Partner's Mom passed away early this morning.

Usually on Saturdays, I like to drive out to the river. But today the car has no gas in it, so I'm not going to bother with that. And when I walk out the door, it starts to sprinkle. So I suddenly decide to walk up to Wild Iris Ridge again to see what it's like on a rainy weekend morning... So far, the small parking lot has been crowded and full every time I go!

Hang on. Those red-violet flowers in the background...

Those spotted leaves. Hmm.

Oh! The blue flowers at Hendricks Park! Lungworts! I like them!

And then I get hung up in this beautiful tree. Might be some ornamental cherry blossoms, I'm not sure. But, Lovely!

Okay, I tear myself away from the tree and move on! There are some fields along the road I walk, and today there are horses!

Probably a dozen or so!

And I get to the park, and the parking lot has one open space. For a very small car.

Yeah. If I ever decide to drive up here to actually explore the trails... I'm gonna have to figure something else out. I need to look at the map, because I think one of the trails opens up into a neighborhood. Maybe I could park on the street up there?

Anyway. Today I'll see how far up the left side path, into the forest I can get.

The trees here are mostly oaks, I think. But, oh! The Madrone Trees!

You see that warm orange colour on the darker trunks? Pacific Madrones! Native and so beautiful and interesting!

Okay. This looks like a good turn around spot! I note the time so I can figure out how many miles I've gone.

I hear water and walk down to investigate this little rill running thru the forest.

And then, heading towards the trail head, there's kind of a marshy area along the path that gets you up to the forest. And there's some birds...

Their behavior piques my interest... the way they are flying, down low into the grasses and brambles. That's not something I've seen before and I know this is a new-to-me bird!

And being all scruffy looking from the rain, didn't make identification any easier! *laughs* But I finally decided they are Lincoln Sparrows.

They migrate, and we are right on the border between their wintering area and their nesting area! So I'll need to come back to see if they stay for the summer!

Walking back, the wind has picked up a little... and Cherry Blossom petals are coming down like snow!

It takes me almost an hour to get home from the bench at Wild Iris. I did get distracted by the Sparrows, but otherwise I walked very fast... so that's almost three miles.

And the fast walk, up and down hills, killed my poor back! *laughs* It started aching just a couple hours later, and took days to get over it!

Good Exercise! I should do that more often!

Tag: march 2024

It's sprinkling off and on today, and I decide to check out the Community Garden again.

Oh, wow, look at the colours this Starling has got going, even without any sunshine!

Our Garden plot neighbor had emailed us last week saying he was going to replace the boards on the raised bed in the back of his plot. He's worked on that project, and has moved the edge of the bed in a bit, where before it was right on the border between our plots.

So that was nice of him. I do have a walkway along that border, and I didn't mind that he has to use it as well... I mean he's the most wonderful of all our bordering neighbors and I want to keep him happy. Not that this was a tough competition, since the east side neighbor has the word evil in his name, and west side neighbor shows up about twice a year! *laughs*

I just love the peach coloured daffodils!

Moving on! I'm still so glad that they let this old Willow Tree stand...

It was already so beautiful, and now we've got added interest with the stump of it's big limb.

Hmm. The west trunk of the fallen Leaning Tree is still here.

They had chopped up the north and south trunks of the tree last friday. And I thought for sure they would be back this week to finish the job.

And they have returned to pick up most of the chopped up trunks they had left, lying on the ground. But haven't done any other work.

Is there ANY chance they will just leave this iconic tree, fallen, as it is?

Oh, hey! Canada Geese in the creek?! That's not normal!

They must be looking for a place to nest. And I'm glad I disabused them of that particular spot!

I'm sorry, my dear! It's just that the bike path is Right HERE! It would have been a great place to nest, but SO Many Humans!

Off you go! Nice to see you, but there are better places, trust me!

Speaking of better places to go...

∞ Abandoned chickens rescued from Eugene parking garage

Aw, poor Chickens! This story has a happy ending... the Chickens were gathered up and taken to the humane society where they recieved cute car names like Fiat, Ford and Lamborghini! :)

But Please don't abandon your pet chickens. Some Chickens do like to hang out in the wild, but most of them prefer to sleep in a coop with their friends.

Tag: march 2024

Yep, here's the Song Sparrow to greet me as I come into the Rhododendron Garden!

These are pretty! Lungwort.

Oh, and these are pretty too! Snowflakes.

These are interesting! Don't know what they are!

Huh... They will be installing a fence here to close the road. They've just got the posts up, right now.

There's a sign that says they will close the road for critical safety issues like wildfires or tree or slope failures.

Wow, there's a lot of Song Sparrows today!

Okay! Here's someone else! And she pulled up a worm, right there at the edge of the path!

Oh! but foo, she's too far away!

And here's the other end for the new gates to close the road.

Hmmmmm? Who's this?

Oh my gosh! Pacific Wren! How cool is that?

But dang it! She is bouncing around way too fast for me and the camera. *laughs*

Fringe Cups... and the white bits are Cherry Blossom petals!

I go up Oak Knoll, and Wow! It seems crazy early to see the Camas Lilies blooming.

Um. What are these, again?! Oh yeah, Coast Toothwort!

Oh! Someone has created some forest art in a hollow stump!

Okay. That's a lot of photos for one day. And yes, I'm feeling crazy about that again! *laughs*

But what can I do? I see something beautiful or interesting and I take a photo... I can't just let the pics languish in the computer! I must share with the world!

Tag: march 2024

Today, it's mostly Teals at the ponds and there's a pair of Canada Geese at the other end. And I hear several Killdeers, but don't see any.

This one flew by, and her long tail gave her away... Cooper Hawk!

They usually leave the trees that have fallen at this park, and the Turkeytail mushrooms are pretty!

There's a variety of birds hanging out in the little forest, despite the hawk who flew by a little while ago... White Crown Sparrows, Ruby Crown Kinglets, Lesser Goldfinches, a Bewick Wren... But the photography is just not happening today. Oh well!

Tag: march 2024

Pete and Repeat sat on a log,
Pete jumped off, who was left?
Repeat.
Pete and Repeat sat on a log...

*laughs*

You know, I always thought Pete and Repeat were frogs on a log. But looking up the joke, there aren't any logs, but there are a lot of sitting on a fence and were in/on a boat. And Pete falls off or out of the thing. Just clumsy, I guess?

I like my jumping frog version better!

Anyway, what I meant to say is this is a repeat of yesterday's post with just slightly different photos!

Hm. And I think I like yesterday's view of this scene better than today's!

Oop! I thought all the Golden Crowns had left, for their migration up to Canada. Don't you need to be moving along, my dear?

I just love all the colours of these Japanese Anemones.

Yay! They trimmed the Willow Tree instead of chopping it down! It looks a bit pathetic right now, but it will fill out soon, and maybe that big stump will do something later.

This is a crappy pic... but Look! It's been age and ages since I've taken a photo of an American Goldfinch. It's mostly just the Lesser Goldfinches around here.

The fallen Leaning Tree again.

Here's another view of the Willow Tree, on my way back. It's a lovely old tree and I'm so glad they let it stand!

Tag: march 2024

Oh, hey! It's Knotty! I've not seen her in a while!

Huh. So I thought for sure they would continue working on the fallen Leaning Tree after the weekend. But no one is here yet.

On my way back, there are some city workers here who are fixing to work on the trees here. Will they chop down this beautiful Weeping Willow on the corner, with a big limb down... or just trim it?

Coming back home, I came across a couple of homeless people talking. The one guy, on a bike is someone I always try to avoid... he has always ignored me, but he just sets off my Spidey Sense.

So he's on a bike, wielding a knife.

And I do mean wielding. Holding it out in a threatening manner. While petaling his bike in a circle on the street.

The other homeless guy is speaking calmly and trying to get crazy guy off the street. Crazy guy is more likely to hurt his own self at this point, but still acts aggro.

I give wide berth, and walk a different direction, keeping the situation in my peripheral vision.

The homeless people here -- and men, in general -- are harmless for the most part.

But this is the third, um, shall we say aggressive incident this year on the bike path... Which is WAY more often, than has happened in the past.

Concerning, but not going to stop me.

Tag: march 2024

Spring is moving right along, but these Lenten Roses started blooming months ago... and are still at it!

And the trees are bringing some spring time colour as well!

And the place where the Golden Crown Sparrows usually hang out, is all quiet. They must have started their migration up to Canada and Alaska, where they'll be nesting and raising a family!

The Yellow Rumped Warblers, on the other hand, are here to do their family raising!

And... what the heck! The Leaning Tree is still here?!

They were chopping it up on Friday! I thought that was it!

They must have run out of time on Friday, or maybe they decided to go home early.

I suppose they'll be back on Monday to finish up. sighs.

Tag: march 2024

They are still doing cleanup here at the parks along the river as well...

It's a lovely day, the sun is shining and the temperature is perfect. There's a lot of people! But I was prepared for it so they are not damping my nature experience!

Birds are singing like mad all over the place! But can I get a decent photo? No.

Well, this one isn't singing! *laughs* Looks like a 4 year old Bald Eagle.

Two invasive Red Ear Sliders, and one native Western Pond Turtle.

But also:

It is just so beautiful out here!

As I've walked thru the ponds, there are swallows swooping, going after bugs. And on my way back...

Oh my gosh! Checking out a nesting site?!

Tag: march 2024

I decide to wander into the garden today.

Oh look! Someone has built a cloche for their lettuce!

I get to our plot... *laughs* yep, that's my silhouette with the camera! The bit of green next to me is volunteer Elephant Garlics.

Aw, dang it. The slugs have munched to death ALL the Fava that was trying to be a winter cover crop. Even the babies that sprang up after the ice storm.

That many hungry slugs doesn't bode well for the Sugar Snap Peas I will want to plant in a few weeks!

Excuse me, Mx Robin... could you eat some slugs instead of worms? Please?

Weird. Why is House Finch head yellow?

huh. I guess their colour depends on what they are eating!

I walk on. And, oh. The Leaning Tree.

They've chopped up the north and south trunks, but haven't started on the west trunk.

Angle's friend. I've still not seen Angle since before the ice storm. And this one will be moving on before too long as well.

Time marches on, things change.

Tag: march 2024

I walk out the door, and oh my gosh! It's the Varied Thrush who has been singing outside the apartment since January!!

He doesn't let me get any good photos, but that's okay. I am just glad I got to see him once, before he flies away to the forest to do some nesting!

I decide to walk on a different street, going out, to see different things!

This is the same artist who painted the non-native hummingbird on that other fence. At least this is a species found here, and all across North America. A Painted Lady Butterfly!

Well, that's just great.

At least Henrietta waits patiently for the camera to work properly!

Oh good, we have some ducks at the ponds today! Probably a couple dozen Green Wing Teals. Tho they broke up and paddled away when they saw the stupid human.

And there's some Shovelers in a pond further along.

There aren't any birds in the little forest... there were just a couple of people walking their exuberant and off-leash dogs thru the park.

Tag: march 2024

Oh, they finally got around to working on this tree limb that was leaning against the roof top of a little house back there.

It's been two months since the ice storm, and cleanup continues.

Oh my gosh! When I first walked up, it looked like the male was checking out this nesting box!!

But these are Bluebird nesting boxes... the hole to get into them is WAY too small for Flickers! haha!

Such a cute couple!

well. They fly away, and I'm moving on...

Tag: march 2024

Traffic is backed up on the street I have to cross... What is going on? I walk a bit down the hill. Oh! Haha! A big group of turkeys is crossing the road!

They are walking towards me, so when it's safe, I cross the street to get out of their way!

There are 30 turkeys altogether, just two males and the rest are females!

So precious! I especially love the lucastic ones! Those partially white feathers means that one of their anecestors has escaped from evil humans! YAY! Go Vegan!

*Laughs* This Northern Flicker is drumming on the metal chimney cover! It's actually a surprisingly pleasant sound!

Oh! And here's another one! ha!

And that's rain that's being lit up by the sun! :)

Into the forest! The Fawn Lilies are starting to come up.

At the top of the hill, they are doing construction right across from the Acorn Woodpeckers territory.

But they are here, watching over their hoard of acorns!

Yet again, I don't get any good pics. Oh well.

See ya later!

Tag: march 2024

This art on someones fence is lovely. But why didn't they paint our native Anna Hummingbird??

As I come to the ponds... there are Swallows! They are skimming over the ponds and the grass, going after bugs.

I try to take pictures to figure out if they are Tree Swallows or Violet Green Swallows, who look about the same when they are flying, but nope.

oh well. Welcome Back, Swallows!

And here's a Black Phoebe, going after bugs as well!

Oh look! We found some lunch!

The tripping hazard on the path thru the forest needed a new stick to mark it!

Oh, aren't you cute!

Are the seeds on that thing any good?

These are really pretty! Just a couple of varieties of Daffodils, I think, growing wild.

Tag: march 2024

oh my gosh!!

And here's the male!

Wood ducks are the ones who nest up in the tree... once the babies hatch, they have to JUMP! down to the forest floor and walk to the pond.

Sounds like a terrifying Day One of Life, but that's what they do!

She's got my number!

She is just so cute up there.

Still keeping eyes on me!

He's not sure about me either.

Looking all around.

Dang, that is cool! Tho I have to say, I hope they don't find a hole to nest in, here... There won't be a pond here, once the rain stops, and that's important protection for the babies.

Not to mention all the humans traipsing thru, since this is a popular frisbee golf course!

Well. I trust them to make the right decision!

Tag: march 2024

Oh YEAH! Let's get some Appreciation going!

∞ Rewire: Abortion Providers Are Vital, Let's Celebrate and Protect Them Join us in thanking independent abortion providers and working toward a world where everyone can seek the care they deserve.

And I've decided to pick up my Abortion Provider Appreciation postcard project again!

I've done this in the past, I send a happy and loving postcard to every independent abortion clinic I can find in the US...

Translation: Dear Beautiful People,
Thank you for providing abortion care, you make the world a better place every single day! The work you do is so important and I know sometimes it is so hard. Please know you are appreciated, you ara loved and you are AWESOME!
Happy Day, rift

Of course, these days we've got whole states where there aren't any clinics, due to abortion bans. So I've decided to expand my postcard sending to the Planned Parenthoods who provide abortion care as well!

We shall see how that goes! I will report on my progess!

Tag: march 2024

A Northern Flicker on the Community Garden fence!

I love Flickers, they are one of my favorite birds... all those decorations!

But today I'm wondering about their name! Northern Flicker. Does that mean there's a Southern Flicker?

Ha. Kinda...

∞ eBird: Andean Flicker (Southern)

Cool!

oh foo.

Tag: march 2024

The Saucer Magnolia is blooming, but the ancient Cherry Tree isn't yet.

There's a group of turkeys and I make a detour off the bike path to visit them! One male and a group of females.

He is displaying to the females, but also trying to keep an eye on me... but he's so round when he's puffed up he can't see behind himself. So he has to turn to the side, and that is messing up the view for the people he actually wants to impress!

But isn't he pretty with all his different feathers!

And then I turned around to resume my walk and realize there was a couple with a dog, waiting for me -- it was nice that they didn't want to disturb the turkeys while I was taking photos, but actually I was just standing in the middle of the sidewalk, taking up the entire way!

But also: how long had they been standing there?! Because I had been talking to the turkeys the entire time!! Who's a pretty boy?...

Oh jeez! I glance at them as I go by and yep, their faces looked amused and like they are trying not to laugh!! Lordy, lordy! :)

The Art Pavilion at the Downtown Riverfront Park. It's been sprinkling this morning... but more annoying is the stupid gusty wind, blowing rain in my face.

I go across the river on Autzen Walking Bridge... to the east is Interstate 5.

The Eugene Christmas Bird Count says there are a few Turkey Vultures who winter here! In general tho, they migrate to the south for warmer weather.

I always pause at the bridge to listen to the river.

And the sun comes out, just for a few minutes on my walk back!

But the clouds roll in again, and just as I reach the car to go home, it starts pouring! Timed almost perfectly!

Tag: march 2024

*laughs* Yesterday, I did not have good luck with the photography... I saw some cool birds, but wasn't getting decent photos. And I decided to try again today!

It's not hard to take photos of flowers, at least!

Oh, great.

Hi Henrietta! Good to see you! As handsome as ever!

At the ponds, there are exactly two ducks. And they get one look at me and fly away.

And the pair of Canada Geese are still hanging out on the other side of the road. One of them stomps their foot to let me know they are quite done with me! *laughs* Okay, okay, I'll go away now!

Oh! Another Chickadee is going to give me a chance?

Aw, you're so nice!

And we've caught a tiny little grub! Poor little grub.

Thank you!

Oh sheesh. Today's hawk is in a tree even further away than the pair yesterday. Come on, people! Work with me!

Nope! *laughs*

The city hasn't started the cleanup here yet, from the ice storm. They will get to it eventually, tho, because when this all dries out in the summer, they like to mow here to keep the invasives down.

Really??!

You insist on having a stick in your face. Well, fine then.

Tag: march 2024

Oh, hey! When I was looking down at this one, I assumed she was a Eurasian Collared Dove... But this is actually a Mourning Dove!

The Eugene Christmas Bird Count mentioned that the Eurasian doves are on a steady decline here. Which is pretty interesting.

oh my.

There has been a small homeless camp here for a good long while, a couple of tents. But when I walk thru I see that it's gotten a lot bigger since the last time I was here. More tents, loads of people milling around, several dogs too.

The cops and the city are clearing them out. But they've got no place to go, and they'll be cleared out from the next place they set up as well. It's a stupid and pointless cycle.

Here I am at the ponds, but there aren't any birds here today. Still some snow on the hills, tho.

There's a couple ducks and geese over on the other side of the road, tho!

Oh, maybe everyone on this side is hiding from these two!

As I'm walking to get closer, one of the hawks dives down to the ground. Pounce!

I couldn't see if he got someone... He was down on the ground for just a few minutes, so if he did kill someone, they must have been small, and swallowed quickly.

Aw, they are flying together! Such a cute couple, I hope they have a successful nesting season!

The birds in the forest re-appear right away! But I don't get any good pics. humph.

And then on the way home... *laughs* You are so cute, my litttle ankle biter! And your companion has very pretty nails! It's good that you are so well cared for!

Tag: march 2024

It's chilly again today, but the clouds are breaking up and the sun will shine.

Oh Kitty. Where is your hooman? Can you tell them you need to be an indoor only kitty? Please?

Dang it, Little Bird... you could have been so beautiful up there in the Willow catkins!

I decide to stop in at the Community Garden.

And here I am at my own sad plot... The Fava cover crop was mostly killed by the ice storm in mid-January. And now the slugs are desperately munching what's left! Will these last few plants live?

Foo. I am just not having the luck with the birds today! *laughs* It happens that way some times.

The fallen Leaning Tree. How many more chances will I get to see it, before they chop it up?

Wild Violets! These are tiny!

Tag: march 2024

When I dragged myself out of bed this morning, Partner tells me the internet is down. Ugh. I re-boot the router, but it seems like it's an outside issue. The internet slowly comes back up, on it's own, over the next hour or so.

It's funny how useless you feel when you don't have internet!

Still a mess here at the beginning of the trail in the native plants area.

As I come to the top of the hill, there's a family of Scrub Jays flying around and yelling and being excited! *laughs* Jays being jays!

I walk all the way around the Acorn Woodpecker's territory, but don't see anyone on guard duty. But I do hear their Wika-wika-wika in the trees on the north side.

ha. Oh well. I didn't have high expectations today anyway, with the clouds.

They've made a pretty nice bio-swale up here... looks like it's decidedly needed, see how dirty the water is, coming in at the left? yuck!

It'll be interesting to see what happens here in the summer... The waterfall is fed by springs, and they keep running all thru the dry summer. But I wonder how much water will remain in the swale as everything dries out.

Tag: march 2024

Are we goofing off with that tiny bit of twig?

Hey, play is serious business!

*Laughs* Seriously?

I was walking along the creek, back behind the Events Center, when I walked past this little tree.

I glanced at it and my brain said, oh that's just a chunk of bark that's caught up in the center of that tree... but my feet slowed down so I could look at it properly...

Oh my gosh! It's a Bushtit nest, left from last summer!

It's well below eye level, but also well buried in this little tree! Hawthorn Tree, with thorns over an inch long! How many times did I walk past it last year as the Bushtit family was raising their babies? *laughs* And how many times have I gone past this tree, all this winter when the nest is more exposed?!

This just delights me! That I didn't even notice the nest, for all this time!

Are you all thinking about going back up to Canada, for some nesting, yet? No? Still too chilly? Okay!

Tag: march 2024

I finally asked google about the purple flowers... lots of people have them in their yards and I keep taking photos of them.

Ha. Primroses! I'm not sure why I didn't know that!

I took a detour to look at some Cherry Trees.

Unfortunately, there was a bit of a breeze that made it frustrating to take pictures. Moving target, and all.

Okay. This is kind of funny...

The bird I was aiming for is sitting in the branches that the camera chose not to focus on. bah. But if you look very closely in the bottom left quadrant... there are a couple Robins standing on the ground back there! *laughs*

Tag: march 2024

It was snowing this morning when I got up! Big fluffy things coming out of the sky! It didn't last very long but it was lovely as it came down and it didn't stick at all!

I take postcards out to the mailbox first thing in the morning, and there's neighbors out chatting, even tho it's really chilly. I'm called over and learn that Neighbor J's car was stolen last night!

Oh no! Terrible! She's already made a police report, and Neighbor B has offered to drive her around. But what else can we do?

I go out for my walk, and the sun comes out a little bit. And I think about the poor thief who would steal our car. They wouldn't get very far, since it breaks down right after you hit 38 miles per hour! *laughs*

Does insurance give you any money when your car gets stolen?

And this Camellia bush again. I know, I know! I just can't get enough of the pretty pink blossoms!

Oh, someone has spilled some food near the Little Free Pantry and a family of crows is cheerfully cleaning it up!

One brings a treat over to a puddle to break it up in the water.

But another crow comes by and nabs the bits!

She starts to get huffy. but oops, me and the camera have been noticed!

Hey! Are you gonna just let them walk away with your food??!

You let them get away! sheesh.

What? Oh, you're saying this is my fault?

Um. Yeah. Sorry I distracted you.

Tag: march 2024

Every once in a while, I will read the newspaper and some article pisses me off so much, I feel the need to write to my government representatives to express myself.

Granted, I have gotten a bit jaded about this. I rarely sign Internet petitions any more, because seriously, what _ever_ happens?! Nothing.

I used to think an actual physical letter or postcard carried more weight...

But then, I've lost track of how many times I've written to try to get rid of Postmaster Louis DeJoy... I hate that smug faced bastard who has ruined our formerly trusted Postal Service. And all President Biden has to do is appoint a couple of members to the Board of Governors who will get rid of him.

So. That's not happened and now I'm pretty bitter about writing postcards to anyone in government.

But here I am again.

Backstory: Voters in Oregon passed Measure 110 in 2020, to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs.

This is some awesome legislation, first in the nation! And it started working right away... with a significant reduction in drug arrests, which is exactly what we want. Jail is not going to help people who are addicted to drugs. It's just not.

And today's rant and postcard writing is brought to you by House Bill 4002...

∞ Oregon takes massive step toward recriminalizing drug possession

Yeah. This is just massively frustating. This bill goes against everything that was good AND voted for by the people in Measure 110.

And yesterday the Oregon House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed this bullshit, 51-7.

yeah, I'm thrilled to pieces that every once in a while those people can be bipartisan!

BUT WHY??! This bill is exactly the opposite of what we all voted for! Why, Why, WHY are they doing this??!

Oh I am so annoyed!

So yep, I print up two of my rainbow postcards. One is to express my extreme disappointment in my reprentative in the House, who voted Aye on HB 4002.

And the other is for my senator who will be voting on this bill soon...

Translation: Please vote against HB 4002! The people of Oregon voted for Measure 110 because we want to decriminalize small amounts of drugs. HB 4002 goes against the will of the people. Jail time for people who use drugs does not help. M.110 gives us the chance to try something different! I want Oregon to be different! Sincerely, rift :)

Unfortunately, I didn't realize the vote would come so quickly. They pushed everything else out of the way and did it today! ARG!

And HB 4002, evil and stupid that it is, passed the senate as well. ARG!

Altho I am happy to see that my senator actually voted against it. I don't know why, and it didn't make a difference, but I'm glad he voted against it.

But this is entirely discouraging.

Tag: march 2024

Chilly and raining still today, and I've decided to walk up to Wild Iris Ridge for the second time. Partly to look at the parking lot again, and partly to see how far up the trail I can get.

Oh, nice! I didn't notice this the first time. A Little Free Library, well stocked!

And yep, that's a little dusting of snow up on the hill... The snow level is down to 1,100 feet this morning! (Home is at 475feet, and the trail head is at 900feet.)

And like I said, the street I walk out on is actually pretty nice. It's still a street tho, when I'd rather be walking in a forest!

I finally arrive at the park... and the tiny parking lot is full again. foo. There's room for 10 cars, and there's 9. Even in this cold rain! And no possible way for any overflow parking on the street. I wonder what happens with good weather!

And strangely, there's not a bike rack here. There isn't any convenient place to lock up a bike. humph.

There's a crew here today. Not sure what they are doing.

I decide to go up the right side trail today... the one that follows the power lines. It's can't be too terrible, right?

Right! You get to look into the forest!

And there's water running off the hill, every which way!

I don't get very far up the hill, unfortunately. The walk out here is 2.1miles, and after a decent hike up on the trail, I need to consider the walk home.

Here's looking back at the trail I started going up...

And coming back thru the neighborhoods on the way home, I meet up with a group of female Wild Turkeys!

So Cute!

They are headed the same direction I am, and I follow at a respectful distance.

Ha! Oh my gosh! She shakes off the rain and she loses a feather!

How Awesome is that!!! ♥!

Tag: march 2024

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!

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!

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

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

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.

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

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!

*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! :)

Tag: february 2024

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.

But the Daffodils in the back corner plot are cheerful!

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

And it's started sprinkling.

Tag: february 2024

*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.

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

More trees getting chopped up.

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

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

Tag: february 2024

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

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!

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

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

Tag: february 2024

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

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

Yep.

Okay, that's better!

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

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

The new fence looks picturesque!

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

She is so cute!

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

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.

Tag: february 2024

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.

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!

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

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

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.

But here's a native!

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!

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??

Looking northwest from the Owosso Walking Bridge.

Tag: february 2024

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!

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!

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

Tag: february 2024

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!

Couple different Camelias blooming at the Rhododendron Garden.

Osoberry blooming in the forest!

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

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

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.

Oh, these are pretty little things!

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!

Tag: february 2024

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.)

Just one of the reason why I love it here:

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! :)

Tag: february 2024

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.

Oh my gosh! It's bath time!

*Laughs*

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?

Their cute little mask across their eyes.

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

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

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

Tag: february 2024

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!*

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.

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!

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

The trunks are broken off from their roots.

I just love this Camellia bush!

That Red Shoulder is at the Garden again!

Tag: february 2024

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

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

Tag: february 2024

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

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

Oh, wow! There's a Turkey Vulture!

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!

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

Just carefully walking this tightrope! haha!

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

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.

But I always pause here to listen to the river.

I love it here and wish I could stay longer.

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

Tag: february 2024

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Keeping an eye out.

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

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

Her roundness is just too cute.

And the Guardian Crow is too awesome.

Good luck, Little One. Hope everything goes smoothly!

Someone has left some art!

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.

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.

Fare thee well now.
Let your life proceed by your own design.

Tag: february 2024

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

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

Haha! Feeling a bit stabby!

Tag: february 2024

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

um, what the heck is going on?!

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!

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.

They are so little and cute.

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

Okay! We are all paired off now! ha!

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

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!

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

*laughs*

Tag: february 2024

Good Morning, Lovey!

Oh. I've interrupted your morning calisthenics?

Oh yeah! I can tell that feels good!

Oh my gosh, look at them all!

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

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

Bye!

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

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

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.

And Falkor Part 2, again.

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

Tag: february 2024

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

More on the way!

Tag: february 2024

It's a good day for flowers!

Still working at cleaning up the parks.

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

Huh. I wonder what happened here!

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

Still much work to be done.

Tag: february 2024

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!

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!

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

A very pretty boy who def should stay inside.

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

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

Well... ?

Yay!

*laughs* Thank You!

Out to the Leaning Tree...

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?

Tag: february 2024

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.

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

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!

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.

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

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.

And then I see an Acorn Woodpecker!

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!

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

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

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...

What the heck??!

A Scrub Jay?

???

And the nice perch goes to the victor!

*laughs* So very odd!

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

Her winter coat is looking decidedly scruffy!

And people are still getting fallen trees removed.

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.

Tag: february 2024

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

The Oaks take so long to wake up in the spring.

This tree is loved.

I loved you and I love you

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!

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

Sighs.

Oh my gosh! It looks like...

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

Congratulations, Suspish!

Tag: february 2024

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

These bouncy birds amused me!

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*

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

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.

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

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

Oh! They have started on the work! Yay!

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

Tag: february 2024

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

Hello!

And Goodbye!

*laughs*

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

So delightfully dreary!

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

Tag: february 2024

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

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.

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! :)

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!

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

Tag: february 2024

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.

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

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

With their cute red eyes!

And their adorable feet!

Tag: february 2024

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Sighs. Gotta let it go.

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

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

Tag: february 2024

Hello my dear.

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

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

These were beautiful Mimosa Trees.

Sighs.

Tag: january 2024

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

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

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

Tag: january 2024

It's a dreary day today!

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

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.

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

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

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

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?

Tag: january 2024

The sun shines today.

And I'm at the Community Garden to murder some 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.

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!

Tag: january 2024

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

Bath Time!

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

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

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!

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

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

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.

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.

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!

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??

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.

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!

Tag: january 2024

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!

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.

Feast time for the House Finches!

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

What the hell? Another One?!?!

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

Tag: january 2024

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*

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

Her cute lil pointed face!

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

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!

And her cute naked tail.

Lookin' like a cute stuffed animal!

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

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!

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

The Alder Trees are doing their thing.

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

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

Tag: january 2024

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!

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

Always happy to see one of our native squirrels!

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

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...

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!

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!

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.

∞ 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...

Can you imagine how terrifying this must have been?!

heh. Another good sign! :)

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

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

Tag: january 2024

Nice clouds again today!

Oh wow! Look at all the Crows!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If only humans could be so wonderful.

Tag: january 2024

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.

Oh my goodness! The clouds today!

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

The sweet little Golden Crown Sparrows are still so friendly!

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

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.

Cute female Lesser Scaups...

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!

Ah. Yes it is.

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

Tag: january 2024

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

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.

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

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

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

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

My cute lil leaf muncher!

Tag: january 2024

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!

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!

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

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

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

Tag: january 2024

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.

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

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.

Remember when the vultures sat here?

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

∞ 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.

Tag: january 2024

Good Morning My Dear! You are looking dapper!

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

Trees down...

Uncooperative birds...

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

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

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!

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

Bye!

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

More uncooperative birds! *laughs*

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

Tag: january 2024

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...

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.

oops, this tree took out a street lamp.

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*

Oh. My Leaning Tree...

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

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

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

*cries*

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

Tag: january 2024

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...

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!

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

And the creek is full of melt water.

There are branches down all over the place.

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

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!

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

Tag: january 2024

Holy Shit! I should not have gone out there!

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.

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.

Tag: january 2024

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.

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

And Henrietta still has ice on his back.

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*

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!

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...

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!

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!

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.

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

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.

Tag: january 2024

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.

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!

The ice is just crazy!

But everything is so beautiful.

Here's a male Brewer Blackbird, down near 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!

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

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

Tag: january 2024

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!

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!)

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!

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...

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

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

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!

Tag: february 2024

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...

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!

There you go, it's coming open now!

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

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

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

The Leaning Tree looks lovely in the snow...

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.

Sighs. But it's beautiful right now.

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.

Hi Henrietta! You got ice on your shoulders!

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.

Tag: january 2024

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

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!

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!

Tag: january 2024

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!!!

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!

I think this is a little Hawthorn tree.

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

heh... She looks funny...

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

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

Tag: january 2024

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...

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.

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

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

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

A White Crown Sparrow.

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

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

Tag: january 2024

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

Tag: january 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

Tag: january 2024

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.

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!

Tag: january 2024

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! :)

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

Ah. A little book burning on the bike path.

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!

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.

Tag: january 2024

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.

Tag: february 2024

Oh the cute little Hooded Mergansers!

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.

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??!

Tag: january 2024

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...

Still looking for Angle.

Back at home, and another nap today.

Tag: january 2024

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!

[Oak trees hold] Onto their leaves so long in fall

And watching people go by

Hug trees, Love trees, Climb trees, Plant trees

Teaching us to look up. I Loved...

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.

Tag: february 2024

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!

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

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

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!

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

Tag: january 2024

Oh, the fog on the hills is lovely.

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.

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

On the way home, I run out of energy.

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

Tag: january 2024

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

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.

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

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!

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*

Tag: january 2024

XXX

Place holder for the New Year's blog post!

Tag: january 2024

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

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!

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.

*laughs* My Tripping Hazard marker is still here!

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

Singularly unconcerned about the state of the trail...

Henrietta! But, gah, seriously?

And some ducks!

Tag: december 2023

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...

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.

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

The clouds are moving around a lot and being pretty!

Tag: february 2024

Home Again!

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

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?

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

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

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!

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!

It's good to be home!

Tag: december 2023

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!

Tag: december 2023

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!

Tag: december 2023

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...

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...

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

Tag: january 2024

February 2023 (partial)

March 2023

April 2023

May 2023 (partial)

June 2023 (partial)

July 2023

August 2023

September 2023

October 2023

November 2023

Tag: 2019

So I've looked at a map, and I hope I get around the new Downtown Riverfront Park without getting lost this time. It's closed because they are using it for the World Athletics Championships, which started yesterday and runs until the 25th.

This amazing mural just outside the Rose Garden was finished just in time for the Championships.

And, of course, you can't go by the Rose Garden without obsessively taking photos of the roses.

And then we gotta check the Osprey nest on the other side of the river. There's one child there today, and she takes off ... only to make a loop and come back to the nest.

XXX... Goal: Finish this post!

Tag: xxx 2022

I'm archiving the 2022 posts...

∞ January 2022

∞ February 2022

∞ March 2022
Story of nesting Anna Hummingbird begins here!

∞ April 2022
... And the nesting Hummer story continues here, until the babies fly away in mid-April!

∞ May 2022

∞ June 2022

∞ July 2022

(completed 28 May 2023...)

January thru July 2021 Archive

August 2021 Archive

September 2021 Archive

October 2021 Archive

(No entries for November 2021)

December 2021 Archive

Goal: revisit August 2021... Road Trip to Utah!

And then keep filling in posts from there thru the end of 2021.

Tag: 2021

(completed 27 Dec 2020 thru 5 Jan 2021...)

2020 Archive... January thru July

(posted 21 Apr 2023...)

2020 Archive... Aug thru Dec

GOAL...

Revisit the Aug thru Dec archive page and add photos and clear out the xxx!

Tag: 2020

(Posted 22 Dec 2020...)

The new archive is HTML5, and completely validated!

2019 journal entries

Tag: 2019

(Posted 18 Dec 2020...)

I have managed to move all of the 2018 journal entries into an archive page. I did not write very much in 2018, so I decided not to divide them up into months, like I usually do.

The new archive is HTML5, and completely validated!

2018 journal entries

Tag: 2018

(Posted 19 Dec 2020...)

I have managed to move all of the 2017 journal entries into an archive page. And again, I didn't write very much, so the posts for the entire year are on one page.

The new archive is HTML5, and completely validated!

2017 journal entries

Tag: 2017