Nature

Red panda sketches & photos: First Friday Art

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Here are a few pencil sketches of a red panda I drew at a zoo. These animals are most active at dawn and dusk and when they’re asleep, they appear to sleep soundly. It’s nice to draw a critter who stays in one place for long periods of time. 🙂

Red panda sketches

This endangered species lives in a relatively small area of western Nepal, east into China. As shown in my photos below, bamboo is one of their favorite foods. With their dense, colorful fur coats and “cute” features, they make quite an impression on zoo visitors.

Chewing bamboo
Content chewer
Red panda up close

Their biggest threats in the wild include habitat degradation, hunting, and poaching. For more about red pandas, and to donate towards their conservation, visit Red Panda Network.

Do you have artwork you would like to share? If so, include a First Friday Art tag on your post.

A larch in waiting up close: Macro Monday

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This larch in waiting photo shows one of their tiny cones up close. The western larch needles turn gold in the fall before dropping. The pompom needle clusters in this photo were just beginning to turn. This unique tree is one of my local favorites.

A larch in waiting

Macro Monday

Creature of the Shadows: Monochrome Monday

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This creature of the shadows is a Sumatran tiger. There are only 300-500 of this species remaining in the wild. This tiger lives at the Fota Wildlife Park in Midleton, County Cork, Ireland. A breeding pair at the park has produced two cubs to date.

Creature of the shadows tiger

Monochrome Monday

Following fall close to home: LAPC

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Sometimes you experience memorable moments by following fall close to home. I’ve made a special effort to capture glimpses of the season in photographs this year near my home in Bend. Fall is my favorite season!

Autumn weather brings cloudy skies and spectacular sunrises that take your breath away.

Following fall in Bend, Oregon

Trees don their finest fashions and marvel at their reflections.

Fall foliage

Some trees try to see how many shades of autumn they can pack onto one branch.

Following fall in Bend, Oregon

And when the leaves fall, they dazzle you like an ephemeral work of art.

Fallen leaves

If you listen closely, you’ll hear the leafless trees revealing stories layer by layer until they are clothed once again.

Paper birch

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Follow your bliss

Mount Hood in October: 1-to-3 Photo Challenge

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I went on a road trip near Mount Hood in October and took this photo of the mountain. I’ll be showing how I processed it three ways with Corel PaintShop Pro 2021.

Prior to trying various effects, I decreased the brightness, increased the contrast, fill light and clarity, and used the local tone mapping setting. I made these adjustments because the gray and white mountain blended into the cloudy gray sky. Cloud cover can block your views of Mount Hood in October so we were lucky to see it on this overcast day.

The first two show the Mount Hood original image and the same picture with an enhanced edge effect. For this image I went to Effects>Edge Effects>Enhance More. I like this image because it showcases the trees in the forest.

Mount Hood in OctoberEnhanced edges photo effect

The next two show the Mount Hood original image and the same picture with a film and filters effect. For this image I went to Effects>Film and Filters. I selected Vibrant Foliage from the first pulldown menu, Cooling Filter from the second one, and increased the filter density. This effect’s blue filter highlights the sky more.

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The wisest ones wait – 2 haiku: SS & Haiku Challenge

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the wisest ones wait
impatient trembles of green
longing for fall’s kiss

The wisest ones wait for fall

scarlet embraces
gold whispers, orange laughter
autumn’s fleeting love

Autumn leaves in Oregon

Sunday Stills (SS) – Leaves and Trees

Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge – Wait and Wise

Marigolds up close: Macro Monday

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I saw these marigolds up close in a park at the end of July. These vignettes show orange, yellow, and white flowers that were growing in a border planting. Marigolds are an easy to grow annual that blooms for weeks during the summer months.

Marigolds up close
Yellow flower blooming
White flower blooming

Macro Monday

Observatory of the Past: LAPC

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This observatory of the past is on McKenzie Pass near Sisters, Oregon. Dee Wright Observatory was built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps to showcase the human and geological history of this location. The round tower sits atop a small hill.

Observatory of the past

Here’s what it looks like when you approach it from the west. It’s one of the odder roadside attractions in Oregon but one that should not be missed.

Observatory of the past

The Observatory is constructed of local lava rock. The triangular-shaped rail supports look like rock cairns.

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Bonsai trees – Living works of art: Thursday Tree Love

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These bonsai trees in the Portland Japanese Garden were living works of art. We visited the garden in mid-October, when the colors of autumn were beginning to put on their show.

The first tree is a Japanese maple and it’s 35 years old. This variety’s foliage changes from green to shades of golden-yellow and red. This maple’s reddish bark intensifies in color over the winter months.

Bonsai trees - maple
Japanese maple, Acer palmatum ‘Beni-kawa’

The second tree is a vine maple and it’s 75 years old. This type of maple is common in Pacific Northwest forests. Those growing in shade tend to have yellow fall color, while those in direct sunlight are more likely to turn orange and scarlet.

Vine maple
Vine maple, Acer circinatum

The third tree is a trident maple and it’s 30 years old. This maple is native to China, Korea, and Japan. It gets its name from its three-lobed leaves.

Trident maple
Trident maple, Acer buergerianum
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Wildlife sightings at Yellowstone: Sunday Stills

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Here are a few photos of wildlife sightings at Yellowstone from our trip in early June. Visitors have opportunities to see many furred and feathered creatures within Yellowstone National Park.

Sometimes you see wildlife, such as this snowshoe hare, that you may not have seen in the park before. This hare’s population peaks about every ten years and this must be a peak year.

Wildlife Sightings at Yellowstone

Sometimes you’ll see wildlife interacting within close proximity of each other. This radio-collared gray wolf got a little too close for comfort to the bison calves in this herd. The bulls and cows quickly chased it away.

Bison & wolf
Bison & wolf
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Mushrooms up close – A true story: Macro Monday & OLWG

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Mushrooms up close
Mushrooms & whirlybirds in Portland, Oregon

A couple I once knew had a memorable experience involving mushrooms, up close and personal. They went out mushroom picking with friends in the rainforests near Olympia, Washington. That night, they prepared a fancy meal that included the mushrooms they harvested.

After dinner, they sat around the table exclaiming how wonderful the freshly-harvested mushrooms tasted. Suddenly, they noticed the family cat had jumped onto the counter and eaten a little of the mushroom sauce. She immediately began to vomit.

The dinner guests looked at each other with horror. When they picked the mushrooms, they weren’t sure of the exact species. Even when you look at mushrooms up close they can be difficult to identify. If you eat the wrong type, it might kill you.

Out of an abundance of caution, they decided to go to the hospital. Everyone had their stomach pumped in case the mushrooms were poisonous.

When they returned home, they were surprised to find the cat with a litter of newborn kittens. The cat wasn’t sick from poisoning—the vomiting was due to her labor.

At the time it happened they decided to err on the side of caution, but later, they thought their reaction was pretty funny. 😀

Macro Monday

On-line Writer’s Guild (OLWG) #232 – It might kill you

Fall at the Japanese Garden in Portland: LAPC & FOTD

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I have been patiently waiting for fall at the Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon. Every day, I visited their Fall Color Status Update website. In mid-October, the site indicated good leaf color in their plantings. Off we went!

A brilliant rainbow of colors bordered the Flat Garden. The green Circle and Gourd Islands in the sea of white gravel represent enlightenment and happiness.

fall at the Japanese Garden

This nearby path is bordered by more subtle colors.

Path in a garden

The Garden limits the number of visitors, but they crowded around this maple tree with its bright red leaves.

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Streets lined with gold: Thursday Tree Love

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These streets lined with gold are along the highway east of Mount Hood in Oregon. I was there a week ago and the colors were spectacular!

streets lined with gold

The golden leaves along this road are mostly on aspen and larch trees. Larch is a deciduous conifer. Yes, most conifers keep their leaves through the winter–not the larch. See my post Western larch – A beauty in gold for more about these trees.

Fall aspen and larch

We also saw pops of red from the vine maples growing along this route.

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After the rain in the Painted Hills: LAPC & FF

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After the rain in the Painted Hills of eastern Oregon, the colors stand out in bold contrast. I live an hour and a half away from these strange geological features and patiently wait for the storms of fall to arrive.

The first image shows the view from the road to the Overlook parking area. The hills are located within the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.

After the rain

Though I’ve been here several times, I’d never hiked the 1/2 mile Painted Hills Overlook Trail. The easy trail leads you past this dramatic scene. Wow!

After the rain

Here’s a closer view.

After the rain

These hills are on the south side of the trail.

Painted Hills

There are four short, easy trails and a more moderate longer trail a short distance away.

This photo shows part of the Painted Cove Trail after the rain.

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Green leaves fluttering poem: Haiku Challenge

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green leaves fluttering
ever alert for dawn’s frost
blushes of autumn

green leaves fluttering poem

Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge – Ever & Green

An old bench at Sahalie Falls: Pull up a Seat Challenge

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This old bench at Sahalie Falls, Oregon stands in stark contrast to the new fences bordering the trail. It’s nice they preserved a piece of the past here.

Old bench at Sahalie Falls

It’s a short walk from the parking area to view the falls. Aren’t they spectacular?

Pull Up a Seat Photo Challenge 2021 – Week 42

Painted Hills – An origin myth: WWP

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Painted Hills Oregon

Steep knife-edged mountains arose from the plains centuries ago. Over time, torrential rains wore them down into rounded hills. Though plants tried to take root on their soil, none survived.

The Wise One summoned the artists of her tribe. She asked them to paint the hills in sacred colors. Pale green colors, from crushed sagebrush leaves and golden rabbitbrush blossoms, and black and red, from sumac trees, filled their brushes. The artisans painted the hills with broad brushstrokes and veiled the skies with delicate dabs of white.

Weekend Writing Prompt #230 – Brush (87 words)

Autumn cascara leaves up close: Macro Monday

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Here are a couple pictures of autumn cascara leaves up close. I spotted these beautiful multi-colored leaves on shrubs near Santiam Junction in Oregon. They were growing within an inhospitable looking lava bed.

Autumn cascara

This tall shrub is attractive year round. The oblong leaves, with their distinctive parallel veins, are glossy green for most of the year. Autumn cascara leaves have spectacular colors. Cascara produce greenish-yellow flowers in the spring, and dark purple fruit in the summer.

fall leaves

One of their common names is Cascara sagrada, Spanish for “sacred bark.” The bark is well known for its laxative effects. See the Names section of Cascara, Frangula purshiana for funny Chinook names based on these qualities. 😉

Macro Monday

The elegance of terns: First Friday Art

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I have always been impressed by the elegance of terns. Terns in flight have pointed wingtips and some species have deeply forked tails. Today I’m sharing a stylized pencil sketch I did of a Forster’s tern. These wetland birds can be spotted in much of North America at certain times of the year.

the elegance of terns

Here are a few Caspian terns I saw at The Narrows in Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, south of Burns, Oregon. They don’t have the black-tipped bill and forked tail of Forster’s terns, but still have the elegance of ferns.

Caspian terns

Do you have artwork you would like to share? If so, include a First Friday Art tag on your post.

If you’re looking for something artistic to do this month, consider participating in Inktober. Create a pen-and-ink drawing every day for a month based on prompts. Fun and challenging!

Splashes of Autumn – Tanka: LAPC & SSC

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Splashes of autumn

Splashes of autumn
Along verdant waterways
Beside winding roads
Within ancient lava beds
The glorious frocks of fall

Splashes of autumn
Fall leaves
Fall leaves in lava rock

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Colors of Autumn

Sunday Stills Challenge (SSC) – Signs of Autumn or Spring

Rocky seating at Yellowstone: Pull Up a Seat Challenge

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These photos show rocky seating at Yellowstone National Park. The Park Service constructed several types of places to sit that blend into the environment.

in the first picture, tourist gather to take in the dramatic views of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Young children are taking a brief rest with their family on a rocky bench.

Rocky seating at Yellowstone

The second picture shows a boulder sofa at the head of the trail. It’s unoccupied at the moment since everyone is drawn towards the waterfalls a short distance away.

Rocky seating in Yellowstone

Here’s a picture of the waterfalls. Can you see why people travel thousands of miles to sit on rough rocky seating to take in the view?

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Pull Up a Seat Challenge – Week 39

Milkweed seedpod up close: Macro Monday

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Here are three photos of a milkweed seedpod up close. As you may know, milkweed flowers are a favorite of monarch butterflies. North American populations of this butterfly have been rapidly declining.

I got a packet of seeds for free from Deschutes Land Trust, one of our local conservation nonprofits. To find milkweed seeds near you, use the Milkweed Seed Finder courtesy of the Xerces Society.

milkweed seedpod
seeds up close
Milkweed seedpod

We planted milkweed starts in our garden this year, but they fried during a week of unusually hot weather. 🙁

My friend, Suzy, planted hers last year and had greater success. This seedpod she gave me measures 4 inches in length. A couple of days ago it split along a seam. Each seed is attached to a little wispy fluff known as coma.

Does this milkweed seedpod remind anyone else out there of the pods in Invasion of the Body Snatchers?

Macro Monday

Dam It! Beavers and Us: One Word Sunday

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I’m always on the lookout for beavers when walking the river trails in the Old Mill District of Bend. I listen for the sound of a tail slapping the water and search for the silhouette of a rounded head breaking the water’s surface. Why look for beavers next to a shopping area? Because these industrious creatures found an ideal spot to build a lodge there. I’ve always wanted to know more about beavers, so I visited the Museum’s Dam It! Beavers and Us exhibition.

Beavers exhibit in Bend

This multimedia interactive exhibit offers visitors the opportunity to learn all about the North American beaver, Castor canadensis. Tall, cutout panels representing forest trees divide the room. Dappled light shines onto the imaginary forest floor. A re-creation of a beaver dam is tucked into a corner for kids to explore.

Beavers exhibit in Bend

In another corner, a large box suspended from a parachute drifts towards the ground—more on that later. An Oregon flag, featuring a beaver, flutters against a wall near the entrance. Video featuring the important connection of beavers with Native Americans plays in another section. A colorful animation featuring the life cycle of beavers plays on a large screen on the back wall.

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Poppies & honeybee up close: Macro Monday

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Poppies & honeybee up close in our garden this spring. This bee has full pollen baskets on its hind legs. Did you know these pollen pellets can account for 30% of a bee’s weight?

Poppies & honeybees

Macro Monday

Oregon mountains from afar: LAPC

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Today I’m featuring views of Oregon mountains from afar. We’re lucky to have wide open views of these landmarks.

The first picture shows a view of the iconic Cascade Volcanoes west of Bend, Oregon. From left to right you can see Broken Top, South Sister, Middle Sister, North Sister, Black Crater, Mount Washington, Three Fingered Jack, Black Butte, and Mount Jefferson. Visitor can drive scenic roads, hike, rock climb, bike, go boating, fish, hunt, and nature watch around these peaks. This map helps you find the activities you’re looking for.

Oregon mountains from afar

The second picture shows mountains east of Terrebonne, Oregon. The highest peak is Gray Butte, where I’ve seen lots of stunning wildflowers in the spring. At the base of the mountains, on the left side, you can find Smith Rock State Park. This park is a destination for rock climbers and hikers from around the world.

Oregon mountains from afar
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Pines on pilings along Deschutes River Trail: TTL

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I saw these lodgepole pines on pilings next to a bridge crossing the Deschutes River. I was hiking the trail to Benham Falls but had to pause to marvel at these little trees. Trout swam around the pilings, providing a little extra fertilizer for this odd nursery.

Who knows why the trees settled there. They certainly found a nice piece of waterfront property with a view. 😉

pines on pilings

Thursday Tree Love – 114

Fading hibiscus up close: Macro Monday

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I saw these fading hibiscus flowers at a local garden center in early June. The petals are past their prime, but the flowers still have a style all their own.

Fading hibiscus

Macro Monday

Do you wonder when you wander?: LAPC

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Do you wonder when you wander
Where the path will lead?

Up to mountains,
Where scattering clouds reveal the peaks of possibility?

Mt Shuksan, Washington

Down to deserts,
Where sandstorms expose the color of earth’s soul?

Blue Basin Trail, Oregon

Over to ocean shores,
Where waves create cryptic messages in the sand?

Do you wonder? Near Dingle, Ireland

Through dense forests,
Where trees of different character stand together as one?

Do you wonder - near Republic, WA

Do you wonder when you wander
Where the path will lead?

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Keep Walking

Daisies Three Ways: One-to-three & Friday Flowers

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Here are pictures of daisies three ways I took on the Mill A Loop trail in Bend, Oregon. I used Corel PaintShop Pro 2021 to do the photo processing.

The first two show the original photo compared to a soft focus adjustment. I think it works well for these soft flowers.

Flowers in Bend, OregonDaisies three ways

The second two show the original photo compared to a colored edges effect. I like to draw and this effect created a work of art, minus all the erasing I usually do. 😉

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Portraits of creatures in different light: LAPC

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In these portraits of creatures, the lighting is a major part of the scene.

In the first picture, a family of Sandhill Cranes struts across a meadow in the morning light. The lead bird, in the strongest light, keeps an eye out for predators.

portraits of creatures - sandhill cranes

In the next photo, a bull elk grazes in a grassy field. Bright fluffy clouds and dark forest trees are major parts of this shot. The elk, with its bright back fur and dark legs, blends into that environment.

Bull elk

In this photo, a northern river otter drifts through the water. Mid-day sun cuts through the water and dapples the bottom surface. A trail of bubbles emphasizes the otter’s streamlined form.

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