? Functioning Courts? Was she even there when she and her group granted Trump immunity?

Seriously.
Will the US ever recover from this?

Tag: september 2025

Thuderstorm woke me at 1:15am! Lasted about 15mins, no rain.

When I get up, the clouds are so dark and heavy, the porch light is still on. It's automatic and controlled by a light sensor.

It's so dreary, even the mushrooms feel like growing!

The clouds and the cooler weather today ... so blissful after weeks of over 90° days.

As I walk along the creek, I heard a Kingfisher, laughing as she flies by!

And again I wonder. Is this a new Kingfisher? Or is this the same one who lost her mate over the winter?

I read a book... Halcyon Journey. I picked it out because it won the Burroughs Medal in 2024, an award for nature writing that I occasionally follow.

The author says that the red belt of the females is individual... You can tell them apart by their belt! Some belts are wider, some more streaky, some belts don't quite join in the middle!

So... In theory, if I ever get a photo of the Kingfisher who is here now... I could compare her belt to the photos I've gotten in the past, to see if it's the same girl.

It's a long shot. Kingfishers don't like to sit around for photography. All of my photos that I happen to get are pretty crappy! :) But it's something to contemplate!

As I walk to the garden, I'm thinking about doing some work. I could clear out the Sugar Snap Pea patch in the front and maybe try for some fall lettuce.

The slugs ate all the spring lettuce, but they are sleeping now. So maybe there's a chance that the lettuce could live?

Here's what the front of the plot looks like...

Heh, just a big beautiful pile of Borages! With a few wild type Amaranths poking up here and there! On the left is the ProCut Red Sunflower and what's left of the Lemon Cucumbers. and the dark green, bottom right is a patch of clover that I'd like to keep.

As I pull out the Borage, I lay those plants in the paths thru my plot... if I walk on them and spray them with water a little bit, they will break down quickly and add nutrients to the dirt!

As I get deeper in, I'm surprised at how many Sugar Snap Pea pods I'm finding! That's great! I gather them and I'll save them to plant next year!

Ha, I also find some blackberries under that mess!

Invasive. The birds spread their seeds far and wide! I dig them out with the dandelion tool.

I decide to keep the Borage along the border with the Community Garden pathway, and I stop clearing once I hit the Beet patch.

It's a small clearing, maybe 5x4 feet or so. But I don't need to grow tons of Lettuce. Five or six plants would be great.

Now I just need to go thru my seed packets at home and see if I actually have any Lettuce seeds left over from the spring planting!

I also found a hidden Lemon Cucumber! ha! It's dark yellow so won't taste as good, but heck yeah, I'll eat it!

All those dried Snap Pea pods! Wonderful!

More Zuc on the way.

And more Crooknecks too.

Heading out, I look at the neighbor's Dahlias, again.

Tag: september 2025

Aw, the grape vine.

Someone had planted this, happily against the Community Garden rules, which say no woody perennials. Grapes and raspberries must be grown in a pot, which is the most ridiculous thing ever.

The heat must have killed this illegal vine, or someone didn't give it enough water.

But the base is still alive, a couple green leaves there, so maybe it'll come back.

At my plot, the Pet Nasturtium in the Strawberry patch is making me happy. It's gotten so big!

And then I try to get artsy with Kevin's Zinnias.

The one Butternut continues to ripen.

The fruit that had started at the end of the vine, turned out to be not fertilized. I cut it off so we could focus on getting this one done!

Tag: september 2025

Good Morning My Dear!

I head out into another day of heat, to be 91° today, when normal high is 81°. But there are more reasonable days ahead!

The forecast says 85° tomorrow and then lower 80s over the weekend. and possibly mid 70s after that!

The break in the heat will be so very very nice. I don't want the summer to end abruptly, but the heat has been so hard to bear.

This is that boy-o who has that white patch on his neck. This is the third sighting of him...

But I was interrupted from the photography by one of my bike path friends. It's the guy who flirts with me sometimes.

One time, he rode by on his bike and said, Hey! You want a ride? I was all, Huh??

There's plenty of room on my handlebars!

*laughs* Silly Flirt!

On the way to the garden...

Huh! There aren't any peafowls around here! Probably someone picked up and dropped a decoration.

At the garden, I stop to admire the Buckwheat seeds that are ripening.

As I'm gathering the days harvest, I get buzzed by a hummingbird! He zooms to the back of the plot and stops at Kevin's big trellis.

I don't know what this variety of purple beans Kevin has, but the beans are about 2 feet long! Does the Hummingbird see some bugs to eat in there??

Hello My Dear!

He looks like a girl, but he's a juvenile male Anna Hummingbird, his adult feathers haven't come in yet. He'll have a hood of iridescent red violet covering his head.

He sings there for a moment. And then gets on with his day.

And I get on with my day.

I change my mind about that cracked Brandywine on the right... I toss it. I'm getting plenty of tomatoes, I don't need to save every single one!

The Mystery Flower.

This is one of the Volunteer Tomato plants.

The fruits are getting bigger than regular cherry tomatoes. You never know what you will get with a second generation Sungold!

The Nasturtiums at the back of the small trellis.

And some flowers at the back of Kevin's plot.

And then I go wandering thru the Garden.

And then Kevin walks by and interrupts me. Ha, it's a day of interruptions!

You know birds? he asks. ha.

He goes on. What is our smallest woodpecker? he asks as he shows me how small with his hands. And just a little bit of red, on the back of their head.

Wow, he is very observant to notice that!!

I nod and tell him That's a Downy!

He saw one go into one of our bluebird nestboxes! They wouldn't be be living there, would they?

Nope. Nesting season is over. He was probably going in to look for bugs!

Kevin moves on, and I go back to wandering.

Oh! I don't know what these purple things are, but pretty!

I don't know what this purple one is either!

But this weird looking thing is called Cockscomb!

Tag: september 2025

Good Morning My Dear.

Muggy.

And it's kind of funny... We've got 100% humidity all winter and I never notice it. But one morning of 73% humid in the summer and it's Muggy!

Usually the humidity is in the 40% range when I head out for my walk. But it's been in the 60%s for much of this week. I'm not sure why I'm noticing it in particular today!

Excuse me? You in the back? Can you pause with the preen? Smile for the camera?

Sheesh. You birds with your high maintance feathers! *laughs*

I walk by the Community Garden, and Kevin is at the back corner, fixing a hole in the fence.

A homeless person had broken in yesterday and had stolen a few items from people's plots, and gotten some food as well.

It is a shame that we can't have a stand or something outside the fence, so that gardeners can put out extra produce. But the logistics just wouldn't work out: there's no shade around the garden, and we don't actually get much traffic. I think it would just waste food.

This is the unknown plant that popped up next to the Tomatillo that I transplanted from the path to under the big trellis...

(and some bugs! :) It's completely shaded by the Cosmos and the Wax Beans. The leaves have gotten bigger - they are probably 5 or 6 inches wide! - but it probably doesn't have enough sun to do anything beyond that. And without a flower I won't be able to figure out what it is. humph.

I decided to pick the first Aubergine today!

And another load of Wax Beans... I directly cut them up and threw them in the freezer.

And the Aubergine! I was so excited, I started looking up how to cook it as soon as I got home!

And... ugh, it's complicated. Drying them out with salt? And I don't want to run the oven in this heat! (or, ever. I hate cooking!) So, yeah, that all is too much work for me.

So I found a couple of microwave directions.

I nuked it. And the skin peeled off fairly easily. And ate it.

Well. Tried to eat it. It was the tiniest bit bitter... I thought it had gone a little bit too long when I saw the seeds forming when I cut it open.

But the bitter wasn't too bad, and not in every bite.

But the ... texture? Kind of... slimy? bleh.

I mean, seriously bleh! I put some oil on it. I added ketchup. I added Yumm Sauce. Nope, nope, nope.

I couldn't finish it! *laughs* My cooking sucks and I put it with the kitchen scraps to take back to the compost heap!

Oh well. Experiment failed. That's okay: Live and Learn!

On the walk home... what?

Aww. Postcards. Someone littered postcards.

I wish I could reach them, I wish I could rescue at least a couple. But they are on the other side of a railing, and deep in the blackberries.

Bummer.

Tag: september 2025

I'm watering at the garden today, for the heat.

My neighbor on the other side of the crazy family is here. Her name is Iris and she likes to chat sometimes. She is telling me how pleased she is with the garden this year and how productive it is.

Ha! I am instantly jealous! JEALOUS! I say something about my difficult year and she's all That's right, you got a pretty late start, didn't you?

*laughs* That's one way to put it! When all the plants are murdered by the bugs and slugs time and time again.

But I kept throwing money at it, and replanting and replanting. And, yeah, the garden did eventually do something...

But I'm still jeaous of Iris! heh.

I decided to let the Wax Beans go today... I've still got plenty to eat in the fridge. And maybe tomorrow there will be enough to freeze another bag!

Those are spent Borage blossoms on the corner of the ziplock.

They litter the ground under the Borages, and make even the weeds look pretty.

Iris has left, and I don't see any other humans around. So I wander over to a stand of Sunflowers where I can hear the Goldfinches.

They perform acrobatics to get at the Sunflower seeds!

The parents are still feeding their children...

Well... This parent changes his mind!

He eats the seed himself and says, Child! We are surrounded by food!

*laughs*

Tag: september 2025

Morning clouds are starting to break up, and it's to be the last nice day, 82° before another run of 90s.

Sighs. But it's just for the week. There's relief in sight, the forecast says the weekend is back to mid 80s.

There is a glorious Alder tree that I walk under, about half way to the garden. It's making cones and catkins!

At the garden, I'm just there to gather the harvest, no watering and no work.

My back neighbor Kevin is puttering in his plot and he mentioned the beautiful morning and then asked Hey, did you ever get a Compliance email?

I assume he means the Summer Compliance Check that happened at the end of July. So that's a curious question. I said No, and wait for more information.

He said they usually CC him, so he knows who and why gardeners are getting non-compliance so he can answer questions. But not this time. They didn't tell him anything this time.

huh. I asked, So did ANYONE get a non-compliance? thinking maybe it just didn't happen.

But Kevin replies, Well, they said the emails went out. And he seemed confident about that.

But why would the powers that be, cut off information from their Very Hard Working Volunteers? As Site Coordinator, Kevin does a lot of incredible work. He is the awesomest, and I am competely offended on his behalf that the director cut him out of the loop!

Kevin goes on to say he was glad they didn't ding me on my Borage.

heh. And here I just kind of small talked my way out.

Because what I wanted to say was something like... Oh, if they had dinged me about the Borage, I would have told them to GO TO EFFING HELL!!!

*laughs*

I go back to collecting Wax Beans. Because there's nothing I can do about how crappy the Community Garden Directors are.

And I keep collecting... and I am totally excited because I end up with 100 Wax Beans!!

Woo!

Walking home, I'm thinking about the Wax Beans!

Last year I cut up the Wax Beans and blanched them before bagging them up and putting them in the freezer.

But... I hate to cook, and really... what's the point? I'm going to eat them pretty much the instant I run out of fresh garden food!

So I wash them and cut them up. Put them under a fan to dry them out... That was a problem last year, the beans were still damp when I put them in the freezer and it was just a solid chunk!

Tag: september 2025

Walking out to the garden, here's one of the Scrub Jay children! Looking a little scraggly but her blue, adult feathers are starting to come in on her head!

Ahh, they grow up so quickly!

*laughs*

The Mystery Plant is proceding!

It's around 3feet tall. Just the one stalk, but the leaves going up the stalk are very pretty. The flowers aren't showing any colour and I worry they are going to be yellow... perhaps confirming my Mom's idea that the Mystery Plant is a mere weed! *laughs*

At the other end of the trellis, I push aside the Wax Beans to see about the other freebie I got with the Mystery Plant... The Sorana Beans... aka Pescia Beans. Yes!

It's made a pod!

It's a little different from the Wax Beans... I'll have to pay attention when I'm harvesting down at this end. Dry beans need to stay on the vine until they're - you know - dry! heh.

And, of course, one pod of beans isn't going to be enough to eat... But I will save those and maybe next year I can get some good plants, who didn't have to start their lives completely root bound!

I got another good load of Wax Beans harvested today.

And that's the second Old German. This one just fell off in my hand, like the first one did.

When I ate the first one, um... I guess it tastes like an Old German. But it was orange all the way thru, didn't have the red marbling like it's supposed to. And of course, they are waaay too small to be Old Germans.

I must have gotten a mislabeled one. OR! Maybe this is a mutant!

I can hear the Goldfinches talking amongst themselves, and I happen to catch one in a not great pic...

But the flock is still very small, and the birds are a bit nervous of me. It won't be long and more Goldfinches will migrate in, and hopefully they will get used to humans moving around in the garden!

Tag: august 2025

It's a little bit cooler this morning, the over night low was 49°!! But the forecast says mid 80s for a couple days and then we are back to the over 90s.

Arg! It's just crazy with the continuing heat. So very tired of it.

Heading out... and hey, hey! It's the third time I've seen this new Heron! I get to name them! Hello Cloudy Sky!

The actual clouds are coming and going, and I walk past the garden, thinking I'd like to get some exercise. But I stop at Dragonfly Land. The sweat is dripping off of me and decide I don't really want to go any further, after all.

Just an occasional dragonfly is zipping by. The minnows are here, but without the bright sun, I'm not getting great photos.

Whoops! haha! So much for the Perth Pride!

Well. Yes, I guess I've been over watering that one! *laughs* It's just such a cute little plant, I want to shower it with love! ha.

I will cut those tomatoes off and toss them to decompose on the ground... But all is not lost! There's another one growing at the top!

The Volunteer Butternut is sprawling all over the place and I have to be careful of it when I walk behind the big trellis. I almost tripped over it today, but then I noticed, under the leaves...

A full sized fruit has been hiding from me!!

Well that is Awesome! The little fruit I found the other day at the end of the vine wasn't going to have time enough to grow. But this thing just needs to ripen! I'm going to have a Butternut to eat!

But at the back of the big trellis, one of the Buttercups is dying.

These are some of the LogHouse freebies I had nabbed. Three veggie starts in the pot and they just never took off. Maybe I should have jostled their roots a bit before I put them in the ground... they were terribly root bound.

They aren't big enough to make fruit, tho I am a bit sad to see them die.

But the other side of the big trellis is a happy place, with the flowering basil and the Wax Beans and that glorious Cosmos... when will it think about some flowers?

Altho, some of the squash plants are battling mildew. This is the Patty Pan, and the Crooknecks are even worse.

I didn't pick any Wax Beans yesterday, and I got 60 for today's haul!!

I look back at my plot as I leave. I love the little Red Amaranth that volunteered in the perfect spot in the front!

It's not as tall as that! *laughs* I'm crouching down so I can catch the sky. The Amaranth is actually around three feet tall, it comes up to my hip.

And then walking to the Community Garden gate, I get distracted by a neighbor's Zinnias!

I walk out to the bike path, and on the other side of the Community Garden... eee.

It's part of somebody's tail.

Poor little squirrel. But everyone needs to eat. Probably a good meal for a hawk or an owl!

Tag: august 2025

There's some clouds keeping the morning a little bit cooler, tho they start breaking up as I head out.

But the cooler temperature puts a spring in my step, and I decide to walk a bit before going to the garden.

At the back of the Events Center, they've put in some new signs...

No Trespassing, No Camping uh huh. *Rolls Eyes*

I walk to the left of that fence, and I suppose I am trespassing. And a sign isn't going to keep the homeless people from setting up tents here, either!

There's usually a tent or two here most of the time. During the summer, there's a shelf of dry bank along the creek, under the trees. It gives them a bit of privacy, and they never cause any trouble.

But there's no tents today.

At the Leaning Tree Saplings... uh oh...

That bushy thing on the left? I think that's a Tree of Heaven. Very invasive. Why haven't they cut it down?

And in the creek! A Mom and two kids!!

Gah, the sun is so bright I can't see the screen on the camera at all. So these are all Point and Click and Hope! *laughs*

Look at how blonde that child is!!

Mom thinks I am not to be trusted, and she's leading the kids into hiding.

Very cool. And reminds me of that very blonde raccoon that I saw in this area a few years ago. It's leucism, caused by recessive genes.

And here's another Point and Click and Hope that turned out pretty well. Nice to have some good luck, for once! A female Northern Flicker (males have a red moustache).

At the garden plot, I'm going around, harvesting the veggies that are ready. And looking at stuff that's growing.

And behind the Brandywine... ha! Another Avocato tree!!

Haha! How wonderful!

And the Mystery Flower is definitely gearing up for something!

Heading home.

And I see ANOTHER Raccoon family!! Again, a Mom with two kids! And they were swimming!!

What fun!! Happy Day!!

Tag: august 2025

Bleh. I am tired of walking in the sun. I'm kinda bored of the garden too.

Out at Dragonfly Land, there's a couple of those blue striped dragonflies who never sit for photos. Blue-eyed Darners?

I just watch them for a while. There aren't many, maybe four or five. They zip back and forth over the water, going a little bit further than I can see, past the bushes.

I walk thru the neighborhood instead of following the bike path to the Garden. Wow!

Oh, haha! Photo Bombed by a Bee!

At the garden, I just gather the day's harvest. I'm not interested in sticking around.

I am very happy with the Wax Beans! And the Basil is flowering, but I wanted one more bunch of leaves for my lunches! I had to pick thru to find branches that didn't have flowers.

On the way home, a huge butterfly flutters by!

Western Tiger Swallowtail! I've seen a few of these big beauties this year, but I think this is the first one who sits for me!

Back at home, Partner finally gets a call from the mechanic.

The car has been in the shop, Partner says it's been stalling randomly, and he dropped it off last week. They were busy, and were supposed to look at it on Monday, but didn't call until today...

The place has changed hands earlier this year, it used to be a Goodyear and now it's something Point S. And they say they are diagnostics only now. If the car doesn't have a computer to tell them what's wrong, they don't know how to fix it.

Sighs. Lame, right?

So I guess we'll look for a new mechanic. Are there any real car machanics left in the world?

Tag: august 2025

Some clouds roll in this morning and 10:17am = Thunder! Loud and close! And it keeps thundering!

When I go out, it's still rumbling from this cloud:

And apparently we got a sprinkle that I didn't notice... the sidewalks are wet!

I go a little further and ha! Someone has set up an art gallery! I like the bouquet!

This one is my favorite! Cool marbling!

The clouds are moving around again, it's hot but when sun is covered, my walk is a lot more enjoyable. I decide to go down to the Barn Swallow bridge.

Hm. The parents are twittering and swooping above the bridge again. It's good to hear them, but I'm still devastated about their last batch of children.

There's only the odd dragonfly left in Dragonfly Land... their season is mostly over. But the minnows are still around.

The Mystery Flower. Or maybe it's the Mystery Weed!

And the Tomatillos!

Look at all the summer squash I get to harvest today! Yay!

Those are some petals from the ProCut Red! They were laying on the ground and I thought they were pretty. The birds pluck out the sunflower petals to make it easier to reach the seeds!

One of Kevin's Zinnias with the Pet Nasturtium on the right.

I don't see anyone around, so I decide to walk around the Community Garden... I've been hearing the Goldfinches talking amongst themselves, maybe I can catch them!

I don't know what this is, but pretty!

I do love the Red Amaranth!

But in the Sunflowers behind it...

Goldfinches!

So cute!

These are all American Goldfinches.

Our little Lesser Goldfinches live here all year, but the American Goldfinches migrate in for winter only.

And I'm thrilled that the Community Garden and all our glorious Sunflowers provide some meals for them!

Moving on, another Red Amaranth catches my eye.

But these double petal Cosmos are gorgeous as well!!

Is Cosmoses the plural? *laughs*

Tag: august 2025

Another very hot day in a long string of very hot days. To be 95° today... it looks like we might get a break from the extreme heat over the weekend? Saturday's forcast says 86°.

I guess mid 80s is better than mid 90s but it's too far away, and it's not enough of a cool down to get excited about.

Oh my gosh!

The Cuteness!!!

Their HANDS!!!

This kid watches me for a moment.

And then they follow their sibling and disappear into the thicket!

Awesome!! So Awesome!!

I've brought kitchen scraps to dump on the compost pile at the Community Garden.

When I started watering, someone slithered from under the Strawberries and Pet Nasturtium!!! The slithering was far enough apart, I think maybe it was TWO Garter Snakes!!

Snakes are wonderful to have in your garden, and I only wish I could have gotten their portraits!

And then when I'm watering the poor dying Lemon Cucumber plants at the small trellis, I notice this thing...

When I take a closer look... ha! It's an Avocado!!!!

Ha!! Over the winter I was dumping the kitchen scraps in the garden, to return some nutrients! I had to stop because it turned into a slug factory.

But I did get the Volunteer Squash patch... and now, an Avocado tree as well!

I am so delighted! But what to do? We can't have trees in our plots, it's against the rules. But dang it, I want it to grow! *laughs*

Can I somehow hide it, over the winter??? Will it survive the winter???

hmmm.

I gather the day's harvest.

That bigger orange tomato is the first Old German. It just fell off in my hand. Maybe I should call it Baby German instead, since the tomatoes are so small!

Plus the tomatoes should have streaks of red on them, they shouldn't be solid orange. It must be a different variety, mislabled by the farm.

The Wax Bean plants are getting loopy! *laughs*

As I'm heading out, I see the Nasturtiums in the front, between the Crooknecks are getting their first bloom!

Tag: august 2025

Some clouds this morning and at 9:33am, Was that Thunder?! Ha. The clouds got heavier for a brief moment, but didn't send any rain down. And the cloud cover didn't break up until 1:45pm! It kept the morning at a nicer temperature, at least, but the afternoon still got up to an unbearable 96°.

There are a couple of Pear Trees at the Bike Path Curve, and the fruits have caught my attention. I walk over to look at one of the trees.

I wonder if they get as buggy as the apples do. Probably.

The fruits are more round than pear shaped!

Maybe I will revisit this tree, once the fruits are a bit further along.

Oh hey! It's that duck with the white patch! Second sighting! I can't name him until I've seen him three times.

I wonder what a good name would be.

I get to the garden plot... oh look! The Volunteer Squash!!

I guess the weeding did make it feel better! Yay!

It's a Butternut!!! Awesome!

The Mystery Plant looks like it's doing something at the top!

My Mom insists that it's a weed! *laughs* But, but! It was potted up!

Whatever these things are, I hope they come out as some brilliant colour like red or purple, to prove her wrong. Because yeah, it does look a little bit like a weed!

The Patty Pan is gearing up!

Tho at the moment, I've got five Crooknecks on the counter at home... I need to get serious about eating some squash!

The little corner of Nasturtiums.

And the Strawberry's Pet Nasturtium at the back is looking Lovely!

The Volunteer Cosmos at the end of the Wax Bean trellis is still growing. No sign of flowers yet.

Oh crud. That Brandywine is rotten. foo.

I stopped watering the tomato plants so much, to prevent those stupid big cracks.

But when it's so hot, I want them to have SOME water! ... Because that's what _I_ need to live! *laughs*

That is the first Brandywine I've picked... and I eat it the moment I get home!!

The cute little Buckwheat seeds.

And the Nasturtiums at the front of the plot with the Crooknecks...

Around the edges of that photo, you can see we are dealing with some mildew on the squashes. That's normal, tho these plants seem to be hit especially hard. meh.

On the way out, I stop to admire the diagonal neighbor's Dahlias.

Tag: august 2025

I do half pushups as part of my morning exercise routine. A couple months ago I was able to break past a plateau of 10 or 12 half pushups. I've been slowly adding more and more, and now I am consistently doing around 35 half pushups!!

My YouTube exercise guy, Will Harlow, Over-Fifties Specialist Physio says you should switch to full pushups when you hit 20 half pushups. But I wanted to be very, Very sure about my 20! *laughs*

But I finally got my confidence... and yesterday I tried my first full pushup!

FAILURE! I couldn't do even one!

oh man! I seriously thought the transition would be seamless! But I can't do even one! WAI!

Well. foo.

But I've been here before. I couldn't do a single half pushup, when I first started those, either!

So. I did a couple little bends with my elbows and then I dropped down as slowly as I could in a modified plank.

And today I am sore!! My arms, and my core muscles across my stomach, too. Like a good sore... Like my muscles did work, but not so much work to get injured!

So this is awesome! I wonder how long it will take me to get my first full pushup?!

Heading out! And this is the second time I've seen this new Great Blue Heron!

This one has a little bit of mottled grey on their neck, tho nothing like Mackerel Sky, who has bold mottles all the way down their neck. But maybe they are siblings!

If I see this one a third time, maybe I will name them something similar... like Morning Sky, or Cloudy Sky... ? :)

The ProCut Red, happily getting eaten!

The Aubergines!

The pink flowers on the right are Smartweed... They are covering most of the dirt in the tomato patch. Kind of like a living mulch! The only other weed that can get past the Smartweed mat is stupid Crab Grass, here and there. Which I dig up when I notice it.

But also, there are a variety of bees and bugs attracted by the flowers of the Smartweed! So the Smartweed is almost as great as Borage! And I can walk on it, like a lawn. So maybe it's better than Borage.

The Old German. Or maybe I should put that in air quotes, Old German...

I thought that first small tomato was a sport. Old German tomatoes are supposed to be huge, up to two pounds big.

But a second tomato, right next to the first is starting to get colour as well, and it's tiny too! Arg!

So is this NOT an Old German? Or is this plant stunted and just trying it's best to get the job done???

With the heat, I don't feel like gathering Sungolds or the Wax Beans. So I'm not going home with much today.

On the way out, some Red Amaranth in a neighbor's plot catches my attention!

On the left is Scarlet Runner Beans.

And walking home along the creek... I hear a Kingfisher declaring her territory!!!

Oh my gosh! Is it the same girl who lost her parter over the winter? Did she find a new mate this year?

Or is this a different Kingfisher, who has taken over?

Well. No one sat for photography. And I will probably never have the answers to my questions.

That's okay. I'm just glad to be hearing a Kingfisher again!

Tag: august 2025

To be 99° again today and I continue to be grumpy about it. The Extreme Heat Warning in the forecast goes all the way out with upper and mid 90s. The next non-horrid day might be next friday with an 85° high...

That's too long without a break.

I head out... and oh crap! The exposure on the camera is at the wrong place!

She's not very big, but def not a child... one of the Mama Raccoons, maybe?

And she disappears under the shubbery.

I was planning on a quick run at the garden. Some watering for the heat and gather what veggies there are.

But I get distracted by the diagonal neighbor's Dahlias!

Back at home a cool shower and a fan pointed at my wet hair, helps a little. But I have to drink ice water almost constantly to keep even vaguely comfortable.

I'm too unhappy to even write some postcards today... and then I see this.

∞ European Postal Services to US STOPPED - yes, tariffs

For Europe, it's packages only that have been stopped, letters and docs and 'gifts' are still going thru. But it looks like India has stopped all mail going to the US.

I am glad that other countries are taking a stand. More power to them!

But I am sad that America sucks.

Tag: august 2025

99° today with an Extreme Heat Warming, and yep, I'm pretty grumpy about it.

But, nothing to be done ... just gotta live thru it. Unfortunately, the rest of the forecast says upper and mid 90s, no relief in sight.

Heading to the garden, I see this one at the creek and for a second I think he's got a leaf or something on his neck.

But no! That's a patch of white feathers!

This is exciting! There's so rarely a Mallard at the creek who is identifible!

And yeah, I think he's a male. He lacks the curled tail feathers but male Mallards have a yellow beak. Females have a beak that's orange and dark grey.

Oh! A Crow standing under the Wisteria? So Beautiful! But nope...

*laughs* Their cute toes!

Their friends were more cooperative!

As I walk up to the garden plot, I notice this Comfrey coming up in the pathway.

Damn Comfrey. I decide I will murder some today.

I get my dandelion tool, and pry that thing out of the ground! And then I look around the plot. Oops! Look how big these have gotten, hiding behind the Crooknecks and the huge Buckwheats!

Getting all that out makes me feel good, like I've accomplished something!

The Wax Bean harvest is slowly increasing!

The Pet Nasturtium in the Strawberry Patch is looking good!

And the ones I planted as seeds are coming along.

The top of the healthy Lemon Cucumber plant is still pretty, but all the rest is leaning towards pathetic. And they aren't going to like 99° days.

Well. At least I've gotten a few Lemon Cucs to eat this year. Better than none, right?

I stop to admire the neighbor's Zinnias on the way out.

I should have more flowers in my plot. But I always think that, and then I always forget in the spring. I'm too busy getting the veggies planted.

Tag: august 2025

Good Morning My Dear...

You know, standing on the path is not very photogenic!
You don't care, you're beautiful as it is?
Well yeah, that's true! :)

I've arrived at the garden, and I see the seedling Crookneck, right next to the main Crookneck has it's first fruit and it needs to be harvested.

But today I want a beet! And I doubt I will have room in the small backpack for much else.

I get distracted... a cute little parasitic wasp!

This is the second one I've found this year! I'm always happy to meet new bugs!

The Tomatillos are coming along!

Breaking out of their husk is a good sign!! But they will fall off when they are ripe.

And Look! I did find a ripe one! It's yellow! That's weird. All of the volunteer Tomatillos I've had in the past have had fruits that stayed green.

And that Beet I pulled is even bigger than the first one! The first one was just over 1.5 pounds and this one is 2pounds 0.8ounces!!!

That's awesome! That's many good meals right there!!

I usually cut off a serving sized chunk, and cut it into bite sized bits. Then I add a serving of pasta into a big bowl with 2cups of water and maybe some soy curls. Nuke that for 14mins... just a bit longer than I would do for pasta alone.

And then I add whatever sauce and other veggies and eat. Easy Peasy!

And the rest of the beet will keep in the fridge for a good long time! So I don't need to eat the Pasta Beet meal every day if I don't want to.

But I love Beets! And I'm so glad I remembered to plant them this year!!

Tag: august 2025

A perfectly normal 85° summer day!

But the rest of the forecast is for 90s, all the way out. And you know what? I was done with summer after the three 100° days that we barely survived, weekend before last.

Sighs. Just gotta keep plugging along I guess.

But, because I took a break from the garden yesterday, ... I can look at it again now... maybe! Haha.

Brandywines are getting more colour!!

The Green Zebra.

And the first of the Old Germans is ripening... except this is a problem...

That's the right colour... Old Germans are orange and red. But they are supposed to be huge, up to 2pounds huge! And that little thing is about 2inches!

So that's weird! Maybe the first tomato is just an odd one, and the others will get bigger?

Well, anyway. I've got my harvest of the day... and look at all those Sungolds!! Yay!

I had to toss a couple because they had cracks in them... still watering too much! ha.

There are Marigolds blooming in the meighbor's plot. They are probably my seeds! I had Giant Marigolds last year!

Ha, I don't know why they couldn't re-seed themselves in MY plot!

Heading out, I admire my other neighbor's flowers!

And walking home, oh hey! A new Heron!

Tag: august 2025

The Supreme Court makes a ruling so this regime can continue the ethnic cleansing...

∞ SCOTUS is on board with racial profiling

Here's something more in depth...

∞ US supreme court 'effectively legalized racial profiling', immigration experts warn by Lauren Gambino

And it's all just disgusting.

And this other thing has been swirling around in my brain as well.

I get so angry at the hypocracy of Christen Nationalists, evangelicals and MAGAs... These Christians willfully forget the part where they are supposed to Welcome the Stranger. Feed the hungry? Love your neighbor, and all that? Did they pay attention to a single thing Jesus said?

And sometimes I watch this guy's YouTube channel. He's a biblical scholar and I like how he sets things straight.

∞ Dan McClcllan: Responding to Kirk Cameron

Tag: september 2025

Yeah, I just don't feel like going to the garden. I've made myself completely bored of it by going there every day.

Good Morning Neighbor!

Good Morning Other Neighbor!

Ha. I thought this bridge construction was supposed to be done Aug20, but they are still digging!

There's some Barn Swallows, and maybe some others, swooping over the prairie, catching bugs! They are too far away for photography, tho.

There are quite a few guys playing Frisbee Golf here today.

I walk a couple parks that have courses, and I gotta say, the guys who play are ALWAYS 100% respectful!

They never throw a frisbee even vaguely in your direction. And they wait patiently for you to get out of the way.

So that's nice and all :) but there were too many humans around and no birds in the little forest. So that's a bummer.

But I did find a family of Scrub Jays at the back of the park. Several juveniles bouncing around and yelling at each other!

*laughs*

I go by the tree that fell. It's crazy how it just broke right off!

On the way home...

hmm. A Red Tail Hawk!

Tag: august 2025

A lovely morning to be a lovely day. A high of 81° is a bit under the normal of 84°, and this is the kind of weather I would wish for all summer!

Nevermind the 90s that will show up again this weekend, I'm going to enjoy the day with a zig zag walk thru the neighborhoods!

I'm walking up an alley and oooh! The varieties of sunflowers over the fence in this back yard!

When I go past Dragonfly Land, there's a big ol' spider who has made a web on the railing!!

I am curious about her, but she's hiding her face.

I stop at the garden and do just the lightest of watering. But I had to pull a bee out of a puddle!

Poor Girl! She's soaked and tired. She doesn't even buzz her wings to help dry off.

When I'm done watering, I bring her to one of the Buckwheats... she walks off my hand willingly.

The sun is coming out and it won't take too long to dry her out!

More Wax Beans coming along, and the Basil plant.

And all the plants at the big trellis are happy.

ha, a Zucchini grew funny!

On the way home, I make one more loop.

Oak Apples!

*Laughs* or, more precisely: Oak Galls!

They are made by tiny parasitic wasps, their babies grow up inside the galls!

After the babies leave, you can make ink!

∞ How to make Oak Gall Ink

I've never attempted this, myself. But I think it would be fun!

Tag: august 2025

The neighbor's outside cat. It's funny, I don't know his name! ha.

Another nice day today, the forecast says 81° but with the clouds it only gets to 77°. Unfortunately, there's some 90s at the end of the forecast again. ugh.

Aww. This burned area used to be a thicket of willow, little birds used it as protection all the time.

Homeless people had set a fire under the thicket... but the willows were only half dead. No reason to cut the whole thing down!

Jerks. The city keeps saying it wants to increase canopy cover, but their actions speak louder than their words!

*Unhappy*

But I keep walking and nature fixes me.

Lorquin Admiral.

And a Cardinal Meadowhawk!

Ha! And a juvenile Scrub Jay!!

At the garden.

The Perth Pride, the root bound dwarf plant I got as a freebie, has made two fruits! Next to it, a couple of volunteer Tomatillos have sprug up... I doubt they will get to do anything this late in the season, tho it does have a flower on it!

mmm! So looking forward to the Brandywines! I've cut the time I spend watering back here, to prevent more cracking on the tomatoes!

The Wax Beans are coming right along. And that's the precious Basil, and top right is the Patty Pan.

And at the other end of the big trellis, this volunteer Cosmos continues to grow. Still no sign of flowering tho!

I gather the days harvest.

And head out. Oh, hey! It's Mackerel Sky again!!

Tag: august 2025

Awoken by sprinkles at 3am!!

And then it kept me awake because I kept checking to make sure the rain wasn't blowing in! But apparently it came without wind, for once. That's good, I would have hated to have to close windows.

This time the amount was measurable... We got 0.15 inch.

When the sun rises it's still cloudy and humid. And my walk is so pleasant! The high today is just 77°!

As I go by the Community Garden, there's a couple of Crow children sitting at the fence. They aren't brand new to the world outside their nest... hardly any gap left. But still depending on their parents for food.

I stop at the empty Barn Swallow nest...

And was interested to see the parents swooping to the nest a few times! One last memorial for their lost children before they migrate?

I'm walking a little farther today. There's a row of Red Maples, and one of the trees has a couple branches of leaves that are changing. Everything else is green, maybe there's something wrong with this tree. Sure is eye catching tho!

Oh hey! Mackerel Sky! On the hunt!

Strike! and WHOA! They've caught a Crawdad!

The poor Crawdad is fighting for her life!

huh.

Eye contact!

The Crawdad says I WILL gouge out your eye!

And PLOP! Mackerel Sky has let the Crawdad go!

And then they go back to the same place at the bank and grab another Crawdad... and this one gets gobbled down.

Ugh. I wonder how long the Crawdad squirms in their stomach. What a terrible way to die. The carnivores gotta eat, but ... ugh.

Swallowed all the way down.

And then Mackerel Sky is back to looking for the next meal.

With the bit of rain this morning, I don't need to water at the garden. But there are a couple squashes I need to get before they get big, so I'm going in.

This is the volunteer Tomatillo that I had dug up from the path and moved under the big trellis... it's gotten pretty big, a couple branches are sprawling! But no fruit yet.

The Tomatillos that I bought have a good amount of fruits coming on tho!

The Brandywines are starting to get some colour!

Ha! A squirrel has munched a chunk of the ProCut Red!

This Crookneck will be ready to pick tomorrow, maybe. But Look! There's some Columbine growing under there!!

That's good! The Columbine that survived the winter... never did anything in the spring and then it died. This was the first year in a long time that I've not had Columbine blooms. So I'm glad I have another one coming up!

And here's what I came for!

Heading out, I stop to admire the one Amaranth in my plot that has that wonderful colour!

Twittering in the plot across the path catches my attention.

House Finches! Are they... eating the Kale???

Walking home, I get a glimpse of some American Goldfinches from the path! Welcome to your wintering grounds, my dears!

Floof!

And wow, that was a lot of pictures today! *laughs*

A very good day!!

Tag: august 2025

I put 200 postcards in the mail today! ha!

I've been volunteering for Postcards to Swing States. I got my packet of pcs at the beginning of July, with a due date of today... and I've been writing about 5 postcards a day since then!

I finished a couple days ago, and today I fed them into the outgoing mail slot!!

Yay Postcards!

Some morning clouds and a high of 79° today.

And there's an 80% chance of rain tonight? That can't be right... but is anything normal this year?

There was a small group of American Goldfinches twittering thru the Community Garden today! They don't nest here, but migrate in for the winter.

It's nice to have them again. But they were too jumpy about humans! haha, I couldn't even get close to them! But I did catch a couple of House Finches!

The Volunteer Squashes that I weeded yesterday are definitely looking happier today!

So I decided to weed a path for the other side of the big trellis today! Here's the before photo. Nevermind the poor wilted Lemon Cucumber plants at the right edge there. The heat killed them.

And here's the After pic!

I also freed up the Mystery Plant and the Basil!

That was good work done! And it's a lot easier to step around to the back of the small trellis to water the plants there!

I gather a bit of a harvest... The Sungolds are starting to ripen again with the more normal weather.

And then I linger. It's just so nice with the cooler temperature and the clouds! The healthy Lemon Cucumber plant survived the extreme heat.

The small strawberry's Pet Nasturtium has gotten big!

The poor beleaguered Aubergine... the leaves that got wilted are dying, but the rest of it is looking better now that I'm watering it enough.

The front of the Fallow Area is so lush and delightful!

At left are all the Crooknecks, both transplanted veggie start and the three that grew from seed!

Right of center is some Fava.

And all the little white flowers are big ol' Buckwheats! I never even knew they could get that big! Always before they've been a single stalk, barely two feet tall. These Buckwheats have LOADS of branches and are well over 3 feet tall.

And realizing how stunted the Buckwheats have been -- last year's and the ones in the Fallow Area... I'm now wondering if I've got harmful nematodes. Stunted plants, yellow leaves and reduced yields are symptoms.

Maybe next year I will get some beneficial nematodes and see if that helps.

It's not very vegan to buy creatures. Thinking about it makes me feel icky. But I think I'd like to try.

Tag: august 2025

Trump has straight up murdered 11 people.

∞ US strike on 'Venezuela drug boat': What do we know, and was it legal?

And here, again... Why did that Navy ship follow orders to fire on that little boat???

WHY?

Running drugs is a crime, but the punishment is NOT the death penalty. We rely on Due Process... We do not just murder random people in a boat.

Why were there so many people on that little boat? It doesn't take 11 people to run drugs. Those extra people would have slowed the boat down... an obvious indication that this was not a drug run.

Did the Navy ship see all the people on the boat? Did they think about what they were doing at all?

Tag: september 2025

Good Morning Baby! Aren't you cute!

There's some morning clouds that are starting to break up as I walk. The high today is 85° and after the days of 100° a day of normal summer temperature feels good.

Someone has been feeding grain to the ducks at the bridge right before the Community Garden, so there's a bunch of Mallards congregated there.

After I walk past it, this teenager stage duckling is paddling to the bridge and peeping for his Mama...

But about 2 dozen ducks from under the bridge come to see what's going on!! Haha, the little one was so embarrassed at all the attention, they start preening like nothing was happening! *laughs*

At the Community Garden, there's some cars in the parking lot, but everything has grown big so you can't see the humans in their plots! I walk about to look at flowers!

What a lovely border!

Haha, their cucumber plant is trying to climb over these little Zinnias!

I gather a bit at my own plot. That's the second Green Zebra... there's more coming on that are a good bit bigger than that little thing!

And I was so excited about picking the first Wax Beans, that those two are not quite as filled out as I like them!

I was trying to capture the clouds and the amazingness of all our Sunflowers.

Photobombed by a Black Saddlebags Dragonfly!

This large dragonfly is very common here, they like to fly over the bike path. I never get to take their portrait, tho, because I've never seen them sitting down anywhere!! Very busy creatures!

Look at how pathetic the poor Lemon Cucumber plants are. The healthy one on the left is mostly okay, but the siblings on the right, arg!

The Crooknecks in the front are getting some yellow leaves as well. I guess that's from my over watering during the heat wave?

Tag: august 2025

It's been three days of 100° heat, and the high today is 93°. Still very hot, but there's some much cooler temperatures in the forecast for the weekend. Upper 70s will be a relief.

I walk out to the Barn Swallow nest with resigned dread.

The homeless guy is nowhere to be seen today, and it's way too quiet at the bridge.

I look over and the nest is empty except for some feathers from the lining sticking up.

The parents probably cleared the nest, as the babies died of the heat.

Ugh. So tragic.

And traumatized parents too. They won't be returning to this nest next year because of this.

Which means my days of watching Barn Swallow babies are over. The parents at the other nest didn't return this year, also because of a nest failure. Same reason. Heat wave.

I do all I can to fight climate change. I'm Vegan. I don't drive. It doesn't seem like enough. And it's not enough, of course. Humans needed to change their ways back in the 1970s.

Instead we've got dead baby birds.

At the garden, I do a quick watering. I've been over watering everything because of the heat and all the tomatoes are splitting.

I feel like destruction, so I pull some Smartweeds.

I left quite a bit of Borage, but it's easier to walk past the back of the big trellis now.

And I freed up the Volunteer Squashes as well...

I think the biggest squash feels better now. I still don't know what it is... it's vining so it's probably a winter squash. But it's only made male flowers.

Maybe the space I made will encourage it to make some fruits.

Just a handful of Sungolds again, because of the heat. But the summer squashes are still powering thru.

The neighbor is growing Dahlias, and I love this colour!

Tag: august 2025

Every single day, the news about what the US Government is doing... makes me so very angry.

Unfortunately, every single day, there's like five or eight news articles about what the US Goverment is doing.

I'm angry about everything, but I can't even finish READING a single article, let alone form some words to rant about it.

So I've been quiet these past weeks.

But this. This is so horrifying. Even if I can't formulate some words, I need to put this up...

∞ The Questions No One Wants to Answer: Where Were the Children, and Why Were We Kept in the Dark?

600. Unaccompanied. Children.

Actually, The Guardian says it is almost 700. UNACCOMPANIED. CHILDREN!

∞ Judge orders US to halt deportation of hundreds of Guatemalan children

W.T.F.

The Guardian article says that ten of those ALMOST 700 children had lawyers, and those ten kids were 10 to 17 years old.

But it says nothing about the other ALMOST 700 kids... Exactly how young are they?

And the US Government was going to put them on a plane and just dump them in another country.

And to pull this off, there's dozens of people who were working to make this happen... ICE agents, government lawyers, pilots and airline personnel.

That's a lot of people who could have stopped this horrifying process. Instead it took a judge, at the last instant. When kids were already boarding a plane!

I just cannot understand how there are SO MANY complicit and completely evil humans in the US. 'Good Germans' and Just following orders in our ethnic cleansing.

I just cannot understand.

*Screaming*

*later* and, good... here's some more info.

∞ ICE Tried To Kidnap Kids Over Labor Day Weekend. Hero Judge Said Hell No. Judge Sparkle Sooknanan won't let Stephen Miller deport kids to Guatemala on her watch.

Terrified kids, dragged out of their beds, with a two hour window to get ready. and there were two planes on the tarmak, closed up and ready to go.

Full of UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN.

Tag: september 2025

Yesterday hit 103° and it didn't even break the record: 104° set in 1992.

The house, this morning, is at the same state as yesterday, hasn't cooled down enough over night. So we are starting out with 75° upstairs and 68° downstairs.

I got better sleep due to pure exhaustion... it's not just that I didn't sleep the night before. The brain power it takes to deal with the heat, is tiring as well. But I feel better this morning and I feel more capable of surviving the day.

I've been able to keep the upstairs about 10° cooler than the high... but that's not terribly useful when the high is over 100. The upstairs is miserable.

The downstairs, tho, I've been able to keep cooler by an additional 8 to 10°... so yesterday evening was about 82° and that is uncomfortable but livable.

This morning, when I closed up the downstairs to trap the cool air... the upstairs started feeling oppressive right away. ugh. So I moved the box fan up immediately and set up the make-shift swamp cooler.

It definitely helps. My side of the upstairs stays terrible, but on the other side of the swamp cooler, it's 4 or 5° cooler. Plus the breeze helps as well.

Anyway.

I head out for my walk.

At the Barn Swallow bridge, that same homeless guy is standing in the same place again. So I go to the garden.

The Lemon Cucumber siblings are still droopy.

And the Basil is droopy as well. But the Basil perks up after I water it, and the Cucumber plants do not.

They just hate the extreme heat... And on top of that, the bigger healthy Lemon Cuc plant is getting yellow leaves. Is that the heat as well, or is that too much water? Sheesh. Damned, either way.

I'm going to focus on good things. The very first Wax Bean!

I'm trying to capture how pretty the Buckwheat is... The plants that have grown at the front part of the Fallow Area have just gotten huge! But the flowers and seed groups are so little, the photography just doesn't do it!

This is the little Unknown plant that popped up after I moved that volunteer Tomatillo from the pathway. Unfortunately, it's gonna get it's light cut off before too long... The beans are growing on the trellis!

There is a third fruit growing on the Aubergine!

The top bloom of the ProCut Red.

The birds are starting to eat the seeds from the ProCut Plum! That makes me happy!

Top left is the Sunchoke. And you can see some of the Brandywine tomatoes on the right!

The heat is starting to slow down the Sungolds.

I walked down to the Barn Swallow bridge again, but the homeless guy was still there.

And you know what. Maybe it's just as well. The babies were having a hard time yesterday. I don't actually want to witness them dying.

Sighs.

Tag: august 2025

Yesterday it hit 99° and I did not sleep at all last night. Too hot.

The house didn't cool down much at all over night... it is still 76° upstairs and 70° downstairs, first thing this morning. Not a happy beginning, made worse with the grumpiness of no sleep.

But I try to set my attitude aside so I can enjoy the walk today.

These three Crows must be siblings! They were delighting in the sound of their own voices, and it made me laugh!

Hello My Dear!

I walked down to the Barn Swallow bridge, with trepidation. But there was a homeless guy standing right where I need to lean over the water wall to see the nest. I'll try again, after the garden.

The two sibling Lemon Cucumbers are still droopy. I will water them all to heck, but that didn't make them any happier yesterday.

I harvested the first two Green Zebra Tomatoes today!

It looks like I am the last one in the Garden, so I go around to make sure the tool shed is locked up... apparently we've had some irresponsible gardeners who have been leaving everything open. Grr!

I love the Red Amaranths! Such a beautiful colour!

oh wow, check this thing out!

That's interesting.

These things are interesting too! Could they be Luffas?

I walk down to the bridge...

All four babies are up there... two faces and two tails...

But you can tell they are distressed.

They are standing like that probably to get some air flow around their bodies. :(

Poor babies. I am so sorry.

Humans and our climate change are terrible. And I am so sorry.

Tag: august 2025

Extreme heat warning today, and the forecast has changed from two days of 100° to now three days of 100°.

So this is not good.

And today, seeing my friends the Vultures... is a little bit more ominous...

I don't think we are all going to survive this round of heat wave.

A parent flies in with food.

and is gone in an instant.

Sighs. I just can't get the exposure right today. and I'm sad that it's probably getting close to the end for these babies.

I take a break at Dragonfly Land.

But one more glance up.

At the garden, I do some watering. But the Lemon Cucumbers are wilted already.

And when I harvest...

You see that Sungold that's cracked open? That means I've been watering the tomato plants too much!

But what can I do? It's 100°!

Sighs.

Tag: august 2025

The high today is 88° and the Extreme Heat Warning begins tomorrow. ugh. But today is still okay.

Good Morning Babies!

And Good Morning Other Babies!

I am extremely worried about them, with the heat wave coming. And probably heat gets trapped up there, the nest is right next to the ceiling.

*unhappy*

At the garden. The ProCut Plum is making a couple more flower buds!

ha, this angle amuses me!

There are three Lemon Cucumber plants growing on the small trellis... the healthy one on the left and the two smaller siblings on the right (which is one transplant survivor, and the one and only cuc that came up from seed).

I have concerns about the Lemon Cucumber plants surviving the heat wave as well. They aren't very tough.

But they surely are pretty right now!

The small Strawberry's pet Nasturtium!

This is the freebie Buttercup. It's made a bunch of leaves, but has stayed small. It's not going to have time to make any fruit.

When I look up, this view amuses me as well.

As I leave the garden, there's a Turkey Vulture circling.

She must see me looking at her, because she circles closer and closer.

And then she goes right over me! The camera doesn't focus, of course, but I'm so delighted that I giggle!

Turkey Vultures are my favorite! It always makes my day when I see them!

Tag: august 2025

A perfectly nice summer day, to be 84°. That 100° weekend is still in the forecast... One last blast of summer heat before things cools off. Hopefully, anyway.

Good Morning my cute little fledgling!

Greenie, is that you?

It is! I wondered if this could be that juvenile Green Heron of the other day... But nope! This is Greenie! Back in their favorite hunting spot!

They've been preening. That's feather fluff on their beak.

Thank You Greenie!! So good to see you... will you be migrating soon? You're thinking about it?

And then on the other side of the bridge... Hi Babies!

I'm pretty sure it's just four children for this round.

And the upcoming heat wave has me very concerned. I do Not want to get too attached to these kids. Sighs.

I walk over to Dragonfly Land. This is a Common Whitetail, a male.

And I watch the minnows for few minutes as well.

When I looked a little closer at my photos, I noticed this... and my first reaction was Eeew! Are those Leeches???

*laughs* I think they are! Baby Leeches!

The minnows are around an inch long, so the little Leeches are maybe a bit over a centimeter.

I'm a little disappointed at my initial Ew! I mean, they can't help it that they don't have a face or anything, cute or otherwise.

And they are as much a part of nature as Greenie and the Barn Swallows and the minnows!

As I walk back, a parent Barn Swallow flies in to feed one of the kids... but I miss that action.

And in a moment, they are zonking out like the babies they are!

Walking to the Community Garden, I find some other babies!

At the garden plot I'm just doing a quick watering.

I was almost done and I was crouched at the Green Zebra, giving it a bit extra water because it always looks so pathetic.

Motion caught my eye and there's a SNAKE!!! Slithering right under my knee! Literally inches away!!!

Ha!! SO AWESOME! A little Garter Snake, I saw their stripes.

I only had a little window, looking down on the snake so have no idea how big. But maybe (not quite) twice as thick as a pencil, and fairly long! 2feet? But that's just a guesstimate, no way of really knowing!

Very pleased to almost meet a snake! *laughs* and very happy they are visiting my plot!! Yay!

The Perth Pride has made some fruits... that's one of the root bound freebie veggie starts that arrived from LogHouse Plants.

I'm glad it's gotten to do something... I don't think the Buttercup I got at the same time, will recover in time to make any fruits.

There's a second fruit on the Aubergine!

It's mostly recovered from the day I didn't water it enough, altho it still looks pretty pathetic. It lost most of it's flowers from that incident... but it kept this one!

The healthy Lemon Cucumber is doing fine.

And I've gotten a couple cucs from the two sibling Lemon Cuc plants as well. I just wish for more! Lemon Cucumbers are my favorite and I would eat them all day, every day, if I could!

Ha... that Purple Leaf Plum tree above looks like an echo of the ProCut Red sunflower!

I've gathered todays harvest... the most Basil yet!

And heading out... ha! I didn't realize how tall the Wax Beans were getting until I saw this photo! The leaves on the right side of the big trellis go almost all the way up!

And the bushy green thing on the left is the Sunchoke. It got a slow start this spring, because I had tried to kill it and dug up almost all the roots last November.

ha! Then I changed my mind and decided to let it grow again this year. *rolls eyes* at self!

Tag: august 2025

That weird 20% chance of rain stayed in the forecast, and at 3:30am we actually did get a couple minutes of sprinkles! Ha. It didn't even register as a trace tho, the weather data for today says 0.00 precipatation!

But the clouds have hung around and I decide to skip the garden today. I head in the opposite direction!

Oh, these blue flowers are pretty. I don't know what they are!

All kinds of interesting flowers here!

And creatures! ha!

Haha!

I walk away, but I'm thinking hard... I've got my small backpack because I've brought my water bottle. And the summer squash plants at the garden plot are not doing much yet. Maybe I could come back this way, after the park?

Finally at the park!

The lovely cloud cover is starting to break up.

Once I got under the trees in the little bit of forest, I sat down to drink some water. I look up...

Oh nice! I watch the wasps buzzing around the nest for a few minutes.

It's up in the tree far enough that the wasps don't mind the humans who are walking by on the trail, or playing Frisbee golf.

I walk thru the forest. There's some birds singing, but nobody close by, and I don't even catch a glimpse.

But I can usually find some wildlife at the ditch in the back.

Wood Pewee!

I come around the corner... oh no! What happened??!

What a terrible shame! This big beautiful shade tree.

There must have been something wrong with it. It sheared off at it's base almost straight across, left all the roots in the ground!

And just a couple feet of bark left standing where it was.

Ugh. This is just too sad.

I take a few more photos, but my heart just isn't in it anymore.

And I do go back home the same way I came out... and filled up the backpack with Free Zucchinis! That's something to cheer me up a little, at least.

Tag: august 2025

Clouds this morning and a crazy 20% chance of rain... haha, it never rains in August! But my goodness, the house is humid. Good thing I won't need my make-shift swamp cooler today! It's not going to work with this kind of humidity!

We've got a couple of nice days -- high of 78° for today and tomorrow. But the 100° heatwave is still sitting in the forecast for the weekend.

So nice to walk without the sun beating down!

Oh Hello Mackerel Sky!

And the Barn Swallow babies on the other side of the bridge.

The cloudy day makes for bad photos. oh well.

A parent flies in with food!

One baby is still hungry.

The parent gives me a look, before flying off.

And the other parent has been circling and they fly in and feed the hungry one!

Well. Yesterday I saw four babies but today I've only got photographic proof of three. ha.

Try again tomorrow, I guess. Tho, thinking about the future, the heat wave in the forecast has me worried.

Mackerel Sky is still on the other side of the bridge and had been posing for a lady taking pics with her phone!

All this attention is probably turning her into a diva!

Okay! Back at the garden!

The small Strawberry's Pet Nasturtium!

So happy with the Wax Beans vining and everything growing at the big trellis...

But you know what? I've been calling that fluffy thing on the right a Love in the Mist. But it's so big. And it suddenly occurred to me that it's actually a Cosmos!!

So that's very exciting! I've never had a volunteer Cosmos before!

And turn to look at the Patty Pan...

That little tomato plant on the left is a volunteer that I've been watering. It's a cute thing, but as a second generation from the Sungolds, the cherry tomatoes will be red and won't taste very good.

Since the day is so nice, I should probably do some work. I decided to clear a bit at the back of the small trellis.

I had planted these Nasturtiums as seeds, and they don't need all those wild Amaranths and Crab Grass choking them out!

When I'm done, the Nasturtiums are a bit worse for the wear!

I prop them up with extra dirt around their bases, and hope for the best.

I pulled that first textured Crookneck from the plant that I put down as a seed!

As I was watering, a hummingbird buzzed me.

I dropped the hose and grabbed the camera and chased after them. *laughs*

Alighted on Kevin's trellis... and moved on before the camera could focus. They looked at the Scarlet Runner Bean blossoms... and again, too fast for me. Alit on the other side of the trellis... I walked around, and they buzzed away the instant I had a clear view.

Gah! Little stinker! *laughs* But then... !

Oh my gosh! That little patch of orange!!!

They are a Rufous Hummingbird!!! Either a female or a juvenile male!

Probably migrating thru... but My Dear? Could you stay for a few days? So I get another chance? Please?!

*smiles*

Tag: august 2025

To be 86° (30°C) today, a perfectly normal and lovely summer day!

I would wish all my summer days could be like this! And, once upon a time, that's how it was here. Mid-80s was the hottest part of the summer! And it didn't even last all of August. It normally starts dropping to the lower 80s by the end of the month!

But, we've got climate change and that heat wave in the forecast for this weekend... is starting to look concerning. Mid-90s then 101° on Monday? ugh.

But I'm excited to see the Barn Swallow nest, so I hurry on out there!

Yay!

That's four blurry Barn Swallow baby beaks! Some baby fluff on their heads and eyes pretty closed!

Oh! I guess their eyes are opening a little!

So cute! The last batch was five babies, and I'm wondering if there's a fifth hidden behind the siblings!

Okay! To the garden!

The texture on the front Crookneck makes it look like a gourd! ha!

The Tomatillos, the leaves are so pretty!

Underneath, I noticed this weird yellow fruit.

It's much smaller than a normal tomatillo, and I've never seen that shade of yellow. The husk normally stays green, sometimes has purple veins.

When I touch it, it falls off. And it's completely empty, no fruit inside. I guess it didn't get fertilized.

Well, that is the only weird one... there's plenty of normal ones coming on!

A small harvest today.

I am really wishing for more Sungolds... The two plants are gearing up, I just need to be patient!

The ProCut Plum with the Body of the ProCut Red in the background...

That ProCut Red is close to five foot tall, and the leaves are so solid... I am always thinking it's a human standing in my plot!

I have jumped So Many Times! because I thought someone snuck up on me and was in my plot. *laughs*

Okay! These pink flowers catch my eye as I'm heading out!

Tag: august 2025

After many, many delays, anyone flying on a plane after 7 May 2025 must have a Real ID.

Oregon was one of the states that kept putting it off. That's funny! I procrastinate as well.

But this is the year! If I want to fly to Colorado to see my family, I will need to get a Real ID.

The problem is... You need to bring a lot of official documents in order to get a Real ID. And one of those offical documents, I've not seen since we moved to Oregon.

*Anxiety*

I think it's in a box. And I think that box in in my closet.

So. I freaked out about this for a while. And then I started digging!

At the beginning of August -- Yes, many, many months after May7... Yes, many, many months of freaking out -- I switched my Tiny Clean focus from the porch room to the Closet Project.

I really want to be tidy about this! You know? Since I have to dig thru my closet, how about I make it better!

Check! I don't really have a plan, but I organize things as I get them out of my way. Eventually I make it down to the ... box.

Yeah, I actually thought there were two boxes in this spot, but it's just the one. That concerns me. A good bit. I move stuff from on top of the box, and I even get the little vacuum out to suck up some dust.

On Monday I pulled the box out and opened it.

I was expecting a box full of paperwork. But this box is filled with journals.

This is not the right box.

I am devastated. I guess there were two boxes after all. I suppose the other box is deeper in the closet. ugh.

I do pull out a couple of the journals, tho. Just to make sure there's nothing tucked in between them. But, no. It's just a box of journals.

Mostly those are just lined notebooks, containing my boring journaled thoughts.

But, the books at the end, were art journals.

I don't journal like that anymore... and I really kind of miss it.

There's different colours of inks, and little sketches here and there and interesting graphic elements. Some stickers and a few things pasted in.

It's fun to flip thru these books!

Tag: august 2025

The forecast says 79° today and minus the heavy clouds that kept yesterday so cool, we will almost get there. (Actual high today is 78°.)

Normal for this time of year is 86°, so the cooler days are definitely nice. Tho we will probably be paying for them with more heat waves. The next one looks to be in the forecast... mid-90s for the weekend. bleh.

*laughs* I'm thrilled that I keep getting to see the Scrub Jay fledglings here... but they never want to be photogenic!

There's no parent sitting in the Barn Swallow nest. hmmmmm....

Extreme zoom. And never mind the feathers that are lining the nest. But I think the orange is baby beaks!

The parents must be out collecting bugs! Yay!

I'm at the garden, the Aubergine is looking a little better today. I had watered the heck out of it yesterday when I found it's poor curled leaves. And I watered the heck out of it again today!

I think it got dried out because it's at the edge of the plot.

I decided to harvest the first Beet today. It is huge! I weighed it when I got home, just over 1.5 pounds!

And my daily allowance of Sungolds! *laughs* I've been getting four or five Sungolds most every day for a week now.

As I was crouched on the ground, taking photos of the big o' beet, I noticed motion right next to me...

Oh cool! Yellow Jackets! My cute little pollinators!

Not pollinating at the moment! But trying to murder someone... The adults just eat sugars, but their children need protein.

I watch them for a few minutes, trying to see who is putting up such a fight. It's a Housefly!

Well, I leave them to it and back away slowly.

I've never been stung, as an adult. And I feel like Yellow Jackets are pretty smart and they understand that I am just curious about them.

They are native insects, and I wish only the best for them!

Heading home... I get to eat a good handful of Himalayan Blackberries!

Oh yeah! Yum!

Tag: august 2025

We've got some very nice cloud cover this morning and the forecast says 80° ... but the clouds linger thru the day and the actual high is just 73°!

That's been happening a lot this year... Every once in a while, the morning forecast is extremely not what's actually happening. And they really should have a firm grasp of the weather forecast on the morning of.

I'm going to attribute this to DOGE cuts. It's sad to see the fall of civilization.

(Not that stupid America, or our weather forecasting is all of civilization, but you know what I mean!)

Hi Squirrel Baby! You think the clouds are just fine and who cares about civilization?! Yeah, you're right!

Oh, hey! Lesser Goldfinch!

I'm doing my Point and Click and Hope... But I get no cooperation from the camera.

And no cooperation from little bird, either! haha.

Green Zebra...

yeah, I don't know what is up with all the dead branches on this thing! It's still making fruits, but it is def not a healthy plant. Sighs.

Hi Honey Bee!

Oh no! The Aubergine has curled up it's leaves!

Dang it. Not enough water? I just can't do anything right in the garden this year!

But look underneath! ha!

The Wax Beans and all are doing okay under the big trellis.

That big ol' fluffy thing at the bottom right is the biggest Love in a Mist that I've ever had.

And check this out... the Crookneck that I planted as a seed? It's growing it's first fruit, and it's Textured!!

Funny! It has different leaves too... Here's the Nasturtium between the two Crooknecks...

The seed planted Crookneck is top left, and the transplanted Crookneck I got from the Farmers Market is bottom right and much deeper lobes!

The Lemon Cucumbers on the small trellis.

There's three Cuc plants there... two transplants and one that came up as a direct sown seed. And the leaves of both of the ProCut sunflowers, top left.

Today's harvest. And, ha, those are some Sugar Snap Peas... the plants are mostly dead, but you know how the tops keep going sometimes.

oops! I was looking at the new little volunteer squash...

I must have soaked this little Bumblebee when I was watering. So sorry my dear! But no worries, you'll dry out in a couple minutes!

A little group of sparrows twitters close by... Oh! I think this is a juvenile White Crown Sparrow!!

Good to see them migrating!

Heading out. But with the cloud cover, you can actually see the plants and so I take a couple more pics to remind me what this years plot looks like!

The left side. (The straw is the left neighbor.)

And the right side... where you can see my extreme fondness for Borage!

And from the right front.

And yeah, I am ridiculously happy about that Red Amaranth that has grown up in a perfect place!

The wild type Amaranth is short and green, and I remove a lot of it because it's so prolific! I keep a lot for the bugs and birds, of course. But this one I kept, for it's lovely colour!

Tag: august 2025

Oh hey! New graffiti!

I've seen that pyramid symbol before, but only on the west end of the bike path. This is well outside this artist's usual range.

Good! It's nice to see others going for walk abouts as well!

A Green Heron... and it's NOT Greenie!

I pulled up a photo of Greenie to figure it out... Greenie has a more solid and darker coloured cap, and this one is just more stripy.

I looked it up and, ah, extra stripy is a trait of juveniles!!

And that explains the feeling I got as I was watching him... The look he was giving me was that of a Clueless Newbie!

Bahaha! Taking in the whole world! Everything is New and Amazing!

And here's a couple more clueless newbies. Sleepy Babies!

The spider web in front of the Barn Swallow nest has been mostly cleared again! Just a little section of web that's catching the light... like the parent just got an idea! haha.

Dragonfly Land is such a beautiful place! Blue Dashers, galore!

One more glance up at the parent.

At the Community Garden, I walk by the front plots instead of going straight back to my plot... These Corn silks catch my eye!

And then these Nasturtiums, in the same plot are a new colour! I like it!

At my plot, I decide to do some weeding. I've noticed this plant in the Tomato area...

This is a return of the Black Bindweed that I had last year. I had let it bloom, because I was curious, and it spreads by seeds.

No big deal. It's satisfying to pull it out, and it hadn't started any blooms this time.

The leaves of Black Bindweed look similar to Field Bindweed... but they are not related at all, and have very different flowers.

Another wildflower that's very satisfying to pull out is Smartweed!!

Smartweed is a native, and the blooms are visited by lots of different pollinators!

But it tends to form a mat when it gets big, and it will choke off other plants. So you've got to be careful about that, and pull up any baby plants that come up too close to the veggies.

But that's also the thing that makes it satisfying... you pull up one mature plant, and suddenly you've got three square feet of cleared dirt! Ha!

Okay. I've mostly filled up my bucket with all the different wildflowers! I feel accomplished!

That's the ProCut Plum Sunflower... the petals didn't last very long! ha! Birds pluck them out to make it easier to get to the seeds! :)

The small Strawberry's pet Nasturtium has a bloom!

Hello? Heeello-oo? No? Fine!

Tag: august 2025

Good Morning Babies!

oh crum. The spider is so industrious! *laughs*

okay! All the wildlife in Dragonfly Land is very cute. But I'm heading to the garden!

The Buttercups...

When I arrived, one of the Buttercups was a bit wilted and droopy. I propped it back up on the trellis and gave them a good watering.

But here's the problem... the base of the stem has Holes in it!

Dang it. That's the same thing that killed the Accidental Lemon Cucumber! Does a bug do that? It's very annoying!

But it recovered after I propped it up, so I guess the holes are fine, as long as the plant keeps the correct angle for the nutrients to flow.

Well. It doesn't even matter. These little plants aren't going to get big enough to make any fruits. The season won't be long enough, and they've made a few more leaves, but haven't really grown much since I transplanted them.

That ripening Green Zebra. I'm looking forward to tasting it!

I'm going around, gathering the harvest of the day...

And the diagonal neighbor walks by and offers a couple of Peaches!

Oh my gosh, Yes Please!!

I ask where they come from and he says he has a tree in his yard at home.

Oh, that's nice! If I had a yard, I would have a Peach tree. And a Persimmon tree. :)

The harvest and the peaches just barely fit into the small backpack... but I had to carry my water bottle in my hand on the way home! ha.

Tag: august 2025

Henrietta! Long time, no see!!

And then, just a little bit up stream...

It's Mackerel Sky!

That's good to see my friends! Especially Henrietta! I wonder where he's been hunting this year. Further downstream? All the way down to the reservoir?

I go visit the Barn Swallow nest. Oh good... The spider webs have been cleared again!

That white thing is a feather sticking up from the lining of the nest.

Aw! You looking at a baby? Or an egg? ...
A hatching egg??!

I meet up with the Minnows as well.

One more glance at the Barn Swallow parent.

And then I'm off to the Garden.

The Aubergine.

The Half Dead Sungold.

The Old German.

The Brandywine...

Yeah, the tomato cage holding the Brandywine has started to lean dramatically! It's a big plant!

Fortunately, it's leaning on the Old German... and that tomato cage seems to be holding.

The Brandywine also had a drooping branch. The branch only had one tomato growing on it, but that was heavy enough to bend the branch down to the ground! So I propped it up with a small tomato cage.

This back corner makes me happy.

Top left = The Sunchoke on the left side border.
Bottom left = The Volunteer Squashes.
Right of Center = Brandywine.
Top right = Kevin's raised beds.
Bottom right = Old German.

Oh, and I guess you can see a bit of the Green Zebra, as well... it's in front of my aqua backpack, top center.

Bumblebee on the Borage.

Mmmm! Lemon Cucumber!

ProCut Red, part two! Haha!

Heading out... but I stop to admire the right side neighbor's plot. This is the Pot People, they haven't done much at all this year, but they must have watered a couple times...

Tag: july 2025

White Crown Sparrow?! Ha!

The first of the migrations! White Crowns are winter visitors here, but this group might just be passing thru on their way further south.

Happy Journeys, my dears!

Okay! Straight to the garden, I don't stop at the Barn Swallow bridge today. It's to be 89° today, but some morning clouds have kept it cool enough that I'm going to tackle some weeding in the front!!

We've not gotten the email telling us we are not in compliance yet. Which is weird.

But I'm going to do something here...

The section that is not Borage is actually the Beet Patch... not that you can see any! *laughs*

There's some damn Bermuda Grass in the corner, and then I pulled out Amaranth, Crab Grass, a bit of Quack Grass and the little weedy vines that I don't know the name of. There's some Speedwells here as well, which I like to keep because it is pretty, both the leaves and the tiny flowers.

The clouds were breaking up and I was pouring sweat down! I paused work to get water a couple times.

I filled the bucket up with weeds...

And the Beets are free to grow again!

Altho, they don't need to grow much... there are a couple that are huge!

And, of course, I left some of the taller wild Amaranths, and the red one... The birds will enjoy the seeds!

The dirt was insanely dry! So I watered like crazy!

The Green Zebra ripening it's first tomato.

The Nasturtiums in the front are doing well...

They live in between the Crooknecks, and the grid is there to make sure I don't step on them as I walk between the bigger veggies.

And that cute little unknown weed.

The first fruits, under the leaves of the Lemon Cucumber Siblings...

And this will be the third Patty Pan.

It's sad that I'm able to count how many summer squash I've gotten... I looked up some of the harvests from last year. ha, so different!

Mid-July of last year, I had so many Zucs and summer squashes I couldn't eat them all!

And here it is, all but August, and I'm getting squashes one by one. sighs.

Sighs.

That Strawberry? Soooo GOOOD!

I'm happy with the work I did today!

Tag: july 2025

I'm looking both ways to cross the street I live on... and up the hill...

Ha! A Black Tail stag is walking up the sidewalk!

I am glad to see the traffic slows way down when he gets too close to the road. But the stag just continues on his merry!

He'll have to be careful crossing the other road to the south where his forest is, but I'm sure he'll be fine!

And I head down the hill to the bike path.

A parent sits on the nest.

OH! A changing of the guard!

We make sure the eggs are all okay...

And then they get settled.

oh, haha. There's a Mama Mallard in Dragonfly Land!

She plops down into the water.

I can hear her children. They aren't peeping, but just quietly talking to themselves. It's super cute, but the sound is bouncing here, and I can't figure out where they are!

I walk upstream a little. And find a Woodland Skipper!

I come back. Ah, there you are!

*laughs* It's a hot day, my children... you can probably find better shade! That little Yellow Twig sapling isn't doing much!

Yes, you are both absolutely adorable!

Okay. Off to the garden!

oh hey, I guess I WILL be able to tell when the Green Zebras are ripening! This one is starting to get yellow!

Here's the Buttercup, the freebie veggie start, and the only winter squash left to me. I just pulled off most of it's dead leaves... transplant shock and too hot weather.

It's a cute little thing, but it won't make any squashes, I'm thinking. That's okay.

At the other end of the trellis is that Tomatillo I moved from the path.

Hmm, I wonder what this plant is! It's got pretty leaves!

I really am happy with this whole corner!

But the Crooknecks on the other side of the plot are good as well!

I've only got three Lemon Cucumber plants that survived... Two transplants and one that came up from seed. But they are all healthy and happy!

And next year will be better. Definitely can't be worse than this year! ha!

As I walk out of the Community Garden, I see a new sign on the other gate...

Oh crap. Compliance Checks were yesterday. I've still not tidied up the front of the plot. Shoot. Probably going to find me non-compliant.

What else is new!

Tag: july 2025

Over the weekend I was taking a break from my pushups, because I had over extended my back moving old typewriters around. But today I wanted to get back to it.

And, nope. I did my pushups and then this afternoon I was back to eating pills in order to live! *laughs*

This morning I'm heading to the garden to water the veggies. But first, Dragonfly Land!

Blue Dashers. Their eyes are just the prettiest colours!

There's only ever males here. I don't think I've ever seen a female. I looked them up, they are brown and yellow, very different.

As I walk toward the bridge with the nest, a Barn Swallow flies in and out quickly. But when I get there, the parent is settled. Was the other parent just checking in? Or did they bring a snack? hm.

At the garden, the main Crookneck is making more fruits.

And the front Crookneck, which I started from seed, is making it's first fruit!! Yay!

The Volunteer Tomato plant is looking pretty good. I don't know why I bothered with this... the cherry tomatoes from this plant won't be any good, and I'll have tons of Sungolds, once they rev up.

I'm noticing that not all of the flowers on the Brandywine are getting fertilized...

That concerns me a little. Because my plot is filled with Zillions of bees and other pollinators! But maybe it's the plant deciding it can't handle all the fruit? It does have a good number of tomatoes coming on!

The vining Wax Beans make me happy!

Oh hey! The ProCut Red Sunflower is making a second bloom!! Woo!

I harvested the second Patty Pan today. And I've lost track of how many Lemon Cucumbers I've gotten off the heathy plant... the other two Lemon Cuc plants aren't ready to make fruits.

Heading out.

But this catches my eye in a neighboring plot...

That colour! I wonder what variety that is!

And I see not all of those flowers have been fertilized, as well.

In the evenings I've been watching the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. This is a mini-series of six episodes.

As is my way, I've watched it over and over. I think I've seen it three times, now, all the way thru. Which is enough to have a favorite episode...

Episode number four! Darcy is walking away right after he makes the terrible proposal and the words they both said are echoing. And then the letter he writes!

But then in Episode number five, Miss Bennet visits Pemberly with her aunt and uncle... and Mr Darcy is suddenly all nice, and gentlemanly. That's a good one as well!

But then again... episode three was the set up for all of this. That disastrous proposal! That's fun to watch as well!

*laughs* I would like to re-read P&P again at some point. I know that the 1995 version is closer to following the story than the 2005 movie. But of course, the 1995 version is hours longer, so there's more time to be true. But I do enjoy the movie as well.

:)

Tag: july 2025

Taking a break from the garden! It's a nice day today at 84° (29°C) but next week looks like upper 80s and a couple days in the 90s. Bleh. So I'm enjoying today!

And it really is a lovely summer day!

I go by the bridge thats getting seismic upgrades. This road closed in mid-June and they won't finish until Aug20.

The extra traffic on the street I live on is a major pain, I'll be glad when this is done!

I love all the different colours of the prairie!

I get around to the trail at the park... aw, dangit!

*laughs* That was a Kestrel standing on that Frisbee Golf goal. She flew away immediately.

But she flew in the direction I was walking and I saw her land in a tree. I walked closer, but the tree was too far from the trail, and I figured she would fly again if I got too close.

She's a female... The males have blue wings.

I walk around, but she's busy!

And it's not a better view anyway. Humph!

I remind myself that if I were to walk out here more often... I would get more chances to see these beautiful little raptors!! *smiles*

Tag: july 2025

There's spider webs in front of the Barn Swallow nest again.

But with some fiddling, I do get the camera focused beyond.

In the Community Garden, walking back to my plot, I stop to take a pic of these so I can ID them...

Nemesia. They are tiny and native to southern Africa, so probably not doing a single thing for our pollinators.

In my plot, I'm throwing down some fertilizer and watering.

Here's the healthy Lemon Cucumber plant, from the other side of the small trellis!

The Tomatillos I bought are at the other end of the small trellis. They are making fruits, in the excitable manner that is normal! *laughs* Tomatillos are prolific!

The Tomatillos are very crowded by Borage, that's the blue flowers and the fur. I should probably pull some of the Borage out, to give space. But, meh. The Tomatillos don't seem to mind the Borage, which brings bees and pollinators of all sorts!

This is the front left of the plot, the neighbor's corn in the top left and some of my Buckwheats in the top right.

The squash at the top, right of center is the Main Crookneck that I bought as a veggie start. It used to be the biggest squash in the plot!

But now, the Crookneck on the left has gotten bigger!! I planted that one as a seed, so that's very exciting.

And plus... look how different the leaves are. The transplant has much deeper lobes. Makes me wonder if the seed planted Crookneck is actually a Crookneck!! Ha!

Well, whatever it is, I am thrilled with how well it is doing! It's the first time that I've grown summer squashes from seed!

But today I'm picking from the Green Zuc...

*laughs* at those two Sungolds! Well, the plants have to start somewhere!

Green Zebra, the experimental tomato flavor of the year.

I wonder when I'm supposed to harvest them!

The Mystery Plant under the big trellis.

And look how pretty the Basil is! It's the first time I've had good success with Basil.

Well, I'm out. Outside the Community Garden fence, there's some Chicory blooming.

Tag: july 2025

Massive back pain today!

Ha! Let me tell you what I've been working on for the daily Tiny Cleans in the porch room...

This electric Underwood Typewriter is my inheritance from my Grandma. I learned how to type on Grandma's typewriters! That's why the keys are covered with tape, so we couldn't look down at the letters! ha!

And that orange thing is a moving company sticker... apparently they didn't even bother to put it in a box! Amazing it still works.

Or, I assume it works. I didn't plug it in because it really needs to be cleaned, and oiled I suppose. And I don't have a ribbon for it. I would pay someone else to do this work for me... It would be way fun to type on it again! But that is for another time.

Anyway. I don't know how heavy the thing actually is, but I was trying to get it and the other typewriter back under the shelf yesterday. I didn't notice any back pain while I was working but I had spasms last night and was pretty sure I was going to die! *laughs*

So! That all said, I am not even going to bother with the garden. We are just coming off the latest little heat wave: it was 92° on Wed and 89° yesterday. I watered pretty well yesterday, and the high today is a very pleasant 85° so the veggies should be fine!

I'm going for a walk!

As I approached the Events Center, Oh yeah, the Fair is happening this weekend!

Since the main parking lot is used for the rides they use the back fields for parking instead. And to jam as many cars as they can into that space, horseback riders direct the cars into tidy rows!

That's always fun to watch!

I go thru the Solidarity Garden. Veggies and fruits are growing, and the flowers look lovely as well!

I sat at Wayside Micro Park to drink water.

It's a shame the bench is no longer in the shade. The ice storm that killed the Leaning Tree also brought down the beautiful Mimosa Trees here.

They've replanted with two other species of trees -- but like the new Leaning Trees, they are just saplings. It'll be a good decade or more before they provide any shade.

And on this side, ha, the Mimosa is coming back to life!

On the way back, there's an alley that I specifically wanted to go down to see this amazing double petal Hibiscus!

There's a regular Hibiscus bush here as well.

One more look at the horses as I pass the Events Center again.

And then I'm back at the creek! It's Mackerel Sky!

A parent still sits at the nest. I wonder when we will have babies!

Greenie!!

So awesome to see her/him again!

Tag: july 2025

A kid in the grass! Juvenile Scrub Jay.

Stretch! ha, her little arms!

And Yawn! *laughs*

And back to sleep!

Walk about at the Community Garden!

I'm surprised at how messy the Pollinator Garden is this year... I like it but I imagine it makes the stupid Garden Director cringe. haha!

Red and Orange used to be my least favorite colours... but now I think Orange definitely has it's place!! :)

I've come around to my garden plot. Some fruits on the Half Dead Sungold, with the small Strawberry plant stretching its runners underneath!

And here's the Fallow Area Sungold. See? Orange is a lovely colour!

A Green Zuc I'll pick in a day or two.

The Main Crookneck.

*laughs* Yeah I just ate that Sungold! I also ate this...

Oh my gosh, it was perfect! mmmm!

There's some more strawberries coming on and that Seascape one is Huge! It's still white underneath, yet. I hope the slugs don't get it.

And the cute little volunteer squash under the Brandywine!

Oh! Hello!

Wow, look how pretty her face is with that dark blue sheen! She's tiny, too. I bet she's a parasitic wasp of some kind!

Looking up at the Brandywine...

That Bumblebee on the right comes around! :)

Thank you for your pollinating services!!

This is that little Mystery Plant. I've still not looked it up... I was hoping it would just make a flower and be obvious about what it was. But so far, it's just the leaves!

Tag: july 2025

Too Cute!

The Spider webs in front of the Barn Swallow nest have been broken up a little, so I can see the parent sitting. But I don't stay but for a minute.

I am doing some weeding today, gonna take out this little patch of grass (those are the Leeks that have fallen over)... and the tiny tree! ha.

I have removed so many little trees this year! Springing up all over the place from the leaves I hauled last winter.

It does make me sad, having to murder a tree, even a tiny one. But I can't have a tree in the garden plot! I wonder if I could try putting them in a pot, instead?

A hawk is yelling and I realize they are sitting in the tree right outside the Community Garden...

Red Shoulder Hawk, and she has an eye patch! Bahaha!!

What a goof!

Back to my plot. The Wax Beans are vining!

And on the other side of the big trellis, the Tomatillo I moved out of the pathway is growing and doing just fine!

The Patty Pan has some fruits coming on.

And so does the Green Zuc.

The Lemon Cucumber plants that have lived are growing well.

It's a little bit sad to think of all the Lemon Cucs I bought, that were murdered by the bugs this spring.

Yet again, this will not be the year that I grow more Lemon Cucumbers than I can eat.

On the other side of the small trellis, the Nasturtium seedlings are happy.

On the way home, I'm eating a good handful of Himalayan Blackberries!

I see one of the baby raccoons again... but there's something very wrong with her eye. Poor baby.

Either an injury has gotten infected, or maybe it's cancer. Probably won't last very long and probably painful. ugh.

Tag: july 2025

Bleh. I have not been sleeping well.

At first, I couldn't sleep just because of the heat. The heat wave of mid-July lasted eight days, with two days of upper 90s. The last couple of days and nights have been blissful, but still no sleep. I toss and turn.

And now we are gearing up for another couple days in the 90s.

I'm so sleep deprived, I can't even think about it. I hope some exercise and sunshine will help!

I walk past the Barn Swallow bridge and past Dragonfly Land. The next bridge is a walking bridge, and I just watch the dragonflies for a while.

After a bit, I head back to the garden. Maybe some weeding will do me good.

But I just futz around and don't do anything meaningful.

The Volunteer Squash patch is over run by Borages, and one of the squashes has gotten choked off. I push the Borages away a little, but don't feel like pulling them out... there's so many bees flying around and they make me happy!

The Green Zebra tomatoes sure look pretty!

And the two ProCut sunflowers.

I'm glad I got them both, especially since I've had zero volunteer sunflowers this year. I don't think that's ever happened before!

In the afternoon, I crash and take a nap...

I lie down, thinking that I would sleep for hours and hours and it would probably be dark when I wake up.

But, ha! I sleep for 45mins and I feel refreshed and have a productive evening.

Funny how just the littlest bit of self care makes such a big difference!

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

∞ We do not comply: How do we disrupt the momentum of Trump's cruelty? by V

Non-compliance is art, as art is meant to defy the status quo, question the givens, expand the boundaries of knowing and freedom. And as you courageously make your mark of refusal, you carve a path for others to be brave. Non-compliance is praxis, stretching and transforming the muscles of our discontent into impactful and embodied action.

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

Tag: july 2025

January 2025

February 2025

March 2025

April 2025

May 2025

June 2025

January 2024 (partial)

February 2024

March 2024

April 2024

May 2024

June 2024

July 2024

August 2024

September 2024

October 2024

November 2024

December 2024

February 2023 (partial)

March 2023

April 2023

May 2023 (partial)

June 2023 (partial)

July 2023

August 2023

September 2023

October 2023

November 2023

December 2023

So I've looked at a map, and I hope I get around the new Downtown Riverfront Park without getting lost this time. It's closed because they are using it for the World Athletics Championships, which started yesterday and runs until the 25th.

This amazing mural just outside the Rose Garden was finished just in time for the Championships.

And, of course, you can't go by the Rose Garden without obsessively taking photos of the roses.

And then we gotta check the Osprey nest on the other side of the river. There's one child there today, and she takes off ... only to make a loop and come back to the nest.

XXX... Goal: Finish this post!

Tag: xxx 2022

I'm archiving the 2022 posts...

∞ January 2022

∞ February 2022

∞ March 2022
Story of nesting Anna Hummingbird begins here!

∞ April 2022
... And the nesting Hummer story continues here, until the babies fly away in mid-April!

∞ May 2022

∞ June 2022

∞ July 2022

(completed 28 May 2023...)

January thru July 2021 Archive

August 2021 Archive

September 2021 Archive

October 2021 Archive

(No entries for November 2021)

December 2021 Archive

Goal: revisit August 2021... Road Trip to Utah!

And then keep filling in posts from there thru the end of 2021.

Tag: 2021

(completed 27 Dec 2020 thru 5 Jan 2021...)

2020 Archive... January thru July

(posted 21 Apr 2023...)

2020 Archive... Aug thru Dec

GOAL...

Revisit the Aug thru Dec archive page and add photos and clear out the xxx!

Tag: 2020

(Posted 22 Dec 2020...)

The new archive is HTML5, and completely validated!

2019 journal entries

Tag: 2019

(Posted 18 Dec 2020...)

I have managed to move all of the 2018 journal entries into an archive page. I did not write very much in 2018, so I decided not to divide them up into months, like I usually do.

The new archive is HTML5, and completely validated!

2018 journal entries

Tag: 2018

(Posted 19 Dec 2020...)

I have managed to move all of the 2017 journal entries into an archive page. And again, I didn't write very much, so the posts for the entire year are on one page.

The new archive is HTML5, and completely validated!

2017 journal entries

Tag: 2017

Sat, 08 Jul 2023
Partner's Mom passed away
early this morning.