Blogging the Infinite Static


Sat, 08 Jul 2023

Partner's Mom passed away early this morning.




Wednesday 14 August 2024... The Sun Returns

Oh dang it... This one was moving too fast for me this morning and the picture is a bit blurry...

Western Grey Squirrel

I've seen him out my bedroom window a few times in the last months. A young male who has dispursed to new territory. He's not a regular, but it's nice to see one of our native squirrels around!

I head out... and the Barn Swallow nest is empty again.

Empty Barn Swallow nest

Heh. I think this time it will Stay empty!

I check the shrubbery along the creek, and do see a couple Barn Swallows from the flock, twittering and making swoops above. But the kids aren't here, and that's good. They are in the big world now, but they have support: They'll continue to get food from their parents, while they learn to fly and hunt!

Mallard ducks sitting in the grass

The sunshine feels nice after a couple cloudy mornings! The forecast calls for more cooler temperatures but we've got perfectly normal temperatures today... the high is 84° (29°) and normal for this time of year is 85°. And I'm heading to the garden, just to weed, not to water.

Sunflower bloom with red flowers and sky in the background

The Comfrey I'm trying to kill keeps putting up leaves closer and closer to the Zuchinnis.

Comfrey growing close to a big Zuchinni plant

I should probably grab this Brandywine before it starts cracking. Altho I am watering less now, so maybe we can avoid the cracks in the tomatoes?

Tomato ripening on the vine

Green tomatoes on the vine

harvested veggies laying on the ground

Tomatillo husk ripening on the vine

Sunflower blooms against a blue sky

I just love the colour explosion here!

Cosmos and Trumpet vine blossoms

And this one is sitting in the Apple Tree right outside the Community Garden. The Apples are small and green and buggy. I wonder how the squirrels like them!

Squirrel sitting in the crook of a tree trunk

There was a Cahoots van on the bike path today... They were just finishing up with whatever crisis they dealt with, so I just saw them driving away.

But again, after the violence last week, it's good to see official presence on the bike path.

Tag:



Tuesday 13 August 2024... Ha! Barn Swallows!

So I had a dream last night about the Barn Swallows.

And I decided to visit the Barn Swallow nest again today, even tho the kids fledged yesterday.

And the kids are back!! ... ???

Barn Swallow fledglings in the nest

*Laughs* It was so unexpected, and I was so surprised, the first pictures weren't great!

Because fledged birds don't return to the nest! (Okay, Ospreys return. But little birds? No.) They just don't! Once they fledge, they are done with the nest.

But. This is Nature. You can't say things like Fledged birds Never return to the nest. Nature doesn't do absolutes. It's never Never and it's never Always!

There's Always variations! That's how evolution works! Everything is on a gradient, there are always those extremes at either end of the gradient... after all, those extremes might just become different species!

It's fun to think about these things!

But I calm myself. Fix the camera settings. And keep looking.

Preening! Is Baby Number Three in there as well?

Barn Swallow fledglings in the nest preening

Or maybe I can't call them Babies anymore. Since they have fledged! *laughs*

The one on the left continues to preen...

Barn Swallow fledglings in the nest

Ah-Ha! We do have all three!

Barn Swallow fledglings in the nest

Uh huh! The face of Number Three, the preening body of Number Two and flight feathers and tail of Number One.

The only thing I can come up with... it was a little bit chilly last night. It got down to 53° last night and these babies have grown up with days in the 90s and above, and nights around 60°.

They're just used to the hot! And possibly they came back to the nest to keep warm last night.

ha. Funny birds!

I keep walking, so that I can think for a minute... huh. Are these ... Plums?

Golden fruits hanging from a tree

I think so! The fruits are bigger than cherries, and the time for cherries is very over, they are ripening in June.

I will have to come back later to see what the pit looks like!

Close up of a plum ripening on the tree

I go around my loop, and on the way back... Yep, all three.

Three Barn Swallow fledglings in the nest

Still preening. It must be a bit uncomfortable in there.

Three Barn Swallow fledglings in the nest, preening.

It's so cool that I get to see the babies one last time.

Three Barn Swallow fledglings in the nest

And then at the garden plot... my young friend is still hanging out!

Young male Anna Hummingbird standing on a wire trellis

There's actually two... Another Anna is also interested in this territory! But my friend was here first, and the other one gets chased off!

Anna Hummingbird standing on the top of a wire trellis

Sunflower blooms

Smartweed blooms next to yellow Marigold blooms

I'm just doing a light watering today, since it's not hot again today, just 78°.

Harvested veggies laying on the ground

Old German... with leaves of the primary SunGold! *laughs* SunGolds do tend to sprawl all over the place!

Big green tomato ripening on the vine

My friend, again. He just just so precious!!

Anna Hummingbird, standing at the top of a wire trellis

Anna Hummingbird, standing at the top of a wire trellis

One of the volunteer Tomatillos at the end of the Wax Bean trellis!

Tomatillo husks growing on the vine

Heading home. Some late ripening Himalayan Blackberries... Along with some Bittersweet Nightshades in various stages, from purple blooms to red berries!

Blackberries

And from the news...

Oregon wildfires: Record for acres burned broken
A total of 1,399 fires have burned 1.49 million acres or 2,200 square miles, surpassing the 2012 total of 1.2 million acres and the 2020 total of 1.14 million acres.

Dang. We haven't had any trouble this year with wildfires near town, except for that scary one near the Humane Society. And no wildfire smoke to deal with either.

But that's just luck. 1.49 million acres is a lot... and we aren't near to done with the wildfire season yet.

It's gonna get worse.


But in more personal news...

A motorcycle cop passed me on the bike path today.

Nice to see, after the violence that happened the other day. I waved and he nodded in reply.

Tag:



Monday 12 August 2024... Cloudy and Cool? That's Not Normal!

The high today is 76° (24°C) and the heavy clouds this morning look more like winter. This is definitely not August weather!

heavy clouds and overcast, over the bike path

A super small Nutria... Is this the same bunch of Nutrias that I've been seeing? Why are they staying so small? (First seen Jul6.) I'd be surprised if this one even weighs 5 pounds. Adults usually weigh 15 to 20 pounds!

Nutria standing in the grass

trees on the hill

This cracks me up! A big ol' Squash plant is escaping the confines of the Community Garden! haha!

Squash plant growing thru a wire fence

oh foo!

empty Barn Swallow nest

I thought I had days left to watch the babies!

I walked up and down the path next to the creek. In the past, babies from this set of parents have fledged out to the shrubs across the creek, right outside the bridge.

But not this time... I see the parents and other adults from the flock swooping circles above. The kids must be parked on the other side of the group of trees, where I can't see them. Foo!

I'm so disappointed, and when I get home I count the days...

I'm pretty sure the babies were being born on Thursday Jul25... which means... That's just 18 days!

Dang! Maybe because they had extra adults stuffing them full of food? But it's definitely within the normal range... according to AllAboutBirds, the nesting period for Barn Swallows is 15-27 days.

Oh well. I head back to the garden...

I love the big ol' mess that this plot has! Can you see the three Goldfinches?

Goldfinches hidden in weeds

The black one is a male Lesser Goldfinch...

Goldfinches on Chicory

And that funny looking one is a molting American Goldfinch...

American Goldfinch eating seeds from a Chicory bloom

Our little Lesser Goldfinches stay here year round, but the American Goldfinches are here only in the winter. Does it seem early for them to migrate in? hmm.

But I'm absolutely delighted that they love Chicory so much... Maybe I need to grow some in my garden plot!!

Goldfinches on Chicory plant with blooms and seeds

Two Goldfinches standing on a Chicory branch

Two Goldfinches standing on a Chicory branch

Fledgling! Black Head Grosbeak!

Black Headed Grosbeak fledgling standing on a post eating a bean blossom

Fledglings everywhere! *laughs*

Scrub Jay fledgling standing in Sunflower blossoms

And one last photo at the Chicory!

Lesser Goldfinch standing on a Chicory branch

I love the flowery explosion around our bird bath art installation!

A variety of blooming flowers!

Volunteers have planted this and keep it maintained and watered!

A variety of blooming flowers!

A bush of Four O'Clocks! These pretty flowers are native to tropical South America in the Andes. (I was too lazy to try to look these up, my brother IDed them for me! :)

Four OClock blooms in yellow and pink

At my plot and OH! New male Anna Hummingbird is sitting in the garden plot behind ours!

Immature male Anna Hummingbird

I've seen him a couple times, but he always flies away when I get the camera. So glad to finally get his portrait!

He looks like a female, but is an immature male, born this spring!

A little Crookneck coming along, with some Buckwheat blooms!

Crookneck fruit growing on the vine with Buckwheat blooms poking up thru big squash leaves

Also in the Squash Square, there are Spaghetti Squashes growing...

Spaghetti Squash ripening on the vine

And Butternuts as well! ... along with a blurry snail. ha!

Butternut growing on the vine

The Wax Beans happily climbing up the volunteer Sunflower.

Bean plant with blossoms climbing up the stalk of a sunflower

There's a Love Mist blooming in the Tofu Patch!

Love in a Mist blooming next to small soybean plants

Love in a Mist blooming next to small soybean plants

And the cute little Buckwheat seedlings that I wish would be a summer cover crop.

Seedlings surrounded by bigger Leeks and Soybean plants

The First Brandywine tomato!! It is not quite ripe, so it is better able to survive the walk home in my backpack.

Harvested veggies laying on the ground

Okay. Heading home.

Squirrel standing on a wood post, holding a peanut in her mouth

Squirrel holding a peanut in shell

The cooler weather today has invigorated me to take more photos! And it's made this such a LONG blog post... But I had fun writing it!

Clematis bloom

Tag:



Sunday 11 August 2024... Sunday Stroll

Good Morning Mx Scrub Jay!

Scrub Jay at the top of a pine branch

Scrub Jay standing in a pine tree

Good Morning Barn Swallow Babies.

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Number Three is hiding again today?

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest, one looks down

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

I get momentarily distracted by the cute little minnows.

Minnow swimming in green water

Good Morning, Minnows!

Minnow swimming in green water

I guess I don't get to see Baby Number Three today.

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

I need to look up and see when this bunch was born... it seems like they might be getting close to fledging?

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

At the Garden... I'm not sure if this grape vine is wild, or if someone purposfully planted it at the fence. But here's the first bunch of grapes!

Grapes ripening on the vine

I wander around my garden plot... oops, I found this thing and it's gotten too huge. I don't think it's going to fit in the backpack, with everything else!

Harvested Crookneck, lying on the ground

But when I pick it...

Harvested Crookneck, lying on the ground

Bahaha!! Mice? How fun that you could just curl up, INSIDE your food!! *laughs*

The Wax Beans are getting loads of blossoms at the top of the trellis!

Bean blossoms

Oh my gosh! Eggplant!! It's a couple inches of cute!

small Eggplant, growing on the vine

And then I notice two more behind it!

Small Eggplants growing on the vine

Sunflower with several blossoms

Sunflower with several blossoms

Tomatillos growing on the vine

Yellow Marigold blooms with garden plot in the background

Bumblebee standing on a marigold bloom, with a Honey Bee hovering nearby

WooHoo! What a great harvest of Lemon Cucumbers today!

Harvested veggies laying on the ground

And I still haven't learned my lesson about the one Yellow Zucchini that doesn't want to let go of it's fruits! laughs.

There's so much here, that I don't put the SunGolds into the backpack. They'd just get squished. I put them in my shirt pocket and eat them all on the walk home! Yum!

Tag:



Saturday 10 August 2024... River, Pride, and then the Car Died

Pride Celebration at the river today! If I start at the Rose Garden, I can get my usual walking loop done, and then go thru the event!

Pink roses catching the light and shadows

Pink Roses with a bud

Silver Lining is my favorite...

Pale Roses

The 275 year old cherry tree.

Big old cherry tree

SubSupra, the art pavilion and Naseen, the Great Blue Heron sculpture. And the river!

Heron sculpture under the art pavilion

There's a couple Ospreys flying around, yelling and obviously goofing off! Probably the kids, still depending on parents for much of their food.

Osprey flying over the river

*plunk* Ha. You missed the fish, huh? No! I did that on purpose! *laughs* More practice, kid!!

Osprey standing in shallow river

See ya!

Osprey taking off from standing in the river

Osprey taking off from standing in the river

At the walking bridge and heading to the other side of the river...

River water swirling near the bank

River rocks

River water going over rocks

river going over lots of rocks

I obsess!

River rocks

Okay. Let's move on! I get to Alton Baker Park... oh jeez! There's a LOT of people!

crowds of people

Yikes! I am completely intimidated, and don't actually take many photos! haha.

But it makes me so happy to see everyone else... Everyone is happy and being themselves with colourful clothing and there's some furries and the big guy in a rainbow tutu!! *laughs with delight*

I love the energy! But I feel better when I get away from the crowds.

Pride tents from a distance

And then I'm back at the Rose Garden.

Pink Roses

Double petal Larkspur

And then I'm heading home.

And then the car dies in traffic. Ack! I'm able to pull into the bus lane and then get it off the road. It's surprisingly hard to steer without power steering, but the car stops in a mostly out of the way spot.

Lordy lordy. The car has died in the same 700$ way it did last time... which was only three months ago.

Partner helps and we get it towed to our mechanic...

White car coming off a tow truck

But the car isn't worth another 700$. So I don't know what we're going to do.

What a bummer to end a fun trip to the river like that. Sighs.

Tag:



Friday 9 August 2024... Barn Swallow Babies!

Yay, I'm so glad to see them again! And I get to see all three babies, first thing!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

And then Baby Number Three disappears. Typical. But Look at the cute little baby beak shadow on the wall on the right! haha!

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Sleepy babies!

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest with closed and half closed eyes

Oh, is someone on the way?

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Barn Swallow parent feeding a baby in the nest

Number Three is all, Whatever! *laughs*

And back to just being cute.

Three Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

So Cute!

Three Barn Swallow nestlings looking cute in the nest

I'm at the garden, and I'm watering everything really well since I've got other plans for tomorrow!

The Eggplant really has quite a few flowers for such a little plant.

Looking down at Eggplant blooms

Look past that horrifying deep crack in one of my precious Brandywines and ... GAH!

Slug on a ripening tomato

Slug! She-he is eating the Brandywines??! Dang it, you! *relocated*

One of the volunteer Tomatillos is getting some fruits!

It will be ages before these are ready to eat... Those are the husks, and the fruit is a tiny little ball on the inside. The fruits will slowly grow in there, until they are big enough to crack open the husk. It'll be months, and I only hope the season is long enough!

Yay! First Wax Beans!!

Harvested veggies laying on the ground

And the second Old German! It's so huge! I've still got the first one at home, I picked it before it was ripe... I need to eat it and see how it tastes!

.
.
.

And something horrifing in the news...

Eugene police investigating alleged rape near Fern Ridge Trail

What the HELL?! This happened on the bike path, ¾ of a mile from home!

I don't even know what to say.

I don't want to have to carry a weapon. I have no training and honestly, if someone were to attack me, my weapon could easily be used against me.

But I shouldn't need training in self-defense or weapon use!

Ugh. Just Ugh. Why do men have to be evil??

Tag:



Thursday 8 August 2024... A Day

To be 92°s today (33°C) but the morning has some clouds. I'm heading out... I'll need to water at the garden today for the heat, but I'm gonna walk a bit before, just to look at something different!

Bittersweet Nightshade. It's not Deadly!

Purple Bittersweet Nightshade blooms

... But it will make you sick!

The green fruits of Bittersweet Nightshade, ripening on the vine

Oh shoot. There's a homeless person at the Barn Swallow nest again. That's a bummer. The babies are getting really close to fledging. I hope I get to see them again.

I pause nearby and notice the sun and clouds look kinda cool, reflecting from the creek water!

Sun and clouds, reflected in water

Dang it. No Patches is NOT very cooperative!

Great Blue Heron walking in shallow water, behind a bush

*Laughs* No Patches isn't much of a name.

ugh. The Fallen Leaning Tree is dead.

Fallen Leaning Tree

There's no denying it. The trunk must be separated from the roots. sighs.

Dead leaves on a twig near the trunk

So sad.

Dead oak leaves at the end of a twig

Well. It was already a shadow of it's former self, when they cut down the other two trucks. Sighs. I miss this tree.

Fallen Leaning Tree

But here's something to cheer me up!

Chalk drawings on the bike path

Oh! Somebody is pretty good at drawing spiders!! Awesome!

Chalk drawings on the bike path

The Hawthorns are getting loaded with pomes.

Hawthorn berries ripening on the tree

And the Oaks are getting galls!

Galls on White Oak leaves

Okay! I'm at the garden to water. Under the Yellow Zuc... Oh Yeah!

Lemon Cucumbers ripening on the vine

Oh, nice! The Buckwheat is making seeds!

Buckwheat seed head with flowers too

Buckwheat seed heads

Ha!

Squash Beetles standing on a leave next to a Buckwheat seed head

The volunteer Sunflower in the Tofu Patch is making new flowers!

Sunflower bloom surrounded by buds

Huh! The Soybeans are stunted, the tallest ones are barely a foot tall. But they've got the beginnings of some blooms!

Soybean blooms

There are a couple of Love Mists growing in the Tofu Patch as well!

Love in a Mist, making a bloom

And some Buckwheats I planted in the blank spots of the Tofu Patch.

Buckwheat seedlings

That Crookneck was much smaller than I thought it was. Foo. But they are so very nice and sweet when they are so little!

Harvested veggies on the ground

And I ate a lot of SunGolds, before taking the picture of the five left! ha! So good!

I rescued a Honey Bee stuck in a cob web! It's an old and dusty cobweb, no spiders live here.

I saw her struggling and my first instinct was to just grab her and pull her out. But as I reached for her, I thought... She could sting me, just because she fears for her life!

And I paused there a moment to think about that.

Definitely a good instinct to pause before you enter a tricky situation.

But then I realized... If you are a Honey Bee, caught in a web and fighting to get out? You are going to know the difference between the spider who comes along to kill you and a huge human hand who happens to come along to get you out!

So, yep! I scooped her out of the cobweb ... and then I didn't know what to do next! How can I help her get the rest of the cobweb off her wings?? I am too big and clumsy to do anything!

But she cleaned herself off, literally within 30 seconds, and she flew away!

Yay, Happy Ending!

Lemon coloured sunflowers

Here's something I didn't know about Oregon...

Oregon could get its first new scenic bikeway in years
The 60-mile Aufderheide Drive route rides past dense forests, hot springs and campgrounds

This is so cool!

But that place... that is NOT an easy bike ride! It's up in the Cascade Range. But it's amazingly beautiful up there.

But also, not cool... they don't add any infrastructure. No bike lanes or anything. It's just signs along the route. That's pretty lame!

Tag:



Wednesday 7 August 2024... Part 3, Politics and the Post Office

One last bright and colourful photo from my morning at the Community Garden.

Red Amaranth stalks with a sunflower

Red Amaranth!

Okay...

I was VERY interested to watch this...

Senator Merkley Slams USPS Delays and Downgrades on Senate Floor

That's my Senator! I'm on his email list and he had asked a while ago how we were affected by Postmaster General DeJoy's policies and I thought seriously about adding my voice.

They closed the mail sorting facility here in Eugene a few years ago. Now, all mail -- even local Eugene mail -- gets sent up to Portland to be sorted.

It's fairly rare for me to send mail locally. I do have one GR member in a nearby town. But other than that monthly postcard, I probably only send within Oregon, two or three times a year, via Postcrossing.

But my Mom in Colorado sends me a weekly letter! That's where my passion for sending mail comes from! She puts her letter in the mail on Tuesday morning... And I used to get it on Thursday or Friday.

Since DeJoy, I'm mostly getting it on Saturday. Occasionally on Friday, sometimes on the following Monday or Tuesday... and occasionally -- but regularly! -- weeks later. GRR!

I decided not to write about this to Senator Merkley. Getting mail from my Mom is important to me, of course! But he needs to hear from people who are losing money because their small business depends on packages being delivered in an economic and timely manner to customers. And I knew he would hear from rural folks and elderly who depend on medications being delivered by mail.

And that's what this speech is about... those people who's lives are in jeopardy because their medications aren't coming on time because DeJoy has purposefully slowed down the mail by closing sorting facilities and removing sorting machines.

What DeJoy has done to the US Postal Service is disgusting! DeJoy is just running the Postal Service into the ground.

And I HATE that the Postal Service has gone from one of the most trusted government agencies, to just another corrupt agency with an evil guy at the top.

I WISH DeJoy had been removed and replaced by someone who loves mail! Someone who knows the price of a postcard stamp. Someone who actually sends letters!

Our local mail carriers are so awesome, and I'm sure they are even more frustrated with DeJoy's BS than I am. My heart goes out to them!

Tag:



Wednesday 7 August 2024... Part 2, Colourful Things at the Garden

Okay. I finally had to leave the Barn Swallow babies and here I am at the garden. I love these lemon yellow Sunflowers too...

Sunflower blooms in front of a blue sky

Now, do I love the lemon Sunflowers more than the red Sunflowers? Hmm. *laughs*

At my plot... aw, now the Squash Beetles are attacking the Green Zuc...

Bugs on a zucchini leaf

They are annoying, and kind of shocking to see so many gathered together. If they come out in the spring, with these kinds of numbers, they will kill ALL the baby squash plants.

But coming out at this time of year, is not such a big deal. They will suck the juices out of a couple leaves, and that's about it.

The Green Zuc is huge and healthy, so it can stand to lose a couple leaves to the bugs.

Squash Beetle nymphs on a Zucchini leaf

Here's the damage they've done in the Squash Square...

Squash leaves

There's all kinds of squashes living there, but the bugs only attacked the big Crookneck. That's the brown and shriveled leaves. And the Crookneck is fine and still producing, despite the loss of those leaves.

The cute little Spaghetti Squash that's hanging from the Sunflower I bought!

Spaghetti Squash fruit hanging from the vine

And I'm so pleased to see the Buckwheat is making the bees happy!

Honey Bees on Buckwheat blooms

Honey Bee on Buckwheat blooms

The Wax Beans are on the way!!

Wax Bean pods growing on the vine

Blast it! A couple of the Lemon Cucumbers are wilted. Still not watering enough. ARG!

Wilted cucumber leaves

The ones on this side look okay.

Lemon Cucumber growing on the vine

Cucumber bloom

I have a serious love of Lemon Cucumbers!

Lemon Cucumber growing on the vine

Okay! Let's get back to the bright and colourful! Here's some Smartweed growing next to the Giant Marigolds at the edge of the Tofu Patch.

Smartweed blooms with Marigold blooms

On the left in that photo is the lovely red Sunflower, and behind on the right is the volunteer Sunchoke.

The red Sunflower is almost 2meters tall!

Red Sunflower with blue sky behind

Yay Lemon Cucumbers!

Harvested veggies laying on the ground

And that's the first Old German tomato! It's cracked up all to heck, even tho the leaves were folded up and too dry. But whatever! I hope it tastes good, around the cracks! ha.

Tag:



Wednesday 7 August 2024... Part 1, Barn Swallow Babies

High today is 89° but after hot days of mid-90s thru the weekend, it looks like there are a couple of low-80s at the tail end of the forecast. That'll be nice if they actually happen!

I'm at the Barn Swallow nest and it looks like we are having another day of restlessness...

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest, preening

Is Number Three somewhere in there too??

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest, preening

It hardly seems like there's room enough in there to hide a baby!

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

I just gotta move my arm a little bit. And that looks like a third head?

Two Barn Swallow nestlings moving around in the nest

There we all are!!

Three Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Three Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

What the...?? Hey! Get back in there, You!
Ha! So restless!

A Barn Swallow nestling is perched at the edge of the nest

Dude! Seriously!

Barn Swallow nestling climbing down into the nest from the edge

*laughs*

Three Barn Swallow nestlings, middle one is preening

Itchy!

Barn Swallow nestling itching her chin with her foot!

Never quite comfortable enough!

Three Barn Swallow nestlings moving around in the nest


.
.
.

.

You know what? I hate it when real life intrudes on my nature time. But this...

Sonya Massey.

That cop killed her in cold blood.

They were invited into her house. They were joking around about the cooking. And suddenly the evil bastard was shooting Sonya in the face.

just. goddamn.

I didn't watch the body cam video. I never watch the videos. I just don't want that in my brain.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Sighs.

Tag:



Tuesday 6 August 2024... Wild Iris Ridge

The forecast for today is 86°/54° and zero wind... a perfectly and wonderfully normal summer day in this part of the world! And I'm heading out for a hike!

As I go thru the city park on the way out, they are setting up a Fun For All day! Stuff like this makes me so proud of my city...

During covid, the city and county started giving out free lunches to all the kids through the summer. The food was bagged up and they had pickup points at the schools and parks. Eventually this practice transformed into the Fun For All program that we have now!

There are organized activities -- physical games and art projects -- and the free lunch, of course. Older kids can be dropped off, younger kids need a minder with them, babies need a caretaker. It's a very popular program, and there's always a lot of kids of all ages at the park, playing and being happy!

Purple Morning Glory blooms

Pink Zinnia blooms with yellow Marigold blooms in the background

Purple and Red Zinnia blooms

Peeking into the Little Free Library.

books in a little free library box

Walking up the road, I get to listen to Cicadas! I love to hear them, the sound of summer!

We don't have the Periodical Cicadas that have synchronized emergence every 13 or 17 years, like they have on the eastern side of the continent.

Our Cicads mature underground for two to five years, but the generations overlap so there are adults emerging every year!

pink Cosmos blooms

Ballon flower with Cosmos blooms in the background

flower blooms

Okay! I've finally arrived at the trail head. The parking lot has 12 cars in it, there's two open spaces left. I head up the path, but once I get to the forest I pause for a moment in the shade to let a couple of chatting people go by.

They were speaking so loud I could almost follow their conversation.

So the kids wanted to go for some gelato...
Did you only speak Spanish there? ...
It's so cool to be bilingual!!
I wrote that down because he had been so reluctant to take Spanish ...

(But gelato is Italian??!) *So confused*

*laughs*

But, yeah. This is a very popular hiking trail. It's very beautiful, but I prefer to get my nature time without the humans and their funny conversations.

hiking trail

That's my turn around point, and I come back down and sit for a minute to drink my water. It's still got ice in it and gives me a cold headache because I guzzle it since I'm so thirsty! ha!

bench by the hiking trail

And again, I had walked past the Acorn Woodpeckers territory without seeing anyone there. And on the way back down...

The back of an Acorn Woodpecker standing on the side of a tree trunk

What? Seriously? This is all I get?!

Yep. That's all I get. The Woodpecker moves around to the back of the tree trunk, and eventually she flies away. *laughs*

All the birds were uncooperative today.

The back of a Wood Pewee, standing at the top of a bare stick

That's just how it goes sometimes!

Tag:



Monday 5 August 2024... Barn Swallow Babies

To be 91° today. As I walk by the Community Garden... What are you eating?

Squirrel sitting on a wood fence, eating something with grass

I have no idea... some candy that melted in the grass?

And at the Barn Swallow nest!

Three Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Just Baby Number Two is restless today.

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest, middle baby is squirming

Barn Swallow parent feeds a baby in the nest

Barn Swallow parent feeds a baby in the nest

Barn Swallow parent flies away from the nest, babies still begging

Three Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Okay! I'm at the Garden... I was just going to water today. But I actually did some improptu weeding around the baby Buckwheats that are in the Tofu Patch. I'm glad to see a few more are coming up, tho not like they are supposed to, since there's something wrong with the dirt here.

but Look! The first Wax Beans!

Small beans growing on the vine

Yay! Look at all the Lemon Cucumbers!! So Happy!

Harvest lying on the ground

And another Straightneck. And I've pulled out the first volunteer Beet!

I LOVE fresh beets! Usually I cut it into bite-size bits and cook it with my pasta. That's SO yummy.

But today I'm wondering how long the slow cooker would take... I look it up, but ugh. The internets say you can either wrap the beets in foil with a drizzle of oil, or just toss them in with 2 cups of water. 4hours on high, and the skin will peel off after cooking.

That seems like more trouble than it's worth. Plus I never bother with peeling the skin. I think I'll just chop it for my pasta, after all!

oh, the colour!

Marigold bloom next to a borage bloom

On the way home, a Wood Nymph!

Wood Nymph butterfly standing on an Oak leaf

I'm not sure which species she is... there's Common, Small and Dark. But they kind of all look the same to me, I'm not sure how you tell them apart!

I wish I knew more about bugs!!

At home, look at how happy the potted Pansies are!

Pansy blooms

Pansy blooms

*Laughs* I just love them. They are so little and cute!

Pansy blooms

Tag:



Sunday 4 August 2024... Restless Barn Swallow Babies!

There's some clouds this morning, but they are burning off quickly and it's to be another hot day today at 95° (35°C).

I arrive at the Barn Swallow nest, and I'm happy I get to see the babies today! ... All three of them!

Three Barn Swallow babies in the nest

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Stretch!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest, one stretching their wing

They are moving around a lot.

Thre Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Ha! That's a tail!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Parent Barn Swallow flying towards the nest

Parent Barn Swallow flying towards the nest

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Barn Swallow parent flying towards begging nestlings

Another stretch!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest, one stretching their wing

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Just. Can't. Get. Comfortable.

Barn Swallow nestling squirming in the nest

*laughs* Poor babies! But I've gotta get over to the garden to water.

But first...

Female Mallard paddling in the water

Oh My Gosh!

Green Heron standing on the bank near the water

A Green Heron!!

And then she flies downstream.

Green Heron walking in water

*laughs* oh well. But that was awesome!

Okay! At the garden! The Wax Beans are vining over my head!

Bean plants on a trellis, and blue sky

There's Borage growing inside the trellis... perfect!

Garden trellis with beans and borage

Bean blooms with borage blooms in the background

The Wax Beans have found the Volunteer Sunflower and are starting to vine up it! Yay!

Small bean vines on a sunflower stalk

There's a Spaghetti Squash growing under the bought Sunflower!

small Spaghetti Squash growing on the vine

oh humph! There's big cracks in the Old German...

Tomatoes ripening on the vine

Cracked tomatoes means too much water. But the Old German is wilted most of the time! Arg. Is there no happy medium?! Ha!

The Brandywines have some cracks as well. Maybe I need to hold back with the watering a little.

Tomatoes ripening on the vine

One of the volunteer beets... So big! I need to pull it soon!

Beet in the ground with Leeks

Today's harvest includes a House Fly! haha!

Harvest

I'm still pulling the zucs super small. The Crooknecks at that size are nicely sweet and yummy! And that's Smartweed on the left, and a Bindweed bloom. The white cluster on the right is Queen Anne Lace.

Didn't quite fit!

Backpack so stuffed, the zipper won't close

Tag:



Saturday 3 August 2024... Garden Work

Greeting the wildlife, right outside the door!

Squirrel sitting on the sidewalk

There's some clouds this morning and the high today is a more reasonable 88° (31°C).

Trees on the hill in the distance

A crow was cawing excitedly as she flew by, and I looked up to see what was going on. A Scrub Jay followed the crow, cawing as well... and then this one, a Kingfisher, with a slightly modified rattle call.

They were all mobbing a hawk! I just caught a glimpse, and I couldn't tell who it was. But the other birds chased the hawk to a tree and then I couldn't see what happened behind the tree. foo. I missed the excitement! *laughs*

I walked out to the Barn Swallow nest... but there was a homeless person right in the spot where I lean over the retaining wall to see the nest. So, foo again. I'm missing everything today!

To the Garden.

Squirrel sitting on a wood post

Today I'm chopping at the Comfrey I'm trying to kill. And I went around the whole front left of the plot, digging out some grass as well. I didn't take a Before photo, this time... But I'm so pleased about these two extra volunteer sunflowers, on either side of the orange Marigolds! It's late in the season, they might not do much, but I'm still happy to have them here!

Garden plot

And Look! Under the protective leaves of the yellow Giant Marigold, a single Pansy has lived to bloom!

Pansy bloom

Ha! I planted Pansy seeds -- the same that I've got growing in a pot at home -- and watered them diligently. But they never came up and I gave up hope! So this little Pansy is surprising ... and nice!

I just love the red Sunflower in the Tofu Patch!

Sunflower bloom

As I was walking around the garden plot, I startled a TINY SNAKE out from under the green Zucchini!!

Oh my gosh! She slithered too quickly and I only registered how small she was, 6-8inches maybe, and she had some kind of stripes. Probably a Garter Snake.

And, dang it, she was gone before I could even make a grab for the camera! so, Foo yet again, for missing Another opportunity!

And so funny, too. Was it even a week ago, that Kevin was asking if I had ever seen a snake in the Garden? ha!

Tomatillo ripening on the vine

The Eggplant is getting so many branches!

Eggplant

Eggplant bloom

And lots of blooms... will they all make fruit? What am I gonna do with this many eggplants?? I don't even like eggplant! haha!

Eggplant blooms

harvest

Looking over the shoulder of the Sunflower I bought, into the Squash Square...

garden plot

The tall stalks with the tiny white blooms are the experimental Buckwheats! They are about 4feet tall, and the Sunflower is about 4.5feet tall. And you can see, the birds have plucked most of it's petals to get at the Sunflower seeds! haha! I wonder if the birds like Buckwheat seeds??

The brown leaves in the Squash Sqare on the right are the result of hundreds of Squash Beetles. They are annoying, but so far they are only attacking the big Crookneck... which is quite big enough that it's fine to lose a few leaves.

And the back neighbor, Kevin's Nasturtiums.

Pale yellow Nasturtium blooms

Tag:



Friday 2 August 2024... Barn Swallow Babies and Garden

Not quite as hot today, just 94° after yesterday's 99° but still uncomfortably warm at 68° when I leave the house.

I head to the Barn Swallow nest... and I've only seen the two babies for so long, I'm starting to wonder if I imagined a third!

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

I haven't seen all three babies since Jul28!

And again today, there's more than just the two parents flying around above the bridge! It makes me wonder if the first set of children these parents raised this year are helping to feed these kids!

It's fairly common, across the bird kingdom, for previous kids to help raise their siblings... in the same season if the parents have more than one brood, but usually it's next year's siblings! Crows and Bluebirds are the most known for doing this, but a lot of other species do as well!

Barn Swallow parent approaching the nest

hmm...

Two Barn Swallow nestlings, begging for food in the nest

And suddenly we have THREE!

Barn Swallow parent flying towards the nest

Yay!

Three Barn Swallow nestling in the nest

And then we have two again... *laughs*

Two Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

But they are moving around enough, that I get one more picture of the three of them before I go!

Three Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

I arrive at the Community Garden and go on a walk about. Here's my friend Roz's plot.

Sunflowers and Echinaceas

And the lovely flowers around the Bird Bath art installation!

Flowers

Oh wow! These double petal Cosmos are pretty cool!

Pale pink Cosmos with red bean blossoms in the background

Someone's grapes are coming right along. Plus, they are planted right on the border... so any grapes that happen to be hanging in the pathway will be up for grabs, right?! Right?!

Green grapes ripening on the vine

Just kidding / not kidding! It just annoys me when gardeners put big plants right at their border!

Dark red Hollyhock blooms

I'm at my plot and... Aw, Dang it... The Lemon Cucumbers are wilted!

Wilted Cucumber plant

Shoot! I gave them double the water today, but they are so pathetic. ARG! Will they recover? WAI! They might not recover.

Lemon Cucumbers are my absolute favorite... They are the only reason why I want to garden, after the photo opportunities!

well, Pbbbt. But look at this! The Old Germans are starting to get some colour!

Tomatoes ripening on the vine

And look at this too! The volunteer Sunflower in the Tofu Patch is a red one!!

Sunflower bloom

I love the red ones, they are so pretty!

And here are some of the Soybeans below it... Some of them are growing but some are stunted and still small...

Soybeans growing

Obviously the volunteer Sunflower overcame whatever is wrong with the dirt over here, it's almost 2meters tall! But the Soybeans and the recently planted Buckwheats are just having trouble.

well, whatever. Look at my pretty, pretty Giant Marigolds!

Orange and yellow Marigolds

Orange Marigold bloom with a Cucumber Beetle

Oh yeah, this volunteer beet is ready to go! Will I be able to pull it out without disturbing the Leeks?

Beet and Leeks growing

Honey Bee flying over a sunflower bloom

Oh hey! I caught this Patty Pan at a decent size!

harvest laying on the ground

Some Amaranth...

Amaranth seed head

This is the weedy form, but I like to let it grow in places because the birds will appreciate the seeds! This one has gotten nice and tall, in with the Lemon Cucs at the front of the plot. It's a good 5feet or so!

Tag:



Thursday 1 August 2024... Hot

Ugh! It's 75° already when I leave the house, to be 99° (37°C) ... we won't quite beat the record today which was 100° set in 2015. Normal temp for this time of year is 86°

So I'm heading to the garden to water. But look at the haze. bleh!

Trees on the hill

I go past to see the Barn Swallows first. I don't see the parents, but the babies are set up for quick access...

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Baby number three is always hiding! But at this point, I'm pretty sure there's just three babies.

This is the view upstream from the bridge...

Looking upstream, surrounded by trees

I've not seen the Bullfrog lately. But the dragonflies are active here. They probably love this heat!

I try to get a pic of someone flying over the water.

blurry dragonfly, flying over the water

*laughs* it doesn't really work!

But then!

Red dragonfly standing on a stick

Wow, itsn't he beautiful!! Flame Skimmer!

I scoot around for a different view, and he's noticed me watching him...

Red dragonfly standing on a stick

Haha... He followed me!

Red dragonfly

And then he followed me to the garden! Unfortunately, I had set the camera down as soon as I got to the plot. But he came around the Zucchinis and made sure I saw him one more time before flying away!

*smiles*

I'm watering pretty heavily today for the heat. But eventually I go around for photos. The wax beans are blooming.

Bean Blooms

The Black Tomato has a good number of small tomatoes coming on.

green tomatoes on the vine

It looks like they will be a good size! I'm so glad because after I bought this, I worried that I had gotten another cherry tomato plant... with the two SunGold plants, I def did not need another one!

green tomatoes growing on the vine

Today's harvest...

Harvested zuccinis laying on the ground

I still haven't learned my lesson with the one Yellow Zucchini plant... It doesn't want to let go of it's zucs, and I NEED to get the scissors out to make a cut on the stem instead of breaking off the edible part!! ha!

And yeah, I'm pulling these zucs at a ridiculously small size. I've just got too many to eat at home, and actually I'm going to be bringing some back... they've gone bad in the fridge.

Bummer. But that's okay. I will dump them somewhere in the garden and cover them a little and they will return nutrients to the soil.

Bindweed bloom

Creeping Speedwell blooms

Lemon Cucumbers in the making in the Supplementary Squash Square. (the darker leaves are one of the Zucs!)

small cucumbers growing on the vine

The Buckwheats that I sowed in the Tofu Patch started coming up a couple days ago. I threw down so many seeds here, but germination is not what it should be.

Buckwheat seedlings

So, yeah. Something wrong with the dirt here. The Soybeans mostly didn't come up, even after sowing seeds three times over. And they are not growing as quicly as they should. And now the Buckwheats aren't doing their thing either.

Buckwheat seedling with a soybean leaf over it

I wonder what my next step should be, to help the dirt here. I will have to think about it.

Silhouette of a heron standing in shallow green reflecting water

Tag:



Wednesday 31 July 2024... Garden

To be 91° today (33°C) and to be mid- and upper-90s for the foreseeable. Heading to the garden to water.

Heh. Well, it would have been a good picture...

Scrub Jay turned away in a pine tree

No cooperation!

I'm at the Barn Swallow nest. There's a fly-by, but no other parent activity.

Barn Swallow babies in the nest

They just don't trust me yet. I wouldn't either... because in order to see this nest, I have to lean way over the retaining wall. Like this is not normal human behavior, right? Even other humans stare at me! And it def catches the eye of the wildlife... some of whom are predators looking for an easy meal of helpless bird babies.

So yeah, on top of the lean being physically awkward for me to to see around the corner, it's also calling attention to their nest location. I don't stay very long, and the nest is far enough away that most predators would just think Another Crazy Human and go on their merry.

But I do understand why the parents would not want to fly in, to the nest when I'm there!

Barn Swallow nestling in the nest

The cute little baby fluff on their head!!

I'm back at the garden, and Kevin the Community Garden Volunteer is here too. He tells me a bit more about the vandalism thing... The City is taking this situation very seriously.

uh huh. It sounds like nothing will be done.

Which is exactly the outcome I expected. And I'm extremely disappointed.

Because we've got a person in our community who destroyed a garden plot. The garden plot of her own daughter.

And I do get that the higher ups want to step softly, because this person has access to a lot of plots, which she could destroy at a whim.

But doing NOTHING? Seriously?

Sighs.

Kevin mentioned that the Garden Director would be coming by, later today. So I run the hoe down the middle pathway of my plot to remove the grass that she complained about at the end of May.

and I water and gather.

harvested zucchini and cherry tomatoes laying on the ground

And then calm myself by looking at the beautiful plants!

This is the Secondary SunGold plant, the first cluster of fruits that are ripening on it.

Cherry Tomatoes ripening on the vine

And there is a lot of fun stuff happening in this photo. The blooming Sunflower is the one I bought. It's relatively short, a bit over a meter tall, but the seed head is huge...

Sunflower in the garden plot

The birds are plucking the petals, to get at the sunflower seeds more easily!

The tiny white flowers in front of the Sunflower are some of the Buckwheats I planted experimentally as a summer cover crop.

The orange blooms to the left of the Sunflower are the Giant Marigolds at the edge of the Tofu Patch. And the big leaves to the right of the Sunflower belong to the volunteer Sunflower in the Tofu Patch.

And the Sunflower growing to the left of the Marigolds, is the volunteer at the edge of the Wax Bean Trellis!

Sunflower in the garden plot

I really am so happy with the garden plot this year!

Tag:



Tuesday 30 July 2024... Part 2: Garden and Vandalism Update

The Garden Vandalism Story So Far: On Sunday the plot neighbor on the left side was vandalized. All the plants in the back had been pulled out of the ground and thrown down to die in the dirt. I took photos and when I got home, I emailed the Community Garden director and our two volunteers.

Kevin is the volunteer who is my plot neighbor in the back, and we have a friendly connection this year. He emailed me back right away, saying he would look into it and report to the city and Ugh. That's a heart-breaker.

He did great detective work and found out what happened very quickly!

The details are very convoluted and pretty personal. I'm not going to go into the nitty gritty here, because that's not my story to tell.

But basically this is a family feud. A mother had a disagreement with her adult daughter and destroyed the back of the plot in retaliation.

But... ... damn, you know?

What is wrong with people?

So. Kevin tells me the Community Garden director and her bosses are trying to figure out what to do. I haven't heard from them, which annoys me quite a bit... They made the volunteer do all the work, which does not seem appropriate for the level this situation is at.

So that's where we're at. More to follow?

Meantime...

fluffy white clouds above the trees

I've arrived at the Garden.

The Green Zucchini is getting busy again!

Green Zucchini fruits growing on the vine

And the Wax Beans have started to vine past the top of the trellis.

Bean plant vines

The volunteer Sunflower next to the bean trellis is approaching 4feet as well!

Sunflowers in the garden

The blooming Sunflower, behind is the one I bought. And you can see a bit of the Squash Square behind the bean trellis.

Lemon Cucumbers are very blossomy!

Cucumber blossoms

And keeping the bees happy.

Honey Bee on a cucumber blossom

And making some little cucs!

Lemon Cucumber blossoms with fruits behind them

Brandywines and a Spaghetti Squash blossom...

Green tomatoes and a squash bloom

And yeah, all those dead leaves are typical Brandywine... The tomatoes are my absolute favorite, but the plant is so temperamental and low producing and pathetic. Many years I plant Brandywines and never get any tomatoes out of it!!

But there's lots of tomatoes coming on this year, so I'm thrilled about that!!

Oh boy...

Harvested summer sqash laying on the ground

WooHoo! Four Crooknecks, two green Zucchini, one yellow Zucchini, and a couple of Sugar Snap Peas and SunGolds!!

It doesn't quite fit...

Backpack filled with squash

I had to leave my Dandelion tool behind! And the backpack was lumpy and uncomfortable on the walk home! haha!!

Bumblebees flying near Borage blooms

Crow standing on a wood fence

Tag:



Tuesday 30 July 2024... Part 1: Barn Swallow Babies!

One last, gloriously cloudy morning before the heat comes again.

Clouds past the trees

But it will get up to 85° today, so I'm going to the garden to give it some water.

Clouds over the trees

But First! The Barn Swallow nest! A parent flew in right as I arrived... who then noticed me as I leaned over the railing to take pictures!

Barn Swallow parent standing at the edge of the nest with two babies in the nest

And the parent flies off for more bugs.

Two Barn Swallow babies in the nest

And here's Baby Number Three, over on the right. Are there just the three?

Barn Swallow baby in the nest

Barn Swallow parent flying to the nest

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest

Two Barn Swallow babies in the nest

There is a lot of action in the sky above the bridge... there's a whole flock of Barn Swallow here...

Barn Swallow parent flying toward the nest

Two Barn Swallows flying around the nest

Two Barn Swallows flying around the nest

What is going on??!

Two Barn Swallows flying around the nest

The babies are all just where's the food? *laughs*

Two Barn Swallow babies in the nest, begging

The food is arriving...

Barn Swallow parent flies in to the nest

Barn Swallow parent flies in to the nest

Barn Swallow parent flies in to the nest

Barn Swallow babies in the nest

And arriving...

Barn Swallow parent feeding a baby in the nest

Barn Swallow parent flying away from the nest

This is crazy! Is the whole flock feeding these kids?

Barn Swallow parent standing at the edge of the nest with two babies in the nest

*laughs* Maybe! But I've got to get on with my day... Heading to the garden!

Tag:



Monday 29 July 2024... Rose Garden

The forecast says 80° but actually it only gets up to 76° today... which... That's weird. The normal high temperature for this time of year is 86°F, 30°C. But I'll take it!

The cooler weather means I don't need to water at the garden and I head to the Rose Garden. I want to see if the Cliff Swallows ever showed up at the bridge I found them at last year!

Bright red Fuschia blooms

The ancient Cherry Tree.

Heritage Cherry Tree, past red roses

a peach coloured rose blossom

Yeah, I just can't stop myself for going crazy with the roses!

Rose blooms

My favorite, Silver Lining, still has some blooms.

rose bloom

rose blooms

yellow rose blooms

I wonder if anyone nested here this year? I never walked out here at the right time to see, so I really don't know!

Empty Osprey platform nest

two crows walking in the grass

Black coloured berries

Yep. That's normal. A flock of Bushtits.

Blurry bird standing in a bush

*laughs* Oh well!

Bushtit standing on a leafy stalk

bags around wildflower seed heads

Collecting seeds!

bags around wildflower seed heads

the river

bridge over the river

River rocks

Squirrel looking down from a tree

Part of the Whilamut Natural Area includes some Oak Savannah.

Trees and grass

I'm at the pond, and I do see a couple of Tree Swallows swooping for bugs above the water... but I don't think any are Cliff Swallows.

Great Blue Heron standing in the edge of the pond

And under the bridge... yeah, the Cliff Swallow nests are still all cobwebby! Definitely did not get used this summer.

Cliff Swallow nests with cobwebs

So this is interesting. In general, small birds never return to old nests, altho they may build a new nest in the same area. But I think that swallows do return to nests, since they are protected from the elements under the bridges. Barn Swallows do return, and I kind of assumed that Cliff Swallows also return...

AllAboutBirds says that Cliff Swallows return to their nesting area, year after year. So I wonder what happened here.

Did the community decide to nest somewhere else? Will they return in the future? Or did the entire flock die? Will another community of Cliff Swallows find this nesting area and use it?

Cliff Swallow nests with cobwebs

Strange and sad.

Mama Mallard with three ducklings paddling on the water

And finally, an Osprey!

Osprey standing on a bare branch

I've been hearing them, all up and down the river! Mostly the kids begging! *laughs* I'm glad I finally caught one sitting for a minute!

... Along with two crows who are keeping a close eye on the situation! ha.

Osprey standing in a bare tree with two crows standing above

Tag:



Sunday 28 July 2024... Sunday Stroll with Garden Vandalism!!

It's cloudy and 61° as I leave the house today and the forecast is 81° (27°C). So nice!

Oregon Junco standing on the ground

Oregon Junco standing on the ground

Flowers

Henrietta! Long time, no see!

Great Blue Heron standing in shallow water

I hope he had a successful nesting season. He's probably still feeding the kids, somewhere. But it's nice that he took a break from that and swung by to see me!

*laughs* I thought he was holding a fish!

Great Blue Heron with a feather on his beak

He was preening and got a feather stuck on his beak! haha!

Great Blue Heron with a feather on his beak

Trees on the hill in the distance

I get to the Barn Swallow nest... but because of the clouds, I have trouble with the camera settings. But I see movement in the nest.

Barn Swallow nest

A parent flies in with food... oh my gosh! Three babies pop up!!

Barn Swallow parent on the edge of the nest with three babies in the nest

Barn Swallow parent standing on the edge of the nest

The parent isn't too sure about me... I haven't been around this nest enough to gain the parents trust!

Barn Swallow parent standing on the edge of the nest

I get to the garden and do a walk about.

Flowers around an artsy bird bath

Bachelor Buttons and Zinnias

Red and white petunias

I get to my plot and start watering. I'm kind of in my own little world, but I've started with the Tofu Patch, like usual. The left side neighbor has some Nasturtiums blooming close to the border, and I like to give them some water too...

But when I moved around to hit them with the hose today... They were gone.

I look... and realize they aren't gone... the've been pulled out of the ground and thown down. And there they lay, wilting and dying on the dirt.

???

And then I take in the rest of the plot. And ALL the plants in the back have been ripped out of the ground and thrown down! Even the big 6foot sunflower!

Garden destruction

I am shocked at the destruction!

Blooming dahlias, zinnias, marigolds and the nasturtiums that I was watering. There was a small rhubarb plant just getting established. All so beautiful and now... they're just... ugh!

Garden destruction, pulled flowers laying in the dirt

But then I see their rainbow coloured windsock has been ripped from it's hanger and is crumpled up in the dirt. And now I'm alarmed!

Garden destruction

Several people at the Comm Garden have these Pride windsocks, I am always happy to see them! But if we have a violent bigot here, destroying plots...

I glance around, looking at other people's plots. My plot is untouched, and so are the plot neighbors at the back and other side. And the big Dahlia's in the front of the destroyed plot are fine as well... Which means that someone just walking down the garden path might not see the destruction that's happened in the back of the plot.

This was personal.

I take pictures from different angles. I'm extremely worried at the destruction. And I really, really want to try to re-plant the Nasturtiums and the Zinnias and the Marigolds. Some of the flowers look like they've been chopped, and everything is pretty wilted, but I want to give them a chance.

I wish I could give them a chance. But this is a crime scene. I've walked thru, taking photos, but other than that, I leave everything alone.

I water my garden plot... And I obsessively double check to make sure all the plants are okay. But the destruction does not cross over the line of the border...

Zucchini plants

I gather the day's harvest.

harvest

And then head out. I look into the couple of plots with Pride windsocks, but everything else looks fine and normal.

And when I get home, I send an email and photos to as many people as I can find email addresses for!

Tag:



Saturday 27 July 2024... Day of the County Fair

A perfectly decent summer day today with a high of 85°F, 29°C... The forecast says 83 and 82 for Monday and Tuesday, tho. Cool enough that I can maybe skip watering at the garden. Maybe I'll go out to the river or something.

Unfortunately, after those two cooler days, the forecast says we'll be back to mid-90s again. Ugh. So I def need to enjoy the normal weather right now!

Squirrel up in a tree

I get to the Barn Swallow nest... The babies were being born possibly on Thursday, and they had definitely arrived yesterday. Today, the parents are out catching bugs to feed.

Barn Swallow nest

But, amidst the grass stalks in there...

Blurry baby Barn Swallow, beak peaking above the nest

That's a baby beak!

And then I get distracted by the same three duckling family I saw yesterday...

Mama Mallard with two ducklings in the water

Duckling number three has to Paddle, Paddle FAST to catch up with the others!

Duckling paddling in the water

I look up, just in time to see a parent Barn Swallow swoop in and feed someone!

Barn Swallow parent feeding a baby in the nest

Wow! So Cool!

Barn Swallow parent standing at the edge of the nest

And we're off again to get more bugs!

Barn Swallow nest

The County Fair is happening this weekend, and I walk to the Events Center to check it out.

Events Center

Ferris Wheel

The horse and riders are directing cars to their parking spots in the field.

Men on horses

They must be testing the rides... no one is on this one.

Fair Swing

But doesn't that look fun?? It goes so far up off the ground!!

Fallen Leaning Tree with the Ferris Wheel in the background

Okay. I've walked back to the Barn Swallow nest.

Barn Swallow nest

And I wait patiently for some action! Soon the parents are swooping above the bridge and twittering their arrival!

Barn Swallow baby in the nest

Just the one, poking up her face.

And then to the garden. I'm just here to water a little bit.

Sunflower with a blurry bee flying towards it

The Lemon Cucumbers have a zillion blooms!

Cucumber bloom

There are lots of small Crooknecks coming on, but they aren't big enough to pick yet.

A single yellow Zucchini fruit, harvested and laying on the ground

Kevin, the Community Garden Volunteer ... helper... um, I'm not sure what his exact title is! Anyway, he was in his plot behind mine and we were chatting a bit. And I asked him if he knew what this plant is...

Hand holding a geranium type leaf

I've tried for a long time to figure out what this thing is, looking online, but can never find it. Kevin recognized it, but didn't know it's name either. Small, light pink flowers, related to geraniums. Yep.

As a weed, it's not too bad he added.

And I explained I liked to keep some of the native plants to have a good variety of blooms to keep the bugs happy. You have got some pollinators!

Ha! Yes I do!! I Love all the bugs in my garden!

And then he asked if I had ever seen a snake at the garden. Yep! I haven't seen a snake yet this year, but I do see them from time to time! I'm always glad to see snakes... because I've seen some mice here, as well!

That surprised him, but when he considered it, he realized the garden was probably a mouse paradise! *laughs*

Heading home. I stop and eat some Blackberries along the bike path.

Blackberries ripening on the vine

I've seen several people picking them here... filling buckets! And still plenty for passersby like me!

When I get home, this one was eating nuts in front of the neighbor's townhouse!

Squirrel running with a nut in his mouth

My heart hurts briefly for Wesley Crusher... sighs... but I'm glad to see another of our native Western Grey Squirrels around.

Squirrel eats his nut

Tag:



Friday 26 July 2024... Barn Swallows and Garden

Dragonfly standing on the bike path

The Bittersweet Nightshade berries are ripening.

Ripening Bittersweet Nightshade berries on the vine in red and green

As I walked past the bridge where the Barn Swallow are nesting, one of the parents flew out and dropped something in the water...

It must have been a poo sack! Which means we have babies!!!

Barn Swallow parent sitting in the nest

Yeah, we keep moving around in the nest...

Barn Swallow parent sitting in the nest

Awww! Everybody okay in there?

Barn Swallow parent standing at the edge of the nest, looking in

Barn Swallow parent sitting in the nest

Barn Swallow parent sitting in the nest

Okay! I'm at the garden. The Old German is still looking overly pathetic, even tho I watered the heck out of it yesterday.

Tomato plant with folded up leaves

The Surprise Straightneck has several fruits coming on, and I decide to pick the bigger one today!

Straightneck fruits growing on the vine

And this makes me happy... Butternuts!

Butternut fruits growing on the vine

I didn't plant any Sweet Potatoes this year... which feels kind of weird. I Always have Sweet Potatoes! They are a very pretty vine!

But I have never gotten a great harvest with the Sweet Potatoes. So it's not really worth the time and effort and hope I put in.

And that's why I have several Butternut plants this year... Butternuts basically taste the same as Sweet Potatoes. And they keep a lot better. You have to eat Sweet Potatoes right away, whereas the Butternuts can languish in your pantry for a while!

But, you know. Now that I'm thinking about it. Maybe next year I could plant a bunch of Sweet Potato vines around the Comfrey that I'm trying to kill in the front. The leaves could cover the dirt... I just hate having bare dirt up there, right at the front of the plot!

Of course, I'd have to place the plants carefully, so that I could still dig up the comfrey as it sends up leaves. But I'd have the Sweet Potatoes for their pretty vines and flowers, NOT for the food harvest. Hmmm.

The Sunflower I bought:

Sunflower bloom

Flight of the Honey Bee! *laughs*

Honey Bee flying near a sunflower blossom

Ha, a Spotted Cucumber Beetle has joined the Honey Bees to pollinate!

Bugs on a sunflower bloom

I have become rather exasperated with my right side neighbors, the Pot People. They've planted big plants right at the border between our plots, and it's just really annoying. Especially this grassy plant that's leaning it's seed heads into my plot.

garden plot

So annoying.

I love the variety of today's summer squash harvest! And yeah, one of the Yellow Zucs really did not want to let go of it's fruit! And instead of just getting the scissors, I pulled harder. oops.

And then I put a tomato cage around this volunteer Tomatillo that's at the edge of the Tofu Patch...

garden plot

Tomatillo bloom

As I'm leaving the garden, I check out the Passion Fruit plant that someone else has.

Honey Bees on a Passion Fruit flower

Tag:



Thursday 25 July 2024... Back to it. And a Rant about the Best Bugs!

The squirrel who greets me this morning is a fighter!

Squirrel with a torn ear

I've not seen him before... I wonder if he was the winner or the loser.

Oh, ducklings! One last batch for the season!

Mama Mallard with three ducklings paddling on the water

Gah!

Ducklings on the water, preening

*laughs* They are just itchy and preening. Well. And they don't have hands. And actually, kinda cute. just weird that they can move their neck like that!

Three ducklings paddling on the water

Three ducklings paddling on the water

oh, bahaha!! It looks like I've photoshoped a clone! *giggles*

The Barn Swallow parents have a change of the guard right as I walk up again! The sitting parent has flown away, and this one has just come in.

Barn Swallow standing at the edge of the nest, looking in

Barn Swallow standing at the edge of the nest

And again, I don't know if she's looking at eggs or babies. If I would visit more often, I would know these things!

Barn Swallow standing at the edge of the nest, looking in

Barn Swallow sitting in the nest

Okay! I'm at the garden. And after not watering yesterday... Lordy. the Old German looks as bad as it ever did...

Pathetic tomato plant

And the secondary SunGold has folded up a bunch of it's leaves as well.

And, oh crap! The Sugar Snap Peas were not on my radar at all, but they are all pathetic as well. Well, shoot.

I look at the healthy plants to cheer myself up. Wax Beans are still growing up! The Squash Square behind them is still exuberant!

garden plot

The Sunflower I bought is very happy, if short!

Blooming sunflower

And the volunteer Sunflower next to the Wax Bean trellis is happily growing.

Sunflower plant growing next to beans climbing on a wire trellis

I do find one Sugar Snap Pea pod! So it's not like the pea plants were being productive or anything.

picked zucchinis lying on the ground

There's some Creeping Speedwell growing here.

Creeping Speedwell bloom

Technically invasive. The flowers are tiny, but pretty and I like them! I let them grow, where ever they happen to show up.

Creeping Speedwell bloom

The Eggplant has several more blooms on it... and maybe that one is turning into a fruit?

Eggplant bloom

Oop. A cute lil Yellow Jacket got wet while I was watering the Giant Marigolds in front.

Yellow Jacket standing on a leaf, buzzing her wings

She's buzzing her wings to get them dry!

But she notices me watching her...

Yellow Jacket standing on a leaf

Our precious, precious pollinators!

Yellow Jackets are one of our native species... and it makes me so, so angry when I see people putting wasp traps near their damn bee hives. Honey Bees are invasive from Europe, and did not evolve with the native plants here in the Americas... Honey Bees are inferior pollinators for many of our garden plants, especially in the nightshade family: Tomatoes, Potatoes, Tomatillos, Eggplants, Peppers! All these plants do Much better with our native Bumblebees, and our wasps play an important role here as well!

So Yellow Jackets and all our native wasps are much more important to the ecosystems here than the stupid European Honey Bees. And it drives me crazy that amateur Honey Bee keepers want to kill our native wasps.

Okay. Rant, done! Look at my cute little friend! Her wings are still wet, but she'll be okay!

Yellow Jacket standing on a leaf

Oh, hey... I missed a Lemon Cucumber and it's turning dark yellow already...

Lemon Cucumber on the vine

But when I picked it, it had a hole on the bottom. Was a mouse munching on it? huh!

First blooms on the Wax Beans!!!

Wax Bean blooms

As I leave, I turn and look into the Pissant Pot Peoples plot, my right side neighbor. They have a lot going on in their plot.

Flowers in a garden plot

And at home, the stray kitty is tucked up for a portrait!

Longhaired tortishell cat lying in the grass

Tag:



Wednesday 24 July 2024... Wild Iris Ridge

I am so bored with the garden, I've decided to be a rebel today. I'm walking in a different direction, and the plants can wilt all they want without their daily watering! HA!

Green persimmon fruit growing on the tree

I'm walking thru the neighborhoods, on my way to Wild Iris Ridge again.

Flowers growing in the front yard

I glance over to the west and realize I can see the Coastal Range!

hills in the distance

... And I think those branches on the left there? Looks like Tree of Heaven. Lordy, lordy. Very invasive! What a shame.

This beautiful thing is called a Ballon Flower!

Purple Ballon Flower with Cosmos blooms in the background

The lavender is attracting all kinds of pollinators!

Cabbage White Butterfly standing on a lavender bloom

Close up of a Cabbage White Butterfly standing on a lavender bloom

Okay. I've finally arrived at the park... and there are 12 cars in what I Thought was a 10 car parking lot! Haha! It's a very popular park!

I love the forest here. It's filled with Oak trees and native Pacific Madrones.

Tree trunk of a Pacific Madrone

Yep, that's normal for the bark to shed like that on a Madrone!

And then I get to the Acorn Woodpecker's granery tree...

Tree with holes in the trunk

Well, foo. No sign of them. I go up the trail a little bit further and sit on the bench for a moment. And then come back down...

I hear one, and eventually find him, way up in a nearby tree, straight up from the path...

Acorn Woodpecker at the top of a tree

SIGHS!

But look who else is here!

Cedar Waxwings, hidden behind pine branches

*laughs!*

But I can't get a decent angle on the one guard.

Acorn Woodpecker standing at the top of a snag

Today's photos are about as bad as Hidden Trail ever was!

ha! Oh well. Back thru the neighborhoods, on the way home!

Pink Gladiolus blooms

Bumblebee flying thru lavender blooms

Cabbage White on a lavender bloom

Back at home...

Long hair tortishell cat walking away

She wouldn't sit for photos but our new stray kitty did let me pet her... just let me run my hand down her back as she walked past me. ugh... she's skin and bones under that beautiful fur.

Poor Girl. I hope the cat lady neighbor is able to fatten her up!

Tag:



Tusday 23 July 2024... An Arrest on the Bike Path

I walk past the Community Garden to see the Barn Swallow nest, but get distracted by the cute little minnows!

minnows swimming

Minnows swimming

But here's Mama Barn Swallow!

Barn Swallow sitting in the nest

And I'm back at the garden. Today's project is to remove the Horseradish from my neighbor's plot...

garden plot

The faucet marks the back corners of four plots... My plot has the upside-down bucket. My back neighbor has the raised beds, where I've leaned my backpack. And the Horseradish is growing between my diagonal plot neighbor and my left side neighbor.

Technically you should never mess with someone else's plot. But I'm tired of looking at this invasive disaster!

I forgot to take a pic of the results, but it was pretty satisfying to dig that out. I didn't get all the way down to the original roots, of course, so they'll be back. But that is the nature of invasives, after all!

I also chop off the leaves from the Comfrey I'm trying to kill in my own plot... It is even more persistant than the Horseradish!

Small Comfrey leaf near a zucchini plant

After watering, I go around my garden plot checking plants and getting today's harvest. I'm pushing aside leaves in the back Squash Square... And, um? What the heck is this?...

Straight Neck fruit growing on the vine

A Straightneck Squash? I didn't plant any Straightnecks!

I wonder if I could have bought a mislabeled squash start from my farmer at Saturday Market.

But that didn't seem likely.

I thought about all the seeds I randomly planted thru here. I had some saved Spaghetti Squash seeds. And I had an old seed packet of Crookneck seeds.

You know what? I may have consolidated some other squash seeds into that packet, thinking they're all old, they probably won't grow anyway.

*laughs* I'm not sure, but that def sounds like something I would do!

And while I'm very happy to have another kind of summer squash in the garden... Lordy! I'm having trouble keeping up with the eating of the summer squash!!

On Friday I had 13.5 summer squashes in the house to eat...

On Sunday, I peaked with 15 squashes. I ate big portions of squash, and then ate some more.

Today... One more Crookneck...

Crookneck and three cherry tomatoes harvested and lying on the ground

And I've got 12.5 summer squashes at home to eat. Hey, I'm making a dent! *laughs*

And yeah, I totally ate the three SunGolds I picked today as well! They were nice and sweet! Ah, the Taste of Summer! :)

I'm still going around the garden, but I've been hearing emergency sirens for a few minutes. I live in the city near a major thoroughfare, and hear sirens often, so I was ignoring these, even tho they were pretty close.

But then a cop car speeds down the bike path!

Whoa! And then another one! And a third!

Cop car past the Community Garden fence

They seem to be congregating under the car bridge just to the west... The direction I'm walking home!

Yeah. I admit. I'm curious! I want to see what's going on!

But as head out, one of the cop cars is leaving, coming my direction on the bike path. I've stepped off the path to let him go by, but he rolls down his window and stops to talk to me.

We had to arrest someone just up there. So if you don't have to go that way...

Okay! I say. I'll go around! Thank you!

Back at home, I looked up the police dispatch logs to see if I could find out more information... But that incident never did show up on the call logs.

So I don't know. But having another, possibly violent incident on the bike path, is concerning.


A Squirrel Story!

One of my townhouse neighbors in my apartment complex at home, had been doing some landscaping work in their front yard.

They had a couple bags of Miracle-Gro potting soil and had spread out some soil under their little Saucer Magnolia sapling, and around the flowers and plants they have growing under their living room window. It looks really nice, and I'm sure the plants and sapling appreciated the extra nutrients! The dirt there at the apartment complex is really terrible.

But they had an extra bag of potting soil left over... I don't know if they bought too much, or if they maybe had other plans for the bag. But they have left the bag on the ground, right next to the sidewalk. And it had been there for a week or two...

Today I walked by and there was a squirrel! She had ripped open the plastic bag and was sitting on top of the soil and patting it down like she had just buried a nut there!!

Pat, pat, pat, with her little hands!

Bahaha!! And then she noticed me, and ran away before I could get the camera ready. foo.

Because that was ridiculously cute!

Tag:



Monday 22 July 2024... Bored!

Yeah. I have to admit, I'm bored going to the stupid garden, Every Single Day. Water, water, water. And the only thing I get for it, is more zucchini. Boring!

But the thunderstorm has broken the overly hot weather! We're looking at a good week of more reasonable summer weather... Today is 83° and the forecast for the rest of the week is mid-80s.

Unfortunately, because I just planted those Buckwheat seeds yesterday, I will still need to go to the garden to water. Sighs! But today I'm walking on past to look at different things, before I get stuck at the garden.

One of the Barn Swallow parents is tucked up, in the nest.

Dark and barely seen Barn Swallow sitting in the nest

And the Willow tree that got damaged in the ice storm in January is doing well... Just not as big as it once was.

Willow tree

I'm so glad they trimmed this huge limb off, rather than cutting the whole tree down!! Because it really is a beautiful tree.

Willow stump

Hello Mr Bullfrog.

Bullfrog floating in water

Still up there!

Barn Swallow sitting in the nest

Oh! Hello?

Flicker stretching his wing out

Morning stretches?

Flicker stretching his wing out

You just need to fix your feathers?

Flicker standing on a bare branch, preening

Okay!

Flicker standing on a bare branch

Okay. I'm at the garden. Water, water, water. Boring. Get more zuc. Boring.

Harvested zucchini and crookneck, lying on the ground

I admit, also getting a crookneck is nice... I do love zucchini, but the crooknecks are just a bit more tasty. They have kind of a subtly sweet flavor.

And there's Lemon Cucumbers on the way. That's nice too.

And my short Sunflower does make me happy.

the back of a sunflower bloom

Even the neighbor's sunflowers make me happy.

Red sunflower starting to bloom

Honey Bee on an almost black sunflower bloom

And these Morning Glories are pretty gorgeous.

Dark purple Morning Glory bloom

Close up of a dark purple Morning Glory bloom

Tag:



Sunday 21 July 2024... Sunday Seeds!

Thunderstorms last night! Just a couple sprinkles, tho. And lightening this time of year is always worrisome.

There were thunderstorms across Oregon on Tuesday last week. And the paper reported there were 1,050 lightening strikes, which set off a LOT of wild fires all over the place!

There's still some clouds this morning, tho and that's very welcome! Makes for a much cooler day, just 82° today!

Yellow Pansies and red Fuchsia blooms

Oh hey! Is this a new heron? The shoulder patch isn't as big as Henrietta's, and way bigger than Knotty's. Hm!

Great Blue Heron wading is shallow water

Nutria youngster! Their two siblings ran away, but this one stayed a moment at the top of the bolt path, to look at me!

Nutria sitting in the grass

trees on the hill on a cloudy day

Okay! I'm at the garden and today's project is putting some Buckwheat seeds down in these open areas in the Tofu Patch...

Tofu patch

The internets told me that Buckwheat needs to soak for 20 or 30 minutes before being put into the dirt. So before I left the house, I threw a handful of Buckwheat seeds into a ziplock and then added some tap water. It's been a bit over 30mins, since I went to the Post Office first this morning. But I was really glad to see the bag hadn't leaked! heh.

I put the seeds in pretty densely here... The seeds are old, from 2019 I think, but also I'm thinking there's something wrong with the dirt here since the Soybeans haven't done well.

And then I watered!

Since my plot is a Bee Paradise, I often accidentally hit bees with the water. Arg! I feel bad! I don't want to make their lives more difficult!

Sometimes I'll scoop someone up...

Wet Bumblebee

And they can dry off on my hand! The Bumblebees especially like to buzz their wings to help dry off. But this one was happy just to take a rest!

Oh, nice! Sugar Snap Peas would like to make a come-back after the super hot weather!

Snap Pea bloom

And that white in the background is a Queen Anne Lace bloom...

Queen Anne Lace bloom in the Snap Pea patch

Not native, but is related to carrots and has an edible root. There are some very poisonous look-alikes tho, so I'm not going to eat this!

Harvested summer squashes lying on the ground

Smartweed bloom with borage in the background

The Sunflower I bought is starting to open up!

Sunflower overlooking the Squash Square

Sunflower blooming

Tomatillo bloom

I try to get artsy! *laughs*

Water drop hanging from a tomatillo bloom

Tag:



Saturday 20 July 2024... Day of Bugs!

I love to meet new dragonflies!

Dragonfly standing on a railing

Dragonfly standing on a railing

She's a Varigated Meadowhawk!

Dragonfly standing on a railing

There's a change of the guard right as I arrive at the further Barn Swallow nest! I missed the one flying away, and this one comes in, to take over nesting duties.

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest

Barn Swallow sitting in the nest

And then some movement on the other side of the creek catches my eye... Oh Wow!

Spider has caught a damselfly

There's a damselfly caught in a spider web! The motion that caught my eye was him fluttering and trying to get out. But the big o' spider has come along now and bitten the damselfly and he's quieting down now. Going to be eaten by that spider! Sorry, little damselfly. But the spider wants to live too.

I think the damselfly is a Northern Spreadwing. They are on the big side for damselflies, but that spider... she's huge! And that's pretty bold to take down any kind of dragonfly!!

I double check the nest, yep, he's all settled in there.

Barn Swallow sitting in the nest

And then I head back to the garden.

Honey Bee hanging from a Borage blossom

Blurry Honey Bee flying away

The Wax Beans are finally starting to vine!

Bean vine twining up a wire trellis

The Buckwheat has to peek up thru the leaves of the big Crookneck.

Buckwheat blooms thru the squash leaves

The Buckwheat blooms are small but really quite delightful. I'm so glad I accidentally bought them and finally planted them!!

Buckwheat bloom with some seeds forming

The Brandywine seems happier... now that I'm finally giving it enough water.

Green Tomatoes on the vine

But the Primary Sungold has a wilted branch... I just can't keep up with the watering!

Wilted tomato plant

This is the last time I will photograph this group of ripening SunGolds...

Cherry Tomatoes ripeing on the vine

I ate it!!

hand holding a ripe SunGold cherry tomato

It wasn't sweet enough! haha! I always pick the first SunGold too soon!

But there will be a ton, before too long!

lots of green cherry tomatoes on the vine

And the Lemon Cucumbers...

Cucumber bloom

Lots of blooms!

Cucumber blooms under the leaves

Gasps! Yipee!!!

Lemon Cucmber on the vine

It's buried pretty deep, and needs a couple more days of ripening and getting bigger... I hope I can find it again! Haha!

Happy Pollinators! ... aka Bee Butts! *laughs*

Honey Bee and Bumblebee flying around the Borage

Here's what the Eggplant is looking like...

Eggplant

I wonder if the flowers got pollinated.

Heading out, I go look at that Trumpet Vine that was in the background of the photo I liked so much yesterday.

Trumpet Vine blooms

Tag:



Friday 19 July 2024... Happy Things Today

Bullfrog floating in the water

Barn Swallow sitting in the nest

I love the Sunflowers with the rusty red colour!

Sunflower bloom and blue sky

The red blooms in the background are a Trumpet Vine on an arbor!

... You know what? I like that Sunflower so much I think it needs to be a postcard! :)

And here's the Sunflower I bought for my garden plot...

Sunflower just opening bloom

It's still very short, just a bit over a meter tall. Laughs!

The big Crookneck has all kinds of happy going on, under it's leaves!

Crookneck fruits growing on the vine

And the first Yellow Patty Pan... is... not yellow! haha, what an interesting colour!!

Harvested summer squash lying on the ground

I realize now that I should not have brought it home... that weird colour probably means that one is bitter. Plus it got way too big anyway!

Looking over the newly weeded Tofu Patch...

garden plot

You know, there really isn't all that much room in there. But I'm definitely going to put in some Buckwheat, but maybe not all the flowers I had thought about.

Cucumber blooms on the vine

On the walk home, I encounter a little flock of Bushtits. But they always bounce around too fast for me, I don't even know why I bother!

Bushtit standing in a chainlink fence

There's some Chickadees hanging out with the Bushtits! But that's another little bird who's too quick!

Chickadee standing in a chainlink fence

*laughs*

These Blackberries are starting to ripen!! I ate one! And then another! Yum!!

Blackberris ripening on the vine

A couple on a double bike passed by slowly, "Any good?" I gave a *thumbs up* and an enthusiastic "Yes!!"

Back at home, this was in my YouTube feed...

Hot Butter - Popcorn - remix COVER on Tyros 3 - VST

This is a fun song! It's interesting that the worldwide hit in 1972 was a cover of a song written in 1969.

Tag:



Thursday 18 July 2024... Today with a Bullfrog and a Barn Swallow

To be 88° today, so much nicer!

Grass under the blue sky

Going past the garden to see the second Barn Swallow family... The Bullfrog is still hanging out!

Bullfrog floating in the water

Oh. Empty?

Barn Swallow nest with no one in it

Hang on! Someone just flew in! Good!

Barn Swallow parent perching on the edge of the nest

She stands there on the edge of the nest for a minute...

Barn Swallow parent standing on the edge of the nest, looking in

Is she checking eggs? Or Babies??!

*Laughs* I don't know! I just started watching this nest yesterday, so I have no idea where we are!

Barn Swallow sitting in the nest

The minnows are fun to watch as well.

Minnows

I wonder if they can see me.

Minnows

Minnows swimming

Okay! I am going to be weeding around the Wax Beans today. Crabgrass and Smartweed aren't too bad here, but it needs to go before they cause a problem!

Garden

There! That's better!

Wax Beans

The Brandywine doesn't look great with all it's dead leaves... but it's making some tomatoes!

Green tomatoes on the vine

And the first teeny tiny Butternut!

Butternut growing on the vine

I've mentioned this before but dang it, I feel bad about picking the zucs so small... it really feels like I'm wasting food by not letting the zucs grow another day or two!

Harvested Crookneck and Zucchinis lying on the ground

I stop to admire the garden plot as I leave. Here's the left side, with the Giant Marigolds and the Supplementary Squash Square:

Garden Plot

That empty spot behind the yellow Marigolds is where I'm killing the Comfrey.

And the right side, where the path along the border is starting to disappear!

Garden Plot

The Lemon Cucs are in the front, along with a lot of Borage and Amaranth! The Volunteer Elephant Garlic blooms. And then the tomato plants are hiding the Wax Beans and the Squash Square behind them.

There's a little bit of grass coming up in this path because stupid neighbors over water their plot. It makes it hard to hoe there since the ground is always damp. Hopefully I won't get dinged for that with the picky powers that be.

Tag:



Wednesday 17 July 2024... A Glorious Summer Day

A glorious day, much cooler and I am going for a walk!

Cirris clouds in the sky over trees

It looks like the overly hot weather might be done, after yesterday's 98°! There's still a couple days of mid-90s in the forecast, but more ordinary highs are on the way!

And today is 87°! I will still need to water at the garden, a little bit. But I'm going to enjoy some more time away today!

Mama Mallard and a duckling, paddling on the water

The abandoned Barn Swallow nest. I suppose the eggs are still in it?

Empty Barn Swallow nest

I'm thinking I should check the next bridge down, to see if those Barn Swallow parents are having a second nest.

Past the garden and past the Flicker hole, where those parents had to abandon their nesting attempt this spring due to cold weather.

Woodpecker hole in a tree trunk

Momentarily distracted by the cute little minnows!

Minnows swimming in the water

Minnows swimming in the water

And then I look over... I have to lean over the retaining wall, but I think I see movement in the shadows...

Barn Swalling in a nest

Yes! A parent is sitting!

I wonder what kept these parents on the nest thru the heat, when the other parents abandoned. Or will this nest get abandoned as well when those couple of 95° days come along on Friday and Saturday?

Well! We shall see!

But seeing that parent on the nest makes me happy!

I turn around at the Fallen Leaning Tree... still bare of leaves, sighs. And looks like they are setting up for the fair.

Fallen Leaning Tree

Crow standing on a branch

Crow standing on a branch

Oh, hey! I thought I heard a Moo!

Bullfrog floating in the water

American Bullfrog. It's cool to see him, but he's terribly invasive on this side of the country.

Bullfrog floating in the water

And going under the far bridge again... Happy!

Barn Swallow sitting in a nest

And then a Painted Lady greets me at my garden plot!!

Butterfly standing on dry grass

The Black Tomato is starting to make some fruits.

Green Tomatoes on the vine

The Wax Beans are still small, but the Squash Square in the back is becoming exuberant!

Garden Plot

Some of the Giant Marigolds at the edge of the Tofu Patch, with the Leeks and volunteer Beets in the background.

Marigold blooms

I only ate one Sugar Snap Pea pod today, and that's a bummer. The heat has overcome several of the plants in the Pea Patch.

And I pulled the zucs very small... I've got such a ton at home, I'm trying to catch up eating them! ha.

Green and yellow zucchini harvested and lying on the ground

The tiny Buckwheat blooms make me happy.

Buckwheat blooms

*laughs* How many times will I photograph This Particular SunGold, before I finally get to eat it??!

Cherry tomatoes ripening on the vine

Bumblebee flying and Honey Bee on a Borage Bloom

Cucumber Beetle climbing on a Borage bloom

Close up of a Cucumber Beetle climbing on a Borage bloom

The Passion Fruit at the end of the aisle has one last bloom on it.

Passion Fruit bloom

And these invasive Blackberries, along the bike path, are tempting but I know they will be hard and beyond tart right now. But it won't be long!

Blackberry fruits in various stages of ripening on the vine

Wow, that was a lot of photos for the day! But I am happy!

Tag:



Tuesday 16 July 2024... A Walk at the Hospital

Partner is getting stuff done at the hospital, and that's where I'm walking today! It's right on the river -- our other river, the McKenzie -- and it's a beautiful place.

Paths thru Douglas Fir trees

There are loads of birds here, I can hear them singing!

Spotted Towhee standing on a branch, surrounded by leaves

Path thru the trees

Canal past the trees

River thru the trees

Chickadee hanging from a fruit

Chickadee standing on a stick

Ha, that looks like a nice place to hang out!

Folding chair on the bank of the river

A Wood Pewee...

Wood Pewee at the end of a bare branch over the river

Is that a meal for one of your babies?

Wood Pewee, standing on a branch with a bug in their beak

And you've got kids to feed as well?

Robin standing in the grass with a bug in their beak

Well. It was nice to walk some place different. I take Partner home and make sure he's okay and then drive to the Community Garden.

Pink Zinnia bloom

It's 98° today and I need to water the garden. And while I'm here, I pulled some zucs!

Green and yellow Zucchinis harvested and lying on the ground

Pink Dahlia bloom

Tag:



Monday 15 July 2024... Today

A couple degrees cooler today, and I can feel it this morning! The heat is much less intense for my walk out! The high today is 93° instead of the upper 90s it has been.

The forecast for the week is a mixed bag... near 100° again tomorrow, and then the highs fluxuate between upper 80s and mid 90s.

You know what would be nice? The normal temperature for this time of year is 84/52. Doesn't 84° sound blissful? 29° C. Aahhh, that's the dream!

Cirrus clouds in the sky over trees

Scrub Jay standing in a tree

Homeless people have set up another camp under the Barn Swallow bridge, but I guess it doesn't matter now... I glanced up and saw neither parent occupying the nest. They have definitely abandoned it.

Scrub Jay standing on a wood fence

At the garden, and I've decided to murder the Black Bindweed today...

Black Bindweed climbing up a tomato cage

Since it's new to me, I just wanted to see what it did. But the internets tell me that it spreads with seed, and since it started making some seed, with tiny, non-impressive and pointless flowers, I figured I should head that off.

It pulled up easily, I grabbed near the bottom of the stem and a little root ball popped right out! Surprisingly different from the regular Bindweed around here... which spreads thru roots, so there's aways a long root that stays behind.

I spent some extra time today, and finally finished weeding the Tofu Patch.

Garden plot

I adore this Sunflower growing in the Tofu Patch!

Sunflower growing

The orange bits over there are blooming Nasturtiums in Mia's Kids plot.

These are the second and third squashes I've pulled off the Crookneck. It's gotten so big, there are actually two places where it's flowering and making fruits!

Squashes harvested and lying on a ziplock on the ground

There's a Spaghetti Squash growing on the vine in the front Garden Square.

Spaghetti Squash growing on the vine

Green tomatoes growing on the vine

That first SunGold is still ripening... you want to leave the first one on the vine for a while, because the chemicals coming off it will help the other tomatoes around it ripen as well! But it's so hard to not just grab it and eat it!! *laughs*

Ripening cherry tomatoes on the vine

Eggplant blooms

Sunflower blooms and a blue sky

This little one looked like a black butterfly when she was flying around. Some kind of Wood Nymph.

Wood Nymph butterfly standing on the ground

This afternoon there was a major brush fire near the edge of town. It got got so bad, so quickly, they issued a Level 3 GO NOW evacuation notice for the people living there!

Evacuations downgraded after brush fire near Eugene Airport causes scare

The thing is, Greenhill Humane Society is just outside the boundary for the Level 3 and I was terrified about what they were going to do with everyone there!!!

But they had the situation well in hand! They got all the animals evacuated!!!

Damn, they are awesome!

The fire had been called in at 3:30pm, and firefighters had it under control at 7:30pm. All the area evacuation levels were downgraded to Level 1 Be Ready. And they started bringing the animals back to the shelter at 8pm.

Greenhill Humane Society: Fire Update

Yay! I am so glad the Humane Society has such a great disaster response... They are always there for people and their pets when wildfires happen outside the city. But knowing they can take care of themselves as well is so reassuring!

Tag:



Sunday 14 July 2024... Sunday Stroll

This stalk of Snap Dragons is the only thing left from the little bouquet of flowers I got the other day.

Snap Dragon blooms in a cup of water

Flowers

art

No one here. As I suspected yesterday, I think the Barn Swallow parents have abandoned this nest and the eggs in it, due to the heat. The high today is 96°.

Empty Barn Swallow nest on a pipe, under a bridge

You gotta keep hydrated when it's this hot!

Duckings sitting on a rock in the water, one is drinking

Two Ducklings sitting on a rock in the water

Mama is close by.

Mama Mallard standing on one foot on a rock in the shallow water

I'm at the garden, but no work today! Just watering to give my poor fingers a rest from clutching at stupid Crabgrass.

Two harvested zucchinis, lying on a ziplock on the ground

Butterfly on a Marigold bloom

Butterfly on a Marigold bloom

Under the Lemon Cucumber leaves...

Cucumber blooms under the leaves

Cherry tomatoes ripening on the vine

Heh, she's too quick for me!

Blurry bumblebee flying amoung tomato blossoms

Still no one...

Empty Barn Swallow nest on a pipe under a bridge

Tag:



Saturday 13 July 2024... Today

This Little One was out by herself, and letting the humans get Way too close! So little and so clueless!

Nutria standing in the grass next to the path

Dragonfly standing on a branch

Okay! Homeless people under the bridge are gone, except for their trash. sighs. But I'm glad I finally get to watch this second nest for the Barn Swallow parents!!!

Barn Swallows

That's Papa in the nest and Mama is waiting to take over.

Barn Swallows

They must have eggs, already!! But are they going to be okay with this hot weather???

Barn Swallow standing on a pipe, under a bridge

Papa is shifting around, but he's not ready to leave yet.

Barn Swallow parent sitting in a nest

barn swallows

Okay. I'm at the garden and here's the BEFORE pic of the Tofu Patch. Continuing to slowly pull out Crabgrass and Smartweed.

Tofu Patch

And AFTER. Just a little strip cleared, again, you can hardly tell the difference.

tofu patch

But there's some Soybeans growing that feel much better without the choking weeds...

Soybean plants growing

That flopped over plant, top left, is a Sunflower... it had gotten spindly with all the Smartweed. I will prob remove it. I think one Sunflower in the Tofu Patch is probably enough!

I get distracted by the flowers in the neighboring plot.

Dahlias

Dahlia

Okay. Back to my garden plot!

The Black Bindweed is ... um, flowering?

Black Bindweed

Well. That's kind of... heh. Whatever!

Black Bindweed

And I thought I was going to pick a couple of these today...

Zucchini fruits growing on the vine

But growth has finally slowed down with the heat. These zucs are too small to bother with.

So I just pulled that weird one at the bottom... Today's harvest is kind of meager!

Pulled Zuc and Snap Peas, lying on a ziplock bag on the ground

The Buckwheats are starting to bloom in earnest!

Buckwheat blooms

I planted these soaked seeds on Jun9... so that's just over a month to bloom time! Awesome!

And then on the way home... hmmm.

Empty nest on a pipe under a bridge

I waited a minute or so, but no one showed up.

That makes me wonder. Were the Barn Swallows having a consultation this morning about whether to abandon this nesting attempt?

The heat just hasn't let up, after our 106° heat dome. It's 97° today and the forecast says the highs will stay in the mid and upper 90s for the next few days.

Abandoning eggs is a bummer. But probably easier to do before you get too emotionally attached... I'm fairly sure the eggs were laid just in the last couple days or so.

Tag:



Friday 12 July 2024... Garden Work

Oregon Grape fruits on the plant

At the garden, I've cleared another little section of Crabgrass and Smartweed from the Tofu Patch... working around the blister I have on the tip of my pointer finger! Ha!

Garden plot

As I was watering the tomatoes in front, a female Hummingbird stopped to look at me and the spraying water.

I was instantly reminded about the nest I watched a couple years ago. (March 2022) I wonder if this Hummer was that Mama... or one of her children!

Altho I've seen Hummingbirds in the garden, occasionally, I do miss having a Garden Supervisor. A male Anna Hummer, who claimed the Community Garden as his territory, and sat on a trellis in the plot behind ours.

He was used to having me around, and let me get really close for photography. And I enjoyed seeing him thru the year and listening to him sing, while I worked.

Ha, this cracks me up...

Zucchini and Cucumber plants

I've never planted Lemon Cucumbers so close to Zucchini before! I love how they are interacting!

Oh Hey! Eggplant blooms!!

Eggplant blooms

Well, that's exciting. Yeah, I don't really like to eat eggplant, and I've never cooked one for myself. But it's fun to watch this thing grow!

Eggplant bloom

Today's harvest, with the Black Bindweed vine!

Picked Green and Yellow Zucchini, lying on a ziplock bag on the ground

There have been homeless people camped under the Barn Swallow bridge, since the heat dome. It's a decent place for humans... you've got shade all day and the wind is funneled thru to keep things a bit cooler.

But I'm so frustrated about it!

There was a parent Barn Swallow IN the far nest, today!

I glance up to see, but I don't want to stop, because I don't want to give away a nest location to humans who might not be respectful.

So I don't know if the Barn Swallow parents are sitting on eggs again. They might be!

Tag:



Thursday 11 July 2024... Colourful Things

To be 91° today, but there's still some upper 90s in the forecast. So we're not quite done with the hot temperatures around here.

And the new Climate Change Wind is very gusty today. The weather page said 9 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. I'm still not used to the wind, but 28mph sounds like a lot!

Colourful flowers

I'm getting a fork out of the tool shed at the Community Garden, so I'm having a wander to look at other people's plots. Roz has some Echinaceas blooming.

Echinacea blooms

Bumblebee on an Echinacea bloom

Sunflowers are starting to bloom!

Two sunflower blooms with blue sky behind

Kevin's Opium Poppies still have some blooms.

Pink Opium Poppy blooms

Ha, photobombed by a cute lil House Fly!

House Fly standing on a Poppy seedpod

These flowers should be loaded with Honey Bees, but I just see the one today... sighs.

Honey Bee flying over a pink opium poppy

Okay. Here I am at my plot.

Garden Plot

I'm going to use the fork to dig up what I can of the recurring Comfrey.

Comfrey leaves coming up

I've lost track of how many times I've had to chop at it!

And the After picture:

Garden plot

I did pull some good size roots from the small Comfrey in front, but just leaves and stems fromt the big one. It's just the deepest roots left on that one, it looks like.

Bucket of Comfrey leaves and roots

That first SunGold is still ripening.

Green cherry tomatoes on the vine, with one orange one

The Brandywine looks a little rougher every day... some leaves are dying, a bunch of flowers not fertilized.

Green tomatoes on the vine

The big Yellow Zucchini is doing good things.

Yellow zucchini fruits on the vine

And I got the first Crookneck today!

Harvest, picked summer squashes and snap pea pods lying on a ziplock bag on the ground

And that Black Bindweed is getting all over the place. ha.

I take the fork back to the shed. And someone else is growing Sweet Peas as well. Crazy people! Sweet Peas are poisonous!

Sweet Pea blooms

We have a pollinator flower bed at the front of the Community Garden. It is not as tended or exciting as last year, but these red flowers ... are they Crocosmias?

Red Crocosmias blooms

I saw an Anna Hummingbird darting around them! Unfortunately, she didn't stick around for photos. oh well.

Red Crocosmias blooms

Tag:



Wednesday 10 July 2024... French People!

We are done with the 106° heat dome... tho it's still 97° today. But that is significantly cooler and it definitely feels nicer today.

Seed heads of not-dandelions in a feild of dead grass

Close up of a seed head of a not-dandelion

Nutria sitting in the grass

Dragonfly standing on a chain link fence

I'm at the garden and will continue to hand weed in the Tofu Patch.

Garden Plot

So! The French people!!

When they were first coming in, I could hear them chatting, but they were too far away to hear their actual words. But the cadence of their speech was wrong, and as they got closer it sounded like they were literally talking gibberish! I honestly thought the heat had finally gotten to me and I was hallucinating!!

But as they approached, I heard a couple Ouis and I realized they were speaking French! They came up the aisle, went past my plot and into the diagonal plot across the path.

The men were lagging behind, looking at everything and they stopped in front of my plot. He pointed at the big Zucchini plants in the Supplementary Squash Square and said Courgette! I laughed and said YES! He added something else, and I probably had a quizzical look, and the other man translated for me: Nice Garden! :)

I was working in the Tofu Patch, but I was delighted by their French back and forth conversation, punctuated by excited declarations and garden joy!

About mid way thru my watering routine, the man came back to check out my plot. No speak English, he told me. I nodded and let him know I don't speak any French. He pointed and said stuff and I was sorry to be the ignorant American. *Laughs*

But the others came by, and I got more translations. They were admiring the front Garden Square. The woman pointed to the Borage, and said a word similar: bourrache, Boo-Haush (like hush, but with a long A sound). They said you could eat the flowers, and I was all Meh! But she went to pick one, and I did as well and we both ate. I said, It's fuzzy! I told them the Borage was for the bees, and they agreed the bees love it.

And then they pointed at the Amaranth. That word is the same in French, just with an accent. They discussed it and said you can eat the seeds but it's a lot of work to get them. I told them the Amaranth was for the birds.

*laughs* I only wish I could have more plants in the garden that are only for the wildlife!!

It was very fun to meet them and I loved talking with them even tho I had to wait for translations!

So, I've gotten another little strip of weeds out of the Tofu Patch. I think the Soybeans appreciate it!

Soybean seedling

There's a glorious Volunteer Sunflower growing in the Tofu Patch as well.

Sunflower growing

I mentioned the other day that it's nearly impossible to tell the Amaranth from the Tomatillo... Here are the growing plants, side by side...

Amaranth and Tomatillo

Amaranth on the left, Tomatillo on the right.

The Tomatillo has a first bloom on it!

Tomatillo bloom

There's a Sunflower and a Tomatillo growing next to the Wax Bean trellis as well. Perfect! It's great when the Volunteers place themselves so well!

Beans with other plants growing around them

And here's the Sunflower I bought, overlooking the Squash Square.

Sunflower and squash plants

It looks like it's going to bloom before it gets tall. It's only just a bit over 3feet tall right now. eh, that's okay.

Picked Zucchini and Snap Peas lying on a ziplock bag on the ground

Crookneck squashes growing on the vine

Eggplant

And when I got home, I discovered I had a blister on the tip of my finger, right above the nail. Ha! That damn Crabgrass! Trying to get under the base of it... Stupid hard work!

Tag:



Tuesday 9 July 2024... Gardening in the heat.

Fifth day of the heat dome, 106° and we've tied the Oregon record for most 100°+ days in a row.

There was a dead baby bird on the bike path. Too young for me to tell what species. Too hot to live.

And makes me worry about the Barn Swallows, who are rebuilding their second nest for another brood. sighs.

At the garden, the Old German has folded up all the leaves on the west side.

Tomato plant leaves, folded up in the heat

Well, at least they haven't wilted. I pour water like crazy.

Today I begin Project Tofu Patch... here's the Before pic:

garden plot

Filled with Smartweed and Crabgrass, that's got to go.

And After:

garden plot

It will take a few days to finish.

Spaghetti Squash fruit growing on the vine

Green tomatoes growing on the vine

Green tomatoes growing on the vine

I ate about 20 Sugar Snap Peas at the garden, instead of bringing them home... I've got too many at home!

Snap Pea pods growing on the vine

I need to step up my squash eating at home too... they are starting to pile up alarmingly! *laughs* I picked todays Zucs pretty small...

harvested zucchinis lying on a ziplock bag on the ground

And, ya know... I felt kind of bad, picking them so small. It feels like I am wasting food by not letting them grow to the size I would normally pick them.

Yes. I am crazy.

Walking home, I came across this one, right as they caught a snack. Crustacean maybe?

Heron eating a crusacean

And, hey! This is someone new! Hardly has any shoulder patch at all!

Welcome to the neighborhood!

Heron walking in shallow water

And at home, more of the little Pansies are blooming!

Pansies blooming

Tag:



Monday 8 July 2024... A Happy Day of Discoveries

Fourth day of the heat dome, 105°.

Good Morning Beautiful Kitty.

Long hair tortishell cat sitting on the ground

Hi, Knotty!

Great Blue Heron standing in a sunbeam behind shrubbery

Oh my gosh! The other Barn Swallow nest is being rebuilt!!

Barn Swallow nest on a pipe

Well! This is exciting!

And then I get to the garden, and noticed this right as I walked in!

Ripening tomato on the vine

Yay! Ripening!

Today I'm weeding the Wax Beans... Don't they look so much happier!

Bean seedlings

I wanted to keep most of the Borage, going down the middle of the trellis. But there was Crabgrass and Smartweed making the bean seedlings feel crowded.

Bean seedlings

Definitely, much better!

Garden plot

The Buckwheat must be happy with the weeding I gave it the other day... The first bloom!

Buckwheat bloom

The Green Zuc is being crazy!

Zucchini fruits growing on the vine

And the Yellow Zuc is being slightly less crazy!

Zucchini fruits growing on the vine

The Crookneck is also less crazy!

Crookneck fruits growing on the vine

A pretty good harvest of Sugar Snap Peas today!

Snap Peas harvested and laying on a ziplock bag on the ground

(along with some of the Borage I pulled from the Wax Beans... Not only is Borage easy to pull up where you don't want it, but it also breaks down very quickly to return nutrients to the soil! I love Borage for so many different reasons! :)

Cucumber blooms

I guess the next project needs to be clearing out the failed Tofu Patch. Bleh.

Garden Plot

But then I get home and discover the first Pansy bloom!!!

Pansy bloom

Yay!

Tag:



Sunday 7 July 2024... Hot Sunday Stroll

Third day of the heat dome, 103° today.

Not only are we breaking all-time record highs, but it's looking like we will also tie the Oregon record for most consecutative 100°+ days... Portland had five days of over 100° heat in 1941.

Flowers

House Sparrow singing on a twig

Scrub Jay standing on a wood fence

And I finished weeding around the couple of Buckwheats, growing at the edge of the Squash Square...

Buckwheat growing

That stupid Crabgrass growing there took forever to murder! Getting up, under each plant's base to pull the whole thing out was just time consuming. And there was just so much of it... the seeds must have come in with the winter leaf mulch I put down last year.

So annoying. Means I'll probably be fighting it off for years to come. sighs.

Garden Plot

Picked zucchinis and some snap peas lying on a ziplock bag on the ground

Green tomato on the vine

Bumblebee in a squash bloom

Eggplant growing in the ground

As I was leaving, this lovely one showed up! They were flitting around, and I asked them to sit somewhere so I could get a portrait.

Painted Lady Butterfly sitting on a tomato leaf

A Painted Lady Butterfly!

Painted Lady Butterfly sitting on a tomato leaf

I am happy with all the bugs in the garden plot, but it's always nice to meet with the more beautiful ones!

Painted Lady, sitting on a leaf with his wings folded

Crows standing in a pine tree, cawing

Tag:



Saturday 6 July 2024... Gardening in the heat

Day Two of the heat dome, todays high is 104° (40°C).

This blurry guy was way over on the other side of the creek... but he's so bright I could see him a mile away!

Red Dragonfly standing on a twig

Flame Skimmer!

And the Hydaspe Fritillary...

Butterfly standingon a stalk of dried grass

The bugs must like the heat.

As for me, I suddenly noticed a good thing about our new Climate Change Wind... It was blowing a little bit today, and when it quit the heat suddenly got so oppressive and I could feel it radiating off the bike path! And then the wind blew again and took the heat away!

Oh yeah, the walk home, with wet clothes is going to be much nicer!

The Giant Marigold in the front of the plot is doing really well. It's the only one with yellow blooms, the other three have orange blooms.

Marigold blooms

I have more energy today, I guess the body is starting to adapt to the heat! I've weeded the Leeks again (with the two volunteer beets).

Garden plot

But the Tofu Patch? I might need to give up on it...

garden plot

I had re-seeded the Soybeans for the Third time on Jun23, and I don't think any new plants have come up from that. And the plants that have come up, are just not growing like they should. They are staying small.

And the Smartweed is taking over again.

So maybe I'll weed it again, leave whatever Soybeans are there, of course. and the Tomatillos I want to keep. And maybe I'll plant some more Buckwheat in the space that's left as a nice summer cover crop.

Such a bummer. Maybe there's something wrong with the dirt over on this side. idk.

But check this out! The first real harvest of Sugar Snap Peas!

Picked Snap Peas, lying on a ziplock bag on the ground

WooHoo! There are about 30 pea pods here, and I ate 10 before I took the pic... so 40 total for today! And lots of smaller pods left to be picked later!

And the Primary SunGold!

Green Cherry Tomatoes and blossoms on the vine, the blue sky in the background

I also weeded a bit under the Buckwheats, at the edge of the Squash Square.

garden plot

The stupid Crabgrass growing here takes such a long stupid time to work out of the dirt. And my fingers hurt from digging under each little plant to get the crown out. bah!

But this is nice:

Small Crookneck fruit growing on the vine

I'm out... but I glance back as I'm leaving...

Garden Plot

Look at all the dead dirt pathways. I worked so hard to meet their stupid expectations. But I guess it does kinda look like a real garden this year. heh.

All that Borage notwithstanding! :D

On the way home, Nutria youngsters!

Two Nutrias sitting in the grass

Some ran away as I approached, I think there were five kids altogether! So Cute!

Two Nutrias sitting in the grass

Purple flowers

Tag:



Friday 5 July 2024... Gardening in the heat

Olive Green Hydro Flask

To be 101° today, and it was already up over 75° when I was leaving the house. I decided to take both of my water bottles to the garden today! I put a couple ice cubes in each of them... Hydroflasks do really well with insulation, but the ice only clinked in the bottles for a couple of blocks.

Once I got to the garden, I kept the bottles in the shade, and the water was still cold even when I finished drinking it a couple hours later!! Well. Maybe luke-cold is a better way to describe it. *laughs*

So I was going to weed out more Crabgrass... At the edge of the Squash Square is my little exeriment of Buckwheat...


Garden plot

The Buckwheat is there in the middle, the Sunflower I bought is on the left and the big Crookneck on the right with some smaller leaves of probably Spaghetti Squash.

The rest of the green in there is Smartweed and Crabgrass... And you can see a couple leaves of the Black Bindweed as well. The weeds here need to go! I want the Buckwheat to live!

But... I didn't get very far with the weeding. The heat got to me!

Well. I watered for a good long while. And I hosed myself as well... the cold water felt good, tho there's not much wind today for an evaporative effect. But I def felt better after watering!

The Brandywine...

Green tomatoes and a blossom on the vine

I'm a little concerned because not all of the flowers are getting fertilized on the Brandywine and the Old German. I mentioned the other day that there weren't many European Honey Bees around this year, but you'd think with everyone else buzzing around here, the flowers would get fertilized! sighs.

This little guy is growing at the edge of the Tofu Patch...

Small Tomatillo plant growing

Yay! It's a volunteer Tomatillo! So happy to see it!

When they are small, they look almost exactly like Amaranth! There's plenty of Amaranth around, but I waited before I weeded it out because yeah, I was looking for some Tomatillos!

I am very pleased with the Squash Square...

Garden Plot

And it'll be even better once I finish weeding around the Buckwheats under the Sunflower!

But the Wax Beans, there on the right at the base of the trellis... I am not so pleased with. GROW!

*laughs*

and the Supplementary Squash Square is a happy place as well.

Zucchini plants

Green Zuc on the left, Yellow Zuc on the right, and there's actually a smaller Yellow Zuc behind it.

Yeah. That's a lot of plants for one person. Partner has never been interested in eating zucchini. But I love Zucchini! And I'm looking forward to trying to eat it all!! :)

And speaking of Partner...

The other day, he was here at the Community Garden, dropping off our compost. The Garden has a big place designated for organic waste, which is hauled away with dump trucks a couple times a year. A local company then uses that for compost.

And since Partner and I live in an apartment, we don't have a place to put compost. So we take our kitchen scraps to the garden and add them to the pile.

And when he went the other day, a person yelled at him and told him he wasn't allowed to bring kitchen scraps to the compost pile.

???

I have no idea why this person would think that, or why they would want to stop someone from adding kitchen scraps to a compost pile!!

But, having pondered for a little while... it's possible this person thought our kitchen scraps would include dead animal parts.

And yeah. If you eat dead animals, you definitely do NOT want to put those kinds of kitchen scraps into your compost! The rotting process will be all kinds of stuff you don't want! With flies and smells and rats and other omnivores!

But I'm vegan, of course. And Partner is mostly vegan at home. So our kitchen scraps are 100% good for the compost pile.

There's a good bit of coffee grounds and paper filters... which makes for very high quality compost. And then there's the vegetable trimmings. And before too long, those vegetable trimmings will be mostly from veggies I have grown at the garden! Exactly the kind of stuff that is supposed to go into the compost pile!

So the yelling person was a little bit misguided... but only because they didn't have all the information. That's okay.

flowers

My neighbor gave me a little bouquet. I stuck the flowers in a favorite coffee mug and decided to show you how the Pansies are doing as well!

Tag:



Thursday 4 July 2024... Garden

A fledgling!

Crow stading on a wood fence

*laughs* I could tell this was a child even without seeing that bit of gape on her face... She was tripping over her own feet as she tried to walk along the board of the fence!

Today I worked in the Squash Square again. Crabgrass. Stupid Crabgrass. But I've freed up some little Spaghetti Squashes.

Garden plot

And I pulled off the first Green Zucchini!!

Harvest: Big Green Zucchini and some snap peas

I ate a few Sugar Snap Pea pods, but I'm taking some home for Partner!

The Crookneck is doing things!

Crookneck fruit, growing on the vine

And the first Old Germans are getting bigger!

Green tomatoes growing on the vine

But ARG! The SunGold in the front has a droopy and wilted branch!

Wilted tomato plant leaves

I guess I'm not watering it enough. And what a bummer to go into the oncoming heat dome like this!

It's 93° today (34°C) but the forecast is saying the 100°+ days will be piling up thru the weekend.

This is the secondary SunGold -- yeah, I've got two plants because I am crazy -- so I guess it's not a huge deal if it loses a few branches. But! It's right next to my precious Brandywine... and I am determined to get at least a couple of those tomatoes this year!

So I watered the heck out of both of them!

On the way home, I was finally able to get a photo of this little one... uh, never mind that bit of litter...

Orange butterfly standing on the sidewalk

This is a Hydaspe Fritillary, such a small butterfly, their whole wingspan is probably less than an inch! But I see one fluttering around these apartment gardens that I pass, every day! Glad I was able to finally figure out who they are!

And yes, I picked up the trash and threw it away at home!

Tag:



Wednesday 3 July 2024... Garden

I love these rusty red Sunflowers!

Red Sunflower with a Honey Bee

I'm at the garden to get some work done. But I can't resist a little walk about to look at other people's flowers!

White Petunias

Love in a Mist and a profusion of Nasturtiums!

Love in a Mist bloom and seed pods in front of orange Nasturtium blooms

I used to have Nasturtiums in the back corner of my plot... where the Squash Square is right now. They reseeded themselves for a long time. But last year, when I did a good job of weeding in prep for the Tofu Patch, only a couple popped up. And none, this year.

I kind of miss them. I'll have to try again with them next year!

Oooh! These Daisies are something different!

Daisy blooms

Wow! I Like!

Daisy blooms

Male House Finch standing on a wood post, blue sky behind him

Smartweed is blooming in my plot...

Smartweed blooms

It's a native but you have to be careful with it because it tends to form mats and chokes everything else out. But one or two, here and there are nice. Because native plants support native pollinators!

Yum... I ate five Sugar Snap Pea pods today! I'm trying to pick the fatter ones, since those are sweeter!

Snap Pea pod on the vine

I've cleared another little section of weeds in the Squash Square. It's slow going here...

Garden plot

Ugh, there is tons of Crabgrass and it is SO hard to get out! The blades of grass break off easily if you just grab it. The crown is buried a bit, and the roots make it hard to get up under it.

The Wax Bean seedlings... Grow faster please!

Bean seedlings

The Old German tomato, with some of the Giant Marigolds in the background! The Old German has a couple baby fruits growing too!

Tomato blooms

But the Black Tomato is still so very small. Grow!

Garden Plot

I wonder who munches little holes in the Eggplant?

Eggplant

Happy Lemon Cucumbers, starting to climb the trellis!!

Cucumber vines

And some of the borage is blooming!! But where are the bees???

Borage bloom

I've noticed an unfortunate LACK of European Honey Bees this spring. And it's highly unusual to have Borage blooms without Honey Bees dancing around them!

But, without the Honey Bees, I've been paying more attention to the other pollinators!

Bumblebees of course! But also Hover Flies, Bee Flies and Sweat Bees!

Wasps! Several different kinds of Wasps... Yellow Jackets of course, but there's these amazingly beautiful black and red wasps! Wow, they are lovely, but I can't even get close to getting a photo! They are shy. But I want to be your friend! Nope! *laughs*

There's the Cabbage Whites, of course, the most abundant of the butterflies.

And even House Flies are around! They are beautiful in the sunshine, with their iridescent colours!

I love bugs! And I'm so glad to have them in my garden plot!!

Tag:



Tuesday 2 July 2024... River, with Fledgling Tree Swallows!

The hot temperatures start on 4th of July. So I've decided to to head to the river today, before I have to dedicate excessive time at the garden for watering!

But today is lovely. And the Climate Change Wind is blowing and it almost makes it chilly over the river!

River

Huh. There's actually some water coming over the spillover into the ponds!

Spillover

That's surprising! Usually the river is too low this time of year.

Spillover

All kinds of birds at the ponds today!

Pond with ducks, a heron and egret and Canada Geese at the banks

Awww! So little! Just a couple of inches! And all by herself.

Turtle sitting on a partially submerged log

This is our native species, Western Pond Turtle. Probably doesn't even know how cute she is!

Turtle sitting on a partially submerged log

The invasive turtles are cute too.

Turtle sitting on a log

Around the corner... oh my GOSH! Tree Swallows have been using this hole for their nest again this year. And the kids must have fledged today!

Hole in a snag, with a blurry Tree Swallow sitting on a twig nearby

The Tree Swallow family is all over the place! *laughs*

Tree Swallows

Tree Swallows

Tree Swallows standing on bare branches

Haha, the begging baby!

Tree Swallow fledgling standing on a bare stick, begging

So demanding. And the other one is all Ack! Get away from me! *laughs*

Tree Swallow fledgling begging on a branch

Tree Swallow standing on a bare branch

Well, that is super cool! But I've got a walk to get to!

Great Blue Heron standing in shallow water with water lilies

Haha, I walked right on by my meditation spot, and had to come back to it... it looks so different in the summer with leaves on the trees!!

river

I stay on the east side of the river, but when I look across... I see an Osprey in the platform nest on the other side! Foo. I should have gone over.

Osprey standing in a platform nest

Oh well. Ha, photobombed by a Swallow!

Osprey standing in a platform nest, a swallow flies by

Well, this has been such a great walk. And it's so nice to get away from the bike path at home and see different things.

River

But I stop by the garden on the way home... Just a quick watering.

The first zucchini is well on it's way!

Zucchini fruit growing on the vine

And the Giant Marigolds are doing a lot better since I added some support. Nobody likes flopping around in the Climate Change Wind!

Marigolds

Tag:



Monday 1 July 2024... Garden Tour!

Pink rose in the shade

This morning at the garden, I'm going to dig up and remove those big clumps of grass in the front of the Garden Square...

Garden Plot

I think getting that mess out of the way will make the entire garden plot look better!

But then I decided to get photos of all angles of the garden!

Welcome to the garden plot tour!

So! Here is the front right, an area I call the Garden Square... Pre-Grass-Clump-Removal!

garden plot

There's a Brandywine and a SunGold. And then the Lemon Cucumbers are in the front, you can just barely see the trellis. The dead leaves top middle are the Elephant Garlics which are dying back already.

Here's the view of the Garden Square from the other side...

garden plot

Yeah, that's a lot of Borage! I love Borage. There's also some Amaranth in there too. And, hard to see, but the Eggplant is there on the far right, just below center.

Then if I walk down the pathway of the plot at the right border... There's more tomato plants, then the Wax Bean trellis and then the Squash Square in the back corner...

garden plot

The biggest tomato is the primary SunGold. There's also an Old German, which will have large, orange tomatoes and a Black Tomato, which will have medium sized fruits.

The trellis on the Wax Beans is 6feet long and 4feet high. But you can see the bean plants are still small. I planted these way later than I wanted to because my little problem with Non-Compliance took priority for several unfortunate weeks in June.

The bean seedlings are very cute tho! And here's the Squash Square behind them...

garden plot

The bright yellow leaves belong to the poor over watered Crookneck. The smaller plants are a mix of Spaghetti Squashes and Crooknecks, grown from seed. And then the bigger leaves on the right are two Butternuts. In the top right corner is a yellow Patty Pan.

And here's the view from the back, of the other side of the plot, looking towards the front...

garden plot

The stake and the Leeks mark the start of the Tofu Patch. and beyond it, closer to the front, is the Supplimentary Squash Square which has three Zucchini plants and a couple extra Lemon Cucumbers. On the other side of that, at the front, is a clear area where I'm trying to kill the two Comfrey plants.

But let's talk about that big pile of green at the bottom of the above pic. *laughs*

When the first two plants popped up, I assumed they were sunflowers and was happy to have them. Volunteer Sunflowers sometimes come up in awkward places, so it's nice when they are mostly out of the way!

But then more and more came up, and you see what it's like now. It's a whole bush!

And it slowly dawned on me. Those aren't Sunflowers. It's Sunchoke!

Haha!! Sunchoke! I've been wanting and trying to grow some for a couple years now... and here it is, and I misidentified it!

Well. Sunflowers and Sunchoke are very closely related. So I don't feel too bad about the mistake.

But it's a bummer that the clump is so close to the border... They will get very tall and they are so dense they will block the morning light into Mia's Kids' plot! Not that they have anything planted there. but still. I want to be a good neighbor!

I got to eat five Sugar Snap Pea pods today!

Snap Pea pods hanging on the vine

And I've completed the work in the front... Big ol' grass clumps have been dug out, and I've hand weeded a lot of grass roots too.

Garden plot

It does look better! And in this photo you can see the two tomato plants better. And the pink seed heads of the Elephant Garlic are visible in that photo too, in the top right!

When I return the fork to the shed, I see that our Milkweed is blooming!

Showy Milkweed bloom

Our native species is Showy Milkweed and it's definitely interesting looking!

Showy Milkweed blooms

clouds in a blue sky

It's been mid-80s over the weekend, absolutely perfect summer weather, if a bit over the normal of 80° (26°C).

But we've got hot weather on the way. So it's time to start attempting some thermo-regulation tricks in the house.

We do not have air conditioning. We don't have central heat, so any air available to us would be the crappy kind that sits in your window.

I refuse. I just refuse.

It's tough surviving the days that go over 90°... and the forecast is calling for days over 100°. And I suppose at some point we will have to get an air conditioner. But for now, I'd rather not.

And the bugs like the heat... Here's a Dragonfly on the bike path, going home.

Dragonfly standing on the sidewalk

He's a Common Whitetail Skimmer!

Tag:



Sunday 30 June 2024... Sunday Stroll with Flowers and Foliage

Red Pansy blooms with other blooms in the background

White and purple Pansy blooms

Foliage and flowers

Foliage and flowers

Buckwheat leaves surrounded by weeds

Wow...

Pink Hollyhock blooms

This was going to be a Green Heron... I've not seen any Green Herons in ages and I was excited! But nope. She flew away. *laughs*

blurry

Cherry fruit on the tree

Ripening blackberry fruits on the vine

Tag:



Saturday 29 June 2024... Today

We've got low 80s from here until the 4th of July and then the forecast says it's suddenly 90s and more. Ugh! I'll have to enjoy this last bit of pleasantness, while I've got it!

Cirrus clouds over the trees

I visit both bridges, but both Barn Swallow families have flown away.

I watch the damselflies for a while instead.

damselfly standing on a leaf floating in the water

This is a Pacific Forktail.

Damselfly standing on a leaf floating in the water

Okay, I've come back around to the Community Garden, and I'm going to do some weeding in the Squash Square today...

Garden plot

I'll keep some of the Borage, but underneath the leaves there's some evil Crabgrass. That stuff is the dickens to pull out.

Here's the AFTER pic...

Garden plot

I wasn't able to finish, but these guys are all We're FREE! Free like a bird! *laughs*

Squash plants

Here's the recovered Eggplant... now I guess we'll see if there's enough season left for it to do something!

Eggplant growing

From what I can see online, it looks like Eggplant needs 65 to 80 days after transplanting.

I'll guess Jun20 was when it really started looking good again after the slugs had munched it down to nothing. 10 weeks (70days) will put that at the end of August... So maybe I'll have some Eggplants to eat in September?

I see several Seven Spot Ladybugs on the Lemon Cucumbers! I hope they find some good eats! My Cute Little Carnivore Friend!

Ladybug walking on a leaf

The first Lemon Cucumber tall enough to start climbing the trellis!!

Cucumber plant under a trellis

I stop to look at the Passion Fruit flowers on my way out.

Passion Fruit blooms with orange and pink blooms in the background

They are so weird looking!

Passion Fruit blooms

oh my. Apparently this Stink Bug doesn't realize she is bright green... I could see her a mile away!

bright green Stink Bug

But then I try to get artsy with the Cow Parsnip.

Cow Parsnip seed heads

And all the colours of summer!

Grass and Trees

Tag:



Friday 28 June 2024... Two Families of Barn Swallows!!!

Knotty? Is that you? Have you met that new Heron without any shoulder patches?

Great Blue Heron walking in shallow water

The Barn Swallow babies are fledging today! There's three in the nest...

Barn Swallow fledglings standing in the nest

And two outside...

Barn Swallow Fledglings standing in bushes

Don't you all want to fly?

Barn Swallow Fledglings standing in the nest

You're thinking about it? heh!

Barn Swallow Fledglings standing in the nest

Aw! We look so worried! The big world is scary, isn't it!

Barn Swallow Fledgling, standing on a twig

A parent flies by and we puff up again and feel better!

Barn Swallow Fledgling, standing on a twig

Barn Swallow fledgling in the nest

Well, I'm going to leave them to it!

the moon in a blue sky

And I'm heading to the next bridge, where the second family of Barn Swallows was fledging yesterday. And they are still here!

At first I just see this one... carefully watching as parents fly by...

Barn Swallow fledgling standing on a twig

Whoa! *trying to get her balance* Careful there!

Barn Swallow fledgling standing on a twig

You're just fine? Okay!

Barn Swallow fledgling standing on a twig

Barn Swallow fledgling standing on a twig

Flies to another branch.

Barn Swallow fledgling standing on a twig

Ooop! That twig isn't going to support you! Try again!

Barn Swallow fledgling standing on a twig

*laughs* She joins her siblings... Just three kids here, I guess?

Three Barn Swallow fledglings, standing in a bush

Barn Swallow fledglings standing on twigs

Barn Swallow Fledgling standing on a twig

Oh my gosh, they are cute!

Barn Swallow fledgling standing on a twig

Barn Swallow fledgling looking down from a twig

*laughs* and I love how they track their parents flying by!

Barn Swallow fledgling looking up from a twig

Two Barn Swallow fledglings standing on twigs

Two Barn Swallow fledglings standing on twigs

But they've noticed me as well!

Two Barn Swallow fledglings standing on twigs

I could watch Barn Swallow fledglings all day, but I've got stuff to do! I head back to the garden to water.

The Squash Square could use some weeding. And the Crookneck still has yellow leaves from over watering... But I've had to keep the seedlings damp, so it can't be helped.

Garden plot

And there's one little Lemon Cucumber plant that is stunted and doesn't want to grow.

Cucumber patch

And the Buckwheat is Supposed to crowd out the competing weeds... but it looks like I'll have to pull out the Crabgrass and Amaranth that's growing here.

Buckwheat seedlings with weeds

But look! The Spaghetti Squash is doing things!

Yellow Squash bloom

Grow! Grow! Grow!

Yellow zucchini growing on the vine

Passion Fruit blooms

Tag:



Thursday 27 June 2024... Oops...

It's another nice, cool and cloudy day today! But as I'm taking pics of the lovely clouds...

Grey clouds over the tops of the trees

There's something flashing on the screen of the camera.

It's the battery light! GAH! Power!

There's usually a couple minutes of power left when the battery light starts flashing... But oh my gosh, I don't want to miss something awesome that happens further down the path just because I was taking too many photos of clouds! Dang it! I hope the Barn Swallow babies aren't fledging out today!

So I need to restrict myself on how many pics I take at a time.

Leaving the camera on, heats it up and reduces the time I have. Maybe less of an issue this morning, since it was just 60° when I left the house.

But every time I do turn the camera on, the barrel with the lens extends out, and as a physical motion I assume that takes quite a bit of power.

So! No more futzing around with cloud photos! *laughs*

I worry about it all the way to the Barn Swallow nest. But here they all are! Still sitting in the nest! Phew!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Number Five? Hello? Where's your face? *laughs*

I walk down the path, but of course I keep coming across awesome things!

This Flicker pair are just a little ways from the nest hole in the tree I watched this spring. They must be the parents... I hope they have a successful nest this year!

Northern Flickers standing on a power pole

At the next bridge, there's Barn Swallows flying all over the place? Oh my gosh, the babies here must be fledging!

I had wondered if this pair of parents had come back as well... but this is the nest they were using...

cobwebs under a bridge

Yeah, can't even be seen behind all the cobwebs! So i haven't bothered visiting it.

But I think there's at least one child still in there?

Cobwebs

With everybody flying around randomly I can't even estimate how many kids there are! And plus, they are trying to get back into the nest... but getting into that corner takes more deft flying than the kids have got right now!

But one child has managed to land on the other nest that is there!

Barn Swallow fledgling standing in a nest

And then another child tries to land there as well!

Barn Swallow fledgling tries to fly into a nest

It's so awkward!

Barn Swallow fledglings standing in a nest

But eventually they get settled!

Barn Swallow fledglings standing in a nest

And I move on with my walk!

I did not take pics of the Fallen Leaning Tree or the wonderful flowers in a downtown yard... there was lavender with yellow flowers and orange day liles in the background. And it probably would have been an amazing photo filled with colour!

But I couldn't! It takes me a while to get a decent angle with that many flowers... I know how I am! I would get sucked into that and then I'd have no battery power left for the walk home!

*laughs*

Willow tree with a stump

I stop at the garden to water the stupid Soybeans. But Look! Brandywine!

Green tomato on the vine

Heading back home. And the camera is still alive so I take a few pics of the Barn Swallow nestlings...

Five Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Because they are just so darn cute.

Five Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Thank you for not fledging today!!

Five Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

And... One more bird on the way home? Yep! The camera lets me do my thing for one more photo set!

Song Sparrow standing in a tree

And then I plug in the camera battery as soon as I walk in the door, when I get home! *laughs*

Tag:



Wednesday 26 June 2024... Lots O' Pics

After yesterday's hot weather -- 89°! -- we've got another lovely, cloudy day! Normal for this time of year is 78°... I guess you could get close if you averaged yesteday and today, because today is just 71°!!

So I head out the door, aiming to very much enjoy the day!

Squirrel sitting on the edge of the sidewalk

trees on the hill

Catalpa tree blooms

Four Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Four Mallard ducklings, paddling in a row on the water

Squirrel standing on a wood fence

Okay. I'm at the garden. I've hoed down the right side and now I'm going to murder some of the Small Comfrey.

Garden plot

Unfortunately, the biggest leaves, there at the bottom, are right where the Crocus lives. So every time I dig there, the Crocus bulbs roll around all over the place.

I hope they survive!

Here's the view looking down the right side of the garden plot. The Lemon Cucumbers are in the front. Well, along with a lot of Borage! I love Borage!

Garden plot

And then the three tomato plants: the primary SunGold on the left, Old German at the top, and the small one at the right is the last planted Black Tomato!

tomato plants

The Old German is bringing on some fruits!

Green tomatoes on the vine

I at THREE Sugar Snap Pea pods today, instead of the usual one! *laughs* Hopefully there will be a pea pod explosion soon.

Snap peas

I wander over to a neighboring plot, because I've noticed they have some Chicory blooming!

Chicory blooms

And some Larkspur too!

purple Larkspur blooms

Pink Larkspur

Purple Larkspur, with Chicory blooms in the background

And then as I'm leaving the Community Garden... Oh my gosh! Someone has Passion Fruit!

Passion Fruit blooms

That's fun! It'll be interesting to watch this plant to see what happens! Right now it's a good size bush, 5feet tall.

Oh good! I get to see all five Barn Swallow babies before they go! I feel like they are going to fledge this week. They are so round!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

A parent flies by.

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest, begging for food

But no food this time.

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

The disgruntled looks! haha!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Fledgling!! You can tell by the bit of gape left at the corners of her mouth.

Steller Jay standing on a snap

A the new Heron who is hanging out here!

Great Blue Heron standing in the water

I move around to see if I can get a look at their non-existant shoulder patch... and this Nutria starts swimming right at the Heron!

Nutria swimming towards a heron standing in the water

Nutrias just eat grass and plants, you know? They are not ferocious predators! But sometimes they get overly excited about their territory! Our new Heron friend just walks away.

Tag:



Tuesday 25 June 2024... Barn Swallow Babies and Flowers

There's a city worker at the Barn Swallow bridge, painting over graffiti (sighs!) when I stop to check out the nest today. The babies are growing up and our time together is growing short! So I've got to savor every moment!

heh... is that a tail? You are facing the wrong way for food, little one!

three Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

See what I mean?! *laughs*

Barn Swallow parent flies in and perches on the edge of the nest

Barn Swallow parent feeds a nestling in the nest

Aw! All five faces!

Five Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Number Five is squirming around and sticks their tail out again!

blurry Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Dang, they are so cute.

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Okay. Heading to the garden!

I've hand weeded a bit around the Lemon Cucumbers, and in the Sugar Snap Pea patch. Ugh, there's some crabgrass growing here and it's really hard to get out.

Snap Pea pod hanging from the vine

And then I water the heck out of everything since it's another hot day here.

Strawberry bloom

The plot behind ours grows Opium Poppies every year!

Pink and purple Breadseed Poppy blooms

Usually they are full of Honey Bees, but I hardly see even one today. That's concerning.

Purple Breadseed Poppy blooms

Plus the Climate Change Wind is blowing and frustrating me a bit.

Breadseed Poppy blooms

The different colours delight me!

Pink and Purple Breadseed Poppy blooms

But the dark purple is my favorite!

Purple Breadseed Poppy bloom

I've also finally put some supports around the Giant Marigolds at the edge of the Tofu Patch. They were flopping all over in the stupid wind, so hopefully they will be happier in a tomato cage!

Marigold blooms

Tag:



Monday 24 June 2024... Garden and Barn Swallow Babies

At the garden, I'm forking and weeding some more of the back of the front Garden Square.

I thought I was going to plant some Buckwheat here, as a summer cover crop. But I don't know. I'm dragging the hose thru here to get to the Eggplant and the Black Tomato. So maybe I'll just let that idea go.

The Spaghetti Squash in the front, that started as a transplant is already making things happen!

Tiny Spaghetti Squash fruit on the vine

And the Eggplant is looking great!

Eggplant growing in the garden

Lemon Cucumbers are growing.

Cucmber plants in the garden

Yay! The first fruit is growing on the Old German Tomato!!

Small green tomato growing on the vine

Old German is a new one for me, altho last year I had a Striped German which I assume is similar... but I learned with that one that I need to pick orange tomatoes WELL before they get dark orange! haha! I was letting the tomatoes sit far too long on the vine, waiting for more of the "stripes"! Don't do that!

The Buckwheats are getting their first adult leaves!

Buckwheat seedlings growing

They are growing fast. That makes me happy, even tho not many of them came up in the little space I planted. The seeds were old and I didn't expect much.

I am still eating one Sugar Snap Pea pod everyday, for weeks now. *laughs* at least it's consistent!

Snap Pea pod on the vine

A Seven Spot Ladybug on a volunteer Amaranth.

Ladybug walking on green leaves

I rather like the Amaranth. Like Borage, it's easy to pull up in the places I don't want it. And also like Borage, Amaranth will make a variety of pollinators happy. And then the birds will eat the seeds, tho they leave lots to reseed for next year!

Barn Swallow babies... Oh! Our little toes!!

four Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

And Number Five? Yeah, you can almost see them over there on the left!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Tag:



Sunday 23 June 2024... Replanting the Tofu Patch

Squirrel standing on the steps

Oregon Grape fruits

The weather today does NOT look like summer at all!

foggy trees on the hill

It was 57° when I left the house! So nice! But the clouds will clear and we've got a high of 76° today. That temperature is right on normal for this time of year, but the clouds are definitely not normal!

Well! It's nice to see all five faces, first thing!

Five Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

*laughs* They're so squished in, the one must have had trouble stretching their wing! Their wrist is up over their head and that's flight feathers in front of the baby on the right! Awkward! hahah!

At the garden, the plot on the end of my row has these beautiful Hollyhocks!

Bright pink Hollyhock blooms

They are well over my head!

Bright pink Hollyhock blooms

Here I am an our garden plot. Looking at the plot from the front right... the Pissant Pot People side. That's the Lemon Cucumbers, front and center, with a lot of Borage and the Elephant Garlics behind!

garden plot

and from the front left... Mia's Kids side.

garden plot

The big Green Zucchini is thinking about doing great things!

Yellow flowers and a fruit on a zucchini plant

And lots of blooms on the Sugar Snap Peas that I planted from seed! I've still been eating about one pod every day from the transplants!

Snap Pea blooms on the vines

Buckwheat seedlings!

Buckwheat seedlings growing

But the stupid Soybeans...

Soybean seedling growing in the dirt

I've brought the bag of seeds, and I'm replanting the Tofu Patch for the third time today. Sheesh. I don't know what's wrong here, but only about 10 or so soybeans came up from the second replanting.

Maybe third time's the charm?

Four of the six Giant Marigolds have survived the slugs, and they are gearing up to be pretty!

Marigold just about to bloom

The couple of Giant Marigolds at the edge of the Tofu Patch are in serious need of support tho... they are top heavy and are flopping all over the place in the Climate Change Wind.

The volunteer Love in a Mist is flopping too.

Love in a Mist blooms

Okay! I've watered the newly planted Soybean seeds and I'm heading out.

We're down to four faces at the Barn Swallow nest again. But at least we can hold our wings properly!

Four Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Oh! Is a parent on their way?

Four Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

No? False alarm? *laughs*

Barn Swallow nestling in the nest

The Himalayan Blackberries are doing their thing. Invasive but will be very tasty!

Black berry fruits and a flower

Tag:



Saturday 22 June 2024... Tofu Patch Assessment

Good Morning Mr Squirrel!

Close up of a squirrel holding a hazelnut

Oh my gosh, look at his little thumb nubbins! It's hard to see, but he is holding a bit of hazelnut shell between his thumbs, as well as the rest of the nut in his fingers.

Thumb Nubbins! Too Cute!

Good Morning Babies!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Maybe today we will see Number Five?

But then a parent starts yelling, just outside! The babies hunker down again!

One visible Barn Swallow nestling in the nest

Is the Cowbird making another visit? I walk out and...

blurry black spot sitting on a blurry chainlink fence

Oh great. The camera is having one of those non-focusing days. That's just great.

But that's a crow, and the Barn Swallow parent was diving bombing her. Much further away than the Cowbird yesterday, but the Barn Swallow parents are more sensitive about potential dangers now!

I get to the garden and...

Who needs the correct focus anyway??! :Pbbbbttt

Blurry yellow spot with trees behind

*laughs*

Okay! Tofu Patch Assessment at the garden plot today!

Here I am, at the back of the plot, near the faucet, looking down the west side of the garden plot... The Tofu Patch.

Garden Plot

On the left, is my non-grassy pathway, on the right is the good neighbor Mia's Kids, and at the top the sticks are delineating the Supplementary Squash Square.

Goal is to clear the weeds out of the Tofu Patch and free up any soybean seedlings growing here. The Leeks are also in that bottom left corner, they will probably appreciate some space too!

Here is the AFTER pic:

garden plot

arg. There are maybe 10 or 12 Soybeans that have popped up. Dang it. I didn't have any trouble with the soybeans growing last year. It may have been too cold for the first round of Soybean seeds, but the second round should have done more. Maybe they don't like the dirt over on this side?

I don't know, but it's a bummer. I will bring the Soybean seeds again tomorrow and re-plant a third time.

I did leave a few wildflowers... There's a volunteer Sunflower growing in the middle of of Tofu Patch. And I left a little patch of Borage over there on the left. Gotta keep the bees happy!

Smartweed was making a mat around the Leeks, and they should be happy now that they are not being suffocated. But I also found two volunteer Beets! Haha!

Leeks and Beets

They are a little bit close to each other, but hopefully they will get along!

And I'm thrilled to see more happy Wax Beans popping up!

Bean seedlings growing

Okay. Good Work today! Yay Me!

Heading home. Hey, Hey! We've finally got a count of Five again!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

That's three beaks on the left, a head and eye, and then a whole face on the right! Five!

Hi Mama! Oh, you're missing some fur on your jaw? I hope you're okay!

Squirrel standing on a chain link fence

Tag:



Friday 21 June 2024... Excitement at the Barn Swallow Nest

Good Morning Little Ones! Well! This is a different configuration, today!

Two Barn Swallow nestlings perched at the edge of the nest

I realized, later, the babies are probably trying to escape each other's heat! The high today is 90° (32°C) and it's already overly warm this morning... and probably even warmer up there under the bridge. I'm not sure they even get any of the breeze!

Oh we got another itch?

Barn Swallow nestling preening

Barn Swallow nestling preening

Two Barn Swallow nestlings perched at the edge of the nest

Here's Mama!

Barn Swallow parent standing on the edge of the nest with nestling begging

But she's just here to check on the babies.

Barn Swallow parent flying away from the nest with nestlings

And the little one goes back to preening...

Barn Swallow nestling preening under her wing

*gasps* Little red dot... Is that your Belly Button???!

*Laughs* I'm not sure. And then I had to go look up to see if birds even have belly buttons!

They do!

Audubon Question: Do Birds Have Belly Buttons?

Inside the egg, the yolk sac is separate from the embryo. And, yep, there's an umbilical cord connecting them, in the same way that an umbilical cord connects mammal embryos with the placenta.

So, yeah, birds do have belly buttons! That's fun to learn!

Okay! I'm at the garden and Look! Yesterday there was basically nothing, and today we've got some 1 inch tall Wax Bean plant babies!

Bean seedlings growing

Ha! Amazing! They grow so fast!

Bean seedlings growing

On the other hand, it makes me despair about the stupid Soybeans. I replanted the Soybeans on Jun9, and there are a couple coming up. But nowhere near the 30+ plants I had last year. Maybe I should replant them a third time?

Everything else is happily growing...

The Squash Square:

Squash plants in the garden

The Lemon Cucumbers:

Cucumber plants in the garden

The Zucchinis. This is the biggest one:

Zucchini plant growing

Yep, it's got a fruit growing on it!

I've also got two Yellow Zucchinis, the Crookneck, and today I'm planting the last of the plants that have been hanging out in the porch room... A Yellow Patty Pan that I'm adding to the Squash Square! It's getting a little crowded with all the Spaghetti Squash seedlings coming up! HA!

Okay! Heading back home, and there's craziness at the Barn Swallow nest!!

I can't figure out what's going on... The parents are YELLING, just outside the bridge. The babies are hunkered down, instead of spread out like they were earlier...

Barn Swallow nestlings hunkered down in the nest

Barn Swallow nestlings hunkered down in the nest

I keep looking around, trying to figure out what's going on. The parents keep yelling and flying around! And finally, I see this one...

Cowbird standing on a twig

I don't recognize this bird, and I've never met them before.

But she's a Brown Head Cowbird!

Cowbirds are brood parasites and that's why the parents are so upset! Brood parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.

She's too late for this nest, of course. But, now she knows there's a Barn Swallow nest here! She might just come back next year to lay an egg.

Book Cover: The Bird Way by Jennifer Ackerman

Brood parasites are really interesting and extremely smart. They have to be able to... be sneaky and undetected near the nests of multiple species of other birds, lay all their eggs in different nests, as well as remembering all the best parents thru the years! They really are quite incredible!

I learned a lot about brood parasites around the world while reading The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think by Jennifer Ackerman. It's a great book about how amazing birds are! Highly recommended!!

Cowbird standing on a twig

The babies are clueless about all the chaos going on just meters away! *laughs* But they have excellent parents taking care of them! They don't need to worry!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

I keep going and... oh, I think this is Henrietta!! Dang it, I can't get a decent angle. But I'm pretty sure it's him.

Great Blue Heron standing in the creek

So nice to see him again, it's been ages.

*Laughs* Everybody needs to preen, these days!

Great Blue Heron, standing in the creek, wing lifted to preen under it

Tag:



Thursday 20 June 2024... A Walk Past the Garden

Sweet Amber blooms

Magnolia bloom

Good Morning Little Ones!

Four Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Is Number Five going to make an appearance today?

Four Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Uuuh, gotta itch!

Four Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Four Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

The fluff coming up, off their heads is so cute!

Four Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

I'm at the garden, but I'm just going to water today. I've done the work they required, I've been working hard for weeks. And today is my break!

Oh, this thing, growing under the first set of Sugar Snap Peas! The leaves look a bit like a Morning Glory, and it's definitely not our regular Bindweed...

Black Bindweed plant

Turns out it's Black Bindweed. Invasive from Europe and Asia, flowers are small and inconspicuous, spreads by seed not roots.

Okay... Keeping it for now to see what happens! But maybe I will pull it up before it makes seeds!

Yay! A couple Wax Beans have sprouted!

sprouting beans in the soil

The Eggplant almost looks like a healthy plant now!

Eggplant growing

It had been munched almost to death by the slugs... you can still see the leaf-less stems, and partial leaves! But it's definitely recovered! Yay, my first Eggplant plant in the garden!

Aubergine! A fun word to say! :)

The Lemon Cucumbers are happily growing.

Lemon Cuc patch

The other green in there is mostly Borage, a wildflower I love that makes the bees happy!

A couple of the Giant Marigolds are making a top-heavy come-back from the slug damage!

Marigold leaves and buds

Okay! On with my walk! Here's the Flicker Hole... mostly covered with leaves now. It's too bad I didn't get to see any babies born here, due to the crazy weather we've had.

Tree

Minnows! And their cute little shadows!

Minnows in the creek

Close up of two minnow in the creek

Pink Sweet Pea blooms with a daisy

These two are a little too far away... a Goldfinch and an Anna Hummingbird... how companionable!

Goldfinch and Anna Hummingbird standing on a bare branch

Female Anna hummingbird standing on a twig, blue sky behind her

Oh No! The Fallen Leaning Tree doesn't have any leaves!

Bare fallen oak tree

Little clumps of leaves are all that it's managed to grow. It must definitely be separated from it's roots.

Clumps of oak leaves on a fallen tree

Sighs....

Sign at the base of a fallen tree

The fine print says We are trying to rehabilitate it. But no, I don't think it's possible. It's nice that they left it to try, tho!

Violet Green Swallow standing on a power cable, blue sky behind

I stop to drink my water under a shade tree!

Looking past leaves to a grassy field

Willow tree with a large cut stump

Sighs. Poor Girl. Her two kids are nearby, they are getting towards grown up.

Female Mallard standing on a rock with a droopy wing

Barn Swallow babies are re-arranged and so sleepy!

Two Barn Swallow nestlings, sleeping in the nest

Oh! Mama makes a surprise appearance! Nobody heard her coming!!

Barn Swallow parent flies up the the nest

A couple wake up, and a couple continue to sleep!

Barn Swallow parent perched on the edge of the nest, looking at the nestlings

Barn Swallow parent perched on the edge of the nest, looking at the nestlings

Nope, sorry! Just checking on you all!

Barn Swallow parent turns away from the nest

Awwww, Mooooom!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Random shoulders everywhere!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Oh, wait. I guess that part of their wing is actually their wrists, huh?

Random Wrists Everywhere!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

*laughs*

Tag:



Wednesday 19 June 2024... Adorable Babies

I don't know what these yellow flowers are, in with the Poison Hemlock. They are probably invasive too, but pretty!

Yellow flowers with blooming Poison Hemlock

Sleepy babies.

Barn Swallow nestlings sleeping in the nest

Dear Sweet Seven Spot, could you do me a favor? Could you eat whoever is munching holes in the leaves of the Sunflower that I bought and paid for? Thanks!

Ladybug in the center of a growing sunflower

Okay! Here is the last section of grass that I need to hoe before the deadline, tomorrow!

garden plot

I was going to jump right into hoeing... but ugh I feel weak today even tho I slept well and the back doesn't hurt much.

I hand weed some, in the path and around the sunflower patch. It's is slower, but more satisfying because I'm able to pull up long grass roots! I have to stab most of the area with the hand fork and then hoeing is easier.

I get it done...

garden plot

phew. And ya know... you'd think I'd be proud, getting all that work done? But, no. Definitely not proud... I worked hard, but this was to someone else's expectations.

But the garden plot is up to code, now, and in compliance with the Community Garden rules. And I just feel relieved.

Strawberry blossom and leaves

The Sugar Snap Peas that I planted as seeds are coming right along! And I've been eating a couple Snap Pea pods every day this week, from the plants that I transplanted!

Snap Pea blooms

OH! Finally! Some Soybeans are coming up!

Soybean seedling

huh. I don't remember that the soybeans came up all shiny like that. weird.

Soybean seedling and a bug

And in the Squash Square... Spaghetti Squash seedlings Galore!

Squash seedlings growing in the dirt

Heading home... Aw! Happy to see an older duckling. Look at her little leg splayed out behind her!

Mama Mallard and duckling sitting on a rock

The sun is hot, Mama!

Mama Mallard standing and duckling is moving into her shadow

haha, she doesn't quite fit into Mama's shadow!

Mama Mallard standing and duckling is moving into her shadow

A bit more awake, this time!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

But is Number Five going to show her face today?

Oh! Hey! Mama swoops in!

Parent Barn Swallow feeding nestlings in the nest

Parent Barn Swallow has fed a baby and is flying away from the nest

Aw, the looks of disappointment.

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Just be patient little ones!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Oh, wow. Mama must have found a pile of bugs to feed, very close by!

Barn Swallow parent coming in to feed another baby in the nest

(and yeah, I was fiddling with the exposure. sheesh!)

No, sorry! I've got nothing for you!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

My gosh they are just so cute!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Oh hey! Here's all five babies, finally!!

Parent Barn Swallow flying away from the babies in the nest

So demanding!

Five Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Barn Swallow nestling in the nest

Tag:



Tuesday 18 June 2024... Barn Swallow Babies and Childrens Books

Chilly days and it was another night when it got so cold that I had to close the windows! Ha! It makes me laugh that it's June and I'm still using my quilts on my bed!!

But I think it's going to be summer now... Forecast says 74° today (23°C) and mid-80s thru Saturday!

I walk past a Little Free Library, and notice a book I want!

Squirrels book in a Little Free Library

*laughs* I reluctantly push it back in. Hopefully the book will make some kid happy. But, oh, Squirrels? And beautiful Art? (Yeah, I really wish I had nabbed it!)

And where's Number Five?

Four Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Scrub Jay standing on a wood fence

Okay. Here I am at the garden plot, and I'm taking a break from the hoeing to give my poor back a rest.

I'm going to kill some Comfrey today! It's gotten as big as the Zucchini plant!!

Comfrey leaves and a zucchini plant

I dig as deep as I can and get some good roots out...

A bucket of Comfrey leaves and roots

That one is a good inch in diameter! But you can see where most of the roots broke off! Ha. I wonder how many years I'll be battling this thing, before I kill it off for good?! Or maybe I won't ever kill it! :)

I've got some time left, so I decide to fork and weed more of the front Garden Square. I'm thinking about putting in another section of Buckwheat here, just to have some more green, living alive stuff... All the dead dirt they are requiring of me for the Community Garden Rules, is depressing.

But look, I've dug up something weird, plus a sleeping slug...

Weird roots with a slug curled up in the dirt

Oh my gosh! It's the Sunchoke roots that I buried last autumn...

Root in the dirt, very munched by slugs

Apparently it was pure slug food! I guess that's why it never came up this spring!

Love in a Mist bloom with a Dandelion bloom in the background

Squirrel standing on a wood fence

Back at the Barn Swallows bridge... Okay, good! We've got all five showing their faces again!

Five Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Five Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

The kid on the end must be hungry! And apparently thinks I'm going to feed her. *laughs* It doesn't hurt to ask, I guess! Bahaha!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest, one begs for food

Their sweet sleepy faces.

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Oregon Grapes, in the process of ripening.

Green Oregon Grapes on the vine

Back at home, the Pansies continue to grow.

Small Pansy plants in a pot

I'm happily surprised that they are doing okay with the limited amount of sunlight here in the porch room! Usually seedlings that I grow here get tall and lanky with the lack of light.


One of my favorite YouTubers is a new Childrens Book author! And I'm so thrilled that he's reading it and showing the art in a video...

The Pengrooms, Read Aloud by Paul Castle

This is just SO Sweet! And Lovely drawings!

OH! And his partner Matthew is playing violin in the background?! So Awesome!!

I just love it! And there's Unicorns!!!

Point of Interest: Paul is blind.

Tag:



Monday 17 June 2024... Definately Five Barn Swallow Babies!!

Its almost chilly this morning, with the bit of climate change wind. And the forecast says Zero% chance of rain, but I think I heard it sprinkling this morning before I got up, so I decided to take the rain jacket once more!

Clouds over the trees

There's hot weather on the way -- mid and upper 80s starting on Wednesday -- so I enjoy the coolness to the fullest!

Oh the scraggly cuteness!!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Okay! I'm at the garden, and I need to do some serious hoeing today, despite the couple of twinges coming from my back muscles.

I've decided to hoe all down the right side of the plot, the Pissant Pot People side. I had already ripped this grass out, by hand, right after I got the Non-Compliance notice, but... it's grown back... as grass is wont to do!

Before:

Garden plot

And After:

Garden Plot

That stupid board is actually on the other side of the border, but I weeded under it anyway because I need the front of my plot to look way above average!

(And don't get me started about jerks who refuse to control the weeds on their own borders! I've been picking up the slack for that type of neighbor the entire time I've been at the Community Garden!)

AND THEN... I hoed all down the right side, all the way to the back, AND around the corner along the back of the plot. (Again, weeding well into the neighboring plot)...

Garden plot

The bit of green in the pathway, is grass that has been hoed and is laying there, on the surface dying... It'll fade to tan in a day, but I realize that I probably should be done with the hoeing the day before the deadline because of this! So there isn't anything green left in the pathways on the day of inspection!

This is the last section of grass in the pathway that needs to be removed...

garden pathway

This will probably be the toughest bit to do... because I have never bothered to hack at this area around the taps, so this grass is very well established. The ground is almost solid grass roots, and I won't be able to Just hoe it. I'll have to break up the top with the hand fork.

I hope me and my back survive!

I take a bit of Joy from the garden, before I go.

Green tomatoes and bloom on the vine

The Barn Swallow babies have re-arranged themselves, and all five are visible... Or... heh, I assume there's not actually six in there! *laughs*

Five Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Oh my gosh! Mama swoops in! But she's so fast, and unexpected, I don't get a single pic of her! haha!

Five Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest, one is begging for food!

And back to napping...

Five Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Except one or another keeps thinking they hear a parent coming, so they look up to see...

Five Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest, one is looking up

Too Cute!

Hawthorn pomes starting to grow.

Hawthorn berries growing on the tree

Squirrel sitting on a wood fence

Tag:



Sunday 16 June 2024... Sunday Flowers

It's cloudy this morning and just the slightest chance of rain, so I stuff the rain jacket into the backpack. Taking it is a pain, and if I actually have to put it on to protect the camera, well, that would be annoying too... It's a nice day -- 55° when I leave the house -- but the rain jacket would turn into sauna!

Barn Swallow babies!

Barn Swallow nestlings resting their chins on the edge of the nest

Their eyes look like they are getting more open!

The slightest sound sets them off, asking for food!

Barn Swallow nestling begging for food

My back muscles were giving me some twinges from yesterday's hard work. So I'm taking it easy again today, just hand weeding a little section at the front.

There is still significant areas of grass, and I'm starting to wonder if I'll be able to finish hoeing it all by the deadline on June20. We're getting down to the wire! And in the meantime, this comfrey that I want to kill is getting bigger by the day:

Comfrey leaves coming up next to a zucchini plant

Oh my gosh! This must be the Buckwheat! I planted it last Sunday, and it's already coming up!

Buckwheat seedling coming up

Awesome... The Buckwheat seeds were old and I wasn't sure I'd get anything! And there are four seedlings that have popped up so far!

There's no one else at the Community Garden right now, so I have a wander...

I love all the colours of the Bachelor Buttons...

Blue and white Bachelor Button blooms

White and purple Bachelor Button bloom

White and purple Bachelor Button bloom

Honey Bee on a purple Bachelor Button bloom

(haha, I couldn't decide which Honey Bee photo I liked better!)

Honey Bee on a purple Bachelor Button bloom

These Dahlia's are in my left-side neighbor's plot, and I just love the pop of colour!

Pink Dahlia blooms

*laughs* I try to get artsy!

Pink Dahlia blooms

Pink Dahlia blooms

Pink Dahlia blooms

Okay. I know, I obsess! Moving on!

A couple young Nutrias, just outside the Community Garden. All but one ran away!

Nutria standing in the grass

Oh! Oh-oh-oh!!! Is that a 5th baby beak over there on the side??!

Barn Swallow nestling beaks poking out of the nest

I think it is!! Confirmation of Five Barn Swallow Babies!!!

Yay!

And then I came across the Mama duck with the droopy wing... and it's worse. Ugh. It must be so painful, she can't lift up her arm enough and her wing is dragging on the ground.

She's still got her two kids with her... and it's good that she knows that her efforts to protect her children were successful. But, ugh, her poor wing.

Sighs. I love Nature's abundance, but I hate the abundance of pain and suffering, too. Sighs.

Tag:



Saturday 15 June 2024... Day of Hard Hoeing

We had about 20mins of rain around 5:30 this morning! (And some sprinkles after that, unless that was just the wind rustling the leaves to sound like sprinkles!) But, Wow! It is really unusual for us to get rain after about May, so this weather this year is so crazy!

Forecast says 60% rain until 11am so I'm loading up the rain jacket in the backpack! Crazy! The clouds are moving around and its a lovely 55° when I leave the house!! (13°C)

Oh! The new stray kitty lets me get a decent portrait of her! But still, not quite looking up into my face.

Long haired tortishell cat, sitting on the ground

She is so beautiful! She lets me crouch down, but avoids my outstretched hand. No pets yet.

Clouds over some trees

The Climate Change Wind today is VERY gusty.. The weather page said 12mph, but seems like more. (heh! Not that I know a thing about it! The every day wind is new here, so I have zero experience with guessimating the speed of the wind!)

Clouds over some trees

The Cherries are ripening!

Cherries on the tree, in various stages of ripeness

Here's a female Common Whitetail Skimmer!

Dragonfly standing on the sidewalk

There are a bunch of homeless people under the Barn Swallows bridge. So I don't stop to take photos of the nest.

And at the garden... my back muscles feel strong again today, so I'm going to JAM with the hoe! Here is the BEFORE photo.

Garden Plot

And here is the AFTER, where I've hoed the rectangle to the left of the stake:

Garden plot

I also stabbed and hoed this area behind the front Garden Square:

Garden plot

Oh yeah! Gettin' It Done!

*laughs*

I don't have to water much because of the bit of rain we got this morning, and so I enjoy the garden for a few...

The Primary SunGold is doing things!

small green tomato on the vine

Blooms on a tomato plant

The blooms on the Old German tomato look quite a bit different!

Blooms on a tomato plant

This is the Crookneck in the Squash Square...

Squash plant with some yellow leaves

Yellow leaves like that mean I'm over watering the thing. Unfortunatly, the extra water is necessary for the squash seedlings coming up all around it!

A couple of the transplanted Sugar Snap Peas are dying already. They've hardly even grown. Did I get too close to the roots with my weeding? I didn't think so, at the time. But I'm not sure what else would make them die.

Snap Peas with a dead vine

That's okay... the Sugar Snap Peas that I planted from seed are doing really well! The first bloom on them!

Snap pea bloom, with vines in the background

Okay. I'm out!

There are still a couple of homeless people at the Barn Swallow bridge, but they are sleeping at the other end. I don't want to disturb them, so I only take a couple pics.

There's just one baby beak, poked up over the edge of the nest.

Barn Swallow nestling beak

The Poison Hemlock looks pretty with the sky.

Poison Hemlock blooms with blue sky

And further on... WOW! The Colour!

Cherry tree and blooming Ocean Spray wtih the blue sky

The dark red is a Cherry Tree and I think the white is a cultivated Ocean Spray!

Tag:



Friday 14 June 2024... All Kinds of Barn Swallows. And Garden!

Those Barn Swallow fledglings near my home are still here this morning!

two Barn Swallow fledglings standing on a power line

Barn Swallow fledgling standing on a power line

Three kids, and as I mentioned yesterday, I'm too far away and can't get a good angle, so the pics are terrible. But they are still fun to watch!

Here's one of the parents!

Barn Swallow standing on a power line

Parent flies away, and hungry baby tries to get attention... Wait! Wait! Don't forget to feed me! *laughs*... and incidentally getting some flying practice in, as well! :)

Barn Swallows flying from the power line

And wow, you can def tell the difference between parent and child in their tail feathers! The adult has the beautiful long forked tail and the kids just have stubby tails!

Fledgling coming back to land on the power line

Barn Swallow fledgling standing on a power line

Yay! Older ducklings!

Five Mallard ducklings with Mama, paddling on the water

A beautiful day... last weekend's overly warm mid-80s have cooled to a lovely 72° day, today! (22°C)

Sky with cirrus clouds over trees and grassland

Yay! A dragonfly sits for me!

Dragonfly standing on the sidewalk

This is a Pacific Clubtail. I've been seeing dragonflies now and then, especially walking home when it's a little bit warmer... the big Black Saddlebag Skimmers mostly. But they are always flying above the bike path, busy hunting.

And at the Barn Swallow nest? Just a couple of baby beaks poking up!

Baby beaks poking up over the rim of the nest

I finally get to the garden... I take one look at it and immediately my back starts spasming!

Oh gah! Hoeing two days in a row was a major mistake!

Up until this point my back had been sore but in a building muscle way, not in a over did it way.

So this is concerning. I will take it easy today and then figure out what I can do tomorrow. Because there is still a lot of hoeing left to do before the June20 deadline!

Okay. Well. I brought the Black Tomato to put in the ground today...

Tomato plant hanging out of a backpack

I decided to put it with the SunGold and the Old German, on the right side of the plot...

Garden Plot

Behind these tomato plants is the newly set up big trellis which will support some Wax Beans. And behind that is the Squash Square...

Here's one of the Butternut plants, with baby Spaghetti Squashes coming up all around it!

Butternut plant growing

And on the other side of the plot... Aw, the poor Yellow Zuc that I planted yesterday. Wind damage. The other two adult leaves look perky, tho. Maybe it will live?

small Zucchini plant with two broken leaf stems

And here's looking down the small trellis at the growing Lemon Cucumbers!

Small cucumber plants growing

That bigger plant at the top, there, is a Spaghetti Squash!

Heading home. And just some baby beaks again...

Barn Swallow baby beaks poking above the edge of the nest

You hear somebody coming?

Barn Swallow baby in the nest

Oh! It's Mama!

Barn Swallow flies into the nest

Hungry, hungry babies!

Barn Swallow parent feeding a baby in the nest

Hmm. Maybe just three babies? I thought for sure there were four or five in there.

Oh! Look again! There's a fourth beak in there, under the middle child! Ha!

Barn Swallow parent feeding a baby in the nest

Mama flies away to get more food... the babies are so hungry!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

But the babies quickly calm down and go back to napping. Growing up is hard work!

Barn Swallow nestlings in the nest

Tag:



Thursday 13 June 2024... Todays Happenings

*laughs* I crack myself up!

Shadow of a person on the sidewalk

That's the Sunflower sticking out of the backpack, and I've also got a Yellow Zucchini in there as well!

Oh look! Papa is at the nest today! And one baby is making an appearance!

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest

*laughs* I wonder what set her off?

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest, with a baby popping up

Papa is not sure either. Get back down there, kid!

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest

Barn Swallow stands at the edge of the nest

I get to the garden, and I've startled a squirrel out of one of the front plots. She stares me down from the fence!

Squirrel sitting on a fence post

Since the backpack was full, I carried the water bottle in this cute little satchel that came from Partner's Mom's estate.

Backpack on the ground at the garden

Before I get to work, I notice a meeting is happening.

A dozen crows standing in a tree

I'm sure they have important things to talk about!

A dozen crows standing in a tree

I am breaking my rule of hoeing every other day, because I'm feeling strong and tough today!

Here's the Before pic:

Garden plot

And here's the After, where I've hoed a bit of that square just above the stake in the middle:

Garden plot

Ha, I wish the pic could be more dramatic to present. Maybe I should photoshop it with neon colours or something.

I planted the sunflower in between the Snap Pea Patch and the Squash Square, at the edge of the little Buckwheat section.

Garden plot

And Look! Some of the Spaghetti Squash seeds are coming up!!

Squash seedlings coming up in the dirt

Yay! Planting seeds in the garden is pretty iffy, so I'm thrilled that we've got some life here!

I planted the Yellow Zuc next to the other zucs at the front of the Tofu Patch. Poor thing... I bent one stem accidentally in transport, and then the stupid Climage Change wind bent a second stem.

Small Zuchinni plants

I ate another Sugar Snap Pea!

Snap Pea hanging from the vine

This thing is growing at the base of the transplanted Snap Peas...

Morning Glory plant

I did have the Sweet Potatoes here, last year. But these leaves are more delicate than Sweet Potatoes. More likely, it's a Morning Glory... the leaves are much bigger than the standard Bindweed we have around here. So I'm going to keep it and see what colour the flowers are!

I had a wander around the Comm Garden... This is a new art installation in the back corner. It's a bird bath!

Art in the garden

I suppose the nearby plot neighbors are keeping the flowers watered and changing out the water in the bird baths! That's nice, and it's really a lovely spot!

Pink and white Cosmos blooms

Cabbage White. A very important player in the ecosystem... I have seen so many of these caterpillars in the beaks of Bluebirds, to be fed to their babies!

Cabbage White Butterfly

I am almost all the way home when I notice a couple of Barn Swallow fledglings up on the power lines!!

Barn Swallow fledglings up on a power line, blue sky

I'm too far away, and can't get a good angle, so that's a bummer. But there are three fledglings altogether, and they are watching their parents fly around! Super cute!

Tag:



Wednesday 12 June 2024... Babies!!! and Beans

This is Sweet Amber, a common landscaping plant here, a low, spreading shrub, just 2feet tall. It's not native, but pretty -- I think the blooms look like little fireworks!

Sweet Amber blooms

I get to the Barn Swallow nest, and Mama swoops in and dang it, I am NOT ready!

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest, with babies poking their heads up

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest, with babies poking their heads up

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest, with babies poking their heads up

And then she flew away, and the babies disappeared into the nest again. Foo.

But that's at least three babies, in the top photo, and I'm positive there's more in there!

I get to the garden...

Ripe strawberry fruit hanging from the plant

I turn it over, and it's not quite ripe. But it hasn't been munched by the slugs, either. So I ate it! Yum!

Okay! Garden work!

I planted the Wax Beans!! I have been forking and weeding this spot in front of the Squash Square for ages!

Garden plot with trellis

I've got several seed packets, so I planted the ones I just bought on the outside of the trellis. Sunshine Wax Beans. And then on the inside I planted last year's dwarf wax beans, mixed with 2022 wax beans.

I'm so happy the beans are finally in the ground. It's late in the season for this, but it couldn't be helped with the Non-Compliance thing I have to deal with. And maybe the slugs won't bother the seedlings so much, now that summer is drying things out? I can hope! ha.

I'm hoeing some more down the middle pathway. It's hard work and slow going, but I think I am mostly on track to be Compliant by the June20 deadline.

Garden Plot

I've also forked and weeded a bit more of the front Garden Square.

I ate a couple of Sugar Snap Peas today!

snap pea on the plant, with the blue sky

And then I tried to get artsy!

Snap Pea tendrils and the blue sky

The volunteer Sunflower patch...

small Sunflower plants growing

These don't seem like typical sunflowers... I wonder what kinds of blooms I will end up with!

Heading home. and a typical Chickadee! *laughs*

blurry underparts of a chickadee

They have been working, in bits and pieces, on the bike path for months...

Bike path

It's been pretty ridiculous... they'd set out construction signs, and just leave them up even tho they would show up about once a month to do work.

Those damn pylons -- I guess they are called Delineator Posts -- became toys for the homeless people. They would be pushed over, moved around... broken apart, torn apart, and then thrown in the creek.

And does the city fish them out of the creek? No, of course not. Even tho the base of the posts are made from recycled tires, and it's proven that the toxic chemicals coming off tires kill fish!

ARG!

So anyway. Now we have some concrete platforms for the lamp posts that will be going up here. Great, huh?

Tag:



Tuesday 11 June 2024... Happy Barn Swallow Parents. And Garden Work.

Here's Mama Barn Swallow at the nest full of babies, born on Saturday!

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest

She makes sure I'm being good...

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest

But she is checking on all the babies!

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest, looking into the nest

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest, poking her head into the nest

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest, looking down

And then she flies off for more food! Hungry Babies!

Barn Swallow nest

Dang, but I wish I could see them or even hear them. But nope. I must be patient! They will grow!

I arrive at the garden. There's a cute lil Seven Spot Ladybug walking on one of the small Lemon Cucumber plants... Eat all the bugs you find, please!! :)

Ladybuy walking on a cucumber leaf

Today I am cutting some Elephant Garlic Scapes to eat! The first garden harvest of the year!!

Elephant Garlics going to seed

You cut them a few inches above the top leaf. And then you can chop them up and use them like onions. You can even eat the flower bud! They are very very mild, just a hint of garlicy flavor.

I only cut the small ones, like five or six. I want the big ones to flower and seed and make the pollinators happy!

I've brought the last four Lemon Cucumber starts and planted them under the small trellis in the front garden square. There's 10 plants here now! (and a couple that are technically still green, but too slug munched to live.)

Garden Plot

The Spaghetti Squash I planted yesterday is looking good. And you can't quite see them but the plants on the left, just under the hose are the 2nd SunGold and the precious Brandywine.

I forked and weeded another row at the future Wax Bean patch... and I moved stuff around and dragged the big trellis to it's permanent spot! Yay! There's plenty of forked ground for it!

I stomped it down and made sure it was stable. And I will bring the Wax Beans to plant tomorrow!!!

Lavender blooms

Love in a Mist

Oh! Papa is at the nest!

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest

He is making sure the babies are okay, as well!

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest, poking his head into the nest

Barn Swallow standing on the edge of the nest

So thrilled I got to see both parents today! and So glad I can still tell them apart, from where they stand on the nest!

And I get home, and I'm finally able to get a pic of this kitty...

Long haired, tortishell cat

A stray, she's been hanging around the apartments for the last few weeks.

She Refuses to look up into my face, always staring at my feet. She comes close, especially if I turn my back. But doesn't trust enough for pets.

But isn't she so beautiful!

Tag:



Monday 10 June 2024... Garden Work

Tag:



Sunday 9 June 2024... Barn Swallows are Born!

Tag:



Monday 1 July 2024... With fear for our democracy, I dissent.

Democracy died here, today, with the SCOTUS decision granting un-constitutional immunity to Trump and presidents.

Trump v. United States (23-939)
The nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority; he is also entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts; there is no immunity for unofficial acts.

Justices rule Trump has [some] immunity from prosecution

King Trump. The very thing the writers of the Constitution wanted to prevent. It's disgusting.

I'm not going to type about it. I'm just marking the day.

Tag:



Saturday 8 June 2024... Stirrup Hoe!

Tag:



Friday 7 June 2024... Garden Work

Tag:



Thursday 6 June 2024... Squash Seeds and Barn Swallow Identification!

Tag:



Wednesday 5 June 2024... More Lemon Cucumbers!

Tag:



Tuesday 4 June 2024... Back at the Garden

Tag:



Friday 28 June 2024... Debate

Yep, I watched it.

Well. When I say I watched it, what I mean is I clicked on the stream seven or eight times, watched for a minute, and then stopped it to scream for a little while!

*laughs*

So! what I was expecting: Trump would lie for a while like the lying pos he is, hopefully his dementia would show a bit, and then he would stomp off the stage in a huff, well before the debate was supposed to end. President Biden would be the voice of reason and everyone would live happily ever after!

Yeah. so that didn't happen, obviously.

well, Trump did lie. Bigly. Nothing new there, except he's getting more brazen about it.

But Biden? There was something wrong, and it was painful -- horrifyingly painful -- to watch him talk. His voice was gruff and he was speaking softly. But also speaking so fast... his mouth couldn't keep up with his brain and he stumbled over words a bit. I think that's normal for him, since much has been said about his stutter...

But since I don't watch politics very often, I didn't realize how very not normal this performance was for Biden. And I was just, well, shocked!

But it turns out... he had a cold. And oh my goodness, that explains everything! His weird soft and gruff voice. He probably felt like crap, especially since he had to fly into Atlanta earlier that evening. (Flying with a cold is the worst, let me tell you. Almost, I would rather die!) And he couldn't call it off or delay, even tho there wasn't an audience, because it's so important that he shows up... [tho if Trump had cancelled, that's just par for the course and what everyone expected, right?] [Double standards. You know I love them. /s]

So, like I said, I didn't actually watch very much of it. And I think I watched just as much of the pre game show as the debate... but this was so despicable I could barely leave it on...

Many people are concerned about Biden's age... The format of the debate, which the Biden administration insisted on, will help Trump... look more presidential... Donald Trump has been preparing his WHOLE LIFE !!78 years!! for THIS debate.

What? *shakes head* WTF??? It was all so stupidly pro-trump that I kind of despise CNN right now. What is wrong with them? Why the obvious bias? There were real questions they could have been asking people... Are you concerned about the retribution Trump will take, if he's elected? Have you noticed the doctors commenting online about Trump's mental decline and dementia? What do you think will happen to democracy if King Trump is elected?

See? I'm not a reporter, but there's some good questions I came up with off the top of my head and I'm already better than those fucking morons at CNN! *rift is brilliant*

And in the tiny fraction of minutes that I actually saw of the debates, Biden did make me laugh once... Speaking to Trump, re: Stormy Daniels and E Jean Carroll: You have the morals of an alley cat! *laughs* Srsly.

So. For me, this was just ... a sick day for Biden that was a momentary annoying thing that no one will care about next week!

Some other reactions...

Joe Biden showed up, despite being sick, and why Donald Trump sank his chances to win the election

Debate Nightmare, The candidates talked about golf more than abortion

Did Donald Trump Murder A Newborn Baby? Is That Why He Keeps Claiming It's Legal? At this point it's starting to seem like he's setting up a defense.

A Complete List of All of Trump's Debate Lies Trump lied 50 times during the debate

2024 presidential debate fact-check: How accurate were Joe Biden, Donald Trump?


Wow. I had a lot to say about that. huh.

well. You should go look at some photos now...

Tag:



Monday 3 June 2024... River

Tag:



Sunday 2 June 2024... Garden, more complainings

Tag:



Saturday 1 June 2024... Garden Complainings!

Tag:



2024... Archived Blog Posts

January 2024 (partial)

February 2024

March 2024

April 2024

May 2024



2023... Archived Blog Posts

February 2023 (partial)

March 2023

April 2023

May 2023 (partial)

June 2023 (partial)

July 2023

August 2023

September 2023

October 2023

November 2023

December 2023



Saturday 16 July 2022... New Osprey Nest!

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

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

Mural of birds and roses

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

Strike It Rich, Grandiflora rose

Grande Dame, Hybrid Tea rose

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

Osprey flying back to the nest platform

Osprey lands in the nest

XXX... Goal: Finish this post!

Tag:





I'm archiving the 2022 posts...

January 2022


February 2022


March 2022
Story of nesting Anna Hummingbird begins here!


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


May 2022


June 2022


July 2022





2021... BLOG POSTS

(completed 28 May 2023...)

January thru July 2021 Archive

August 2021 Archive

September 2021 Archive

October 2021 Archive

(No entries for November 2021)

December 2021 Archive

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

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

Tag:



2020... BLOG POSTS

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

2020 Archive... January thru July

(posted 21 Apr 2023...)

2020 Archive... Aug thru Dec

GOAL...

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

Tag:



2019... BLOG POSTS

(Posted 22 Dec 2020...)

The new archive is HTML5, and completely validated!

2019 journal entries

Tag:



2018... BLOG POSTS

(Posted 18 Dec 2020...)

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

The new archive is HTML5, and completely validated!

2018 journal entries

Tag:



2017... BLOG POSTS

(Posted 19 Dec 2020...)

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

The new archive is HTML5, and completely validated!

2017 journal entries

Tag:






Welcome
rifts avatar
I am rift vegan!

I live in the Pacific Northwest of the USA, with my Partner in a tiny townhouse. I am vegan for ethical and environmental reasons, my love for animals and nature is a very important part of my life.

This blog is currently a place for the photos I take while out walking.
Topics include...
Nature! Flora, Fauna, Funga and Phenomena.
Clouds and the fog on the hill.
Trees, native plants, blossoms and botanicals.
Wildlife! Mostly birds and squirrels. Occasionally other creatures, including bugs.
Reading and Journaling.
Veganic Gardening.
Rants!

Static8 Journal RSS 2.0 feed

2023

Jan 2023
Feb 2023
Mar 2023
Apr 2023
May 2023
June 2023
July 2023
Aug 2023
Sept 2023
Oct 2023
Nov 2023
Dec 2023


Yep, you can email me. and you can write to me.
Email

rift vegan
PO Box 23724
Eugene OR 97402
USA


GoodReads



 

Valid HTML 4.01 Transitional Valid RSS feed HTML Coded by Hand! handcoded on NoteTab Pro


Static8.com

Site Map