Jerusalem cricket up close: Macro Monday

After waking up one morning, I stumbled into my darkened kitchen to make coffee. I almost stepped on this Jerusalem cricket in the middle of the room.

The Jerusalem cricket, Stenopelmatus fuscus, also known as the potato bug, is a slow-moving desert creature that has an almost prehistoric look. Though they look harmless, they’re capable of delivering a painful bite with their strong jaw. They feed on plant roots, decaying matter, potatoes, and other insects – including their mates!

Jerusalem cricket

I carefully scooped up my unexpected visitor with a piece of cardboard and took it outside so it could hide under a rock, and not under my bare feet. 😉

To learn more about this strange insects’ mating ritual, watch this video.

Macro Monday

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

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

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

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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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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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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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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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

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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Under the Snow Exhibition

Under the Snow exhibition

When I entered the Under the Snow exhibition at the High Desert Museum on a busy weekend, I thought of one word: engaging. I watched young children dash from one part of the gallery to another, voicing their excitement the whole way. Adults paused and pointed out interesting facts and features. The interactivity of the displays drew everyone in. This exhibition, created by High Desert Museum staff members, displays information in English and Spanish.

Boy at High Desert Museum

Under the Snow presents information on twenty species of wildlife, plants, and fungi on large and small screens. They live in the area beneath the snow called the subnivium. The snow provides insulation, maintaining a steady temperature even when it’s below freezing outside.

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High Desert Oases in Oregon: LAPC

High Desert oases offer peaceful retreats for wildlife and human visitors.

Lake County Oases

Summer Lake lies at the base of Winter Ridge in Lake County, Oregon. When water levels are high, this alkaline lake measures 15 miles long and 5 miles wide. Explorer, Captain John C. Fremont, named the lake and ridge. Here is how he described them:

At our feet…more than a thousand feet below…we looked into a green prairie country, in which a beautiful lake, some twenty miles in length, was spread along the foot of the mountain…Shivering on snow three feet deep, and stiffening in a cold north wind, we exclaimed at once that the names of summer lake and winter ridge should be applied to these proximate places of such sudden and violent contrast.

John C. Fremont, 16 December 1843, Report, Second Expedition
High Desert Oases

Lake Abert, in Lake County, is Oregon’s only saline lake. The lake can host over 50,000 birds a day. Wilson’s Phalaropes and Snowy Plover feed on the brine shrimp and alkali flies that only live in saline lakes. Like the Great Salt Lake, water levels have dropped dramatically in recent years.

Lake Abert
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Euphorbia up close: Macro Monday

Here’s a photograph of Euphorbia, up close, growing in the fall. In spring, this type has bright yellow flowers. These plants, also known as ‘spurge’, are drought tolerant and easy to grow. There are more than 2,000 types of Euphorbia.

Euphorbia

Macro Monday

Solitary Moments in Nature: LAPC

Solitary moments

Collecting pollen for little larvae

Solitary moments

Browsing branches in High Desert landscapes

Mule deer buck

Eyeing potential prey, gliding overhead

Cooper's Hawk
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Weeping hemlock sculpture: TTL & SS

This whimsical weeping hemlock sculpture is in the Oregon Garden in Silverton, Oregon. The weeping growth pattern of this hemlock works perfectly for this garden feature.

Weeping hemlock sculpture

Thursday Tree Love

Sculpture Saturday

A dusting of snow: LAPC & SC

A dusting of snow accentuates
sculptures created by the wind

Dusting of snow

And softens rough edges
of twisting structures

Snowy juniper

A dusting of snow
muffles the calls of nature

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Lungwort up close: Macro Monday

Here’s a picture of lungwort up close, taken near the North Santiam River in Oregon.

Lungwort
Lungwort, Lobania pulmonaria

Also known as Lung lichen, this lichen has been used in dyes, teas, and for treatment of lung ailments. Deer and moose browse on lungwort and other animals use it for nest material.

Lungwort is sensitive to air pollution and doesn’t grow well in polluted locations. In fact, the National Forest Service keeps a database on this and other lichens “to detect, map, evaluate trends, and assess the ecological impacts of air pollutants.”

Macro Monday

The power of red blossoms: SS & Sijo poem

The power of red blossoms radiating in the garden.
Crimson petals briefly unfold, reaching towards a cloudless sky
And the memory of their fire burns deep within your soul.

Sunday Stills (SS) Monthly Color Challenge – Red

Early morning light: LAPC & MM

In the early morning light, shadows shift with the rising sun

Early morning light

Playgrounds wait patiently, quiet and still

Harmon Park
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Icy Cline Falls: Sunday Stills

I took a short hike yesterday to get a memorable view of an icy Cline Falls. Visitors can park at Cline Falls State Scenic Viewpoint and hike a 1/2 mile trail along the river. There’s also a place to view them from above near NW Eagle Drive and NW 74th.

Cline Falls panorama

Cline Falls is on the Deschutes River, 4 miles west of Redmond, Oregon. The river splits into several channels and the waterfalls are 20-feet high and 50-feet wide.

This area is part of the Deschutes River Paddle Trail. Cline Falls is classified as Class-3 and paddlers are required to portage their watercraft around the falls.

Waterfalls near Redmond
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Wild sunflowers: First Friday Art

Today I’m sharing a pen-and-ink drawing I did of wild sunflowers. These were growing at Wawawai Canyon, in southeast Washington State.

wild sunflowers

Here’s the picture from my archives I was working from.

Wild Sunflowers

The wild sunflowers in the photo below were growing on the east side of Steens Mountain in southern Oregon. There are 52 species of sunflower in North America.

Sunflowers & stagecoaches at Steens Mountain, Oregon August 2019
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A gardener’s wish: Wordless Wednesday

A gardener's wish

A gardener’s wish at the Hollinshead Community Garden in Bend, Oregon.

Wordless Wednesday

Surrounded by pines: Thursday Tree Love

Surrounded by pines in the forests near Bend, Oregon. Though it was a hot summer day, the forest canopy provided shade and cooler temperatures. 😀

Surrounded by pines

Thursday Tree Love