Blogging the Infinite Static


Sat, 08 Jul 2023

Partner's Mom passed away early this morning.




Uploaded Wed 27 Mar 2024

Thursday 29 February 2024... Leap Day!

It rained all thru the night and it's dark and dreary this morning! But the breeze has continued as well and 37°F is feeling like 30° with the wind chill. Brr!

I put on extra layers, and tuck the camera under the rain jacket and head out like usual!

Aw, look at how precious she is!

Golden Crown Sparrow standind on a wood fence with a bright splash of yellow in the background

That's a Golden Crown Sparrow, our winter visitors from Alaska and Canada. The yellow is Oregon Grape blooms, our state flower!

With raindrops on her head!

Close up of Sparrow with water drops on her head

All this rain means the creek has come up and the bike path is flooded under the bridges.

Flooded bike path with ducks

And the rain is filling up the wet prairie puddles again!

Daffodil blooming next to a grassy puddle

Cherry Blossoms

I walk up into the neighborhoods at the edges of downtown. This is Wayside Park, a micro park in an awkward corner of an intersection. They've chopped up the big Mimosa Tree that had fallen in the ice storm and it feels empty without the canopy.

Bushes next to a tree stump, canal on the left

Red Flowering Currant blooms

Pink Camellia blooms

Pink Camellia blooms

*laughs* I just can't get enough of these pink flowers!

Pink Camellia blooms

Okay, here's something odd...

I had walked past the Community Garden, and I saw this bird, way far away getting dive bombed by Starlings... And I assumed she was that Red Shoulder Hawk, who has been hanging out in the area.

But I was surprised when I looked at the photos!

Big Corvid, silhouette on a branch

*laughs* That's a Corvid. She was far away, but I knew she was big. And I'm wondering if this is actually a Raven!

We rarely see Ravens here in the city... occasionally, very very occasionally -- like once every other year -- I might hear a Raven's croaking caw as they fly over. But that's it. You have to go out into the wilderness to meet a Raven!

So yeah. I'm not sure. But that makes a pretty cool Leap Day! :)

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Wednesday 28 February 2024... Today

There's a gusty breeze today and I get all the way to the Community Garden and I haven't taken any photos of anyone! So I decide to go in and look at the flowers.

The Crocuses in our plot are already looking pathetic.

Purple Crocuses with closed blooms, surrounded by leafy mulch

But the Daffodils in the back corner plot are cheerful!

Daffodils

Back to the bike path. It's kind of a sleepy day, today... :)

Napping Male and Female Green Wing Teals on the water

Daffodil blooms

Daffodil blooms

And it's started sprinkling.

Male and Female Mergansers paddling on the water

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Uploaded Tues 26 Mar 2024

Tuesday 27 February 2024... Up Hidden Trail, with Turkeys

pink Saxifrage blooms

Grape Hyacinths in front of a mossy rock

Red Flowering Currant blooms

Waterfall with rocks and mossy tree trunks

*laughs* The camera lens has fogged up! It's 86% humidity, probably even more than that here in the forest next to the waterfall. And it's been sprinkling.

Fogged up photo of the forest

Aw, there's a deer up there too? And of course, no one is cooperating! heh.

Deer and turkeys blocked by trees in the forest

More trees getting chopped up.

Forest path with fallen and chopped up trees on the ground

Yellow Lenten Roses

Red Violet Lenten Roses in the forest

Oh nice! I think this is the same little bachelor band that I couldn't get pics of on the way up!

Wild Turkey

Close up of a Wild Turkey

That's sweet of them to stick around for me!

Wild Turkey

Close up of a male turkeys face

Close up of a male Wild Turkey

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Monday 26 February 2024... Today

There's a little bit of a lot of weather today! *laughs*

Clouds

I set out under a grey cloudy sky, but the sun broke out before too long. Under my warm, heavy shirt and my black rain jacket, I was getting way too hot. ugh.

The clouds came back and soon it was sprinkling. And then raining. And then pouring! When I turned around, I was walking into the wind. The jeans got soaked and I was getting rather chilly!

And then the rain clouds broke up and the sun came out again. But this time the chilly wind kept me cool. And that's how I prefer it...

I'd rather be slightly cold, rather than slightly hot. I can just walk a little faster if I get cold. But walking slower when I'm hot, is not an option! Haha!

Here's Henrietta. It's always nice to see him!

Great Blue Heron standing on sticks near the bank of the creek

This willow tree came down in the ice storm... but spring time is bringing it to life!

fallen willow tree

Male and Female Hooded Mergansers, paddling on the water

Fog on the hill

The broken willow past Blazey's spot is coming to life as well.

Fallen willow branch with green buds

Willow catkins

Squirrel hanging from the side of a mossy green tree trunk

Scrub Jay up on a mossy twig

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Sunday 25 February 2024... Cherry Blossoms and Bluebirds

Aw, is it going to be one of Those days?

Blurry

Some trees coming to life with spring green and cherry blossom pink!

Trees

Yep.

Blurry Crow standing on a chain link fence, a red bush in the background

Okay, that's better!

Golden Crown Sparrow standing on a branch

whoa! Usually the teals are shy and paddling away! But this pair is close and sticking around for some decent photography! Thank You!

Male Green Wing Teal, on the water

Female Green Wing Teal, on the water

Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms

Fallen Leaning Tree

Yeah, some of the big logging machines are still here from the Logging Conference. It's funny how useless they are!

Logging machines behind the fallen Leaning Tree

The new fence looks picturesque!

Daffodils

Oh! There's a pair of Bluebirds at the Community Garden!

Male Bluebird standing on a wood nesting box

She is so cute!

Female Bluebird standing on a wood plank

YES! Check it out! Do you want to raise some little Bluebird babies in there?!

Female Bluebird looking at a nesting box

Aw. They are a cute couple! It would be nice to have a family at the Community Garden again. There are several nesting boxes here to choose from. Last year we had House Sparrows in one, but the others were unoccupied.

Male and Female Bluebirds standing on a wood nest box

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Saturday 24 February 2024... Out to the River

Oh, gah, the sun is so stinkin' bright! And a few days without rain, and look, there's just a trickle coming over the spillover, into the ponds.

Water coming thru the spillover from the river to the ponds

Ha! My new little friend! She's bouncing around barely six feet away, and isn't bothered at all when I move around like a strange human with a camera!

Golden Crown Sparrow standing in the grass

Golden Crown Sparrow standing in the grass

Golden Crown Sparrow standing in the grass

Such cute little birds. I will miss them when they go back up to Canada and Alaska for their nesting season.

Golden Crown Sparrow standing on a hill of grass

Oh, cool! There are turtles Everywhere! A little bit of sunshine and everyone wants to come out and soak up some rays!

Red Ear Sliders on a log in the water

It's hard to tell the invasive Red Ear Sliders from our native Western Pond Turtles... especially when I'm pointing the camera into the sun! ha.

Turtles on a log in the water

But here's a native!

Western Pond Turtle on a snag sticking up from the water

Red Flowering Currant blooms, the river in the backgound

Looking across the river

River water going over rocks

The Cackling Geese like to hang out in huge flocks, and someone has disturbed this flock at the school fields... Suddenly there are hundreds of geese in the sky!

Geese in the sky

The flock was flying in my direction, and when they turned, as a flock in a beautifully coordinated liquid-like movement, the WHOOSH sound of their wings on the air was surprisingly loud and awe inspiring!

In less than five minutes, they are all gone, can't even hear anyone honking.

Can you imagine a flock of Passenger Pigeons... blackening the sky for days on end??

Canada Goose

Song Sparrow standing on mossy twig

Looking northwest from the Owosso Walking Bridge.

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Friday 23 February 2024... No Science Today

Golden Crown Sparrow up on a twig

Close up of a Golden Crown Sparrow

I started counting humans on the bike path again today... But then I got to the Events Center.

There's heavy machinery taking up all the space in the Events Center parking lot. And the back parking lot is full, and there's trucks parked along the neighborhood streets, for blocks around.

And there are men walking from their pickups to the Events Center. Technically, they are _on_ the path... but they are not _using_ the path in the way that I want to count.

Also, it's 100% men, and that's really going to screw up my count.

When I got home, I looked up to see what was happening...

It's the Oregon Logging Conference and oh my gosh, the irony. The fallen Leaning Tree is right there... They could have done the city a favor AND could have provided a demonstration of their big stupid machines by chopping up and cleaning up the Leaning Tree.

Did they? no, of course not. And of course I'm glad that the Leaning Tree remains in place. But it's still a ridiculous situation!

Spotted Towhee standing on a twig

White Crocus blooms, with Yellow Crucus blooms in the background

This stuff is called Winter Heath. It's a low growing plant, native to the mountains of Europe and used here as an early blooming landscaping plant. Normally, it has pink flowers, so this white one caught my eye!

White Winter Heath blooms

Oh, aren't these Lovely! I think I will make this a postcard!

Purple and white striped Crocus blooms

Crocus blooms

Daffodils

Flowering Quince blooms

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Thursday 22 February 2024... Hendricks Park with Science

Yellow tree

Let's see. There's usually a Song Sparrow here to greet me? Ah, here we are. Too bad she didn't give me time to get a decent picture!

Song Sparrow standing on a twig

Couple different Camelias blooming at the Rhododendron Garden.

pink Camellia bloom

red Camellia blooms

Spotted Towhee singing on a branch

Rhododendrons down the path thru the forest

Osoberry blooming in the forest!

Osoberry blooms hang down

Many of the fallen trees from the ice storm just look like normal forest. But some don't.

fallen tree in the forest

Song Sparrow standing on the forest floor, turned away

I decide to go up on the Ribbon Trail... and oh hey! New gravel?

Gravel trail going up into the forest

Oh! That's right, they were working on the trail here, in October!

oh wow, this is so much nicer now! Parts of the trail were literally sloughing off the hill, and one section was actually getting dangerous. All nice and leveled and reinforced!

Oop, a place they haven't cleared the trail... but it's relatively easy to step over the couple of heavy branches across the trail.

Tree fallen across the trail

Curtain of Spanish Moss hanging from trees in the forest

Oh, these are pretty little things!

small purple flowers

Let's see... not Candy Flower. Candy Flower has five petals and the petals are notched. Not Herb Roberts either, which also has five petals and is pink. Okay, Google...

Oh Cool! A native wildflower! It's Coast Toothwort!

Okay!

Yes, I've been counting humans today at the park. My hypothesis is that there's going to be a lot more women here... The park is not big, and it's entirely contained within wealthy neighborhoods. Rich women have a lot more time to walk.

Also, there's rarely any homeless people out on the trails.

So I counted differently today... I kept track of WHO people were walking with.

5 Pairs = 10 people
3 walking dogs
7 walking alone

Total = 20 people, 7 of whom were men and 13 women.

Wow: 65% women and 35% men. Almost twices as many women is a complete turnaround from the bike path numbers, where there are two or three times as many men!

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Wednesday 21 February 2024... Science in the Rain

Blazeys Throne

It started pouring down rain today as soon as I got out the door. And I was pretty sure it would screw up my numbers for my science experiment today.

Yep, while it rained, all the way up past the Community Garden, the count was 100% men!

But then the rain quit and more people came out. The numbers are still a bit skewed tho.

Data Analysis 29 men, 11 women == 40 total, which is 72.5% men and 27.5% women.

Conclusion Almost three times as many men today, with the rain. (The other day, walking this way was twice as many men.)

Fallen Leaning Tree, surrounded by a temporary fence

Fallen Leaning Tree

Just one of the reason why I love it here:

Solidarity Garden Sign

Not sure that there is actually weekly work that needs to happen this time of year. Probably it's just people gathering for a happy time! :)

Leeks and a brick enclosed small shrub

Dafodils

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Tuesday 20 February 2024... Stewart, Science and Cedar Waxwings!!

Camellia blooms

I am walking west today and I am counting humans again.

Hypothesis I think there's going to be even more men using the bike path, going this way.

Experiment Count up the people I see on the bike path.

Data Analysis 24 men, 7 women. 31 total makes it 77.4% men and 22.6% women.

Conclusion Wow. More than three times as many men!

Going this way, there are industrial type warehouses along the bike path.

Yesterday, I went east on the bike path, towards downtown. The bike path goes thru neighborhoods and parks. There are grocery stores, and shops and restaurants as you approach the edges of downtown. And there are apartments and houses all along the way.

It is more beautiful going east. And with nearby stores, there are places to walk to and from. Also, being near homes makes it feel safer for women.

To the west, there's none of that. So fewer women are here.

Song Sparrow standing on a chain link fence

Foggy trees on the hill

Oh my gosh! It's bath time!

Three Cedar Waxwings in shallow water

Cedar Waxwings in shallow water

*Laughs*

Cedar Waxwings in shallow water

Cedar Waxwings in shallow water

Cedar Waxwings like to be right next to each other. But lordy, does everyone need to be RIGHT THERE? Don't we need some space to splash?

Cedar Waxwings in shallow water

Their cute little mask across their eyes.

Cedar Waxwings in shallow water

Three Cedar Waxwings in shallow water

White Crown Sparrow standing on a willow twig, surrounded by willow catkins

White Crown Sparrow standing on a twig

Aw. A Cackling Goose all by herself, just hanging out with a couple of Mallards. Where are your people, my dear?

Cackling Goose standing at the edge of the water

There are Northern Shovelers and Teals here as well, and some Canada Geese further on. It's good to see the ponds in use!

Female and Male Northern Shovelers paddling on the water

I finally get to the little forest, but it's pretty quiet here today.

Eastern Fox Squirrel standing on a fallen tree

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Monday 19 February 2024... Science on the Bike Path

I'm doing science today!

The internet tells me there are seven steps to the scientific method...

Question How many men, compared to how many women, use the bike path?

Research I've been walking the bike path, lo these many years. *laughs*

Hypothesis A lot more men use the bike path.

My observations: Almost all bikers are men. Most homeless people are men. Dog walkers... hm this might be closer to 50-50. Walkers and Joggers, probably mostly men, maybe around 60-40.

But what does it all come out to?

Experiment Count up the people I see on the bike path!

Data Analysis Today I walked just over 4 miles and I was out for about 1h35m. I counted 19 men and 8 women. 27 people total is 70.37% men, 29.63% women.

Conclusion Twice as many men are using the bike path today.

Communication *waves at you reading this!*

shallow pond surrounded by trees, two ducks napping in the water

It makes me sad that there is this disparity.

The inequality probably has many reasons... the extra (unpaid) labor that women still must do: they simply don't have time to walk on the bike path. And as well, not feeling safe in a place which is clearly dominated by men.

Foggy trees in the distance

A Crow cawed in an alarmed way and the ducks I was looking at in the creek, flushed! What's going on? You're not freaking out about me, are you??

I look up. Ah!

Blurry flying Bald Eagle

The fallen Leaning Tree still remains... it's been over a month since the ice storm in mid-January.

Fallen tree behind a temporary fence to keep people from danger

The trunks are broken off from their roots.

Fallen tree

Daffodil blooms

Double Daffodil bloom

Camellia bloom

I just love this Camellia bush!

Camellia bloom

Camellia blooms

That Red Shoulder is at the Garden again!

Red Shoulder Hawk standing on a post

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Sunday 18 February 2024... Just a couple photos today

Lenten Rose blooms

Lenten Rose blooms

Still no sign of Angle, and I've mostly given up looking for her. Did the ice storm kill her?

Female and Male Mallards, napping on grass next to the creek

Well. Ducks don't live forever. But I'm going to pretend Angle has just found a nicer place to hang out, downstream.

Squirrel sitting on a wood fence

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Saturday 17 February 2024... Vulture at the River!!

I'm starting at the Rose Garden today, and the Magnolia tree is well on it's way to spring!

Red-violet Magnolia blooms, not open yet

Clumps of Daphne blooms

Lenten Roses

Pink Rhododendron blooms

Looking past a chrome Heron statue to the river

Board walk next to the river, building in the background

I hear some Crows cawing and far away I see them mobbing a Red Tail Hawk.

Hawk standing on the edge of a building, Crow flying by

Oh, wow! There's a Turkey Vulture!

Blurry Turkey Vulture up in a tree

Vultures are my favorite!

And look at her face! You see how the tip of her beak is mostly dark grey? She's a juvenile! Her beak will change to bright white, and her face will get red as she gets older!

Turkey Vulture standing in a tree

She is so beautiful! She flies over to a nearby tree and I hope she'll pause there while I walk over.

Turkey Vulture up in a tree, flapping her wings

Just carefully walking this tightrope! haha!

Turkey Vulture walks along a branch up in a tree

Thank you so much for your time! You are so sweet!

Turkey Vulture standing on a branch up in a tree

Autzen Walking Bridge is my turn around point. I go across to make a loop and come back on the other side of the river.

Looking down at the river

But I always pause here to listen to the river.

River water swirling

I love it here and wish I could stay longer.

But I've got other things to do today, and eventually I move on.

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Friday 16 February 2024... The Hungry Hungry Squirrel

The Varied Thrush has been singing somewhere outside the bedroom window this morning. Really going at it! I wish I could see him!

Cloudy today and not too chilly. It's a nice day for a walk.

ducks on a wet prairie pond, grass and trees in the background

Hmm. I don't know why the tree has a ribbon, either.

Western Scrub Jay standing on a twig, looking back at a yellow ribbon on another twig

Squirrel standing on a branch

At the Community Garden, I look down the path to the street and see a squirrel getting into a food wrapper. And a Crow patiently waiting for a turn.

Squirrel and Crow on the path

Oh my gosh! Look! That Squirrel is Very pregnant!!

Squirrel has a round belly

The Crow must realize the situation. Crows def have the upper hand with squirrels, and could easily just walk up and take the food wrapper! Instead, she's practically guarding the squirrel.

Crow and Squirrel with a food wrapper

Yep, definitely Prego! :) Heh... Probably Squirrels get cravings when they're pregnant too!

Crow and Squirrel with a food wrapper

Keeping an eye out.

Crow and Squirrel with a food wrapper

And Squirrel is paying attention to her Guardian Crow, if nothing else!

Crow and Squirrel with a food wrapper

I can't tell what was in the wrapper. Candy bar? Energy bar?

Crow and Squirrel with a food wrapper

Her roundness is just too cute.

Crow and Squirrel with a food wrapper

And the Guardian Crow is too awesome.

Crow and Squirrel with a food wrapper

Good luck, Little One. Hope everything goes smoothly!

Daffodil blooms

Snow Drop blooms

Someone has left some art!

Poem on neon green paper
Escaping thru the Lilly [sic?] fields,
I came upon an empty space..
It trembled and exploded,
Left a bus stop in its place.

And the Leaning Tree and it's art remain.

Streamers hanging from a fallen tree

Streamers hanging from a fallen tree

There was web site contact info on the back of the poetry pieces, but I will spare you from having to look at it. Crazy guy, deep in the conspiracy theories, probably needs meds.

But his poems are nice.

Poem on neon pink paper
Fare thee well now.
Let your life proceed by your own design.

Cherry Blossoms

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Wednesday 14 February 2024... Rainy Day

Delightfully dreary today, and it's been raining all morning!

Foggy trees in the distance

Cherry blossoms

Cherry Blossoms

Ha, I had to look up what these are again... ah, Flowering Quince!

Closeup of a Flowering Quince bloom

Four Daffodils, covered in rain drops

Haha! Feeling a bit stabby!

flattened Orange Peel on a wood post, with a stake thru it

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Tuesday 13 February 2024... Stewart Pond

Squirrel on the step

These are pretty, but I don't know what they are.

Yellow flowers with pink flowers in the background

um, what the heck is going on?!

tan coloured bunny in front of the chicken house, hens looking down

Ha. This bun-bun must have escaped? And now we are having second thoughts because it's really scary out here in the real world! I think she is wishing she could get in with the hens!

Great Blue Heron standing on a branch

I arrive at the ponds, and Yay! There are ducks here! Teals all over the place, and this little group was talking to each other.

Female and male teals standing in the marshy water

They are so little and cute.

Female and male teals standing in the marshy grass

huh. They are called Green Wing Teals... I wonder if it's just how the light falls, that some of them have blue?

Female and male teals standing in the marsh

Okay! We are all paired off now! ha!

Paired off teals standing in marshy water

There are a couple handfuls of Norther Shovelers here as well!

a Pair of teals and a Northern Shoveler paddling on the water

In the little forest, I have to replace my Hazard board again! The root that sticks up here is so hard to see, I def don't want anyone else tripping over it!

Forest trail

Spotted Towhee standing on a vine

Spotted Towhee standing on a vine, looking over to the side

ooh, careful! Don't get a splinter in your foot!
And what is that on your face?

Spotted Towhee has moved to the end of a broken branch

*laughs*

Spotted Towhee standing on a broken branch, shakes

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Monday 12 February 2024... Birds! Wonderful Birds!

Good Morning, Lovey!

Dark Eye Junco standing on a stick

Oh. I've interrupted your morning calisthenics?

Darke Eye Junco, stretching his wing

Dark Eye Junco, spreading tail feathers and shoulders

Oh yeah! I can tell that feels good!

Dark Eye Junco standing on a twig

Clouds over trees in the distance

Pied Bill Grebe paddling in the water

Oh my gosh, look at them all!

19 Cedar Waxwings standing at the top of a winter bare tree

Unfortunately, being straight up from the path is not a great angle! *laughs*

4 Cedar Waxwings standing up in a winter bare tree

3 Cedar Waxwings standing in a winter bare tree

They like to be cozy, right next to each other!

3 Cedar Waxwings sitting right next to each other

Bye!

Cedar Waxwing flock starts to fly away

There's a partnered pair of Downy Woodpeckers, but they were both bouncing around to fast for me.

Downy Woodpecker standing against a tree trunk

Golden Crown Sparrow, standing on a branch, looking over his shoulder

Golden Crown Sparrow standing on a twig

Oh hey! Instead of openly mocking me, my friend the Belted Kingfisher has decided to sit for a moment!

Belted Kingfisher, surrounded by sticks

This pair always flies up and down the creek, this time of year, looking for a good place for a nest. Kingfishers dig a tunnel in the bank for their nest, but I've never actually seen them do that... so I don't know if they nest here or not!

heh. She notices me and flies off.

Belted Kingfisher looking over her shoulder

And Falkor Part 2, again.

Crow standing on the sidewalk, holding up one of her legs

Such an awesome variety of birds today! It makes me happy!

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Sunday 11 February 2024... A Day

Song Sparrow standing and surrounded by sticks

Spotted Towhee standing on a wood fence

I wander into the Community Garden to check on my blooming Crocus...

Purple Crocus bloom

More on the way!

Crocus bloom with more leaves and buds coming up around it

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Saturday 10 February 2024... Flowers at the River

It's a good day for flowers!

Red Witch Hazel blooms

Pink Rhododendron blooms

Yellow Crocuses

Osoberry blooms

Osoberry blooms

Still working at cleaning up the parks.

Piles of sticks and branches next to the path

Art pavilion with the river in the background

Pardon me? Your shoulder feathers are sticking out weirdly... could you just fix that please?! :)

Song Sparrow standing on a stick

Song Sparrow standing on a twig

River water

River water

Huh. I wonder what happened here!

Bridge railing bent into a V shape, the river in the background

I did not photo the jerks walking in the forest, *Right* *Under* *This* *Sign*!! Jerks.

Wood sign says: Sensitive Wildflower Area, Please stay on the trail

Still much work to be done.

Fallen tree in front of a pavilion

Snow Drops and a bug

Yellow Crocus blooms in front of Snow Drops

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Friday 9 February 2024... Blurry Birds

There's a steady sprinkle coming down for the entire walk today. But I keep having to point the camera up... and I keep having to wipe the lens!

Red Shoulder Hawk in a tree, partial obscured with sticks

I wander into the Community Garden... and notice one of the Lesser Celandines I tried to murder the other day in the neighboring plot, is trying to make a comeback. This is inevitable of course. I break off the leaves, and contemplate the pointlessness of it all. *laughs*

A Crocus is coming up in our plot!

Closed Crocus bloom, pushing up thru the dead leaves

Moving on. Here's someone I've not seen before.

Pale coloured siamese cat, sitting on a cut off log

A very pretty boy who def should stay inside.

Pale coloured siamese cat, sitting on a cut off log

Another pretty boy, I have to look up for. *wipes the lens* Again!

Northern Flicker

Oh! A Varied Thrush!! Aw... is there ANY chance at this?

Varied Thrush behind a lot of sticks

Well... ?

Varied Thrush behind a lot of sticks

Yay!

Varied Thrush standing on a branch, surrounded by sticks

*laughs* Thank You!

Varied Thrush standing on a branch, looking down at the camera

Out to the Leaning Tree...

Fallen Leaning Tree

Looking up into the branches at a blue streamer tied around a high branch

I keep wondering when they will get around to removing this tree. Will this be the last time I get to see this beautiful tree?

Streamers hanging from fallen branches

Close up of an American Robin

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Uploaded Mon 11 Mar 2024

Thursday 8 February 2024... Up Hidden Trail, a lot is going on!

Yeah, so today I'm going up to the Acorn Woodpeckers territory to confirm if they're dead or not. Last time I went up, there were zero.

Good Morning, My Dear.

Squirrel sitting on the sidewalk

And first I go past the Little Free Pantry, and oh jeez... someone repainted it...

Green Little Free Pantry

oh, gah. Green is my favorite colour... but this? This ... is kind of ... cringe.

In fact. I kind of feel like this is vandalism! The artwork here before was beautiful, and that Crow on the side was awesome! And this is just... blah. ARG!

Empty and dirty shelves inside the Little Free Pantry

And Look! Not only did they not clean up the inside... It is completely Empty! Because who wants to have food on those muddy, gross shelves. GAH! Painting the outisde was SO misguided and stupid! GAH. Why are people so stupid??!

*Deep Breath*

It takes me a while to get over my annoyance! In fact, I'm halfway up the hill before I get out of my screaming brain! heh.

Little waterfall

Little waterfall

And then I'm at the top. And coming around the corner, there's a hawk up here again.

Red Tail Hawk standing on a mossy branch, with her feathers fanned out

Red Tail Hawk... and what are you doing with your feathers??

It's not rained or anything, maybe she's drying out from a bath.

Red Tail Hawk standing on a mossy branch, with her feathers fanned out

And then I see an Acorn Woodpecker!

Acorn Woodpecker standing on the side of a mossy tree trunk

Yay!

Oh, Yay!

oh my gosh. I was so worried!

But here we all are!

There are Acorn Woodpeckers guarding the hoard. And I can hear some talking their Wika-wika-wika contact call in the trees to the north. Oh, I am so glad to see them!

And, I'm thinking. There are hawks up here all the time.

I wonder... the last time I came up here... I wonder if a hawk had just murdered some little bird or somebody for breakfast, just before I showed up?

The hawk might have been on the ground eating, and I wouldn't have noticed. I'm not looking at the ground when I'm up here.

But all the other birds would have been laying low, and shocked that their friend had just been killed.

And then I come along. And don't see or hear anyone. And freak out and assume everyone is dead.

well. I'm glad that not everyone is dead!

Here's a woodpecker working on a new hole... the chips are flying!

Acorn Woodpecker standing against a tree trunk near a hole

Whoa! That little hole is way deeper than you'd think!

Acorn Woodpecker standing against a tree trunk with his face in a hole he has made

I am just so releaved that this Acorn Woodpecker family is still here!

Acorn Woodpecker standing on the side of a tree trunk

I'm going around the corner to get back to the hiking trail down the hill. And I see this one, a Steller Jay, just minding his own business...

Far off Steller Jay at the top of a winter bare tree

What the heck??!

Jays fighting

A Scrub Jay?

Scrub Jay and Steller Jay

???

Jays flying

And the nice perch goes to the victor!

Scrub Jay standing at the top of a winter bare tree

*laughs* So very odd!

Scrub Jay standing at the top of a winter bare tree

And then I'm coming back down the hill, and here's a little deer!

Black Tail Deer walking on the path

Her winter coat is looking decidedly scruffy!

Red Flowering Currant bloom

And people are still getting fallen trees removed.

A small claw machine driven by a man, picking up a section of tree trunk

It's been three weeks since the ice storm, and there's still so much tree damage that needs to be taken care of in the city.

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Wednesday 7 February 2024... Leaning Tree Art Part 2

There's a family of crows gathered and eating something again today.

Heh. Does that look a bit like a Cheez-It?

Crow taking off from the grass with a Cheez-It in her beak

Well, that's certainly some crappy human food. It's not good for you!

Several Crows standing in the grass

Golden Crown Sparrow standing on a twig

Golden Crown Sparrow standing on a twig

It's Angle's Friend, the Common Merganser. Still no sign of Angle, tho I keep looking. But I'm seeing this one often enough, I guess Angle's Friend is going to stick as a name for him!

Male Common Merganser paddling on the water

I guess they've finished the new fence at the Events Center... I still don't know what the point of it is, but at least it looks nice!

Rough cut wood fence along a sidewalk

Oh funny! They've put a fence around the fallen Leaning Tree as well!

Temporary fence around the fallen Leaning Tree, a sign says Danger

I walk around the end of the fence and spend some quality time with my friend the Tree.

Blue streamer with writing on it
The Oaks take so long to wake up in the spring.

Blue streamer with writing on it
This tree is loved.

Blue Streamer with writing on it
I loved you and I love you

Orange streamer with writing on it
This is a special place. A landmark. A focal [point.]

Oh! This is nice! They've left some extra streamers and some sharpies to write your own tribute to the tree!

Streamers and sharpies wrapped around a branch

*laughs* I don't know what to write! Everything I think of seems inadequate to the moment!

Thank You written on a streamer

Sighs.

Temporary fence around the fallen Leaning Tree

Oh my gosh! It looks like...

Suspish graffiti

Suspish is getting married!! Awww! Little Fishies In LOVE!

Congratulations, Suspish!

Lenten Roses

Lenten Roses

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Tuesday 6 February 2024... Delta Ponds

Still visible progress made here with the ice storm damage, even tho I was here just a couple days ago!

Branches gathered near a wide park path

Clouds over the river

Spillover

Golden Crown Sparrow standing in the grass

These bouncy birds amused me!

Blurry Golden Crown Sparrow bouncing

Blurry Golden Crown Sparrow bouncing

Blurry Golden Crown Sparrow looking down and about to bounce!

Cormorant standing on a large driftwood in the water

Cormorant standing on a large driftwood in the water

Today I'm heading across the road to the Delta Ponds Park.

And yes, the Riverbank path goes thru the Delta Ponds as well... And I really really wish we could maybe name all the different ponds so that people can figure out what you're saying when you say Something Delta Ponds or Something Else Delta Ponds!! *laughs*

Canada Geese paddling on the pond and lounging on the bank in the distance

There actually aren't many trees down from the ice storm here. Tho it's obvious that they've cleaned up the trails.

Tree down near the bank of the pond

There's an Osprey platform nest here and haha! Got a lawn going on up there! I wonder if the Ospreys will mow it when they get back from their winter vacation.

Osprey platform nest with grass growing on it

Turtles! Unfortunately, they are the very invasive Red Ear Sliders. But they are cute!

Two Red Ear Slider Turtles on a log in the water

Oh hey! When I get past the main parking lot, there's a sign!

Contruction Project sign

Well. The dates are incorrect... the Construction Schedule def did not begin last summer and def did not end in late fall.

But it will be so awesome when they actually finish the loop around the Ponds!! I mean, look at how close they got the first time (and then they ran out of money!)...

Map of the Delta Ponds

Oh! They have started on the work! Yay!

Trail Closed sign

Wow! There's a path started! Nice! Too bad I can't see very far because of the hill. But how exciting!

Path thru a chain link fence

Black Phoebe standing on a twig over the water

Close up of a Song Sparrow singing

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Monday 5 February 2024... Rain!

Yay, the rain is back. And it is raining all day!

Hello!

Male Hooded Merganser paddling on the water

And Goodbye!

Hooded Merganser diving

Hooded Merganser diving

*laughs*

Hooded Merganser diving

American Robin standing on a twig

Oh, and it's the other Merganser as well!

Male Common Merganser paddling on the water

So delightfully dreary!

Fog in the trees on the hill in the distance

They are still working on the new fence at the Events Center, and dang, it probably sucks to work in the rain.

Men in rain gear working next to the path

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Sunday 4 February 2024... A Day

Huh. Someone has gathered some rocks and put them into a pretty pile, right outside on the sidewalk.

Pile of five rocks with at sixth rock behind some lichen

This is a vent or something in a building at the end of the street. A few years ago, some swallows used it as a nesting area. And then the House Sparrows stole it, and they've had it ever since.

House Sparrow next to some lint and hairs in a vent

It's way too early for nests, but perhaps the sunshine has the birds thinking about it!

These are pretty things. heh, I should have dead headed the plant for them, before I took the pic! :)

Purple flowers with white and yellow interiors

It's still really muddy, walking thru the forest part of Stewart Pond Park. And, Hey! The tripping hazard board I laid down is gone. I put down a new one!

Path thru a forest

Why there are so many of these little boards right next to the hiking path? Really couldn't tell ya! *laughs*

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Saturday 3 February 2024... Out to the River

They have been working hard at the parks, but there is still much to do, from the mid-January ice storm. They'll probably cut this tree down.

Trees with branches down

It's another blue sky day. I'm starting to miss the rain!

Looking upriver at the Willamette from Greenway walking bridge

Cormorants up in a winter bare tree

Spillover is flooded

Oh! This is different! There are Coots up on the bank!

American Coot walking in the grass

With their cute red eyes!

Close up of American Coot face

And their adorable feet!

American Coot standing in grass

Nuthatch on the side of a tree trunk

Cormorant, standing on a log in the water, with wings spread to dry in the sun

Cackling Goose standing on a log in the water

Alder Tree on a submerged island in the river, bigger trees in the background

Alder Tree on a submerged island in the river

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Thursday 1 February 2024... Up Hidden Trail, with flowers and with worries

The neighbor sets out a variety of nuts, and we get a family of Steller Jays who come for them. Steller Jays are more shy than our other corvids, so I'm always happy if I can just get them in the frame! ha.

Steller Jay standing on a branch, surrounded by sticks

I walk thru a neighborhood, on my way to Hidden Trail. And I enjoy several front yards and happy hell strips on the way!

Five Daffodil blooms, facing in all directions

Yellow Crocuses

Purple Crocuses

Yellow Crocuses with a closed purple bloom

Daffodil

I get to the hiking trail, and it looks about the same with the trees and branches still down and not cleared. This trail is on privately owned land and I doubt they have a volunteer group to maintain the area.

A bench next to the hiking path with downed trees and branches all around

Osoberry leaves budding out

oh foo. A Red Breasted Sapsucker being uncooperative with the photography!

Red Breast Sapsucker hanging from the bottom of a log

Red Breast Sapsucker hanging from the bottom of a log, looking for bugs

Here's that house that the tree had fallen down on.

House with dented gutter and plastic over a section of roof

And then I hike it all the way up to the Acorn Woodpeckers territory... and find nobody... ?

All the birds are quiet, no sparrows bouncing around in the brambles next to the sidewalk.

And I'm looking and looking at the top of all the snags. And I don't see a single Acorn Woodpecker, and I don't hear any either.

They have to guard their hoard. They HAVE TO. Where are they?

I am getting ever more upset.

Finally I see some Starlings... but the Acorn Woodpeckers *should* be driving them away.

Starlings up at the top of a snag

I don't know what has happened. Could the ice storm have killed everyone? That's what I'm worried about. Or did something terrible happen in December when I was away? Because there's always at least one Acorn Woodpecker guarding, and I usually see two or three others hanging out as well.

I don't see any. And I'm in tears as I hike back down the hill.

Squirrel hanging from the side of a tree trunk

Squirrel hanging upside down from the side of a tree trunk

Sighs. Gotta let it go.

These tiny irises are about six inches tall. Dwarf Irises, which blooms way earlier than the regular irises.

Dwarf Iris blooms

And they've chopped up the trees that had fallen across the side street next to our home.

chopped up logs next to a city street, with houses in the background

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Wednesday 31 January 2024... Dreary Day with more Ice Damage

Hello my dear.

Squirrel standing on the sidewalk

Finally able to get a half decent pic of the Red Shoulder who has been hanging out at the Community Garden!

Red Shoulder Hawk standing on a wood fence

Leaning Tree on the ground

oh, dang. The trees in this mini-park!

Trees down across a fence and into a canal

These were beautiful Mimosa Trees.

Tree down

Trees down

Sighs.

Pink Camellia bloom with others in the background

Pink Camellia bloom surrounded by leaves

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Uploaded Mon 4 Mar 2024

Tuesday 30 January 2024... Hendricks Park

Very often there's a Song Sparrow singing in the bushes as I walk into the Rhododendron Garden! I love that!

Song Sparrow standing on a twig

Witch Hazel blooms in front of green pine tree branches

Pink Rhododendron blooms

Witch Hazel blooms

I head to the hiking trails. The ice storm has brought down a lot of trees here.

Trees down across the forest floor

But they've done work to keep the paths clear!

Large logs cut up next to the forest path

Close up of some moss and lichen

Osoberry Bloom

Song Sparrow standing on a thorny vine

Song Sparrow sings on a twig

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Uploaded Sun 3 Mar 2024

Monday 29 January 2024... Back at the Garden

Squirrel standing on the sidewalk

It's a dreary day today!

Foggy bike path

oh look! It's the bouncy kid from the other day. Falkor Part 2...

Crow standing in the grass, holding one of her legs up

She's still boucing around, and it's obvious that she doesn't worry about things touching her injured foot. Unlike Falkor, who held her foot way up off the ground.

Crow standing in the grass, holding one foot up

And she's still surrounded by her family, who are less worried about me watching today!

A Crow standing in the grass, looking away

Song Sparrow standing in the brambles

At the Community Garden, I continue the work I started yesterday, digging up Lesser Celandine from the pathways.

A grassy corner of the Community Garden with a pink circle indicating a patch of Lesser Celandine

It takes me 20mins, again, to fill up my small backpack.

Lesser Celandine dug up and in a white trash bag

And on the way home, I'm thinking about Angle again. I've not seen her since the ice storm... did she not survive? or has she just moved downstream?

Female Mallard with her bill tucked under her wing

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Uploaded Sun 3 Mar 2024

Sunday 28 January 2024... Garden Work

The sun shines today.

Blue sky over trees and grass

And I'm at the Community Garden to murder some Lesser Celandine!

Hand spade digging up Lesser Celandine

The thing about Lesser Celandine... You have to dig up the dirt under it as well. My little hand spade won't go deep enough, but at least these plants will have to work a bit to come back up.

Lesser Celandine in a white trash bag

And the other thing about Lesser Celandine... you can't throw the dug up plants on the compost pile. They will just keep growing and take over!

You have to bag up the plants and dispose of them with the regular trash. And since the Community Garden does not have trash pickup, I'll have to haul this home to throw away.

It's good exercise, carrying a little bit of extra weight! :)

It takes 20minutes to dig up enough Lesser Celandine to fill my smaller backpack. And there's still some patches I want to tackle. So I guess I'll be back tomorrow!

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Saturday 27 January 2024... Part 1, Visiting the Garden

Some sprinkles off and on, as the clouds re-arrange themselves.

Blue sky and clouds over the bike path

Bath Time!

Crow splashing in a shallow pond while another crow flies in

And the next customer is ready for a bath, too.

One crow standing in shallow water, the other crow walks forward in the grass

Dark Eye Junco standing on a twig, surrounded by twigs

Oh, hey! This is the Common Merganser that Angle was hanging out with in December...

Male Common Merganser, paddling on the water

Excuse me! um! Have you seen Angle, recently? um? Female Mallard? Droopy right wing? Not an angel?

No? Oh. Okay. Thanks anyway. It's nice to see you again!

Male Common Merganser, close up of his face

Just as I get to the garden, there's a tiny section of Rainbow in the north!

Rainbow in the sky past bare trees

I go into the Community Garden, and ha, the paths are just long puddles!

Long puddles thru the middle of the paths around the garden plots

Oh shoot. These round leaves are Lesser Celandine, a very bad invasive. Maybe I should bring my backpack out here, and dig this up before it starts flowering.

Lesser Celandine in the grass

Oh. Now this is interesting! This black tarp is covering part of Probably Not Evil Neighbor's plot. Our plot is on the left, with all the leaves and going over to the two orange buckets.

Garden Plots

But you see the pink flag? A couple plots have them, and I think it means Probably Not Evil Neighbor isn't coming back for a second season!

Yay! A new neighbor! I mean, Probably Not Evil was nice enough. Def better than Evil Neighbor that I had to put up with all those years. But Dang, I got so annoyed at having to constantly tidy up the border between our plots, and dig up the invasive Horse Radish in the back of his plot.

And the next neighbor might be just as bad. But you never know! They might be a responsible community member instead!

And in my plot, I'm happy to see the volunteer Elephant Garlics are still alive!

Elephant Garlic leaves

The leaves are extremely munched tho. Weird. I didn't think that slugs like garlics and Alliums.

Not much of the Fava cover crop has survived the ice storm. And what's left is also extremely munched and pathetic looking! Why are the slugs so hungry??

Pathetic Fava

So. That Lesser Celandine? Every green thing in this plot is Lesser Celandine. Ugh. Horrifying! And it's not even to the Complete and Total Mat stage yet... it will be there next year, I suppose.

Garden plot

And it's only a few plots away. I make note of a couple more plants that are growing in the pathways, and I'm determined to come back with my backpack to dig them up!

Lesser Celandine flowers

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Saturday 27 January 2024... Part 2, Birds on the way home. Some Unfortunate :(

Yep, I saw so many interesting things today, I decided to split the photos up into two blog posts!

I know. I am crazy.


Oh No!

White Crown Sparrow staning on a twig, with a leg hanging

Poor Baby! All the other birds I've seen with bum feet have been able to hold their leg up. But this leg is just hanging. Which means their ankle is messed up as well.

oh my gosh, so terrible. Did she get frostbite in the ice storm? ugh, so painful. I feel so bad.

But at least she's got her friends to hang out with. And hopefully they will help her.

White Crown Sparrows standing in the grass

White Crown Sparrow standing in the grass

Female Hooded Merganser paddling on the water

Feast time for the House Finches!

Several House Finches in the brambles

At the top is Hardhack, a native. And there's a bunch of dried up Himalayan Blackberries as well, invasive but tasty!

Male House Finch standing on a thorny vine

What the hell? Another One?!?!

White Crown Sparrow with a dangling leg

Another useless, dangling leg. And this one's foot is much worse. And so painful. Damn. Poor little birds.

White Crown Sparrow standing on a twig

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Friday 26 January 2024... Day of the Opossum!

I was just past the Community Garden and there's a Eugene Parks truck on the path, coming towards me... going even slower than usual. What's going on?

The driver has rolled down his window to talk to me, even tho it's raining :) and says, Do you see the Possum?

I was skeptical. Opossums are nocturnal. I look over and sure enough! That's not a cat! *Laughs*

Opossum in the grass

I thank the Parks Guy profusely and wish him a great day and go and take pictures!

Her cute lil pointed face!

Opossum in the grass

Wuuuhh... HOLY! Haha, a Yawn, becuase Opossums are nocturnal! But lordy!

Opossum in the grass, yawns

Look at how big and round the inside of her cheeks are! Crazy! And she looks like a Thylacine with how much she can open her jaws!

And her cute little nose and her cute little ears!

Opossum in the grass

And her cute naked tail.

Opossum in the grass

Lookin' like a cute stuffed animal!

Opossum in the grass

aw, you're going back home for some sleep? Bye bye!

Opossum, turned away, in the grass

On with my walk! Oh, foo. This one gets away before the camera could collect itself. But I've never seen a Cormorant at the creek before!

Blurry Cormorant, paddling on the water behind sticks
Blurry Cormorant, paddling on the water behind sticks

Would have beeen nice to meet her... did she have to swim away so quickly?!

The Alder Trees are doing their thing.

Alder catkins and last years seed cones

This Red Shoulder has been hanging out near the Community Garden, but has been evading my picture taking! ha.

Red Shoulder Hawk in a tree with twigs blocking the view

I will have to think about a name for her, since I've seen her a few times now.

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Uploaded Wed 28 Feb 2024

Thursday 25 January 2024... Up Hidden Trail

I am curious to see what the trees look like, going up the hill thru the forest. Before I get to the trail, I meet up with a few wild turkeys!

Close up of a Wild Turkey's face

This picture cracks me up! Maybe the dog is off duty! *Laughs*

Turkey standing in the grass, in front of a *Beware of Dog* sign

Always happy to see one of our native squirrels!

Western Grey Squirrel standing on a log, holding an acorn in his mouth

Here I am at the native plants section of the hiking trail.

Tree down next to a small bench

But these are the same old logs at the waterfall. It's very good that they leave them, because decomposing trees are an important part of the ecosystem...

Waterfall with mossy logs

There are bugs who specialize in eating up the dead wood of a single, specific tree species. Not to mention all the other hundreds of species of plants, mosses, molds, fungi, bugs and more who will help break down the fallen tree!

Uh, Yikes!

Plastic, purple sled in the weeds, down the hill

That purple thing is a plastic sled... and I desperately hope that the sled went down WITHOUT a human on it!

The hill is extremely steep here, and I can just imagine some stupid kid thinking how epic a ride down the path would be. Gah. Nothing to keep you on the path, of course. And nothing to slow you down once you get going.

Lordy. I am pretty sure. I'm positive. The sled was just dropped and slid down the hill by itself.

Wow, so bright!

Very Blurry, bright yellow Townsend Warbler

And dang it, I cannot wait for this species to be renamed! Because I can never remember that they are called Townsend Warblers! Hopefully their new name will be more descriptive and memorable.

Townsend Warbler standing on a twig

These American birds and dozens more will be renamed, to remove human monikers
Heck Yeah! and this is a great article!

Bird Names For Birds

Wipipedia, Bird Names for Birds

oof...

Trees down against a house

Can you imagine how terrifying this must have been?!

Tree down against a house

heh. Another good sign! :)

Large branch down across the path with a nearby sign *Caution Hazards Exist*

Waterfall next to the hiking path

Ha! Probably everybody here with a fireplace or fire pit is excited about the access to free wood!

Logs and cut branches neatly stacked to dry as fire wood

I come across another band of wild turkeys on the way home.

Wild Turkey walking on the sidewalk

Wild Turkey closeup

Blurry Wild Turkey up in a tree

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Uploaded Wed 28 Feb 2024

Wednesday 24 January 2024... A Day of Crows

Nice clouds again today!

Clouds and blue sky above the bike path

Trees and fog on the hills

Golden Crown Sparrow standing on a twig

Face of the Golden Crown Sparrow

Leaning Tree on the ground

Western Bluebird standing at the end of a twig, grey sky in the background

Oh wow! Look at all the Crows!

A couple dozen or so American Crows in a grassy field

Maybe the worms are coming up and it's feast time for the Crows?

American Crow standing in the grass

And then, another batch of crows at the bike path curve!

But look! It's another limping Falkor...

Crows on the path and in the grass.  One is holding up her leg.

This crow seems to be a juvenile. And the leg must not hurt much, because she's hopping around like a crazy person! *laughs*

Crows standing at the edge of the path, one is hopping on one leg

But then one of the watching Crows has noticed me, staring at her child and she flies in...

Crows standing at the edge of the path, one flies in

And comes to stand in front, while everyone gathers protectively around their friend!

Crows standing at the edge of the path

They are sticking up for their disadvantaged youngster, and I love them for it!

If only humans could be so wonderful.

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Uploaded Mon 26 Feb 2024

Tuesday 23 January 2024... At the River

They have already done great work at the park, gathering branches and trying to make it safer for the humans.

This is the edge of the playing fields at Maurie Jacobs Park... where I started out watching the eclipse, last year. There are several trees that will need to be chopped down. Sighs.

Major limb broken off a tree, a grassy field in the background

Oh my goodness! The clouds today!

Clouds over the river

clouds over the hill and car bridge over the river

Silhouette of a Cormorant standing in a winter bare tree

Wow. There's so much water coming over the spillover, there's hardly a separation at all between the river and the ponds!

spillover

The sweet little Golden Crown Sparrows are still so friendly!

Two Golden Crown Sparrows standing on the ground in the leaf litter

Golden Crown Sparrow standing in the grass

Weird that the turtles are out in winter. But I guess the sun has warmed things up enough for them.

Three turtles on a log in the water

The turtle on the far left is our native Western Pond Turtle. The other two are invasive Red Ear Sliders.

There are a few of these printed signs around the park. The paved paths are all clear, but maybe not the trails.

Small printed *Hazards* sign, next to official *Delta Ponds* sign

Cute female Lesser Scaups...

Two female Lesser Scaups paddling on the water

Scaup is a weird word. Several dictionaries say scaup probably means scalp, which is a bed of shellfish. And it looks like Scaups like to eat Mollusks.

Oh wow! A week ago it was 20° (-7°C) and now the Osoberries are leafing out! Crazy!

Leaf bud

Ah. Yes it is.

Graffiti, drawing of a brain with connected eyeballs and *Racism is fucked* written underneath

Clouds, looking upriver

Red Ear Slider on a log

Common Mergansers sitting on a log in the water

Male Downy Woodpecker, standing on a twig

American Coot on the water

Well, that was a lot of photos for the day! That makes me happy! :)

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Uploaded Mon 26 Feb 2024

Monday 22 January 2024... More Ice Damage

This is a sweet little Willow tree along the bike path, one of its big limbs cracked and lying on the ground.

willow tree

I'd assume this tree is low priority, since it's in no one's way. And I really really hope that by the time they get around to it, they will have time to prune off the limb... Rather than just chopping the whole tree down.

So many trees are going to have to be removed completely. I just wish they would leave some, who are damaged but still alive!

I stop by the Leaning Tree again.

Leaning Tree downed

Tree branched down across the creek

The trees in the neighborhood -- on private property -- are being cared for properly. Just getting their limbs trimmed.

Men working on a large tree with a limb down

I'm looking around for Angle, but don't see her.

three mallards standing on a still, just above the creek water

Oh, shoot. It's warm enough today to wake up a caterpillar!

Bright green Caterpillar, walking on the sidewalk

Her bright green would look great in the grass! *laughs* And I make sure she gets to the grass before I leave her.

Close up of bright green caterpillar

My cute lil leaf muncher!

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Uploaded Sat 24 Feb 2024

Sunday 21 January 2024... a rainy day

I can hear the Varied Thrush from my bedroom window, again this morning. I've only seen him twice so far, once during the ice storm. It would be nice to take his picture, even if I have to aim the camera out the window, but I haven't had the opportunity yet... I am happy just to hear from him, now and then in the mornings!

Trees on the hill

It's sprinkling and so there's not much picture taking, today. That's okay, it's good to just be outside and get some exercise!

American Robin standing on a twig

Oh, Look! There's a Grebe at the creek! Just having a wander today, my dear?

Pied Bill Grebe paddling on the water with raindrops

Such a cute face, but I can't get over how weird they look without tail!

Pied Bill Grebe paddling on the water

They were saying, out at the Raptor Center there was a tree down, across the driveway up to the center, which had also taken out the electrical lines.

So they had to haul up fuel for the generators, thru the forest!

Oh my gosh, I can just imagine how much hard work that is... not only getting thru the the shrubs and thorns of the forest floor, but also going up hill, which will be muddy and slippery with all this wet!

But it's important! The generators supply power to the wildlife hospital. There are about 20 birds in the hospital right now. and I suppose they have their rat room there too, which must be kept warm.

Eugene wildlife care facility forced to close following severe winter weather

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Uploaded Sat 24 Feb 2024

Saturday 20 January 2024... More Ice Damage

Oh My GOSH!

Cascades Raptor Center grapples with damage after ice storm

Two aviaries destroyed!

They were able to rescue Atticus, the Bald Eagle, right away.

But the tree had fallen on Great Horned Owl Lorax's aviary over night... The frantically looked for her in her crushed aviary, moving branches and structure aside and fearing the worst... but they couldn't find her! She was missing!

Ay Yai Yai! The Raptor Ambassadors who live at the center cannot be returned to the wild because they would not survive.

They started calling for her, and Lorax hooted back!!

She was nearby and when her human partner held up her gloved hand, Lorax came straight down to her! YAY!

She had a scratch on her face, but was otherwise unharmed. phew!

I have a photo of Lorax from a few years ago, that I made into a postcard, so she is especially precious to me! But since our Raptor Center is open to the public, you def get to know all the Raptor Ambassadors when you visit, so there is an undeniable connection!

They estimated 30,000$ for repairs and I think they got it in donations within about 24 hours! I love my community! :)


Out for my walk.

Large tree limb resting against the roof of a house

Golden Crown Sparrow standing on a twig

Golden Crown Sparrow standing in the grass

American Crow standing on a wood fence, cawing

I was too far away for decent photos, but I really wish I knew what was going on here...

Two female Northern Flickers standing on a telephone pole

There were actually three Northern Flickers standing on this telephone pole, all female. Were they having a conference? Were they family, just having a get-together? What are they discussing? So many questions!

Sighs. I just cannot get over the new configuration of my Leaning Tree.

Leaning Tree down

Leaning Tree, down

Leaning Tree, down

Remember when the vultures sat here?

Leaning Tree, down

The Vulture Gathering was so cool. And it will never happen again here.

Leaning Tree trunks

Eugene focused on clearing roadways, begins park damage assessment

Nothing is going to stop Mother Nature: Was this ice storm Eugene-Springfield's worst ever?
Don't bother clicking on this, it's behind a pay wall. But here are the highlights...

The storm made a major impact in one of Oregon's most populated areas in numerous ways, including:

* At the peak of power outages, at least 40,000 were without electricity in Eugene-Springfield while another 10,000 lost power in the south valley. It may take a week or longer to restore everyone's power, officials said.

* A boil water notice was issued for Springfield due to power outages that caused a loss of pressure in pipes, which can lead to contamination. No contamination was detected and the advisory was lifted by Saturday morning.
[The boil water notice started on Tuesday, I believe, and included over half the city... So that took five days to sort out!]

* At various points, state highways 126, 99, 36 and 20 were all closed -- while I-5 near Cottage Grove became so gridlocked some spent the night in their cars.

* In Springfield, officials estimate 20,000 city trees were damaged and tens of thousands more were damaged on private property, city officials said. Similar levels of destruction were present across rural areas and the south valley.

* Some schools were closed all week. Springfield Public Schools declared a state of emergency Wednesday night after determining significant damage had been dealt to multiple facilities.

* Lane County, city governments, fire districts and public utilities have collectively spent more than $2 million to respond to the ice storm, and that number will continue to rise.

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Uploaded Thurs 22 Feb 2024

Friday 19 January 2024... Stewart Pond

Good Morning My Dear! You are looking dapper!

Squirrel sitting on the top step of the sidewalk

Let's head out and see what we can see today!

Trees down...

Trees and branches down

Uncooperative birds...

Birds perched on thorny vines, looking away

Ah! There are ducks at the ponds, at last!

Two pairs of Northern Shovelers, paddling on the water

Oh, hey! There's a Heron here, too! That's different.

Great Blue Heron standing in the grass near the pond

Is that you, Henrietta? I don't think so. And I wonder if there's much food here for a carnivore in a temporary, seasonal pond!

oop. Oh Wow!

Great Blue Heron flying

Definitely reminded about how big these birds are when they open up their wings!

Great Blue Heron flying

Bye!

Great Blue Heron flying

Lots of trees and branches down in the little patch of forest, too.

Trees leaning

American Robin standing under a downed tree, surrounded by mossy, downed sticks

More uncooperative birds! *laughs*

Blurry Brown Creeper, standing on the side of a tree trunk

People have been pulling branches off the path... but this one is too big to move easily. I step over it and continue on.

Branch down across the path

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Uploaded Thurs 22 Feb 2024

Thursday 18 January 2024... Leaning Tree

There's still some bits of snow left on the ground, even tho it stayed well above freezing last night and it's 46° this morning.

And when I get out the door, the branch with the power lines is still blocking part of the street. Here's the car under the branch...

Branch on the roof of a blue suv, the roof dented

The frame is okay but the roof will probably leak, now. They are lucky it didn't bust their windshield!

I walk further today, going around the bridges since the bike path is still flooded.

Branches and trees down all over the place.

Pine Tree down, across half the street

American Robin standing in the grass

oops, this tree took out a street lamp.

Tree down across the bike path

heh. It's ironic because this is the same area where vandals were pushing over the street lamps here a couple years ago. The city has probably already replaced that pole two or three times! *laughs*

Tree with a branch down across the sidewalk

Oh. My Leaning Tree...

Tree down

It's leaning on the ground. I am so upset. This is such a beautiful tree.

Tree down

Yep. It's done. The trunks are broken away from their roots.

They'll have to chop it up and remove it.

*cries*

Squirrel standing on a branch

Nutria standing in the grass

When I come back home, on my street, there's a good Samaritan with a chainsaw, cutting away the part of the branch that's blocking the road. It doesn't look very safe, he's standing on top of his car to reach.

But there's work for everyone who owns a chainsaw, and you can hear them in the distance, running constantly. I hope they all stay safe!

Hundreds of downed tree limbs and branches causes immense damage across Eugene

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Uploaded Tues 20 Feb 2024

Wednesday 17 January 2024... The Mess the Ice Leaves Behind

It's 43° and raining. The ice is gone from the trees. Still ice on the ground tho, I suppose it will take a while to melt it all.

Here's the branch that fell past my bedroom window at 7pm...

Sticks and a branch on the ground with snow and bushes

The little round things are Sweet Gum Balls, spikey little seed pods from the trees above.

And this must be the 10pm branch... I think the sound of it falling must have echoed in between the two buildings to make it sound like it fell in the parking lot!

Branch down across a sidewalk

This branch is blocking half the street, has power lines involved, and has dented the roof of the blue suv. What a mess.

city street with cars parked along it

And the creek is full of melt water.

Bike path next to a creek

There are branches down all over the place.

Branch down across the bike path

The bike path under the bridges is flooded... deeper than my boots! *laughs* Yep, I tried! So I didn't walk very far today.

American Robin standing in the grass, surrounded by snow

Coming back home on a different route, I saw a couple Big trees had come down across our side street. They had already been chainsawed into pieces, and weren't blocking the road. But I wonder when it happened, and how is it I didn't hear it!

Trees down with chopped up sections laying about

The buses are still not running, but the airport started up with flights, in and out today.

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Uploaded Tues 20 Feb 2024

Tuesday 16 January 2024... ICE... Worse Before It Gets Better!

Holy Shit! I should not have gone out there!

Icy trees along the bike path

The sun is out, briefly, and the top molecules of the ice have melted. It is slick. So slick! Walking over that is just terrifying... Dang, I thought it was scary before, but this is a hundred times worse!

The slightest incline is horrifying. I was slipping even when I walked in the grass, because it's an ice sheet as well.

Icy trees

Walking back thru the neighborhood, a car and I both came to an intersection at the same time. The car stopped for me, but I waved them thru, since they were going a tiny bit faster than I was! ha.

The passenger rolled down his window. I'm having fun, he announced. He indicated the driver, She's NOT! I laughed and nodded and replied, It's terrifying!

I just walked around the block. It's maybe ¾ mile, and even less than a mile felt like a huge mistake! It took me almost an hour to walk that little bit!

3:15pm... It's been raining for an hour or so. It's still 27° so it's freezing rain again. I watch the wildlife out the window. Lesser Goldfinches, the Varied Thrush flies by, and a squirrel.

And I watch several branches come down. I wonder if the squirrels know to stay out of the trees? The one I see just goes up and down the trunk, but I can't tell if she's avoiding the branches on purpose.

4:05pm... I was working on photos on the computer and the power went out! It goes off and on several times, each time there's a loud noise coming from down the street. After a few seconds, the power is out for good.

I hope the computer is okay. I hope I didn't lose much from the photo file I was working on! I can't remember if I had hit the Save button at all! ha.

I get down to write a letter of the day. And asked Partner to get the candles out.

By the time I'm finishing my letter, I do need the candle light! Done with that, I take my candle and set it in the window sill. My kindle is an E-Ink -- it's not backlit and has no front illumination either -- so I need the candle to read on it! It's got a good charge, so I won't have to worry about that.

When I get hungry for some dinner, I have a peanut butter sandwich and some pistachios. Hot food would have been nicer! heh.

6:30pm Power back on? Yes, it seems to be back on. Computer is good, Internet seems fine as well! And the automatic backup on my software caught most of the work I was doing on that photo file I had been working on! Yay Technology! *laughs*

7:04pm A big branch just hit the roof and slid and fell right in front of my bedroom window. And I'm suddenly scared that the trees are going to kill us!

There's little branches snapping and coming down, almost constantly. But now and then, bigger branches crash down.

Mass cancellations at Eugene Airport strand travelers

EWEB crews restore power to water treatment plant, continue working to address outages
Our water treatment plant had a generator, so it was okay. They weren't as lucky over in Springfield... In the coming days, half the city will be on a boil water notice!

On NextDoor, I see that some of the grocery stores have been open... but the shelves are pretty empty because the trucks haven't been able to get into town to deliver!

User Photos: Winter Weather Gallery KVAL is a local tv station.
This is great, some really good photos here!

9pm... It's warmed up to 30° and it seems like it will continue to get warmer thru the night! Good, I hope it melts before the trees do too much damage.

9:30pm... I go to bed, but I can't sleep. It's so noisy, branches are falling, hail is falling, other unidentifiable sounds. It's very worrisome.

Just after 10pm, there was cracking and a crashing and a very loud thump, and oh, that did not sound good. Not good at all!

I sat up in bed and looked out the window. I expected there to be a big branch down. But I can't see a thing in the darkness.

The shades part in two apartments across the parking lot. A guy came out and then another. It sounded like it hit a car. Yeah, that's what I thought, at first... But then I realized it was just a thump, no glass shattering and no sound of metal.

But we don't see anything, and I lie back down and try to sleep.

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Uploaded Sun 18 Feb 2024

Monday 15 January 2024... ICE Continues

It feels like a repeat of yesterday! It's 21° with the wind chill bringing it down to 9° and the hard ice continues.

Walking oh so slowly and carefully again, and the trees are still beautiful.

Icy trees along the bike path

close up of icy trees

Icy trees on the hill

No sign of the Hermit Thrushes who were here the first day, but the Killdeers are still hanging out.

Killdeers standing in icy grass

And Henrietta still has ice on his back.

Great Blue Heron with ice on his back, standing in water, facing the bank behind him

I really wanted to go into the Community Garden... I'm pretty sure the ice has done in the Fava cover crop, it wasn't doing all that great anyway. But I wondered what the volunteer Elephant Garlics were doing...

It turns out, there was no way I was getting into the Garden! *laughs*

Lock and chain on a wood gate, covered in thick ice

The ice is so thick and hard, I couldn't even move the chain! So crazy!

Oh! But look at this! The water in the creek is so warm it's melted a perfect line up on the bank! Ha!

icy branches over the creek

At my turn around point, I pause for a moment and take in the day. And then I realize there's a little brown bird moving around at the edge of the water, under the frozen line...

Wilson Snipe standing in mud

Oh my gosh! She's a Wilson Snipe! What is she doing here? I've never seen any shorebirds at the creek. She she lost? Or just wandering around on her own? What's her story?!

whoa!

Wilson Snipe with her long beak buried in the mud!

AllAboutBirds says Wilson Snipes feed by burying their bills deep into soft, wet soil to probe for insect larvae, worms, and other invertebrate prey. The bill's flexible tip can open to grasp food while the base of the bill stays closed.

Okay, this is super interesting. How does this work?! I guess there's muscles and ligaments and blood flow inside their beak? I've never thought about this before! Weird!

Wilson Snipe standing in mud

Hm. I'm headed back home, and this one has been standing at this fence the entire time I've been walking. To be respectful of her space, I inch around her, as far away as I can.

Crow on an icy fence

I suppose she's having trouble flying. Poor thing.

Crow on an icy fence, cawing

The ice is hard on everyone. The city is completely shut down since Saturday. Nothing is open, the buses aren't running, the damn Urgent Care is closed! (But don't get me started about how evil Peacehealth is!) All the flights at the airport are cancelled, stranding people. Today's Martin Luther King Jr Celebrations have been cancelled, which is a bummer.

icy trees on the hill

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Uploaded Sun 18 Feb 2024

Sunday 14 January 2024... Snow to ICE!

Freezing rain continued thru the night, and the temperature has settled at 21°F this morning tho the wind chill makes it 15°. Gah.

And it still looks like nice fluffy snow covering everything...

Except it's not snow anymore. It's ice.

Thick, solid, scary ice.

Utterly treacherous, especially since they couldn't be bothered to do anything with the roads yesterday.

Close up of a squirrel in front of snow

I put on all the layers and head out. It is pretty terrifying to walk on the ice. It's smooth, it's hard. I walk slow and a lot of brain power is going into how I place my feet!

Thick ice on Oak leaves

The ice is just crazy!

Trees along the creek, covered with ice. the bike path curves around on the right

But everything is so beautiful.

Ice covered trees along the bike path

Here's a male Brewer Blackbird, down near the water.

Blackbird standing on a stick over the water

He's drinking, and it's probably several degrees warmer down next to the water... but dang. The ice on his back and tail!

Feathers are excellent insulation, keeping the warmth in. But that ice sticking to him must be really annoying.

Everybody I see has ice on them!

Sparrow with ice on her tail

And I notice, too, when they fly, their tail hangs down! It looks incredibly awkward. I feel bad for them.

Sparrow standing on a icey twig

Close up of a Junco looking down

Plus they have to stand directly on that ice. eee.

Junco standing on an icy twig

Pine needles loaded down with thick ice

Icy scene of trees over a iced pond

American Robin standing at the top of an icy tree

4 American Robins standing in the snow with a starling behind them in the green bushes

Three American Robins, standing in the snow with green bushes behind them

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Thursday 15 February 2024... A New Place to Hike? Wild Iris Ridge!

I have been meaning to check out Wild Iris Ridge for a while now. There was an article in the Eugene Weekly about the park and it looks like a nice little hike... the park is 255 acres and the loop trail is 3.7 miles long.

The problem is, the park is just over 2miles from home. All together, with the hike, that would be a pretty long walk for me... and if there's any kind of hills to go up and down on the trail, that's going to be a tough walk home!

So it might be better to drive over there. But before I get the car out for a ridiculously short trip, I want to make sure it's worth it by walking to the trail head and checking it out!

And I've been putting this off for months...

I've never been up that road, and since it connects with 11th -- a major thoroughfare -- I figured it would be nothing but strip malls and businesses, and I'd have to be avoiding cars coming in and out of parking lots. And blah, right? Boring!

But then, today. The sun was out, there was blue sky all the way across. Except for that bit in the west.

I thought I was going to walk up Hidden Trail. But I got outside, and that bit of grey cloud in the west had completely taken over! It started sprinkling, and then raining. And it wasn't going to let up at all!

Squirrel standing on a wood post with fir tree behind him

So, yeah. I don't want to bother going up Hidden in the rain. And I decided to go find Wild Iris Ridge instead!

I walk thru part of the same neighborhood...
(These are some dwarf irises in someone's front yard. This variety pops up way earlier than normal irises which bloom in May or so!)

Purple Irises

And then cut thru to get to the road that leads to the park.

And it turns out, the road is really nice...

I come up the hill to what looks like a city park, with grass and a line of fir trees. It turns out to be a sprawling middle school. And there's neighborhood and community buildings all along the way. I don't have to dodge a single car, even on the streets I cross! So nice!

And then I find the park!

Wild Iris Ridge park sign

Yay! But the parking lot is tiny. And full of cars. hmm. That could be a problem.

I check out the map at the kiosk and then go up the trail to see what the park looks like. It's not terribly inviting from here...

Trail leading away into the distance

um? The trail follows the power line clearing? Okay, this is kind of terrible.

trail going up the hill under power lines

But I keep going... Okay! This is more like it!!

trail curves into the forest

I go a little bit further, just to make sure. And yep, there's a split in the trail and you can go up the hill thru the forest, and avoid the stupid power lines!

I think we have a winner!

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Uploaded Thurs 15 Feb 2024

Saturday 13 January 2024... Snow!

I awoke to a Winter Wonderland this morning! And little flurries still coming down! And cold! Dang, it's just 27° (-3°C) and not going to warm up much at all today!

I bundled up in my snow gear... heavy shirts under my rain jacket, snow pants and my boots! That should do it! Nice to be able to use the snow pants every few years. ha.

There's Juncos on the steps, right outside...

Junco standing on snow with a peanut in her beak

He's eating a peanut bit, and I don't think you want that snow on your tail feathers, dear!

And while I was looking at the cute lil birds, this one has been trying to get into a walnut for long minutes!

Squirrel sitting in the crook of a tree, holding a walnut

There you go, it's coming open now!

Squirrel sitting in a tree holding a walnut

The snow on the bike path is on the crunchy side of slush. It's not slick, and fairly easy to walk.

snow on the bike path

Wet prairie pond with snow covering the water and trees

There's a whole flock of... Hermit Thrushes? Running around on the snow, here! Where'd they all come from all of a sudden?

blurry Hermit Thrush in the snow

Smiley face marked in the snow on the bike path

And a little bit further on, there are loads of Killdeers running around in the grass! So interesting! Why are they all gathering here?

Killdeer standing in the icy grass

The Leaning Tree looks lovely in the snow...

winter bare oak tree

Little do I know that these will be the last photos I take of the tree in one piece. Or. You know... Three pieces that are actually alive.

The ice will bring it down.

winter bare oak tree

Sighs. But it's beautiful right now.

winter bare oak tree

The novelty and delight in the snow suddenly wore off tho... When I turn around to come home, I was walking into the wind and getting hit in the face with frozen rain -- Hey! OUCH! *laughs*

Not even a trace of ice in the creek, despite the cold. The water is usually in the mid-40s (7°C), this time of year.

snowy bike path next to the creek

Ice coating weeds by the creek

Ice coating spent Teasel blooms

Hi Henrietta! You got ice on your shoulders!

Great Blue Heron with a male Mallard behind

When I got back home, I found that the temperature had actually dropped a degree, now at 26°F. And the Wintery Mix kept coming down, all thru the day and into the night.

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Uploaded Thurs 15 Feb 2024

Friday 12 January 2024... Fly Away!

heh. Here's my friend, the female Belted Kingfisher, doing what is normal and flying away from me!

blurry bird flying with a dark background

Every year, this pair of Kingfishers flies up and down the creek. I assume they are scouting out good nesting locations. Kingfishers dig their nest into the bank, and I have no idea if they've ever actually nested here.

Every once in a while, one or the other sits long enough for me to get a blurry portrait. But mostly, they fly once they see me looking at them, and stop on a perch just close enough that I think I can try again. But when I get there they fly again.

Yes. They are def making fun of me!

I appreciate the game. But I have cursed at them a lot! *laughs*

I walk almost my entire walk and I'm practically home and I'm wondering if today will be the day that I don't get any decent photos.

But then this one sits for me!

Scrub Jay standing on a mossy stick

I thank her for her time.

I usually try to thank all the birds for sticking around and letting me click the camera at them. It's just polite, but I do wonder if random humans coming up behind me think I'm crazy! ha!

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Uploaded Mon 12 Feb 2024

Thursday 11 January 2024... A Happy Walk with Angle!

I see a duck down in the water and for an instant, I think it's Angle, the Mallard with the messed up wing who is not an Angel. I saw her right before I left for my December travels, but haven't seen her since I got back, and I'm worried!

But then that duck in the water flaps her wings, to rearrange all the feathers properly. And I'm disappointed, Angle can't move her wing that much.

But I can't let go of my suspicion, and I watch her carefully.

She walks up on the bank and settles on some trash, and when I come around to see her right side... oh my gosh! It IS Angle!!!

Female Mallard sitting on a red duffle bag on the bank of the creek

Angle! Her wing is healing! And she can move it! The pain is getting better! oh wow...

I still doubt she'll ever be able to fly. But I'm so happy to know the pain is lessening and her range of motion is improving! Yay!

Female Mallard preening on a red duffle bag on the bank of the creek


Robins standing in a winter bare awthorn sapling, full of berries

I think this is a little Hawthorn tree.

And I think the robins will make quick work of all the berries!

Robin standing on a hawthorn twig, reaching down to eat berries

Robin standing on a hawthorn twig

heh... She looks funny...

Hooded Merganser, paddling on the water

A Song Sparrow singing from the Red Osier Dogwoods...

Song Sparrow standing on red twigs

Nutria standing in water at the creek bank

And when I come back thru... Angle is still here, napping!

Female Mallard on a red duffle with her head tucked under her wing

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Uploaded Mon 12 Feb 2024

Wednesday 10 January 2024... Fun Birds

The Crows are making a ruckus this morning at the wet prairie and I stop to watch them.

There is something in the grass that's making them bounce around and talk excitedly. And then one Crow flies up and a couple others are chasing after her! She flies all around but isn't losing her friends...

Two crows flying, one is carrying a chunk of food in her beak

She's got a huge chunk of, what? bread or something that she wants to keep for herself! *laughs* I don't know... these photos just amuse me greatly.

Very blurry three crows flying

Okay. Moving on. Here's a cute Kinglet...

Ruby Crown Kinglet standing on a twig, looking down

Ha! This is such a small patch of grass that's getting some habitat restoration! I wonder what they've planted.

sticks marked with orange ribbons, in grass

The Leaning Tree from the other side, looking west. (I usually take pictures on the way out, looking east!)

Winter bare Oak Tree

A White Crown Sparrow.

White Crown Sparrow, standing on a branch

Ah! The Beaver munched trees, of yesterday with the pink ribbons... They put fencing around those marked trees to keep the Beaver away.

trees along the creek with wire fencing around the trunks

Seems odd. I mean, a Beaver has to chew! Are they going to put fences around all the trees?

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Uploaded Sat 10 Feb 2024

Tuesday 9 January 2024... The Rain Pours

Good Morning, Cuteness! It looks like you're having a good breakfast of peanuts in the shell!

Squirrel standing on the step, surrounded by empty peanut shells

Ah, it looks like you've been burying some of those peanuts, too... Mud on your nose! *laughs*

Squirrel standing on the step

It is pouring down rain and this is my kind of weather! I mostly have the bike path to myself. There's not as much wildlife out and about, but I can usually find something interesting to take pictures of!

Ducks floating in a wet prairie pond surrounded by grass and trees

Ha! I am amused by the raindrops in the water!

Sleeping mallard and a raindrop deforming the water behind her
Sleeping mallard and a raindrop deforming the water behind her

Sleeping mallard and a raindrop deforming the water behind her

Oh wow! Our Wayward Beaver doing her important work! And someone official has noticed... I'm not sure what the pink ribbons mean!?

Trees along the creek that have been chewed down by a beaver

Going past the Community Garden, and Oh My Gosh... She's a youngster! Too Cute!

Young Squirrel standing on a wood post

Hi Baby! Is this your first day away from Mama?

Young Squirrel standing on a wood post

Aw. She looks a little cold. Poor Baby. You got to eat a lot of nuts, and then you'll be nice and fat and you won't notice the cold so much, little one!

female Hooded Merganser paddling on the water

When I turn around to go home, I'm walking into the wind. I get soaked, despite the rain jacket and wet clothes make it a little chilly.

But! My energy is finally starting to come back. Yesterday I was able to get a couple chores done, and it felt good to run the vacuum!

And this afternoon, I've finally emptied my luggage from traveling in December. Ha, yep, the bags have been sitting out in the hallway all this time, since I got back!

Now it's nice and tidy!

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Monday 8 January 2024... Stewart Pond

Our cute little Lesser Goldfinches are so much brighter than their cousins the American Goldfinches, this time of year!

Lesser Goldfinches standing on Teasel stalks

Lesser Goldfinch in front of a spent Teasel bloom

Suspish graffiti

Well, here I am at the ponds... and there are no ducks, no geese, and no little shore birds. Where is everybody??!

Shallow pond with trees in the distance

I don't see my friend the Kestrel, either. Sighs!

There are some robins bouncing around in the forest area, tho!

Robin standing near a grassy puddle

And when I go around to the back of the park... Oh! It looks like they've had a Tree Planting Party! Awesome!

A road, next to a grassy strip, and bright yellow streamers marking new trees

I wonder what kind of trees they are. I'll have to look at them when they get some leaves!

Oh, hey! I've not seen this one before!

Blond Mallard paddling in water, surrounded by sticks

And I get the feeling I won't see her again... she is very shy and is high tailing it away from me! ha. Oh well. Have a good life, Beautiful One!

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Sunday 7 January 2024... Another Day

I don't know, do I feel better, or not? I'm still sniffly, and my energy just isn't coming back and I'm kind of grumpy about it!

And then, this morning... look at what I did.

Coffee carafe with a crack in it

There were other dishes in the sink when I was washing the coffee pot, and I tapped them as I was swishing water around. I didn't even notice it had broken until I went to make coffee... haha. It wasn't a fast leak, but there was def coffee all over the place!

Sheesh.

Hi Henrietta!

Great Blue Heron standing in water near the bank

Clouds above the hill

Squirrel sitting on a wood fence, holding a walnut in her mouth

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Saturday 6 January 2024... A Day

Pardon me. Um, the fur on your face is a little messed up. If you'd just swipe your hand across your cheek, you'll look all pretty again! :)

Squirrel standing up on the sidewalk

Three Canada Geese standing in the grass

The clouds are moving around and eventually some blue sky appears.

blue sky with clouds around the edges

Ah. A little book burning on the bike path.

A burned book laying on the sidewalk

Hopefully the book was boring.

And a Blurry Bird! A tiny Ruby Crown Kinglet -- with just a bit of his crown showing! As usual, he was bouncing around too quickly for me and the camera!

blurry Ruby Crown Kinglet surrounded by sticks and leaves

The forecast is saying we might have some weather next week... snow up in the hills and then the potiential for the coldest temperatures of the season. blah.

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Tuesday 6 February 2024... Month of Letters

Ha. Yep, a week of February has already gone by, and I've suddenly decided to login at LetterMo... It's okay tho, since I have sent some postcards every day so far! :)

They have ported into a new design again this year, and consequentially, I've lost my extensive friends list. This is a bummer. And additionally, they still don't have DMs or any kind of private messaging.

The lack of functionality on the LetterMo website is what drove me away in the past.

On top of that... I hate that font!

But it is what it is. And I've updated my profile. And I've sent out a few friend requests.

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Friday 5 January 2024... Today

Oh the cute little Hooded Mergansers!

A pair of Hooded Mergansers on the water

Usually so shy! but today they are a little bit more bold and I get to take a couple pics before they paddle behind some bushes to hide themselves.

Female Hooded Merganser on the water

Song Sparrow standing on a thorny vine

And at home, I get food and take a nice hot shower and lie down for a long, two hour nap. Again.

Sighs! Will I ever get my energy back??!

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Thursday 4 January 2024... Blah

There is a Varied Thrush singing who I can hear from my bedroom window in the morning!

They have the most wonderful and interesting song... it is just a single tone whistle. You can listen to it here: AllAboutBirds Varied Thrush, sounds

That song belongs in the forest! And every time I hear it, I imagine an old temperate rain forest in winter... the grey sky, the drizzle coming down, the huge old trees covered in mosses, and the ferns. And the eerie song of a Varied Thrush.

But... I'm still kinda blah today, so I won't be visiting any forests in real life! Just walking down the bike path...

Mallards walking on the bike path

Two Crows standing on a wood fence

Female Mallard standing in water and grass

Still looking for Angle.

Back at home, and another nap today.

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Monday 5 February 2024... A Loved Tree. Tribute to the Leaning Tree.

My Leaning Tree fell over during the ice storm of mid-January... It's three trunks are now leaning on the ground in three different directions.

Today, I found it had been turned into an art installation!

Fallen tree with small streamers tied to its limbs

Blue streamer hanging from fallen tree limbs

Blue stream with writing on it
[Oak trees hold] Onto their leaves so long in fall

Blue streamer with writing on it
And watching people go by

Yellow streamers hanging from fallen tree limbs

Looking up at the branches and twigs

Blue and white streamers hanging from a fallen tree

Blue streamer with writing on it
Hug trees, Love trees, Climb trees, Plant trees

Blue streamer with writing on it
Teaching us to look up. I Loved...

Card on a string, held open
Dearest Amazing Tree.
I am so thankful for you!!!
Held in love

Okay. That one made me cry. *sad smile*

I will miss this tree so much.

But this beautiful memorial from the community really is heart-warming.

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Wednesday 3 January 2024... Today

Fog in the hills

Yep, I'm going out for a walk again today. I thought I felt better but I run out of energy pretty quickly. I am seeing interesting things and I just keep walking for some stupid reason!

Hi Henrietta! You are looking very handsome today!

Great Blue Heron standing in water, near the bank of the creek

A new Graffiti Artist! I like it! Tho the snail's face needs some help. Maybe they got distracted before they were done.

Graffiti of a snail on a mushroom

Poor little guy with messed up toes. Sighs. Looks like it will be another year of Sick and Injured Wildlife.

Lesser Goldfinch standing on a twig

Female Lesser Goldfinch, surrounded by twigs

I've not seen Angle yet, since I got back from my travels. So I'm studying all the ducks I come across. I hope she's okay!

Female Mallard sitting in the grass

Food, hot shower and then a LONG, two hour nap. heh, that walk completely exhausted me!

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Tuesday 2 January 2024... A Day

Oh, the fog on the hills is lovely.

Foggy trees on the hill

But, Ugh.

I want to be over the stupid head cold I picked up while travelling in december... But today it's decidedly worse: my throat hurts and the sinus headache is back with a vengeance.

I wonder if I just shouldn't stay home, but once I get out... the fresh air feels so good in my lungs!

There's a pair of Hooded Mergansers at the creek. The female is less shy.

Female Hooded Merganser paddling in the water

I walk out to the Events Center, but maybe I shouldn't have gone that far?

Pine Trees and a big, bare Oak Tree

Sparrow in the grass

On the way home, I run out of energy.

And after some food and a hot shower, I lie down for a nap.

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Monday 1 January 2024... Happy New Year!

I am thrilled to start off the New Year with a squirrel!

Squirrel sitting on the sidewalk

I still haven't gotten over the cold I caught while traveling in December. I'm just a bit sniffly, but it's def annoying.

trees and fog on the hill

Henrietta, up in the fir tree he likes to hang out in.

Great Blue Heron standing in a fir tree

I go to the Community Garden, and I lay claim to that big trellis that I left behind the other day, and haul it to my plot!

Garden plot with tomato cages and stock fence trellis laying on the leafy ground

Yes, I am being entirely selfish with all the freebie stuff I've taken! But I've decided that no one wants this big trellis as much as I want this big trellis! *laughs*

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Monday 1 January 2024... Happy New Year! Review and Revise!

XXX

Place holder for the New Year's blog post!

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Sunday 31 December 2023... Stewart Pond

Two Squirrels standing on the steps

Happy to see that Stewart Pond Park has some decent ponds!

pond with trees in the background

The far away ducks today are Green Wing Teals.

Oh, yay! The Kestrel is still hanging out here!! I'm so glad, I hope I get to see more of her!

American Kestrel standing on a twig

Once I get to the little forest, there are the usual mix of little birds and robins chatting amongst themselves. But this Flicker is the only one who lets me take his picture.

Northern Flicker standing on the trunk of a tree

*laughs* My Tripping Hazard marker is still here!

Path thru the forest

Good thing, too. With all the muddy places, this trail could def use some maintenance.

Singularly unconcerned about the state of the trail...

Squirrel sitting up on a branch

Henrietta! But, gah, seriously?

Great Blue Heron standing on trash in the creek

And some ducks!

a pair of Hooded Mergansers, paddling on the water with some Mallards

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Friday 2 February 2023... Tea Time!

I am a coffee drinker. I'm pretty serious about it.

But I've decided to teach myself to drink tea!

You know... Afternoon Tea! just sounds like something nice. And I think I'm the type of person who should be doing something nice like Afternoon Tea!

To that end, I've gotten myself some herbal teas that looked good...

Packets of Herbal Teas next to a mug of water with a tea bag in it!

I tried out the Berry one today. It's kind of... meh.

Probably it needs some crumpets or something to go along with it?

*laughs*

Well. This morning I got some sun again, for my walk.

Wet Prairie pond surrounded by trees in a grassy area

Golden Crown Sparrow standing on a branch, looking over her shoulder

Golden Crown Sparrow standing on a branch

Golden Crown Sparrow standing on a branch

oh, hey. The field behind the Events Center is getting a new, cute fence. I wonder why.

street and trees and sidewalk and fence

The clouds are moving around a lot and being pretty!

White puffy clouds with blue sky and grey clouds

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Saturday 30 December 2023... Garden Score!

Home Again!

And the squirrel outside the door is surprised to see me...

Squirrel standing on the sidewalk, dropping her peanut

It's misting and sprinkling this morning, but no wind and nice and warm at 48° (9°C)... perfect Oregon weather!

But why is the wet prairie pond so small? Has it not been raining here?

small puddle of water under some trees in a grassy area

The birds can't believe I'm home, either!

Dark Eye Junco standing on a twig

I decide to stop in at the Community Garden. And oh my gosh! Look!

Picnic table with garden items on and around it

They must have cleared out some abandoned garden plots! Everything left at the table is free for anyone to pick up and use! I grab a handful of wood stakes, the instant I lay eyes on them... wood stakes are always so useful to have around! (Not just for murdering vampires!!)

I drop them off in my garden plot and come back for a closer look. There's some large tomato cages, nice! And I also get the smaller of the two trellises. They both just fold out in an upside-down V and the green one is about 3 feet tall... I think some Lemon Cucumbers would be happy to grow on it!

Garden plot with trellis and tomato cages

It would be nice to have the big trellis as well... It's two stock panels are 4x6 feet. It would be so nice to have something sturdy for the wax beans to grow on!

But, after I take a few black bricks... yeah, I feel like I'm being selfish. Taking all the good stuff without giving anyone else a chance. heh. So I leave the big trellis where it is. Maybe I'll come back next week, and if it's still here, I'll grab it!

Scrub Jay standing on a wood fence

It's good to be home!

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Friday 29 December 2023... Getting Home

I am not looking forward to the plane ride home... the altitide will take my little cold and turn my sinuses and ears into a living hell. But, that's not until this afternoon, and there's stuff to be done before then.

I get up and take the sheets off the bed. And I start getting luggage organized.

Downstairs, it's a normal morning, people gathered around the kitchen table. Reading the newspaper, reading on laptop, doing crossword puzzles.

When I get the Emily Laptop out to read my own newspaper...

Where's the Damn Paper? Eugene Weekly is fighting to come back after a massive financial blow

oh jeez! The Eugene Weekly is our alternate paper, it goes out once a week and the print edition is free, paid for with advertising. Their bookkeeper had been siphoning off thousands and thousands of dollars, for years.

And they had to lay off everyone, right before Christmas. UGH!

So that's a bummer. But again, stuff to be done!

Brother and I load up with cookies to take home with us, leaving a couple of each kind for Mom and Dad to eat. I get back to the luggage, trying to fit as many of the Christmas presents in as I can, along with the cookies!

I've stolen all of Dad's photos... thinking it would be nice to print up a couple to mail back to them. And we work on our new calendars, writing in the family birthdays and anniversaries.

Eventually, it's time to go to the airport. And eventually, it's time to get on the plane. And eventually, we get home. And eventually, get to bed.

Awesome trip. But it's good to be home!

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Thursday 28 December 2023... More Christmas Time

I coughed all thru the night, which was a bummer for my sleep. But at least I don't feel too terrible.

We take it easy today. And the highlight of the day is our own personal Christmas time.

I am excited about this little microscope that Mom and Dad got for me... it's going to be so fun! But I don't pull it out of it's packaging right away like I want to because we'll be traveling again tomorrow.

And my brother got the Good Omens dvds for me, and I'm def looking forward to watching that and all the extras!

There were gifts galore, and we had a great time!

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Wednesday 27 December 2023... Travel Day

There is still a good bit of snow on the ground...

Trees and ground covered in snow

But the roads are okay! We are doing our 10 hour drive from Iowa, back to Colorado.

Dad overslept but says the sleep did him good and he's feeling okay even tho he's caught our germs. We were on the road just a couple minutes after our planned time.

There were some snow flurries that worried me, for a few hours around lunch time. The road got wet but no problems. And eventually we were in Colorado and the clouds broke and it was dry and much warmer!

We traditionally get pizza when we return home to Mom and Dad's house. But the closest pizza place was out of a lot of veggies! haha! No black olives or mushrooms for my vegan pizza. And no green peppers for the other pizzas. It was so pathetic! and after complaining about it for a long time, they finally gave us a decent discount on the price.

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Tuesday 26 December 2023... Last Crazy Day in Iowa

Snow!

Dusting of snow in the back yard

Just a dusting, but still coming down! Some Christmas Snow! So that's nice, except we are driving back to Colorado tomorrow, so it needs to clear up quickly!!

The Aunts and fams arrive again for lunch. Someone had brought a jar of Green Olives stuffed with Lemons. Whoa! It was good... in a very strong way. You could not avoid making a lemon face! *laughs*

We played a big game of 10 card Flipper Golf and just hung out for a while.

We were supposed to go back to the other Uncle's in the afternoon, but they never texted to say everyone had arrived. We waited and waited and finally Brother got a text...

It turns out they were trying to text the landline, back in Colorado, instead of anyone's phone!! Haha! I guess that tells you a little about our relationship with technology!

Anyway. We went and most all the cousins were there with all their kids and everything was crazy. We had Traditional Christmas Part 2, with the dinner and the presents again. Like I said, you can't stop these people with their craziness about the gift giving.

We hung out for a while but Dad and I left early. Dad was starting to get sick as well, and I was just tired of my constant cough. Plus, Partner had stayed in bed, again, and I wanted to check on him.

Dad went to bed, and I watched the game of Hand And Foot that the Aunts and Uncle were playing. Yet again, the men were winning by so much, they didn't even play the last hand. Ha. It seems to be a theme!

Partner got up so he could prepare for tomorrow's drive. Mom and Brother got a ride back and we sat around for a little while before getting to bed.

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Monday 25 December 2023... Christmas Day

Christmas Day is traditionally a lazy day for us! It's nice to relax after the crazy fun we have on Christmas Eve.

I coughed most all night, so the sleep wasn't great. I'm stuffed up and sniffly, have a sinus headache and still with the cough and sneezes. It's annoying, but I'm not too bad off.

There's always birds to be watched at Uncle's house... Here's a fun woodpecker. She's an eastern bird, not to be seen in Colorado or Oregon. Red Belly Woodpecker!

Red Belly Woodpecker standing on the truck of a tree

For the most part, it's too dark and dreary for taking photos of birds out the window. Oh well. It's nice to see them flitting about all the bird feeders in the back yard, anyway.

With my cold, I do wander down to the basement for a good chunk of the day, to suffer in peace.

In the evening, more family shows up, both Aunts this time with parts of their families. After dinner we play some games

With so much of the family around, Nerts is definitely going to come up. This is a ... very physical card game. *laughs* I don't play, and some of the guys hate to play. And yet they always end up playing a couple rounds!

Playing field of a game of Nerts

We also played a fun game of Natalia's Golf and a good game of 65.

Again, just good family time!

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Friday 26 January 2024... A Tribute to Blazey

Today is the one year anniversary of Blazey's death, and I thought I would put up a little memorial. I miss Blazey so much. His place on the bike path is empty and sad and I think about him often.

Blazey was the best Bike Path Ambassador! He was always eager to greet all the humans on the bike path, and most of the dogs as well.

As we got to know each other, Blazey would sometimes jog towards me when he saw me. He was so wonderful and sweet!

My last photo of him, on the day that he died...

Blazey with a squirrel on his throne in the background

That squirrel in the background was on one of Blazey's Thrones and eating his dry cat food. But Blazey wasn't too worried about it!

And then a few days later...

Beloved Blazey has been missing since Jan26

Sighs. He deserved better. But this is what happens to outside cats, even loved cats with happy homes.

Blazey on his throne

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Sunday 24 December 2023... Christmas Eve

Partner, Brother and I decide to skip morning church... we are all sick and Partner just stays in bed.

Brother isn't too bad off, tho he's been ill for a couple days. He thinks we caught the germs at last week's church service. Super Spreader

*laughs* At least we know it's just a cold, and a mild one at that, because Partner and I had gotten both the flu shot and covid vax a couple weeks ago... those immunizations are at full immunizing capacity right now!

I try to be social, but my face keeps exploding. Gah, so annoying.

Brother is feeling better and decides to go with Parents to see the children's Christmas Play at the local church in the evening. I am sad that I'm missing out, and demand he report back to me if anything interesting happens!

And this evening is our traditional Christmas celebration. We go back over to Mom's Brother's house, have a fantastic dinner. And then we open packages.

I have been trying to get these people to scale back on this Christmas Present Thing for years! *laughs* I don't buy anyone any presents, anymore. For me, the stress outweighs the enjoyment.

But you can't stop these crazy people. *Affectionate Eye Roll*

And then we played some more games... We tried to play a weirdly modified partners game of Hand And Foot, because we had seven players. Uncle flip-flopped between the Mens side and the Womens side, and it started out well. But then the Men+Uncle could not get their canastas down in the third round and Uncle ended up with negative 10,000. Bahaha!

It was a fun evening, good family time. And I was happy that my face didn't explode too much.

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Saturday 23 December 2023... A Change of Place

Hibiscus bloom

I get up in the morning and am nominally sick, so I just get on with the day. We play a couple games in the morning and then after lunch we pack up our stuff into the pickup and drive down the road to my other uncle's house.

I start sneezing.

Another Aunt, Cousin and Child come over for a visit. The child has a couple games that are fun to play even tho she's little. Moving the little metal ball around the obstacles is on the frustrating side. But the Whack A Mole is fun... I win a few games before I retreat the the basement so that I can not sniffle at everyone for a while.

I come back later to play a game of 65... different rules at this house and extra wild cards. Aunt is always very lucky at this game and she easily won. But as we were finishing up the last round, she pointed out that I was using the wild cards wrong. haha! No wonder I'm losing so terribly!

Or maybe I'm just sick! I go to bed early, only to lay there and sneeze and cough for most of the night.

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Friday 22 December 2023... Games All Day

A panopoly of games today!

Monopoly Deals and another attempt at Coup.
Sixty-Five and the dice game Qwixx.

We pull out Wits and Wagers and that was a fun game... Brother and I were winning, but then Dad bet all he had on William Shakespeare for the last question! Brother had 19, I had 17 and Dad had a crazy 40 for the win!

The game Blank Slate was out and we dug into it for a pseudo game, asking the questions but not keeping score or anything.

After dinner we played Blank Slate again, keeping score this time. Brother won, then Mom won.

We also played more Wits and Wagers and Brother knew the last question, and bet it all and won! FYI, in the traditional Monopoly game, you start out with 1500$. *laughs* Something I will probably never care about! ;)

In the evening, I realize I've got some kind of disease. My throat is sore and I've sneezed more than normal and I'm a little stuffy. Arg. This is annoying, I don't want to be sick!

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Thursday 21 December 2023... Out for a Walk

Uncle and Aunt live right on the edge of town, and it's a pleasant, short walk to downtown. Nobody wanted to walk with me, and I'm happy to go out alone. It's good to get some exercise!

I LOVE their black squirrels!!

Black squirrel standing on the grass

This is a colour variation in their Eastern Grey Squirrels. Very cute!

I go across the main road that goes thru town and find the library.

Public Library building

Yep, I go in and check it out! It seems pretty cozy. There's a fireplace to gather at and nice places to read by the big windows.

Couches and potted plants next to big windows

I continue thru the neighborhoods. Yay Art!

Art, dog statue made of colourful metal pieces

I go across a few blocks to make a loop and come back thru the Square. My great aunt worked in the courthouse, when I was a kid and so I've been inside a few times. I didn't feel like going past the construction, so I didn't go in today.

Courthouse with a clock tower

A squirrel who looks more familiar... Eastern Fox Squirrels are the invasive species we've got, back in Oregon!

Eastern Fox Squirrel standing on a concrete wall

A Little Free Library outside a church. And yep, a hefty section inside the box was taken up with religious tracks. Ha.

Little Library outside a church

Back at the house, I watched the end of a Camel game. Mom was kicking butt, and she won!

I joined in for a men against women game of Hand And Foot. The men came in really strong and after the first round they were beating the women by 2000 points! But the women made a come back and we caught up... we had done so well, our scores were almost even, the men were ahead by just five points!

The pendulum swung back to the men for the third round and they were ahead by 3000 points. The fourth round is the last one, and we women started out great! But then the men put their 150 down and built canastas quickly. Dad went out to finish the game and unfortunately we didn't even need to count for the final score because the men were still over 2000 points ahead.

We are tidying up a little after the game...

And Brother found Dad's Foot on the window sill! He had set it out of the way, and then forgot to play it!

Cheater!!

Bahaha! We decided to call it an even game, instead!

Uncle and Aunt have an excellent game room in their basement. A foosball and a pool table.

My brother is an expert at the foosball. My dad and I ganged up against him, and we lost miserably! And then later in the evenng he thrashed my uncle at a couple games!

We played some pool as well. I happened to get paired up with Aunt, and it was good! I'm terrible, tho I can occasionally make a good shot. But Aunt is brilliant. She's by far the best player in the house! So we won a few games against everyone! Yay!

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Wednesday 20 December 2023... Games

I slept in and then it became a day of games!

Unknown houseplant

We pulled out the Camel game, and my brother won.

And then a game of 65, Aunt thrashed us all.

After dinner we set up a partners game of Hand And Foot, women against men. Sadly, the men killed us in that game.

A couple games of Wits and Wagers. Mom won the first and Partner won the second.

Apples To Apples was incredible... Mom guessed correctly every single round, until one or two at the end.

And then a ten card Golf game. We play a few different varieties of Golf card games, and I'm always getting them mixed up. This one, Brother came in first with -75. I was in second but I trailed far behind with -39...

There were a couple other negative scores, but a few people had really bad positive scores. It's a fun game, but when you get the luck and finish the rounds quickly, you can really exacerbate other people's bad luck!

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Tuesday 19 December 2023... Road Trip

The sunrise in Colorado.

Sunrise

And then we jumped in the truck and drove to Iowa!

It's a hefty 10 hour drive. I love road trips, even when I don't get to drive!

It is a long day, tho.

We were going to be staying at Mom's brother's house, and as we drove past Dad's brother's house, Dad laid on the horn!

Gah! The people in the back seat had no idea what was going on, especially since the horn was on for practically 30 seconds or more. I thought the check engine light had suddenly gotten a lot worse! haha!

And the truck that was in front of us... way, _way_ out in front of us, didn't know what was going on either!! They pulled over and were probably confused for hours. I wonder what story they will tell about that incident!! *laughs*

We arrived and got settled, and then Uncle and Aunt kept chatting and chatting even tho all I wanted to do was go to bed! They are def night people and of course excited to see us. But that was pretty funny!

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Monday 18 December 2023... Day of Chores and Games

Tomorrow we are heading to Iowa, so I need to do a load of laundry and re-pack my bags. Dad is getting stuff done as well, organizing the pickup.

Dad, Bro and I play a game of Monopoly Deals... Dad gets all the good cards, Bro and I lay down a couple of things which quickly get stolen.

In the afternoon, Bro and I decide to see how fast we can walk the 2mile loop to the back of the subdivision. We walked at 17.38 minutes per mile... I'm not sure if that average includes me stopping for photos! *laughs*

European Starlings...

Starlings in a tree

And Eurasian Collared Doves...

Eurasian Collarded Dove standing on a branch, surrounded by twigs

Ha, there's more than just invasive species here! But the Robins and far off Magpies were not sitting for their portraits today!

The same curious goat as the other day... I wonder if this is the leader!

Black, white and red goat standing on the roof of a play structure

The other goats are relaxing and enjoying the day!

Goats lying on playground equipment

Partner came down as we were thinking about playing a game of Hand and Foot. That's a tough game with five players, so we switched to Group and Run. That ended up being a very slow game, anyway... but Partner eventually won!

Dinner was fridge wipe out! And when we were all done with our last minute chores for tomorrows car trip, Brother started up a movie. Oblivion, 2013. It was pretty good, but had some major plot issues.

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Sunday 17 December 2023... Sunday Cookie Decorating!

Church this morning and then some football on the tv, to be ignored by most of the house. Brother and I wrapped our Christmas presents and then Mom was working on more cookies!

We had fun decorating the sugar cookies!

decorated sugar cookies cut into shapes!

Never mind the box of Triscuits... they're vegan and pretty tasty, but now we have cookies to munch on!

And the newspaper puzzles are a morning tradition, at the parents house!

We played Can't Stop, it's a dice game with a board and I enjoy it. But the race was between Dad and Brother, and Brother won. And I lost miserably, of course.

Coup card game

Then we tried out a first game of Coup. It is very complicated and the language around challenges and blocks definitely needs improvement. And then the game ended abruptly when Brother just paid to outright murder me! That was lame, and no one wanted to play again.

Later in the evening we played some City Guesser. Last year we played the heck out of this game, and it was really fun.

This time around, there were some very boring walks along the way and it was def not as fun. Oh well!

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Saturday 16 December 2023... Raptor Center!

Today the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program in Fort Collins is having an open house!

Outside the building, they have a Bald Eagle mascot dressed up and dancing around! haha!

And inside the building we are greeted by the smallest of their raptor ambassadors, an Eastern Screech Owl!

The links go to each of the ambassador's personal pages at the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program website. You can learn about what brought them into the program! For instance, this Screech Owl had a broken jaw which now makes it hard for him to eat.

Eastern Screech Owl standing on someones arm

A terrible photo... but the cuteness!

None of the photos today are any good. The light was just really bad in their building. That's okay, it's fun to meet all the bird ambassadors, anyway!

I asked about his name, and they have a whole speech! Rebekah said they were changing their policy about names... Formerly, they didn't name the raptors because they are wild animals.

But they've recently decided to name them after all, because it creates a connection and fosters empathy.

Personally, yeah, you know I give names to the wild lives!

But I can respect what they were trying to do by not naming anyone. I do wonder how they refer to everyone when the public isn't around, tho. For instance, they've got two Eastern Screech Owls and a Western, who are all ambassadors, not to mention three Red Tail Hawks. They must have some kind of identification, beyond their species, to figure out who's who!

Eastern Screech Owl standing on someones arm

And then we get to meet the biggest raptor... a Golden Eagle.

Golden Eagle standing on someones arm

He was happily ripping flesh off the spine of a bunny. eh. Carnivores.

This is a Northern Goshawk. He is almost completely blind, but very sweet and gentle.

Northern Goshawk

This taxidermied Prairie Dog amused me with her Holiday Bow.

Taxidermy Prairie Dog with a Christmas ribbon bow

They did have a sign that said No animals were killed or harmed for the purpose of creating these specimens... That's good to know... tho they do kill a lot of mice and bunnies and whoever to feed the raptors.

There's also a sign reminding people that it's illegal for regular people to possess feathers, bones, eggs, nests and the bodies (living or dead) of these protected species.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act covers ALL native North American birds. It's illegal to keep even a sparrow's feather! The Rocky Mountain Raptor Program has state and federal permits, which allow them to keep the birds and bird parts.

Like this owl skeleton. Wow, that eye socket is just crazy!

Owl Skeleton inside a glass case

I think the next hawk is this Red Tail Hawk, who had West Nile Virus and was treated and survived encephalitis (brain swelling) that left her with neurological deficits.

Red Tail Hawk, jessed and standing on someones arm

Red Tail Hawk, close up of her face

And finally, we've got this Swainson Hawk who is blind in his right eye.

Swainson Hawk

I was so excited to see these Hawks, and Eagle and Owl, and learn about them and hear their stories. And then I went and spent some money at their gift shop. I got a tee-shirt with Kestrels, since I get to see Kestrels at home, now and then. I also bought a couple notecards that I'll keep for the art! A Turkey Vulture photo and an illustrated Silby card of Owls of the western US.

And now that I'm looking at their online shop... oh my gosh, I kind of want the Dodo! *laughs* And the Turkey Vulture. And. Well. They've got a lot of fun stuffies!!

Anyway. We headed back home to my parent's house, and Dad got to work with the fire pit!

We had a lovely time out there, gathered round the fire and drinking hot mulled wine, a gift brought by the lovely Amber.

CamelUp board game

In the evening we pulled out the new Camels game again. This board game is a bit complicated and the first time we tried to play, Dad was grumpy about it, for whatever reason. That's fine. We are humans and we have emotions. We are allowed to be grumpy! And he apologized.

The game this evening went much more smoothly, now that we are figuring it out. And it's interesting, once you get the hang of it! Mom won with the most money, and I lost pitifully.

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Friday 15 December 2023... Birds and the Barn Star

My Dad keeps some bird feeders in their back yard, and I was taking some photos today.

Altho our homes in Oregon and Colorado are split by the Rocky Mountains, our Northern Flickers are the same: Red Shafted!

Female Northern Flicker at a suet bird feeder

They also have Oregon Juncos in Colorado. But one bird that is different... Blue Jays! We don't have any in Oregon.

Blue Jay eating at a bird feeder

Blue Jay

Another bird in Colorado that we don't see in Oregon is Magpies. I never get to take good photos of the Magpies, tho. I don't know anything about their personality or anything, so I'm not sure what it would take to get a portrait of one of them.


The parents have a lit star on the top of their barn, as a Christmas decoration. But the lights on one of the arms of the star have gone out... I said it has Starfish Wasting Disease!

This is vaguely funny for an inanimate object... but in real life, this is a horrifying disease that has killed almost all of the precious Sunflower Sea Stars. The die-off started in the Pacific in 2013, populations crashed by 99.2% and they still don't know the cause or treatment of the disease.

SeaStarWasting.org

Wikipedia, Sea Star Wasting Disease

Nat Park Service, Southwest Alaska, Sea Star Wasting Disease

Anyway. Dad wanted to bring the star down and replace the ribbon lights on it. My brother said he is scared of heights, but I'm not, so I volunteered to help!

Barn with a star at the top

Yep, I climbed up there! and We got it done! I should have taken a photo of the fixed, lit star at night... but nope, I didn't.

Unknown dried up wildflowers

Later in the afternoon we went for a walk in the sun.

Goats on wood play structures

Rock Doves standing on a power line

Mom and brother and I played a game of Blokus. I enjoyed it, a fun game with tetris type bits that you have to place on the board. Brother won, of course.

A completed game of Blokus on the table

In the evening, we went to my Dad's favorite brewery, City Star. That was fun! Mom and I had Fizzes, these Passion Fruit thingees. And we chatted and people watched, it was a fun night!

And then we went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. For some reason, me being a vegan was a huge production! *laughs* The servers had this conference to figure out what I could eat, even tho they had the Impossible Burger on their menu. It turns out, their specialty made burger buns are not vegan so that was kind of a bummer. But I'm really grateful that they were able to accommodate me. And hopefully the next vegan who walks in will get smoother service!

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Thursday 14 December 2023... Shooting Stars!

Today my parents had some stuff to do in town. And my brother had forgotten a couple things at his house and I wanted to check out his neighborhood. And my parents' cleaning service was working and we needed to stay out of her way!

So we piled into the car.

I had been to my brother's house before, but had never gotten to walk around. The weather is decent today, not too cold and not too windy! So I was excited because he's got a nearby bike path just like I do...

Dead end road and a walking bridge

This neighborhood street dead-ends at the creek, and a walking bridge takes you over to the bike path!

I was amazed because it looks a lot like my bike path at home!

Bike path next to a creek in a neighborhood

Except this is a much more narrow green and blue space, going thru the neighborhoods. The bike path here is maybe 5 or 6feet wide, whereas mine at home is 8 or 10feet wide.

Creek with trees and a bike path with people walking

We also walked thru the city park that backs up to the creek. There's a baseball field and some playground equipment. And a small utility building with this Amazing mural on the side of it!!

Fox and Hare mural on the side of a building

Isn't that brilliant! I love it!


In the evening, after dinner, Mom went out to the mail box to check for packages. The Amazon delivery guys have been stuffing packages into the mailbox, illegally, instead of bringing them up to the porch. It's annoying. And yeah, illegal.

She came back and told us she had seen a Shooting Star!

Wow! I want to see a shooting star! She told us where it was, and I got bundled up and went out to look for some meteors!

But, dang it's cold. I look around at the sky, but after about five minutes I have to go back inside to warm up.

I keep trying, but don't see any shooting stars.

After the parents go to bed, I get the Emily Laptop out and look to see what's going on in the sky...

It's the Geminid meteor shower... today and yesterday are the peak viewing nights with 150 meteors per hour. And it turns out, the Gemini Constellation, where many of the meteors are coming from, is on the opposite side of the sky! It was just a happy happenstance that Mom had seen a shooting star in the west!

So I put my coat on again and went out on the back porch. I didn't see anything and after about five minutes I came back in to warm up again.

But now I've convinced my brother to be excited as well... and we both go out for the next attempt.

Yay! A Shooting Star! It's long! Not just a little flash! and then Another one, in the same area! Wow! So Cool!

We both saw some smaller ones as well, mostly out of the corners of our eyes.

What a great day! To see Shooting Stars! Awesome!

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Wednesday 13 December 2023... Colorado

oh my gosh. It is just so nice to lounge around and hang out with my family at my parents house! So relaxing and good!

My brother and I went for a short walk in the neighborhood. My parents live on the front range of the Rocky Mountains, it's dry and grassy with few trees. Very different from home in Oregon.

And there are bunnies!

Wild Cottontail sitting in the grass

Partner had slept all day yesterday, after we arrived. So I was happy that he was able to join us for his first game of Monopoly Deals. We had played several games yesterday, and it's such a fun game! But this round was really dragging on, for whatever reason.

Partner got frustrated and suddenly Rage Quit and went back to bed. We kept playing without him... I paid his rent, and I was going to play his hand when the round got to his turn.

But when I looked at his hand of cards, and the properties he already had down... I realized that if I flipped a wild property, Partner actually had three sets complete! He had WON!!! Haha. I went and told him but he stayed in bed.

Phase 10, card game

Phase10 is also a fun game we played today. It's more fun when I happen to win! *laughs* I'm usually extremely unlucky when it comes to card games. So it's pretty exciting when I do get to win! :)

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Tuesday 12 December 2023... Travelling

I am flying to Colorado today, with Partner, to visit my family.

I gotta say... I hate flying. Airports give me anxiety and I get motion sick on airplanes. It's just terrible all around.

But I get to see my parents and my brother at the end of it. :)

We arrived in the morning, and got to my parents house, and just lazed for the rest of the day.

Monopoly Deal, card game

It was so nice to sit at the kitchen table and watch Mom make Gingerbread Cookies! *laughs*

And my brother brought a new game, Monopoly Deals. It's a card game and it's really fun!

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Monday 11 December 2023... A Day of Birds!!

Northern Flicker standing on a mossy tree branch

Anna Hummingbird standing on the tip of a twig

oh, delight! There's some Robins munching on this big, beautiful Pyracantha bush!!

American Robin standing in a Pyracantha bush with many berries

Blurry American Robin eating a Pyracantha berry

Two American Robins standing in a Pyracantha bush with many berries

American Robin standing on a Pyracantha twig

Hermit Thrush standing on a metal fence

And, today I have the new code to get past the Community Garden gates! I've grabbed the Hand Hoe to take home, and I'm happy with the state of the garden plot!

Garden plot covered with leaves

And on the way home... oh cool! A Common Merganser! I don't think I've ever seen one at the creek before!

Common Merganser paddling on the water

And then I realized I should be paying attention to who he's hanging out with!! Haha! It's Angle!!

Female Mallard standing on the bank, Male Common Merganser paddling in the water nearby

Female Mallard standing on the bank with twigs and dead leaves

I'm so glad I got to see her, one last time before the trip tomorrow!

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Sunday 10 December 2023... Oops

Hill Trees

I was going to the garden today to pick up the hand hoe.

I've worked hard to winterize the garden plot... there's a couple areas of cover crop, the rest is covered with a thick layer of leaves.

I was going to make sure everything was perfect for the inspection that happens a couple days after we fly outta here on Tuesday...

But, all the gates suddenly have locks on them, and my code isn't working!

ARG! I walk home and complain bitterly. Because I had a plan for today, to bring home the stupid hand hoe, and I was twarted!

It turns out that SOMEONE didn't send me the email with the new code. (That SOMEONE is Partner, who is usually very good about sending me the emails.) *laughs*

oh well. I guess I'll try again tomorrow.

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Saturday 9 December 2023... Walk at the River

Aw, really? That's not nice.

Rental bikes in a rack and rental eScooters that have been pushed over

Looking upriver

Yay, spillover!

Spillover from the river into the ponds

It starts sprinkling... and then some tiny hails come down as well. ack!

Golden Crown Sparrow standing on the ground

Ha. That one white goose who always hangs out with her Canada Goose friends!

Geese paddling on the water

I'm not going to get any decent photos today with the weather being what it is. So I try for something artsy!

Silhouette of a American Robin in an Alder tree

Spotted Towhee

Looking across the river

Mile 2 marker

Oregon Grape

*laughs*

Pied Bill Grebe, diving into the water

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Friday 8 December 2023... Hidden Trail

Okay! The clouds are starting to break up as I head out this morning! That's a nice change!

Trees and fog on the hill

Christmas blow up decorations

Christmas blow up decorations, Penguins and a Narwhale

Wild Turkeys standing on the roof of a house

Wild Turkeys walking in a yard

Western Grey Squirrel, sitting on a wood fence, eating something held in his hands

small waterfall around mossy logs and rocks

Small Waterfall next to a paved path

And here I am at the top, in the Acorn Woodpeckers' territory.

Acorn Woodpecker standing on a mossy branch

And yet again, they are too far away for decent photos. SIGHS!

Acorn Woodpecker standing at the top of a snag

Oh well. It's fun just to spend time with them.

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Thursday 7 December 2023... Yep... Rain.

Enough rain to flood the bike path under the bridges again.

flooded bike path

Happy I get to see Angle, tho!

a pair of Mallards, standing on the bank of the creek

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Wednesday 6 December 2023... More Rain

Dark and dreary today, and it rained and sprinkled the entire morning.

Here's a different view of the hill I usually photograph...

Safe Spot Community

Safe Spot Community

There are 18 pallet houses here... Conestoga Huts are 6x10 on the inside, have a bed and an electric plug-in but no water.

The community area includes port-a-potties, hand washing station, shower station, and a kitchen.

I'm not taking very many photos today because of the rain, but this flock of Rock Doves delights me.

Rock Doves walking on the ground

Look at how individual they all are!

Two Rock Doves walking on the ground

And they are so focused on the ground. What are they even looking at??!

Rock Dove looking at the ground

I don't know, but I suppose they are finding good things to eat.

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Tuesday 5 December 2023... Finishing Up at the Garden

Well, my arms are a bit sore from all the vaccinations I got yesterday. And I'm maybe a little bit tired, as well.

But it's a dry day, so I've got to work at the garden. In a week, I'll be traveling to see family for the holidays and I don't want to leave this for the last minute!

Clouds in the sky above winter bare trees

I heard this one begging like a baby, as I was pulling a wheelbarrow out of the shed. She was too far away, but she was easy to spot: her bright red self in the mossy tree stood out like a beacon!

Red Shoulder Hawk standing in a mossy tree

Okay. Here I am in the back corner of the garden plot... Jerkface is on the left, and you can see how far away that landscaping fabric is. Jerkface.

garden plot

I'm ripping up the bit of grass there, and then I will put down a deep layer of leaves. It won't kill the grass, and I can't imagine that Jerkface will every get a clue. But doesn't that look much nicer!

garden plot

And I'm done!

The bits of green that aren't covered by leafy mulch are cover crop... some Fava and some Dead Nettle. There are also a couple of Elephant Garlics volunteers!

I'm really kind of exhausted, as I head home. Side effect of all those shots yesteray. Def taking a nap this afternoon!

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Monday 4 December 2023... Covid Vax!

No mass vax drive-thrus this year, to get vaccinated for covid, and it's no longer a free shot. That's a bummer. But I made an appointment, online, at a pharamcy in a nearby grocery store, and I'm walking there this morning. I'm grateful that it's not raining!

Oh my gosh! It's Knotty!

Great Blue Heron standing in water

It's been over a month since I've seen her! And of course, she shows up today when I can't spend much time. foo.

It's great to see you, Knotty! But I gotta run!

Great Blue Heron standing in water behind stick

And then the sun comes out and I see a bit of blue sky. Oh, the trees are shining in the sun and being all beautiful!

autumn trees with fir trees on the hill in the background

And then, under the bridge... it's no longer flooded, but the silt left behind is soft and has evidence of all who have walked by!

Animal prints in the mud

That's a raccoon! And a dog. And duck footprints at the bottom! How cool is that?

But I mustn't get distracted! I've got an appointment!

Oh beautiful TNR kitty! No more distractions!

Long haired cat sitting in the leaves

I turned off the bike path and went into the grocery store a few minutes early for my appointment. I stood near the Vaccination Check In sign for a few. They weren't busy, and I waited long enough to get annoyed. I could have spent more time with Knotty, dang it!

The doctor finally got to me and I told her my appt time and literally only had to say my name and confirm my health plan. Just like the drive-thru vax clinics, I didn't have to show my ID or my insurance card or anything!

But then I had to wait some more for her to set up all my shots... I was also getting a flu shot and I was way, way overdue for a tetnus shot!

I wandered over to the nearby stationery section and looked at greeting cards... they have some of the Papyrus line, which have beautiful artwork! That made me happy. And then I sat down and waited and wished I had something interesting to do besides fiddling with the camera.

Finally, I was called up with my last name... I could tell she didn't want to attempt my first name! Haha! It's a doozy, and while most people pronounce it approximately correctly the first time, I understand why you'd want to avoid it! :)

I went back to a TINY little sheltered area in front of the door to the pharmacy. She sat me down, we chatted for a second while she got organized with her cotton balls and bandaids. I asked if I'd have to wait the 15mins and she said that wasn't a requirement anymore.

I got my shots and my bandaids and my information sheets, and I was out after about 25 minutes, total. Not too bad, but def could have been streamlined a little better.

I got back on the bike path for more walking, and soon passed a couple who had been in the pharmacy line. I made pleasantries at them and they agreed it was a beautiful day.

Perhaps a little too beautiful? It's so warm, this one woke up from her winter hibernation! That can't be good!

Caterpillar walking across dead leaves on the ground

But at least I didn't need to rescue her from the path... I hope she finds a good place to sleep some more.

And then on the walk home, oh wow! It's the Wood Duck couple who have tried to raise a family here at the creek, the last couple of springs.

a pair of Wood Ducks behind several Mallards sitting on the bank of the creek

They lost their babies to H5N1, and I'm surprised to see them again. In general, birds find a new place after a nest failure... Trying to escape sad memories, you know.

Wood Ducks sitting on the bank of the creek

They are so beautiful, and I just love them. I've gotten to see lots of good wildlife people today!

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Sunday 3 December 2023... Rain, Rain

Yep, it's pouring down rain again...

Squirrel standing on the side of a tree trunk

The creek is getting towards full, and the trees along the bank are under water!

Creek next to the bike path

Here comes Angle!

Female Mallard paddling on the water

Here's her more familiar side with her hurt wing.

Female Mallard on the water behind some grass

I walk past the Community Garden... and now even the back gates are missing the locks!

Community Garden gate, missing a lock

ARG! This is so frustrating. Who is running this stupid show?? I can't believe Becca would be so negligent.

Well. There's nothing I can do about this ridiculous situation, so I walk on.

And the funny ducks at the next bridge, cheer me up...

Flooded bike path with ducks paddling

The bike path is flooded, the creek is supposed to stay on the left side of that railing! And it amuses me greatly that the ducks are paddling over the bike path!

Mallards standing under a railing

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Saturday 2 December 2023... Today in the rain

It's pouring down rain this morning, so I'm going to keep my walk in the neighborhood.

Trees on the hill

How cute... there are a couple of female Teals hanging out with some Mallards. The size difference!

Mallards and a Green Wing Teal paddling on the water

I just keep walking. In the downtown area, the creek is contained in a canal.

Fern under a pipe where water is coming out

As I walk out to 18th, there happens to be a break in traffic, so I go on across! I've never walked out here before, and it's good to see some new things.

It's a much richer neighborhood, the houses are bigger and they are further apart with bigger yards.

I walk thru Washington Park... no nature, but there's a baseball field, basketball court, playground and stuff. I don't bother to take any photos... it's still pouring down rain, I'm soaked and when I turned around, I started walking into the breeze. The wet clothes are uncomfortable and I'm a little bit chilly.

But at the other end of the park... oh my gosh, they have a little community center!

There's a big indoor meeting space, with natural light coming thru a wall of French doors. And a fire place with a colourful rug and comfortable chairs around makes it look so cozy! A kitchen and public restrooms.

It looks so nice, and dang I am jealous! *laughs*

Autumn and winter bare trees with trees on the hill in the distance

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Friday 1 December 2023... Continue Garden Work

The trees are so grey now.

trees on the hill in the distance

Clouds and a bright spot where the sun is

Good Morning My Dear!

Eastern Fox Squirrel standing on a wood fence post

And Good Morning, My Other Dear!

Eastern Fox Squrrel standing on the leaf pile

And then I noticed that the gate I was going into the Community Garden, didn't have a lock. What the heck?? And the tool shed was missing it's lock as well.

Well. This is not cool. I assume they are maybe replacing the locks, or changing the codes? But they have never just removed locks before, so that's weird. And I'm really NOT COMFORTABLE about this.

But I have work that must be done. So I get to it! I haul eight wheelbarrows of leaves today... and I'm really close to being done!

Garden plot mostly covered with leaves

On the walk home, I'm happy to see Henrietta. He's focused on the hunt!

Great Blue Heron standing in water

Crow standing on a street sign that say *Amazon Creek*

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Thursday 30 November 2023... Cool Birds at Stewart Pond

It stayed above freezing last night, and it sprinkled for hours before sun up. And it's just much nicer, so I'm heading west for my walk today.

House Finch standing on a blackberry vine

I walk past the wet prairie, which is still just a prairie, and Stewart Pond Park is not a pond yet but there's some geese hanging out...

Canada Geese and Cackling Geese standing in the grass

It took me a minute to realize this is a mixed group! The above pic has Canada Geese in front and the two in the back are the smallest cousin, Cackling Geese!

Here you can see the differences in their faces. The Canada Goose on the left has a longer beak and the Cackling Goose on the right, has a cute little snub-nosed beak.

Canada Goose and Cackling Goose standing in the grass

And of course the Canadas are quite a bit bigger than the Cacklers.

Cackling Goose and Canada Goose

An then, just before the entrance to the park, someone is fluttering up on the power line...

American Kestrel standing on a power line, fluttering her wings

Oh my gosh! An American Kestrel!! This is so cool! But, oh, I wish it wasn't so dark and dreary... the photos aren't great, but I'm so glad I got to meet her!

American Kestrel standing on a power line, looking down at me!

Somebody has disturbed the flock of geese!

Flock of geese, in the sky

I was walking on the path thru the little forest, and I tripped on a tree root that's poking up. I caught myself but felt stupid because I've stumbled over that root before! But now, there's a hole on the one side of the root, so the potiential for harm is much increased.

I looked around for something to mark the danger and I found some white boards, a bit up the path! Perfect! I put the board over the hole and this will prevent the tree root from murdering the humans!

leafy path

A Golden Crown Sparrow. Hopefully her weird toe nail doesn't give her much trouble. It must be annoying tho, that she can't grip the branch with that toe!

Golden Crown Sparrow, standing on a twig

I'm back on the bike path, heading home, when I see a flash of red. Oh! Sapsucker!

Red Breast Sapsucker, standing on the side of a tree trunk

S/he is So Sweet, they let me walk around the tree for a better view!

Red Breast Sapsucker, standing on the side of a tree trunk

Red Breast Sapsucker closeup

What a great day with an awesome variety of birds!! It's always exciting when I get to see new and different birds!

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Wednesday 29 November 2023... Garden

Still with the below freezing temperatures in the morning, and I'm so tired of it.

heh, I was tired of it on day one! Normal temp for this time of year is 49/36 and that sounds perfectly nice!

Winter trees with foggy trees in the background

The little Nutrias are out and running around again!

Two Nutrias standing in the grass with Mallards

They are so cute.

Nutria

And you can see how little they are, with the ducks to compare to!

Nutria standing on a steep grass covered bank with female mallards

Okay! I am switching gears today at the garden. Going to kill some grass that's been annoying me...

Garden Before

Since it's not rained for seven days straight, I get the hand fork out, to do some serious weeding. But nope. The dirt is Still too muddy, and I can't pull out any grass roots. foo.

Garden after

Heading home.

Male Hooded Merganser, paddling on the water

I am learning about a tree... Alder!

Alder cones and catkins

They are easy to identify right now, the leaves have fallen but the small cones stay on for a good long while. And of course, the catkins are starting to do their thing!

The odd thing about their autumn leaves... they fall off when they are still green! No autumn colour at all. On the ground, the green leaves will slowly break down to dark brown.

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Tuesday 28 November 2023... Hauling leaves at the garden

It's another frozen but dry morning. Looks like warmer temps and rain will be returning by the end of the week, so I'd better hurry up and get as much done at the garden that I can!

But on the way, I'm distracted by the Magnolia Trees.

Magnolia cone with red berries in it, surrounded by leaves

And Henrietta!

Great Blue Heron standing in water

And one of the little Nutrias that I saw yesterday.

Nutria in the grass

Okay! Today I'm working on the left side of the garden plot. Which means I need to chop down the big Comfrey. I was happy to have Comfrey finally growing in the plot... But this one has just gotten too big and I'm going to try to remove it.

It's huge, easily 6 or 7 feet diameter, and the roots are very well established. So it will probably take years to kill it! ha. And the killing starts today, with me hacking at the roots with my hand hoe, like an axe!

Unfortunately, I forgot to take before and after pics.

But here's what the garden plot looks like after 10 more wheelbarrow loads of leaves!

On the way home, I see Angle. She's preening, and I'm pretty happy to see that she's able to move her bad wing a little!

Preening female Mallard standing in shallow water

I assume she won't be able to fly again... She's only got a few primary flight feathers, tho those will grow back eventually. But she's also holding her wing in a weird way, and I don't know if whatever is wrong there will ever heal.

I wish there was a magical clinic where the wildlife knew they could get medicine and get healing. But that's not the way stupid nature works.

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Monday 27 November 2023... The Birds and The Garden

Another frosty morning. But little wind, so once I get to work at the garden, I'll be able to take my jacket off.

Frosty trees along the bike path

Oh. This is new...

Wood cross next to the bike path, engraved

My condolences to Billy Skinner's people.

The cute little Teals are paddling away from the crazy human. But look at that splash of teal!!!

Male and Female Green Wing Teals, on the water, another male behind leaves

Heh. The Hooded Mergansers look kind of worried when their hood is down!

Two male Hooded Mergansers paddling on the water

I just love all of our winter visitors at the creek!

Male Hooded Merganser paddling on the water

Okay! I'm at the garden, and the same deal as yesterday... I have to work hard to get to the good pile of leaves, which is hidden well behind the crappy fir needles.

But then!!!

Garden and a dump truck behind the fence

A new batch of leaves has arrived! I stay out of the way and wave happiness at the driver!

And these leaves were PERFECT! Light and fluffy, no pine/fir needles, few sticks, no trash!! YAY.

I got 2 wheel barrow loads of those... and then a street cleaner came and dumped 2 loads of absolute crap in the way. Muddy, and needle-y. ARG!

But it's relatively easy to get to the light fluffy leaves, and I don't have to perform heavy gymnastics to get to them! So that's great!

And, because of the lighter leaves, I was able to haul extra today! I got 9 wheel barrow loads, when I was planning on 4.

garden

Also, you see that Possibly Not Evil Neighbor has thrown down a tarp. Sighs. It does not cover his entire plot, not even close. And of course he couldn't place it so that it would stiffle the grass along my edge. Jerkface.

Heading home.

Yellow Rump Warbler standing on a wood fence post

Oh! Hello!

Nutria standing in the grass

Oh! And Hello!

Nutria peeking out of the grass

You all are just all over the place! *laughs*

Nutria peeking from behind a bush

Cute lil critters!

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Sunday 26 November 2023... Garden

Henrietta. And a lot of sticks!

Great Blue Heron, standing in water behind a lot of bare twigs

It's well below freezing again, and dry so I'm heading to the garden to start hauling leaves to the plot.

Autumn trees with foggy hill in the background

Squirrel sitting in the fork of a mossy tree

I get to the Community Garden and pull out a wheel barrow and two forks. I put on my garden gloves and get to work!

The front pile of leaves... is TERRIBLE. oh my gosh, it's so bad! There's few leaves, it's mostly fir needles, and there's sticks and I'm picking out trash as well.

Dang it. So, that's just not going to work... the fir needles are bad for the soil. They won't break down like the leaves do, and they'll decrease the pH of the soil, making it more acidic. Rhododendrons like that. But garden veggies do not!

So I poke around the leaf piles before loading up a 2nd wheel barrow load. About 8feet behind the fir needles are some actual leaves. I can't get the wheel barrow back there, so I have to reach with the fork between the leaf pile and the wheel barrow. And these leaves are wet, molding and heavy! It's really really hard work.

I don't want to kill myself on day one, so I only haul five wheel barrow loads...

garden

heh, yep, just a bit of the corner is covered.

And, yeah, going a good bit over the border, into JerkFace's plot.

Is this second round of freezing temps going to finish off the favas??

Frosty Favas

On the walk home... oh, hey! It's Angle!! I've not seen her in a couple days and was a little worried.

Female Mallard napping on a rock in the water, her head tucked under her wing

Oh, look how cute!

Golden Crown Sparrows standing on twigs

Top Sparrow: You've got something on your face.
2nd Sparrow: Oh, thanks! *wipes face on branch*

*laughs*

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Saturday 25 November 2023... Day of Woodpeckers, Up Hidden Trail

Brrr! It got below freezing last night.

Frosty Oregon Grape leaves

ugh. I don't like it! But it gives me something new to take photos of!

Frosty Big Leaf Maple leaf

Sun beans coming thru Douglas Fir trees

Wild turkeys

At the base of the hill, where Hidden Trail starts going up, I hear an odd "Thump. Thump. Thump." I look up in the tree... Oh My Gosh! There's a Pileated Woodpecker up there!!

the back of a Pileated Woodpecker

These woodpeckers are so cool. They are big! And they look a lot like the extinct Ivory Billed Woodpecker.

I walked around the tree, trying to get a decent photo... to no avail! Ha! Bird was not interested!

Pileated Woodpecker standing on the side of a tree trunk

Oh well. Another time, maybe! :)

Small path bridge strewn with fallen yellow leaves

waterfall

I get to the top of the trail and start walking up to the Acorn Woodpeckers' territory. Oh Foo...

Hawk standing at the top of a pine tree, framed with branches of another tree

This is NOT who I came up here for!

She's a Red Tail, and doesn't even do me the courtesy of giving me a good photo. *laughs*

She's scared most of the little birds into hiding, but there are a few brave souls flitting, low in the shrubbery.

Golden Crown Sparrow

And a single Acorn Woodpecker has stuck his head up to guard the precious hoard of acorns!

Acorn Woodpecker standing at the top of a snag

I follow the road, which curves around to the other side of their territory. Still just the one, and he's preening now.

Acorn Woodpecker standing at the top of a snag, preening

Hey! You, up there! Are you allowed to preen when you're on guard duty??

*laughs*

Frosty Lupine leaves

sighs. Am I ever going to get close enough for decent photos of this family?

Acorn Woodpecker standing on a dead branch

Certainly not today.

oh well. :)

Back at home, the African Violet is blooming!

Purple blooms surrounded by leaves

And that's the happy Spider Plant, too.

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Friday 24 November 2023... Garden

Hi Henrietta!

Great Blue Heron standing in water, looking at the bank

He's busy looking for some breakfast.

At the garden, I am weeding again along the border with Probably Not Evil neighbor. But you can hardly tell the difference when I'm done, so I think I'm going to ignore the rest of the grass. Next time I come, I'll start hauling leaves!

The Columbine has expanded a little bit this year, happy to see little babies sprouting up here and there. The flowers are pretty of course, but I love the leaves, too.

Columbine leaves

And the way they catch the dew!

Columbine leaves with water drops

And then something in the back Fava cover crop patch, caught my eye...

Favas sprouting from the base of damaged stalks

Oh, Yay! We had some below freezing nights at the end of October that damaged many of the Favas... But they are re-sprouting at the base!

I checked the front Fava patch, and some of them are re-spouting as well!

Fava sprouting from the base of a damaged stalk

So that's good. It's nice when the winter cover crop actually lives thru the winter! ha.

Mushrooms

On the way home, Henrietta is still at the same spot at the creek. Are you Still looking for breakfast, My Dear??

Great Blue Heron

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Thursday 23 November 2023... Garden

It's chillier again today, with some uncomfortable wind. But it's dry, so I'm weeding at the garden today.

trees on the hill in the distance

oh foo. Little Bird? Why you gotta be that way?

Sparrow standing on a twig, looking away

Here's where I worked today.

garden

The raised beds are the back neighbor. The end of the board stops at the red post, which is the back corner for our four plots.

You can see I have, yet again, weeded well beyond the edge of my plot and into Probably Not Evil Neighbor's plot...

And, ya know? He might not be evil, like the last guy was, but he is kind of a jerk. This has been his first season, but I assume he's seen that I Consistently weed the edge of his plot. And he's done nothing for me in return. I'm starting to get annoyed.

And that's the corner with the Horseradish investation. I use the dandelion tool, and most of the horseradishes break off a couple inches down. But when I pulled this one up, it just kept coming!

Horseradish root on the grassy ground with a dandelion tool next to it for size reference

As I'm walking out of the Community Garden, a hawk flies by and settles on a nearby utility pole!

Hawk standing at the top of a utility pole

That long tail gives her away... she's a juvenile Cooper Hawk!

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Wednesday 22 November 2023... A Day with Birds!

So much nicer today with our insulating clouds keeping us a little bit warmer. It was 50°F when I left the house this morning and the day was 53/37... perfectly, wonderfully normal for this time of year. And it's just about my favorite!

Autumn trees on the hill

Here's our sweet Angle (not an Angel)... right after she was abandoned by the two ducks she was hanging out with. Jerks. They flew down to the water, but Angle can't fly. She has to slowly walk down the bank of the creek.

Female Mallard on a muddy bank

Poor Girl.

There was a Kingfisher flying up the creek. For once, she didn't notice me... so she wasn't flying circles over my head and wasn't laughing at me! And I was able to hide behind the shrubbery and get her photo! Yay!

Female Belted Kingfisher standing on a branch

The big flock of Cackling Geese were hanging out at the school field again.

Cackling Geese walking in the grass

And the Pigeons again! Just the two this time, I didn't see the third one.

Two Rock Doves up on a wood beam

The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think
Jennifer Ackerman

Pigeons are so cool. In the book I'm reading right now the author says that we domesticated pigeons so thoroughly that even now, when you hold a wild pigeon, they will sit quietly in your hand. They remember.

The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think by Jennifer Ackerman

It's excellent reading and I highly recommend it. Birds are ever so interesting!

Red Shoulder Hawk standing on a branch, up in a bare tree

Red shoulder Hawk standing on a branch, up in a bare tree

Autumn trees

Scrub Jay standing on a mossy branch

*laughs* I made her nervous when I talked to her! She jumped when she heard my voice and is now ready to push off and fly away.

I was just saying hi and how is your day going! :) but if people can't appreciate a simple greeting... Well. What're you gonna do?

My day is brilliant, thanks for asking! What a great walk! *laughs*

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Tuesday 21 November 2023... A Walk to the West

Oh, hey! Here's somebody I've not seen in a while! A Black Phoebe!

Black Phoebe on a metal post

This is about 100miles north of their official range. Climage change, you know.

Aw, really?

Blurry Chickadee, taking off from a mossy branch

Hi Henrietta!

Great Blue Heron walking in the water

Great Blue Heron

Here I am at the un-named wetlands. The sky is nice today!

Raised path past a tree, thru the grass

Cute lil Song Sparrow!

Song Sparrow standing on a twig, surrounded by other twigs

Oh my goodness! Do birds Sneeze?

Song Sparrow standing on a twig, caught in a sneeze

Well, of course birds sneeze! Everybody who has lungs needs to be able to sneeze. I just never thought about it before!

*Gesundheit*

Song Sparrow with her back turned, standing on a twig, surrounded by other twigs

Henrietta is still hanging out!

Great Blue Heron

I'm bummed that I've not seen Knotty in a while. I hope Henrietta hasn't kicked her out!

Sky over grass land with some autumn trees

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Monday 20 November 2023... A Lovely Walk at the River

It's chilly again today. And it's so late in the season, I'm surprised to see some rose blooms, still hanging on!

Pink rose bloom with trees and benches in the background

Pink rose bloom and fallen autumn leaves

And I've got the Riverbank path mostly to myself! That's nice... yesterday's bike path crowds kind of made me ... non-relaxed.

Bike path surrounded by trees, with the river on the left

foggy trees

The art pavilion at the Downtown Riverfront Park...

Which reminds me! The park won another award recently!

That's cool! It's a small park, but it really is amazingly beautiful. Especially when you consider what it was before... the bike path did go thru this area, but it was lined with chainlink fencing, blackberry brambles and was just kind of sketchy.

And now we've got this lovely place, with walking access to downtown. It's really something to be proud of!

Great Blue Heron standing in a tree, surrounded by mossy sticks

I'll cross the bridge to make a loop at my turn around point.

River with autumn trees on the far bank

I love listening to the river here.

river going over grassy rocks

I try to get artsy with the trees...

Mossy Oak branches

And here's the Heritage Cherry Tree in all it's autumn glory.

Tree with autumn yellow leaves and dark branches

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Sunday 19 November 2023... A Beautiful Day

foggy trees in the distance

It is MUCH warmer and nicer today with the sun... and there are a crazy amount of people out walking on my bike path.

Lesser Goldfinch standing on a stalk of grass

Here's Angle again, our ducky friend who is not an Angel yet. She's still hanging out near the bridge, and this is our third sighting for her.

Female Mallard standing on a flat rock, surrounded by dark water

American Robin standing on a branch

Autumn trees

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Saturday 18 November 2023... Today. With Amusement.

Heavy fog today, and because it's not raining, I need to get down to the garden and do some weeding. There's probably not so many non-rainy days left in the year, so I gotta make use of the ones I have!

Foggy trees along the bike path

Hi Henrietta!

Great Blue Heron, walking in shallow water

I was thinking. Since I'm pretty sure Henrietta is bigger than Knotty (who I've not seen since my revelation about the two herons) ... and since female herons are smaller than males... Yeah. I think I've mis-gendered Henrietta. I should start saying Him!

Not gonna change his name to Henry, tho... I like Henrietta too much! *laughs*

It'll be like the man they call Jayne. Bahaha!

Hi My Cute Little Mergansers!

Male and female Hooded Mergansers paddling on the water

Female Hooded Merganser

Hi Robin!

American Robin standing in a tree

Okay. At the garden. I SAY I'm weeding... but the ground is too muddy for that and I'm actually just ripping out the grass. Every once in a while I get a good long grass root to come out. But I'm mostly just mowing with my hands!

garden

On the way home, I see that duck with the messed up wing again.

Female Mallard standing in shallow water

It's only the second time I've seen her, but I think she's a keeper. Which means I can name her.

Since I thought she had an angel wing at first, I figure I should call her Angel. But I don't want to call her that.

I think I'll call her Angle.

She'll be a little ode to my spelling problems! heh.

...

and I'm still *giggling* about the man they call Jayne!

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Friday 17 November 2023... Garden Freebies and Henrietta Eats a Fish

Two crows, standing on a wood fence, one is cawing

I thought I was going to do some work at the Garden plot today, but when I wandered past the front, I saw someone had left some freebies!!

strawberry plants and sunchoke roots laying in the grass

Strawberry plants and a huge SunChoke root!

Yes Please! I grab one of the bigger strawberry plants and the SunChoke root ball!

I've been wanting some Sunchoke plants for a while. I actually got a couple roots last year... but I just barely covered them and squirrels munched them all! None of them survived.

So this time, I am going to bury them deeper!

Hole dug with SunChoke roots in it

That should be deep enough to protect them from the squirrels. And just gotta cross my fingers to see if the roots survive our muddy winter.

Sunchoke roots in the dirt

I'm heading home... and Henrietta has just caught a fish!

Great Blue Heron with a fish in her mouth

oh, ugh. Poor fish is still flopping about. Henrietta jostles the fish around a bit.

Great Blue Heron holding a fish in her beak

She throws the fish down in a shallow part...

Great Blue Heron

And then stabs him.

Great Blue Heron stabs a fish

But the fish is still wriggling! Dang, that poor fish lives thru multiple stabbings.

Great Blue Heron holding a fish in her beak

I think Henrietta just doesn't want the fish wiggling and alive in her stomach.

After a few more stabbings, she finally swallows the poor, tortured fish.

Great Blue Heron, swallowing a fish

The fish is so big, she has to force him down.

Great Blue Heron

A pretty big meal. She won't have to think about eating for a while. I wonder what kinds of hobbies she can work on now!

Great Blue Heron

A moment of silence for our fishy friend... I'm sorry his death was so hard, and may his remains give good nutrition.

Autumn trees

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Thursday 16 November 2023... dreary

It's misting this morning, and dark and dreary...

... But not actually THAT dreary! I hadn't fixed the exposure on the camera from yesterday's sunny day. *laughs* so the photo came out a bit wonky!

Here's something bright and cheerful to counteract the dreary.

Mural of a hummingbird with coloured hexagons, trees in the background

This is the pollinator mural at Charnel Mulligan Park. It's called *Honey Forever* by David C.P. Placencia.

(I really like the concept art, Park Mural Project... it's too bad the finished art had to be so square.)

foggy autumn trees

Not a very exciting walk. ha. Sometimes that happens.

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Wednesday 15 November 2023... Hidden Trail with Sun

It was raining when I got out of bed this morning. But the day lightens up and I am thinking about visiting the Acorn Woodpecker family.

Squirrel hanging from the truck of a tree

There were a couple turkeys walking across the street, and a car had to stop for one of them. The turkey kept sauntering and the driver waited patiently.

Wild Turkey standing on the grass

Squirrel standing on the ground at the base of a tree, surrounded by fallen autumn leaves

Water comeing down rocks

Water comeing down rocks

Oh! Here's something super cool...

Squirrel standing on the branch of a Madrone Tree

My Squirrel friend is standing in a Pacific Madrone Tree!

It's one of our natives, they range along the Pacific from British Columbia to half way down California. That peeling bark is normal. And you can tell it's related to Rhododendrons, because that's what it's leaves look like!

I've never seen the berries before, they must get eaten up pretty quickly. But it's nicknamed the Strawberry Tree because the berries are bright red.

I get to the top and wander thru the Acorn Woodpeckers territory.

Acorn Woodpecker standing on a branch

Looks like just males, again... The females have a band of black across their forehead, between the white and red.

I wonder if females ever have guard duty.

Acorn Woodpecker standing on a branch, with green fir in the background

Blue sky past some autumn and fir trees

Fallen autumn leaves on the ground

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Tuesday 14 November 2023... a New Bird

Scrub Jay standing on a twig, looking back

Here's a different view of the foggy trees on the hill for you!

Bridge surrounded by trees

Aw, what happened to your tail, Little One?

Squirrel stading on a branch, holding an acorn in his mouth, missing part of his tail

And who's this?

Brown bird standing on a branch

You know what happens when you look up Little brown bird in Oregon? *Laughs* You get lots of sparrows, lots of wrens, and you don't get any of these birds!

Brown bird standing on a branch

And then she flies away without even showing me what she looks like from the front! sheesh.

Brown bird flies away

But that warm, cinnamon red tail gives her away!

Hermit Thrush!

Looks like they are another one of our winter visitors.

Orange Calendula bloom

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Monday 13 November 2023... Work at the Garden

I had just gotten on the bike path and a Nutria swims by. She's quick and I don't get a good photo before she disappears under the bank. I wonder if she has a home there.

blurry  nutria swimming

Autumn trees and a foggy hill in the distance

Okay. Today I'm clearing out the Second Cucumber Empire. Pulling up all the veggie plants, untangling the tomato cages, and doing a bit of weeding. Here's the result!

garden

*laughs* All the Tomatillos that didn't get ripe! and look!

skeletonized tomatillos laying on the ground

They are all skeletonized!

That red plant is a volunteer and I wasn't sure if it was a beet or chard. I decided to look it up when I got home...

A beet with dark leaves growing in the garden

Turns out... Beetroots and Chards are the Same Species!!

What?!! Yep, they are just different cultivars. That is just crazy and it totally blew mind!

wikipedia, Beta vulgaris

It's good to learn things!

The back Fava patch is mostly recovering from the below freezing nights we had a couple weeks ago.

Fava in the garden

The Fava in the front was too tall and it's having a harder time with recovery.

broken fava stems

But this stuff is also growing in amongst the front Fava...

Dead Nettle growing in the garden

I'm pretty sure this is Dead Nettle. I don't know if it will survive the entire winter, but right now it's doing a great job of filling in for the failed fava cover crop!

Before I left, I threw the Soybean hulls down, to add some fiber to the tomatillo compost banquet! haha! At some point I'll be covering all this with leaves, and it'll decompose and add nutriets to the soil.

garden ground

I finished shelling the soybeans last night! There were 1288 pods and it took me four days to finish, working about 40 or 45 minutes a day.

There were no bugs. Which was surprising, considering how buggy the Favas were when I gathered them.

Shelling the soybeans was not big deal at all, and it was kind of meditative. Regardless of how the homemade tofu turns out, I am def going to plant soybeans again!

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Sunday 12 November 2023... Sunday Stroll with a Hawk!

Pink Camellia blooms

Oak leaves on the tree in autumn colours

Autumn trees and a foggy hill in the distance

I came up behind this one, and with the sun, all I could see was a dark silhouette. But right away my brain said That's a funny looking Crow! *laughs*

Cooper Hawk standing on a stick, surrounded by mossy twigs

Cooper Hawks are about the size of Crows. They eat song birds and so they must be small and maneuverable to fly thru the trees!

I obsess over those trees out there!

Autumn trees

This news item is a couple weeks old now, but I've been meaning to talk about it...

American Ornithological Society, English Bird Names Project
The AOS commits to changing all English-language names of birds within its geographic jurisdiction that are named directly after people (eponyms), along with other names deemed offensive and exclusionary, focusing first on those species that occur primarily within the U.S. or Canada.

This is so awesome, I can't even tell you how excited I am!!!

I despise all the old, white men names in the bird world... So much so, that when I talk about these birds, I always remove the possessive...

That Cooper Hawk above? Technically they are called Cooper's Hawks, and I hate that!

I can't wait for them to start renaming our birds! The Bird Names FAQ says there are about 70 to 80 birds to rename.

Anna Hummingbirds will be someone new! Maybe Steller Jays can be Stellar! OR maybe they can be Blue Magnificants! haha! Bewick Wrens. There are lots of Townsend's and Audubon's... I'll be glad to see them go!!

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Saturday 11 November 2023... River

Warm and windy today, a pleasant 52° (11°C). The river is brown with mud and is flowing better for the rain we've gotten.

river with a hill on the other side

The ponds are higher, and muddy as well. But no spillover from the river yet.

muddy pond with a heron and the river behind trees

Just glancing at the ponds... I can see our winter visitors are ever so much more happy. The muddy water is yucky, but there's more space for everyone.

The Cormorants are always just a bit too far away for the camera to do them justice. Their beautiful eyes!

Cormorant standing on a log in the water

Cormorant standing on a log in the water, with wings spread out to dry

Cute little Grebe... but they look so weird without a tail.

Pied Bill Grebe paddling in muddy water

Listening to the river at my meditation spot.

looking across the river

Yellow Calendula blooms

heron standing on an island, surrounded by the river

It is just so beautiful out here!

Trees lining the bike path, with a mile maker partially covered with fallen leaves

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Friday 10 November 2023... a day

Autumn trees on the hill

That house is always in the way of the photographic trees.

I wonder if they ever see me pausing on the bike path to point my camera in their direction!

Well. Now that I think about it... That's kinda creepy!

*laughs* Great. I'm the creepy person putting random houses under surveillance.

Trees on the hill

Aw, Ducky. That isn't good for you!

Female Mallard eating bread on the path

She's hanging out with the homeless people under the bridge, and at first I thought she had an angel wing from eating junk food.

Female Mallard standing on path

But I look again and realize her wing is damaged. She's hurt!

The Year of the Sick and Injured Wildlife continues. Sighs.

Crow walking on the path

Squirrel standing on a branch, holding an acorn in his mouth

I'm wandering in a new neighborhood, past the end of the bike path. And I discover the Eugene Weekly office!

Graffiti fish on a red building

The Eugene Weekly is our local, alternative newspaper. It is only published once a week, but it's good and fills a needed niche that our corporate newspaper fails at: Letters to the Editor.

Suspish was invited to decorate the building with their signature fish, and I'm glad to see it. It's been ages since they've put up new art and I miss that.

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Thursday 9 November 2023... West and Henrietta Mix-up!

It's a little chilly this morning, 39° tho the wind chill makes it 33°, brr. But the forecast says the rain will hold off until this evening, so I decide to walk west on the bike path today.

I thought this was Henrietta...

Great Blue Heron in the water

But the more I look at all the pics from today, that's def not the same heron I have been seeing! That dark blue patch at her shoulder is quite a bit bigger. huh.

And now I'm looking at previous photos. oh my gosh! There are def two Great Blue Herons at the creek! This one, with the big blue shoulder patch and another one with a very small patch. And I've been calling them both Henrietta! haha!

I need to look into this! *** But first...

I'm going out to the unnamed wetlands again.

Path thru the grass

There's nothing special here.

Or, I should say... I haven't yet discovered what's special here!

Path thru the grass

But I always seem to find some birds on the walk back!

There's a little flock of Bushtits.

Bushtit standing on a twig

As usual, they bounce around too quickly for me and the camera!

And a Spotted Towhee.

Spotted Towhee standing on a stick

Spotted Towhee standing on a stick

And some sparrows.

Golden Crown Sparrow standing on a twig

I turn off the bike path to walk thru Stewart Pond Park... But we still don't have a pond yet. It's still all prairie out here.

grassland with trees in the distance

But there's a flock of Cackling Geese here, anyway. I'm sure they would prefer to have some ponds here too.

Rain! Where are you, Rain?!

Far off Cackling Geese hidden in the grass

Okay. It's time to figure out who this really is!

Great Blue Heron standing on a snag

I go clear back to the beginning...

I named Henrietta on Feb28, and here's her pic from back then...

Great Blue Heron

This is def the same heron that I saw today. Big blue shoulder patches, plus you can see some of the dark blue feathers underneath her wing too.

And here's a pic of the other Great Blue Heron I've been seeing...

Great Blue Heron

We'll call her Not-Henrietta, for the moment! Very small shoulder patch, and you can see some of the cinnamon coloured feathers behind it too.

And it might be the angle or her stance, but I feel like this heron is a bit more petite, and doesn't have as many of those fancy feathers hanging down at her chest.

Not-Henrietta back in July...

Great Blue Heron

So, she's been around... and been mixed up with Henrietta for a good long while! Ha. It's funny! I'm glad I finally noticed! :)

And yes, I will go back thru the old posts and correct them! (Looks like our first sighting of Not-Henrietta was in June.)

And since I've seen her so many times, and can now identify her in the future, I've decided to call her Knotty!

Knotty is in keeping with the not theme of Not-Henrietta. And when you say it out loud, it sounds like Naughty. She didn't trick me on purpose, of course! But she is def messing with me! *laughs*

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Wednesday 8 November 2023... Sweet Potatoes!

There's more rain in the forecast, so today I'm digging up the sweet potatoes. The vines had died with the below freezing temperatures at the end of October and it's time to see what we've got!

trees along the bike path under a blue sky

Foggy trees

At the garden, I dig!

I am pleased with all the Sweet Potatoes I dig up under the first plant! There are some good sized tubers, tho they all have cracks in them. That's a bummer, I don't know why that happens.

Sweet Potatoes gathered

Under the second plant... there's hardly anything! I dig more and find a couple of potatoes that may have belonged to the first plant. ha. oh well!

The water is still on, which makes this a lot easier! The dirt is mud and I'm glad I get to wash off the sweet potatoes before I haul them home.

Once home, I set a fan on them to get them as dry as possible. I always lose a couple anyway because mold starts growing on some of them right away. And they don't keep, I'll have to eat them quickly!

While in the porch room, I notice the Peace Lily is blooming!

Close up of a Peace Lily bloom

In the evening, I get back to the soybeans.

Shelling Soybeans

I've now shelled 500 soybeans. And my shelling technique is def getting more efficient.

When I started, it took over 15min to shell 100 soybeans. Now it's taking closer to 10mins.

So that's good. And I've made a pretty good dent in the pile.

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Tuesday 7 November 2023... Right Past the Garden

I thought I was going to work at the garden today. But it started sprinkling before I got there... and I walked right on past!

I do regret the backpack, tho. It's got the hand tools in it: spade, shears and dandelion tool, along with other odds and ends like garden gloves and such. It's not terribly heavy, but my back was hurting a lot by the time I got home, having walked around 5 miles with it!

Clouds

Tree covered hill in the distance

American Robin standing on a branch, surrounded by autumn leaves

Ha! We are almost the same colour as the leaves and branches!

American Robin standing on a branch, surrounded by autumn leaves

Oh! Pigeons!

Rock Doves standing on the ground

They are cool, but weren't very interested in getting their portrait taken.

Rock Dove walking in very short grass

Back at home, I decide to do some shelling!

Shelling Soybeans

Well. This is not going very quickly. I glanced at the time while I shelled 100 Soybeans, and it took me over 15minutes. Dang. How long to do all of these??!

Hopefully I will get faster!

Shelling Soybeans

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Monday 6 November 2023... Up Hidden Trail to visit the Acorn Woodpecker Family

Oh, hey! It's that youngster I saw in the park the other day with the shortened tail!

Western Grey Squirrel standing in a tree eating a peanut

I've seen him three times now - I also saw him out my bedroom window a couple days ago. And that's the point where I usually give someone a name. But... I don't know. I get the feeling that he's still wandering and doesn't have an actual territory yet.

I'll hold off on the name until I see him again.

Autumn trees over a street

Autumn leaves in front of grey sky

Hiking trail steps next to a small creek

Water coming over mossy rocks

I get to the top of the trail and walk up to the Acorn Woodpeckers home. The sun is coming out... and can you see? There's the faintest of rainbows leading right to my woodpecker friend!

Faint rainbow in the sky with some pine trees and a snag

Acorn Woodpecker standing onthe side of the trunk of a snag

Acorn Woodpecker standing on the side of a snag

Acorn Woodpekcer standing on the side of a snag

They are just SO interesting!

Granary tree with many holes filled with acorns

They've managed to jam two acorns into some of the holes!

Acorns in granary tree holes

Artsy ferns

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Sunday 5 November 2023... Cackling Geese

Good Morning, Friend!

Eastern Fox Squirrel standing on the ground, surrounded by fallen autumn leaves

Henrietta is busy hunting. (Yep, it's Henrietta!)

Great Blue Heron standing in the water, staring at the bank

Last night got too chilly and I had to close my bedroom window again. I guess I need to get used to the fact that winter is coming!

Clouds over the bike path

Blazey's Guy, running errands on his bike, passes me twice! When he goes by the second time, he tells me there are geese, way out at the school. I wasn't going to walk that far today... but I can't turn down the first flock of Cackling Geese of the season!

Cackling Geese standing on the grass

Cackling Geese are the smallest cousins of Canada Geese. We have both species this time of year, but the Cacklings... uh, Cacklers? heh. Tend to gather together in huge flocks.

Cackling Geese standing on the grass

The clouds are starting to break up.

Red Maples, showing their autumn colour, on the bike path

Autumn trees

On my way back, I noticed a spider web, glistening in the sunlight...

Looking at the creek, some ducks in silhouette

Wow, her anchor lines are at least 12feet long! And she's caught lots of food.

Spider in her web

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Saturday 4 November 2023... Trees in the Rain

It's been mid-60s (18°C), and even the nights have been warmer, in the mid-50s (13°C). And yesterday afternoon, it got so warm I was able to open up my bedroom window again.

I got to listen to the rain all night, and that's the best thing ever!

Today, still it rains!

Autumn yellow tree on the other side of the creek, rain drops in the water

So I'm just walking in the neighborhood today. The rain means I probably won't see much wildlife, and the camera will remain tucked under the rain jacket.

But the trees are so lovely, I just can't resist a little bit of photography!

Autumn Red Maple over the bike path

Autumn trees, a hill in the distance

Autumn trees, a hill in the distance

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Friday 3 November 2023... Gathering Soybeans! and Crime.

Hello Young Fellow!

Eastern Fox Squirrel standing on the side of a tree trunk

Eastern Fox Squirrel standing on the side of a tree trunk

There was some excitement on the way to the Community Garden.

On the bike path, barely a block away from the Garden, it's probably 9:40ish am. There are two cops, woman and man, on the path talking to a homeless guy on the other side of the creek. I couldn't see him at all, thru the trees.

Woman Cop: okay. Thank you.
Man Cop: (Indistinct but asking a question)
Homeless guy: ahhhh. (Long pause) No.

(I don't even know what's going on... but that very long pause jumped out at me. That guy is SO guilty!) I'm within hearing disance now, walking on by.

Cop: So you didn't shoot a pistol or something like that?
Homeless guy: I was just listening to my music. (Indistinct)
Cop: Because it was reported in this area. (Pause) Exactly where you are.

So that's just great. Shots fired at the bike path.

And now I'm kinda freaked because somebody's shooting their stupid gun... and are they even paying attention to where they are pointing that thing?!

Sighs.

And then I get to the garden and I'm starting to futz around in my plot when I notice there's a woman, on the inside of the Garden fence walking past all the gates. She stops at the gate I had just come in and rattles the chain. I always spin the lock well.

She walks back the way she came... and climbs up on a chair...

Woman climbing over the Community Garden fence

I have so many questions. Like how the heck did she get in? And what did she do, while she was in here? She obviously didn't take anything.

Well. Some things you just have to let go. I keep an eye on her, but I've got stuff to do today!

Gathering Soybeans

I started out the season with about 30 soybean plants. Not all of them grew up to normal size, but most of them did.

As I pulled pods off the stalks, I counted what I was getting from each plant... there were 60 to 70 pods on an average plant. They were in clusters of 1 to 5 pods every 6 or 8 inches going up each stalk, and a plant had at least a couple branches of stalks.

Gathering Soybeans

I had brought three small ziplocks with me... but those filled up quickly! ha! I pulled out one of the gallon ziplocks that I always carry with me, and got it mostly filled as well!

Ziplocks filled with soybean pods

Awesome!

On the way home... there were different cops, and a couple of Parks employees poking around the bike path, their trucks parked on the grass nearby.

I checked the police dispatch log when I got home. And sure enough...

Call time: 09:09:33 AM
Dispatch time: 09:29:30 AM
Incident Desc: Shot(s) Fired
Disposition: PATROL CHECK

Sighs.

Autumn trees and a hill in the background

Back at home, I spread out the soybean pods and put a fan on them. Most of the soybeans were on stalks that were standing up and those were ovbiously good and dry, they rattled in their pod. But some stalks had fallen over and were on the ground and wet. This should help!

Drying soybean pods

And, wow, that's a lot of pods I'm gonna need to shell out!

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Thursday 2 November 2023... Garden Work

oh, poor mangy dearheart... barely has any fur.

Eastern Fox Squirrel standing on the steps

I don't know. Do squirrels get the mange? I bet she's terribly cold. And just another continuation of The Year of Sick and Injured Wildlife. Sighs.

I wish I could magically throw some medicine at her and make her better!

Eastern Fox Squirrel standing on the steps

Trees along the bike path

Autumn trees with a hill in the background

Okay. Here I am at the Community Garden, with another, healthier squirrel. She's got a small sunflower head... They like to cut the heads off and just take them with them, to munch on at their leisure!

Eastern Fox Squirrel standing on a wood post, holding a small sunflower head in her hands

Here's a sunflower head in my plot that the squirrels didn't take! It's empty of seeds... it provided food to many birds!

Empty sunflower head

This is the section I'm going to work on today.

garden

You can see all the Early Girl tomatoes, from where I pulled up that plant the other day. Today I'm going to untangle the two SunGolds from their tomato cages, and the Striped German.

garden

And wow, those SunGolds had some roots! It was really hard to pull them out of the ground! And, of course, they were sprawling all over the place, so getting them out of the tomato cages wasn't easy either!

I really need to think about doing something with the soybeans!

Soybeans

Someone else's kale.

close up of kale

American Robin standing on a stick

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Wednesday 1 November 2023... Turkeys Up Hidden Trail

Autumn trees with a tree covered hill in the background

Blow up Jack-o-lantern

Well, this one is scary! But look at the adorable dragon gargoyle!

Halloween Decorations, Blow up Skull Spider

Halloween Decorations, skeletons and a hurse

Okay! Up the hill!

I saw the deers first, but the camera was not being agreeable...

Blurry

And then the deers were being skittish. I assumed someone was walking a dog, around the corner. But actually it was these guys! haha!

Two turkeys walking by, Deers hiding behind a bush

Hiking trail thru the trees, over a small bridge

Mourning Doves! So nice to see our native doves for once!

Doves standing on dead branches of a snag

But I'm actually up here to visit the Acorn Woodpeckers.

They are too far away again. SIGHS!

Woodpecker at the top of a far away snag

SIGHS!

Blurry Acorn Woodpecker standing on a dead branch

Well. That's not a woodpecker! haha.

Blurry Varied Thrush standing on a pine tree branch

Varied Thrush. There is such a great diversity of native birds up here. They are doing construction, further up the hill and dang, I hope they don't cut these trees down.

Acorn Woodpecker at the top of a broken snag

That's all I get today. That's okay, I'll keep coming up here and they'll come closer eventually!

Back down the hill, and there's a whole flock of female Turkeys... Over a dozen! And they were just walking on past me!

Wild Turkeys walking on the ground

And checking out the patios!

Turkeys standing on patio furnature

So Cool!

Wild Turkey walking on the ground

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2023... Archived Blog Posts

February 2023 (partial)

March 2023

April 2023

May 2023 (partial)

June 2023 (partial)

July 2023

August 2023

September 2023

October 2023

November 2023

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Saturday 16 July 2022... New Osprey Nest!

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.

Mural of birds and roses

And, of course, you can't go by the Rose Garden without obsessively taking photos of the roses.

Strike It Rich, Grandiflora rose

Grande Dame, Hybrid Tea rose

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.

Osprey flying back to the nest platform

Osprey lands in the nest

XXX... Goal: Finish this post!

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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





2021... BLOG POSTS

(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.

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2020... BLOG POSTS

(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!

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2019... BLOG POSTS

(Posted 22 Dec 2020...)

The new archive is HTML5, and completely validated!

2019 journal entries

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2018... BLOG POSTS

(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

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2017... BLOG POSTS

(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

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Welcome
rifts avatar
I am rift vegan!

I live in the Pacific Northwest of the USA, with my Partner in a tiny townhouse. I am vegan for ethical and environmental reasons, my love for animals and nature is a very important part of my life.

This blog is currently a place for the photos I take while out walking.
Topics include...
Nature! Flora, Fauna, Funga and Phenomena.
Clouds and the fog on the hill.
Trees, native plants, blossoms and botanicals.
Wildlife! Mostly birds and squirrels. Occasionally other creatures, including bugs.
Reading and Journaling.
Veganic Gardening.
Rants!

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2023

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Yep, you can email me. and you can write to me.
Email

rift vegan
PO Box 23724
Eugene OR 97402
USA


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