Ponytail drawing & photo: First Friday Art

One of the prompts for the 2022 Inktober event was “ponytail.” My interpretation, shown below, was a quick pen-and-ink drawing of a pony’s tail. 😀

Ponytail drawing

I’m also including a photograph of a ponytail. Okay, it’s not really a pony, but people often mistook him for one.

This is Calypso Blue, a miniature horse I once owned. He measured 32 inches at his withers. Miniature horses are supposed to have proportions similar to full-sized horses, only smaller in size.

Mellow fellow miniature horse 9January2019

Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.

First Friday Art

Looking up in Burns: LAPC

I did a lot of looking up in Burns, Oregon on my trip in April 2023. The main purpose of my trip was to look for birds on Harney County Migratory Bird Festival tours. However, I arrived a day early to participate in the Downtown Walking History Tour.

A very short history of Burns, Oregon

Burns was officially established in 1884 and incorporated in 1889. The Northern Paiute, or their ancestors, lived here for thousands of years prior to the arrival of European settlers. Harney County, where Burns is located, is the largest county in Oregon and ninth largest in the nation. This sparsely populated county is 10,226 square miles in size. The population of Burns, its largest city, was 2,757 in 2021.

Our tour guide told us about the history of buildings along the main road. Sometimes she pointed out areas where no building currently exists. Unfortunately, fires destroyed many buildings in years past. It is ironic that the town of Burns had so many fires.

Looking up in Burns

While I listened to facts about many of the buildings we passed, I kept looking up in Burns. My attention wandered, and I focused on the architecture overhead.

Some of the buildings had fallen into disrepair.

Old structure

Others retained parts of the original structure with updates, like modern windows.

Looking up in Burns

The Federal Building housed the Post Office at one time. I think it was once the tallest building in Burns.

Some of the architectural details stood out to me.

The tan paint on the walls cracked in interesting patterns on this building. White edging with a scalloped edge shaded the green stones stuck into plaster.

Old building

Though the stonework was painted over on this building, the intricate top edge was left intact.

Architectural details

Some of the updated buildings, like the Masonic Building pictured below, have been carefully restored. The quote above the entrance reads, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Abraham Lincoln.

Looking up in Burns

Renovated buildings in downtown Burns house apartments, upscale boutique hotels, and office space.

In 1899, the building pictured below was the C.H. Voegtly Hardware Building. Now it’s the 1899 Foundry. It’s “a place to encourage, connect, and grow small business startups.” See… things are looking up in Burns! 😀

1899 Foundry

Still, the old buildings have their charm. This is the Odd Fellows Building.

Looking up in Burns

And if you look closely, you may find a glimpse of magic hidden in an alleyway. The rough construction of this wall anchors spreading branches of an immense plant, preserving tales from the past.

Story tree

Visiting Burns

When visiting Burns, stop by the Harney County Library to pick up a walking tour guide about downtown’s history. Our tour guide was great and we had several locals along on the walk. Listening to their excitement describing what once was made the tour very entertaining.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Buildings and other structures

Paddling near Prineville : WW & LAPC

Paddling near Prineville

Paddling near Prineville on a spring day.

Wordless Wednesday (WW)

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Skyscapes or Cloudscapes

Muttart Conservatory : Monochrome Monday

 Muttart Conservatory

Pyramid-shaped greenhouses at Muttart Conservatory in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Monochrome Monday

The path: LAPC, WWP, WS

The path in front of you may be dark and foreboding

Santiam Wagon Road

At times, it will zig and zag, causing you to lose hope

Zig zag path

Keep your eyes and mind open, looking for an ephemeral glimmer of light

Sunrise and juniper

Persevere to reach the colorful radiance ahead

Curving path & sunrise

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Skyscapes or Cloudscapes

Weekend Writing Prompt – Ephemeral (38 words)

Weekend Sky

Hollinshead Park Gardens: Friday Flowers

The Hollinshead Park gardens in Bend, Oregon include a community garden and a water-wise garden.

Hollinshead Park Gardens – Community Garden

The community garden at Hollinshead Park is managed by a cooperative agreement between Oregon State University Extension Service, Central Oregon Master Gardener Association, and Bend Park and Recreation District.

Local gardeners grow fruit, vegetables, and flowers on 90 reserved plots.

Hollinshead park gardens

Gardeners plant in concise or freeform patterns. Some use various supports or covers.

Hollinshead park panorama

It’s a great place to take pictures throughout the year.

Let us (lettuce)

You can see pale green wall-of-water plant protectors in the foreground below. They help protect the plants from freezing temperatures.

Community garden

The flowers in bloom can change from week to week.

Hollinshead Park gardens

This looks like a very healthy zucchini plant.

Zucchini

The community gardens are scattered throughout Bend and nearby towns. In fact, they are so popular some use a lottery system to select potential gardeners.

Hollinshead Water-wise Garden

The Hollinshead Water-wise Garden focuses on landscaping plants that require less water. This garden is supported by the same organizations as the community garden, plus the City of Bend.

Hollinshead park gardens

I like how plants are clearly labeled in this garden. Seeing these plants in person can help you decide if you want them in your yard.

Blazing star

This weeping Norway spruce was huge! We have one in our front yard.

weeping spruce

I always think of Spirea as a plant for wetter environments, but there are varieties that do well with less water.

Spirea

If you’re looking for a variety of scents in your garden, you can check out fragrant plants as well.

Fragrant Abelia

You can find more examples of plants that grow well in Central Oregon at the Extension Service Garden at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond, Oregon. The Central Oregon Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Madras also has labeled plants.

Friday Flowers

Models forever in flight: Wordless Wednesday

Models forever in flight

Models forever in flight at Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, Oregon

Wordless Wednesday

Firepits at Winterfest 2023 : LAPC

In February, we went to see firepits at Winterfest at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond, Oregon. You never know what kinds of things the participants of the firepit section will come up with. The firepits used to be on display on park service land along the Deschutes River in Bend.

This one looks like a Viking ship, complete with dragon head and tail.

Ship firepit

Here’s a closer look at its head. Look at those teeth!

close up of dragon

Flowers and forest firepits

This firepit looked like a round flower, full of flame.

Flower fire

This looked more like a daylily.

flower firepits

This one looked like a big stump covered with bark.

tree trunk fire

Geometric firepits

Several of the firepits were more geometric. I really liked this one.

geometric firepits

This one looks like an Olympic torch, waiting to be lit.

torch

Some have lots of straight lines and color. I liked the bold blue color of this one.

blue square firepit

This one also has straight lines with an interesting sun and moon motif.

Tall fireplace

This square one has the Harley Davidson logo.

Harley firepit

This one looks like it would fit right into a corner.

square fire

Round firepits

Some firepits are more rounded. I liked the open framework of this one and the red color.

red round firepits

This one always reminds me of the Seattle Space Needle.

tower fire

Hanging pits

A couple of the pits hung from chains, like this one.

hanging fire

This one was like a large, cooking pot. I liked the flame cutouts on the base.

hanging pot firepits

Odds and Ends

Some don’t fit neatly into any category. This giant anvil reflects the fire-related theme.

anvil firepit

There were lots of details on this guitar-shaped firepit. It’s gorgeous!

guitar firepits

This one was an octopus engulfing a small boat.

octopus fire

Here’s a closer look at it. This was another one of my favorites.

octopus on boat firepits

The last one I’m featuring looks kind of like a tree trunk. When you look a little closer, you’ll glimpse a flamingo peeking out.

flamingo firepit

Like I said at the beginning of the post, you never know what kind of firepits you’ll see!

See more of my firepit photos from the 2020 festival and the 2016 festival.

Lens-artists Photo Challenge – Art in the Park (and other places)

Dressed up tree: Thursday Tree Love

I saw this dressed up tree in downtown Bend a few days ago. I learned that this form of street art is called “yarn bombing.” Local crafters create unique knit and crocheted pieces to cover trees, statues, benches, bicycles, and other structures. Their work certainly brightens up a cloudy day.

Dressed up tree

Thursday Tree Love

Black cottonwood up close: Macro Monday

This black cottonwood up close picture was taken at Malheur NWR headquarters in Oregon.

Black cottonwood

I kinda have a thing for taking pictures of bark. Can you see why I thought this tree was ready for its close up?

Macro Monday

The anticipation of spring: LAPC

The anticipation of spring is a memorable time of the year

Some celebrate spring’s arrival with dancing and bugling songs

anticipation of spring

Others pair off with thoughts of creating families

pair of swans

Some blend into the background, unnoticed

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Mallard drawing and photos: First Friday Art

Today I’m sharing a pen and ink drawing I did of a mallard duck in flight. These ducks live in many parts of the world and most of us are familiar with their quack, quack calls.

Duck pen & ink

This hen was very photogenic. She stood a few feet away from me one warm summer day, posing in different positions.

Mallard hen
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A small but bountiful garden: Friday Flowers

This small but bountiful garden was behind a house in northeast Bend, Oregon. This was one of the featured stops on the High Desert Garden Tour in July 2022.

These purple clematis were beautiful. There’s also a peek of an Annabelle hydrangea shrub in this photo.

Clematis

These long-blooming flowers are a type of daisy. I think they’re Shasta daisies. You can see a multi-colored Euonymus shrub on the left side.

small but bountiful garden
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Lichens & moss up close: Macro Monday

This limb held an interesting collection of lichens & moss. It had a great variety of colors and textures. Golden grasses nicely framed the scene.

Lichens & moss

Macro Monday

Collection of… : LAPC

A collection of ingredients used to cure maladies at an ancient apothecary

collection of herbal cures
Kam Wah Chung, John Day, Oregon

A few carefully curated contemporary works, echoing history

Contemporary baskets
Baskets by Natalie Kirk (Warm Springs Tribe), High Desert Museum, Oregon
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Water garden seating: Pull Up a Seat

The water garden seating blends into the background near the end of the bridge in this landscape. Duckweed covers the surface of the pond, adding to the predominant green color.

Water garden seating

Pull up a seat

Clouds of Harney County: LAPC & WS

The clouds of Harney County form dramatic backdrops to the High Desert landscapes of eastern Oregon. I just returned from the four-day Harney County Migratory Bird Festival. Though I was there to see birds, the cloud formations draw your eyes to the skies.

Layers of fluffy clouds hung over the Battleground Buttes. Higher elevations in the county received 200% of their normal snowfall. Days before I arrived, these fields were covered with snow.

Clouds of Harney County
Battleground Buttes from Greenhouse Lane

Farther south, on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, wispy clouds drifted in the wind. You can see part of Steens Mountain in the background. This 50-mile long mountain dominates the landscape.

Center Patrol Road
Steens Mountain from Center Patrol Road
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Where the path may lead: Monochrome Monday

I saw this well-known quote on where the path may lead you at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

Where the path may lead quote

Monochrome Monday

Paperbark maple: Thursday Tree Love

This paperbark maple, Acer griseum, was growing in the Oregon Garden in Silverton, Oregon. This tree grows to a height of 20 – 30 feet.

TheGardenWebsite.com refers to paperbark maples as a “hardy, tough and well-behaved tree.” Their peeling, cinnamon-colored bark is beautiful throughout the year.

The species name, griseum, refers to the grey color on the underside of the leaves. In the fall, the leaves turn various colors of red, orange, and yellow. This maple produces distinctive winged seeds are known as “samaras” or “helicopters.”

paperbark maple
Tree at Oregon Garden
Close up of bark

Thursday Tree Love

Spring’s gentle beauty haiku: HPC

on arduous treks
take time to pause and notice
spring’s gentle beauty

Spring;s gentle beauty

Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge – Pause & Trek

Pink Chrysanthemum up close: Macro Monday

I saw this gorgeous pink chrysanthemum on the High Desert Garden Tour last year. Though native to China and northeastern Europe, these plants do well in many parts of the world. The long-lasting flowers are available in a variety of colors. These include pink, purple, orange, yellow, white, and red. Unlike many of the plants that grow in High Desert gardens, this one is not appetizing to deer. A big plus around here!

pink chrysanthemum

Macro Monday

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #244-Glowing moments

Today I have the honor of serving as guest host for the Lens-Artist Photo Challenge. The prompt this week is glowing moments.

One of my earliest memories is of me sitting cross-legged in a darkened closet, awestruck by the glow cast from a jarful of lightning bugs. Though I don’t have pictures of that magical moment, I have captured many glowing moments since then.

A High Desert sunset glows with fiery colors.

Glowing moments sunset

While the rising moon shines in subdued tones.

Full moon

Purple lupine flowers shine on a cool spring morning.

Blooming lupine
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Mountain scene table: First Friday Art

I created this mountain scene table with my husband twenty years ago. He made the table from milled birch wood and vine maple, cut from our property. I designed, painted, and carved around the mountain scene on the table’s top.

mountain scene table

Here’s a picture of the table while I worked on it. I painted the mountain scene with acrylics and used different colored stains on the game boards to mimic marquetry. Real marquetry uses different colors and types of wood that is cut and pieced together.

Mountain scene table
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Lighted leaves-Winterfest: Monochrome Monday

I took this photo of lighted leaves at Winterfest in Redmond, Oregon. Sepia tone highlights the shapes and textures of the leaves on this lighted tree.

lighted leaves

Monochrome Monday

Special sights seen: LAPC

Today I’m sharing some special sights seen nearby.

I found this cool geode slice recently. It almost looks like it has an animal’s face on it, doesn’t it?

Special sights geode

…Or I used a mirror photography effect on an oval stone. The pointed thing on the very bottom is all that shows of my hand holding the geode.

I flew over this desolate-looking landscape on a recent trip.

seaside sculptures

…Or I took a picture of a sculptured seashore and cropped it. This area measured about two foot by three foot.

One day, I saw a flight of four dragons migrating across the sky.

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Barrel House Tour, Deschutes Brewery: LAPC

This past weekend, I went on the Barrel House Tour at Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon. The brewery offers several tours including public tours, private tours, and this one, where you learn specifically about barrel brews.

Barrel House Tour

You begin and end the tour in the Bend Tasting Room & Beer Garden. As you can see, it’s full of visitors there to taste the brewery’s iconic beers.

Deschutes Brewery

On the tour, you walk to a nearby warehouse where you’ll see some of the ingredients used to make their beers. Deschutes Brewery currently sells their products in 32 states and a few countries. Black Butte Porter is their most well-known beer, but there are three dozen different beers, and a couple ciders, available at the tasting room location.

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Double yolk thunderegg: Macro Monday

I call this a double yolk thunderegg because two of these round rocks formed together. Thundereggs are Oregon’s state rock. You never know what’s inside until they’re cut open, like this one, or already cracked open.

Double yolk thunderegg

This double yolk thunderegg is from Richardson’s Rock Ranch, north of Madras, Oregon. Though you can no longer dig there, you can purchase cut, polished, and raw rocks of many kinds from their large store.

Rough side of rock

If you want to dig for thundereggs, visit Priday Polka-Dot Agate Beds, about 9 miles northeast of Richardson’s. See my post about this amazing place if you want to uncover ENORMOUS thundereggs.

Macro Monday

Purple flowers of spring: LAPC & SC

I think of spring as being a season in flux, constantly shifting between the coolness of winter and the warmth of summer. Purple flowers, part warm red and part cool blue, reflect this indecision.

Cheery little phlox flowers blossom in profusion when spring arrives.

Purple flowers phlox

Tall, graceful penstemon pull in passing pollinators.

Penstemon & butterfly
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Guinness Storehouse visit

I’m sharing photos of a Guinness Storehouse visit on this Saint Patrick’s Day. The Storehouse is in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland and it gets millions of visitors a year.

Guinness Storehouse sign

Guinness was first created in 1759 and the Storehouse where it’s made opened to the public in 2000. The best selling alcoholic drink in Ireland is Guinness. The exhibits at the Storehouse lead you through the history and manufacturing of this iconic beer.

Guinness Storehouse

I liked how the display boards had brief, informative explanations.

Hops description

Displays are also artistic and multimedia. This fountain was one of my favorites. I’ll share photos of their whimsical advertising displays in a future post.

Water display
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When misty fog surrounds haiku: HPC

seek a firm anchor
when misty fog surrounds you
dawn will show the way

When misty fog

Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge – Seek and Fog

Succulent mural in Bend: Monday Mural

This succulent mural is at River’s Place, a food truck pod on the east side of Bend. We are lucky to have at least seven of these “pods” where trucks can hook up to water and power to serve customers. Each pod has indoor seating with numerous beers on tap. They also host musicians, trivia nights, and other events.

This mural was created by Nicole Fontana, of Fontana Painting. Succulents are one of my favorite types of plants because they have so much variety. She captured that variety well.

I have featured Nicole’s work in a previous post featuring whimsical doors in Tumalo. I loved the detail in those paintings and in this succulent mural.

succulent mural

Monday Mural

Ochoco Highway drive in Oregon: LAPC

Last October, we took a scenic drive along the Ochoco Highway in eastern Oregon. The landscapes in this area are punctuated by scenic rugged buttes, painted hills, rimrock mountains, and snow covered peaks.

Rustic buildings persevere, despite the harshness of the environment near Strawberry Mountain. Puffy overcast clouds filled the sky.

Ochoco Highway

Black Butte stands out when you round a corner near Mitchell. The clouds in this picture were breathtakingly beautiful.

Black Butte in eastern Oregon
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