Our invasive friend, the House Sparrow is still hanging around one of the nesting boxes.
And there's a family of native House Finches strolling around!
I planted the two strawberries in the back of the plot, next to the pea and lettuce patch. I hope they will be happy here!
Bushtits are so cute! I wish I could get decent pics of them, but they bounce around too quickly.
Our Wood Duck friends.
um, what? What's Praxis??
hmm, Merriam Webster says
exercise
or practice of an art, science, or skill
but
Wikipedia
has a whole page dedicated to the word!!
Very interesting!
Aw, it's a little one!
Hunting under the bridge...
Strike!
Oh, hey! Caught someone!
Toss it down!
Yum, a tasty snack!
Poor little minnow.
So! I might have Jury Duty on Thursday!
That's exciting. Or maybe nerve racking. *laughs* I'm not sure which!
Anyway. If you have to go in, you have to stay the entire day, from 8:15am to 5:30ish. So they make sure you can get to the court house without too much trouble... they will validate your parking at the two nearby parking structures, and they include a free bus pass for the day.
There is a stop for the EmX, our rapid transit, at the end of the street, about a block away. It's been ages since I've ridden the bus, so I wanted to do a trial run today!
I got up early. I was super nervous walking down to the bus stop. There was something wrong with the fare machine at the stop, and I couldn't pay to get a ticket. After a couple attempts, I gave up. And the bus had arrived anyway. They never check your ticket... I had a good excuse for not having a ticket, but it was moot!
Once I was on the bus and on the way... I was suddenly having fun! I should do this more often, being driven around without a care is Awesome!!
But then, getting closer, I realized I didn't know when to pull the cord for my stop! Ack, that was dumb! Fortunately, the bus made my stop for others, regardless of my dumb-ness and I got off at the right place.
The courthouse is about a block away, and I am there well before my assigned time! I go inside, look at where I'm supposed to go for my jury duty. I'm not terribly early but there's just a couple of other humans around... Maybe they don't do jury things every day.
Then I head across the street... If I'm here the same time on Thursday, I can go drink my coffee at the Park Blocks! Which is exactly what I'm doing right now! I feel better, knowing exactly how to get here and where to go!
I go back to my bus stop to go home... but the return stop is not in the place where I think it should be! Ack, again! Dang it, why isn't it just across the street?!
It's never easy! I wander around, fortunately I happen to walk in the correct direction... and I find the bus stop going the other way. Yay! I did it!
I get home. Eat breakfast. and realize I need more exercise! A couple of blocks of walking to and from the bus stops just isn't going to cut it!
You think it's an artsy pic of a Periwinkle... but actually there are two teeny tiny bugs in there! :)
Today I took a couple of baby squash plants to the garden... a Yellow Zucchini and a Green Patty Pan. I love summer squash in many different forms!
The Strawberries are still happy.
These tiny little weeds are perpetual in the plot during the growing season. I had always thought they were Baby Blue Eyes because I had a seed mix that included them, ages ago.
But no... Baby Blue Eyes have five petals on their flowers, and this only has four.
∞ Germander
Speedwell
Funny name! and native to Europe and Asia, but not an
invasive problem in my garden plot.
And then, walking home, a Hawthorn is blooming along the bike path!
Happily raining today!
After one of the driest Februarys in over a hundred years... April was the 7th wettest on record!!
We're up to 12.60 inches for the year now. We have not caught up to normal... which is 18.68 inches for the end of April. But, like I said, at least we've not fallen further behind on the rainfall.
And, even better that the rain is continuing into May!
With the rain, the camera is mostly tucked under my rain jacket, during my walk. But I've taken a couple photos today!
The news this week is of Supreme Court Justice Alito's horrifying leaked opinion about abortion rights. sighs.
If Roe falls... this country will no longer be the
United
States of America. We will be divided
by States Rights... a horror from the times of the
American Civil War.
There will be states where people can get health care.
And there will be states where it will be intolerable for women, LGBTQIA, BIPOC, AAPI and other minorities to live... It starts with the loss of reproductive health care, including contraception, and (of course) including puberty blockers for trans kids. They are also working to take away voting rights, in these states as well. We'll go back to Legalized discrimination. Where does it end? I guess we'll find out.
If Roe falls... this will no longer be a democracy. Half the population doesn't have a federal right to bodily autonomy? Bodily Autonomy is the foundation of all other rights.
You can't enjoy the pursuit of happiness when you're dead. Oh, you didn't know? Maternal Mortality in the US is bad. Really really bad.
Oh Wow! A Wilson Warbler!! Awesome!
A bad pic of a female Violet Green Swallow. are they using one of the Bluebird nesting box as well??
The male is here, too.
At the garden, the squash plants are getting eaten up by slugs. Sighs. But the strawberry plants look good!
Hopefully the strawberries will pull me thru the sadness of the dying squash!
And the comfrey is blooming!
*laughs* a perfect fit... Comfrey and Honey Bees are both invasive from Europe, so they have evolved together to get that good fit!!
And then on the way home, a Western Wood Pewee! Silly name, but cute little bird!
Bought a few vege starts at the Saturday Farmers Market, then parked at the Rose Garden to walk along the river. It's a lovely, dreary day and it's sprinkling now and then.
A quick check of the nest platform, across the river... but no sign of the Ospreys today.
I back track and go over the river on the Greenway walking bridge... There are swallows swooping above the water, scooping up bugs! I love to watch them!
But I can't tell if they are Violet Green Swallows or Tree Swallows.
Wow, check out the spillover!!!
Turkey Vultures!
Wow, they're everywhere! I eventually counted 13... but then I saw more in the trees on the other side of the main pond! I wonder what's going on!
Oh the cuteness!
Ha. A Red Wing Blackbird... with rather orange epaulets!
Tree Swallow. But I'm guessing the swooping swallows above are a mixed group of Tree, Violet Green and maybe Barn Swallows!
XXX
But first...
Translation: Dear Chief Roberts, Please, please, please! Do not let Roe v. Wade fall! Breaking 49 years of precedent? Weakening our right to privacy? How many other rights will we lose in the aftermath? I am terrified. Please don't let this happen. Sincerely, rift
I'd like to send a postcard to Justice Alito, as well. But really. What do you say to a person, a man, who has sincerely quoted a witch trial judge. What do you say, besides cussing at him???
Hey, cool! a new duck is hanging out at the creek!
Weird face, but a sweet look. I hope she sticks around!
Western Bluebird. So fluffy!
Oh, hey! Another cool bird!
Um, could you move over just a little bit... ?
Thanks!
This is a Yellow Rump Audubon Warbler, the western version of the species. The eastern version is called Yellow Rump Myrtle Warbler and has a white throat. These little birds are summer visitors here.
Pretty pretty...
Ha! That's random!
Well, this is kind of exciting... the car I'm driving out to the park hit 180,000 miles!
And then I arrive at the Rhododendron Garden! So lovely!
I didn't notice when I was taking this photo... but this trillium bloom is getting old... and buggy... and sluggy!! *laughs*
Oh my gosh! These ferns look like Sea Horses!!
Pretty shadows on a Fringe Cup.
Well, this would have been a pretty photo to have... except for the blurry bird part! ha. oh well. He's a Western Tanager.
This one again. Sighs. She is very beautiful, tho. I'll have to see if I can read her tag next time to find out her name.
I love the Song Sparrows!
Looks like there are babies to be fed!
There's more rain on the way, so I want to get some plants in the ground at the garden! Some squash, a Sun Gold cherry tomato, and the first set of Lemon Cucumbers!
And also a third Albion Strawberry plant!
The baby squash plants keep dying of the slugs, but at least the strawberries will live.
One of the Columbines is thinking about blooming!
A Starling showing off his colours on the Community Garden fence!
And cake for my birthday! :)
Just stopping by to check on the veges I planted yesterday. It is raining, like they said it would, and the baby plants are happy about that!
Northern Flickers are woodpeckers... but their favorite meal is ants. So pretty often, you'll see them on the ground, digging up an ant nest!
Thank you for letting me take your portrait!!
∞ Clarence
Thomas warns Supreme Court can't be bullied
As a society, we are becoming addicted to wanting
particular outcomes, not living with the outcomes we
don't like, Thomas said.
Did you just say that? Are you fucking serious?!
When the federal right to legal abortion goes away... people WILL DIE!
They will die of botched & illegal abortions, they will die of pregnancy because the US has a high Maternal Mortality, and they will die because they've had a miscarriage and are too scared to go to a hospital.
Not Living with the outcome... is LITERALLY TRUE!!
XXX
Ha! I love it when the wildlife greets me, right out the door! Two sweet girls!
We go to the Saturday Farmers Market to buy more plants... but the garden is a swamp! So I'm not planting anything today...
I've got two big Comfrey plants growing this year and they are blooming like crazy!
Done looking at the garden, but I need more exercise, so I take the long way home. Here's Blazey, the bike path ambassador, in his spot.
Lucky pic of a Chickadee!!
There are Starling parents and fledglings all over the place at the Community Garden today!!
The youngster is begging at her dad!
Wait! Wait!
*laughs*
It's normal for birds to continue to take care of their kids after they've fledged. The youngsters can fly but they have lots to learn about flying and finding food and about life in general!
Oh my gosh, our Little Free Pantry is practically empty! I dropped off the menstrual pads at the bottom, but maybe I'll bring some cans or something when I get back.
Green Herons are so shy, I'm always excited when I get to take their portrait!
hmm. Are those white feathers normal for Barn Swallows? Or is this a bit of leucism? ... Not sure. There is a pic of one with white on wikipedia, but no talk about it. So maybe it is just normal.
Oh, the Checker Mallow is blooming!
Got all of the baby plants from Saturday Farmers Market transplanted into the ground today! Yay!
A 2nd Sun Gold and and heirloom Yellow Pear Tomato. Two Zucchinis, two Spaghetti Squash and three tiny Lemon cucumbers.
Our Little Free Pantry is in a good neighborhood. :)
The exposure on the pic below is awful, dang it. But this is kind of cool! These are House Finches, Mama on the left and two fledglings.
That fluffy feather on the kids heads, means they are fledglings. There are many different species of song birds who might have this fluffy feather when they are growing up! I guess it's just the way the new feathers are coming in, but I don't know for sure!
And here we are at the wet prairie at Stewart Pond Park.
There are swallows swooping over the water... Mostly Barn Swallows, I can see their red feathers. But there's Tree or Violet Green Swallows as well... I wish there was an easy way to tell them apart!
What the... ? Ha! Why are her feathers like that? It looks like she's got a hoodie on her head!
It took me a while to figure out who she was... the shape of the beak was making me think. But then, oh! Of course! She's a Red Wing Blackbird!
Camas Lilies...
This stuff is growing up all over the place here, with umbrellas of little white flowers... and I decided to finally look it up. huh. Poison Hemlock.
Oh cute little bird! Another one I have to look up!! He's a Common Yellowthroat.
And one I def do not have to look up. ha! Towhees are one of my favorites!
Mama Hummer said Hello!!
Just before I got to the place on the bike path where she had her nest, somebody buzzed me... It was Mama, and she hovered in front of me for several seconds, making sure I saw her!! I sing-sang my usual greeting for her and then she flew by me, going into the flowery bushes
Aww! So awesome that I got to see her again!
This is a pretty weed from Europe, and I have to look up the name of it every year! Salsify... it's pronounced Sal-suh-fee.
Cute lil Wood Pewee!
And a lovely Mallard couple, resting in the Lawn Daisies!
And at the garden to check on the baby plants. Here's the 2nd set of Lemon Cucumbers, looking good. (Never mind about the 1st set of Lemon Cucumbers... they are quite dead!)
Oh, Naughty! Look at your face! You've been digging in someones garden plot! haha!
Just past the Rose Garden on the Ruth Bascom Riverbank path, there's an Osprey nest platform on the other side of the river. A pair of Ospreys have been using that nest, for I don't know how many years!
haha! One of the parents is up there. You can just barely see a black and white striped face.
Just a couple of very early roses are blooming at the Rose Garden, but there's always something interesting to look at! Here's the Owen Cherry Tree, possibly planted in 1847.
And then back to the Delta ponds... Happy to see the spillover!
Hmm. This might be a Western Pond Turtle. I wonder why she has so much green stuff growing on her.
This one is a Red Ear Slider... a pet store turtle who is dangerously invasive, unfortunately: They reproduce so much that everyone suffers.
My meditation spot...
And now for the song birds!
uh oh. This is not a sign about feeding the ducks... this is a sign about Bird Flu... :(
Don't feed the ducks or geese!
Feeding birds and contact with avian feces can increase spread of avian flu. City staff cannot regularly clean avian feces from surfaces. Wash avian feces off your shoes. Limit cross contamination with domestic chicken and ducks.
In Eugene Parks:
If you see sick birds, call...
If you see dead birds, please report...
sighs.
I picked up more baby vege plants at the Saturday Farmers Market, but once I get to the garden I'm annoyed to see that the squash plants and Lemon Cucumbers are dying right and left.
Well. I transplant some of what I bought today... a Crook Neck and two Spaghetti Squash, and a Roma tomato plant.
And I try to focus on the things which are alive.
And on the way home, I marveled at the Cow Parsnip...
Cow Parsnip is related to carrots, and parts of it are edible... But it will give you a rash... And Giant Hogweed is a look-alike and is poisonous, so you really, really need to know what you're doing.
Wow! This is an Eastern Racer Snake, so beautiful!
Aww! Ducklings! There's seven in this family.
But then I get a look at Mama. Oh My God!
She doesn't have a tail and her wings are messed up!
And a wound on the back of her head.
Poor Mama. Just barely escaped from being eaten, and now she's got seven babies to take care of. Sighs. Her injuries are pretty severe, I doubt I will see her again. *I cry*
And here's some more horrible stuff, from SCOTUS...
∞ Supreme court guts lifeline for prisoners who claim wrongful convictions Decision bars federal courts from hearing new evidence not presented in a state court as a result of ineffective legal counsel
What in the fresh hell is this? I cannot even understand. What is the point of a trial if you can't look at ALL the evidence??! and why would ANYone want to hide evidence? Like truth doesn't matter in this world?!
What makes this even more terrifying... My state of Oregon has a serious lack of public defenders. We need a couple thousand extra lawyers (Literally!!) in order to get thru all the cases!
And if you actually get a public defender, and they can't do their job because they have a hundred other clients they are working with as well? Your public defender simply doesn't have the time to work for you. The chances of getting wrongfully convicted skyrockets, and now... what? we can't even do anything about it?
So. Americans do not have the right to competent lawyers.
In his opinion, Thomas presented the case as one of
states rights. He said that federal courts should not
be allowed to override the states
core power to enforce criminal law.
States rights again. What in the hell is wrong with these five judges. Precedent doesn't exist for them. They can't remember the civil war. And goodbye United States... SCOTUS is ripping our country apart.
Later... here's an article about this that I wanted to add. It was written 29 June, and I think it's important.
∞ SCOTUS just quietly slashed your Sixth Amendment rights (apologies, there are about 700,000 ads on that page, but the article is still readable.)
Ugh, ugh, ugh.
So here are some happier photos to cheer us up.
It has been unusually rainy and cloudy all thru May. And now there's been a couple days of sun... And several of my poor stupid plants in the garden have been sunburned!
Sunburned! I just can't win!
I don't think the Sun Gold is going to live. And Look! These Dead Nettles are totally fried! GAH.
I'm just so frustrated. Not to mention the squash plants, which have bug eaten holes in the leaves. I never see the bugs, so I don't know who is doing the damage.
sighs.
Well, anyway.
It's been a couple of weeks, but here is that new duck at the creek again! Dang, she's just lovely!
Aww! So sweet!
Today I ignored the dead and dying plants at the garden, and did some weeding around the living plants... The three strawberry plants I put in at the beginning of the month, are looking good! (Never mind the sunburned Snap Peas next to them!)
Before Photo:
and After Photo:
*laughs*
Spillover is dry again.
Red Eared Sliders are terribly invasive, but dang it, turtles are just so cute!
Mama Mallard watching over her single, sleeping duckling. It's weird... I think this is the only duckling I've seen at the Delta Ponds this spring. And there haven't been that many goslings, either.
And then I see.
There's a dead Canada Goose, floating in the water.
:(
The H5N1 Avian Flu must be killing off most of the babies as well, I suppose.
Sighs. Well, I take a picture so I can report it at the website on the sign. Sighs.
Extra time at my meditation spot.
And maybe just contemplate the river some more.
On the walk back, our one baby is awake.
And there is a family of Canada Geese with goslings.
And, oh my gosh. Nutria Babies!
So Cute!!
Artsy Heron! We were walking past the Camas Lilies!
The Red Osier Dogwoods are blooming, down at the creek...
Aren't the leaves just lovely?
Okay. At the garden...
There is just one Lemon Cucumber still living from the 1st batch of cucs I planted. So today I'm planting the 2nd batch. Three Lemon Cucs and one Striped Armenian Cucumber!
There were a couple of freebie Squash plants as well, that I grabbed and planted. They are wilted and pathetic looking, tho, so I'm not going to give them any hope.
These are Pinks, in someone else's garden plot...
The really cool thing about Pinks is their name! You think they are called Pinks because they are pink? haha! Nope... Pinks got their name before there was a colour called pink!!
It turns out, the colour pink was named for these flowers!
And the flowers were probably named after pinking shears, for the serrated edges on the blooms!
First harvest from the garden!
*laughs* Elephant Garlic blooms can be eaten! They have a very mild flavor, and can be chopped up and added to meals, raw.
A big run at the Saturday Farmers Market... I'm hoping this will be the last time I have to buy squash plants. Also get another Sun Gold to replace the sunburned one (which is technically still alive).
Lemon Cucumbers, which will bring the total up to nine... That might be enough to sustain me thru the summer. Last year I had ten plants.
And some Sweet Potatoes and Leeks.
It started sprinkling as I left, but I wasn't planning to go to the garden anyway... I head for the river and park at the Rose Garden. It's cool enough that the baby plants will be fine in the car while I go for a walk!
Oh wow, I just love these fancy Columbines!
It's just pouring down rain, now! I'm wrapped up in my rain jacket and decide to go up Skinner Butte. It's a small park and ordinarily I would never hike up on a weekend day... too many humans!
But the rain will keep the humans away today!
Ha! After seeing the fancy Columbines in the Rose Garden, here's our native Columbine, out in the forest!
Huh... it's been a long while since I've been on this part of the trail!
The rain makes the view from the summit even more beautiful.
I go all the way around on the Mid-Elevation trail. Skinner Butte is an incredible little park, but there's no escaping civilization on this trail. You can hear the traffic on the highway.
A good hike, and now I'm headed back. Just sprinkling now so I'm able to take some pics of the Osprey platform nest on the other side of the river!
Hmmm. A parent... and a lump. dang it, I'm not sure who the lump is!
oh well, try again next time! and back at the Rose Garden.
heh. I'm such a sucker for the roses! :)
Oh wow! Can you see the Hummingbird?! :)
Hmmm. Well this is weird. I thought for sure the next time I saw the Wood Ducks at the creek, they would have babies with them. But here's the female, no partner, no children.
Sighs... nesting failure, probably. H5N1. :(
I read in the newspaper that our spring has been so chilly and wet that the bees weren't able to get out and do their thing with the tree blossoms. The entire crop of Plums has been lost!
So, I'm looking around. There are some Apple pomes growing in a few places. But, yeah, when I checked a known plum tree on AP Road... it had no little fruits on it at all! crazy!
And at the garden plot... looks like I'm losing the Lemon Cucumbers again. One by one, they are getting eaten up, by whoever, and there's nothing but a stem left!
Sighs.
Well. Here's one of Nature's Successes. This is a Crow fledgling!
In this pic, you can kinda see her blue eye and a bit of gape...
She has both parents caring for her. When one of the parents came back, apparently without food, the youngster was begging a bit... but her voice was so sweet. A soft "Maah? Maah?"
Oh, wow! This Great Blue Heron flew by so low I actually got a pic of her!
Well. The stupid baby Lemon Cucumbers continue to die. But today I'm planting a couple more Squash... A Green Patty Pan and a Spaghetti Squash!
They look so happy when you first put them into the ground! I hope they live!
In the afternoon, my partner drove me out to a little flower shop. All the colours are delightful!
and 4$ for this cute little Heliotrope!
