I awaken on the shores of a High Desert playa
Dust devils on the distant shoreline dance across the flats
Dry soil at my feet cracks and crumbles
The funnel of a dust devil hovers over me and carries me a few miles away
I drift over a lake of summer and a ridge of winter
Water meanders its way through marshlands of green
On our recent trip we stopped at several hot springs of the West. Each site was special in its own way.
Hot springs occur when geothermally heated groundwater emerges onto the earth’s surface. In areas like Yellowstone National Park, magma is present at shallow depths below the surface. Temperatures in Yellowstone’s hot springs may reach 198 degrees Fahrenheit. At the developed hot springs of the West we visited on this trip, pool temperatures are constantly monitored and modified with colder water.
Lava Hot Springs is located in the town of Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. In this picture, the scenic Portneuf Range mountains tower in the background. This post gives more details about the site.
Bozeman Hot Springs is in Bozeman, Montana. Remodeled in May 2024, this facility includes 12 indoor and outdoor pools. It’s gorgeous! The stage behind the outdoor pools will host future entertainers. Pieces of columnar basalt serve as seating and landscaping. Here is my description of this facility.
Maple leaves in the rain at Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, Portland, Oregon
Here’s the High Desert Voices June 2024 newsletter for your reading pleasure. Lots of nice photos as well! This newsletter is published by and for volunteers at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, where I volunteer.
Articles this month include one on accommodating visitors with disabilities, one on facts about local wildlife mothers, one on the High Desert Ranger Station, and one on a birding event at the Museum.
Please enjoy this month’s issue!
I had a major magical moment with wildlife while visiting Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden in Portland a few weeks ago. I took a little used side trail and paused briefly in the pouring down rain.
This Great Blue Heron walked right up to me before turning to stand near a pond. I could have reached out and touched the bird. WOW! I stopped snapping pictures when it was really close to me because I didn’t want to scare it.
I’m working on a book where the main character is a girl born with the powers of several animals. One animal is a Great Blue Heron. Was this heron showing its appreciation of my efforts so far on that book?
I had another magical moment with wildlife at Yellowstone National Park this week. We were at the end of the road at Slough Creek and saw a small critter weaving its way through the sagebrush. A badger!
I recently saw this white sturgeon sculpture at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Oregon. They are the largest freshwater fish in North America.
A couple months later, I watched these white sturgeon swimming around at the Oregon Zoo. These fish were three or four feet long, but this species can reach lengths of over 14 feet and weigh more than 1,500 pounds. Sturgeon can live more than 100 years.
Here in Oregon, white sturgeon live mainly in large freshwater streams and estuaries along the coast. They occasionally travel into the ocean.
Here is a picture of a much younger white sturgeon taken at the High Desert Museum several years ago. I wouldn’t mind having a sturgeon sculpture of this size fish. The other fish pictured are trout.
Bend Branches always appreciates your comments and likes. Comments may not appear right away since they’re screened for spam prior to posting. Thanks!
A Jenday conure up close at my house. I sometimes take care of my son’s conure when he goes on vacation. It has beautifully colored feathers and a very LOUD voice.
Here’s a pen and ink drawing I did of a Brown Pelican. Brown Pelicans are big seabirds with a unique appearance.
They capture fish by diving into the water and scooping them up in their stretchy throat pouches.
I saw several Brown Pelicans perched on posts at Seafarer’s Park in Warrenton, Oregon last summer.
Seagulls and cormorants perched and flew nearby. This park is at the mouth of the Columbia River. It’s not far from Fort Stevens State Park, a popular destination for campers.
Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.
Bend Branches always appreciates your comments and likes. Comments may not appear right away since they’re screened for spam prior to posting. Thanks!
Montpelier ranch under a cloud-filled sky in Idaho
Bend Branches always appreciates your comments and likes. Comments may not appear right away since they’re screened for spam prior to posting. Thanks!
Last weekend, we drove to Brasada Ranch resort in Powell Butte, Oregon for a BBQ and art show event. They have spectacular views of the Cascade volcanoes from their restaurant. These red chairs around a firepit were a nice accent in this scene.
Here’s a closer view of some of the marvellous mountains.
This beautiful resort has received recognition from Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Golfweek, USA Today, and other sources. Since we live close by, we did a staycation in one of their cabins a couple of years ago and it was great!
Seastacks before the storm in Tillamook Bay, Oregon.
This landmark is known locally as The Three Graces.
In early May, I visited the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden in Portland, Oregon.
The 9.5-acre garden contains more that 2,500 types of rhododendrons, azaleas, and companion plants. This site was donated by the Jackson family in 1950.
After paying admission, you’ll enter the garden over this beautiful bridge.
I decided to try kayaking East Lake, at Newberry National Volcanic Monument, on a spring day a couple of years ago.
“It’s spring,” I thought to myself. “The weather will be fine.” See how beautiful it looks in the photo below near the East Lake Campground?
However, the shoreline is at 6,400 feet in elevation and the weather can change fast. Be prepared!
I was captivated by the cliff-lined north shore and set my sights on reaching it. “It’s not that far away,” I thought. Later, I determined it was a 1.25 mile trip across the lake.
Continue reading
black-necked stilts parade
on pink legs, slender yet strong,
in search of magic
hidden beneath the marshlands
in iridescent ripples
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Delicate
Bend Branches always appreciates your comments and likes. Comments may not appear right away since they’re screened for spam prior to posting. Thanks!
The Buena Vista ponds are a great place to spot birds at Malheur NWR in Oregon. In the middle of this picture, you can glimpse three Trumpeter Swans foraging for food.
In the distance, you can see Steens Mountain. This 50-mile long mountain rises majestically over the Sagebrush Sea in southeastern Oregon.
Hope may be bright spots in the darkness
Or at the end of a twisted and turning path
Hope may be something we wish and pray for
Cedar waxwing birds are one of my favorite kinds of birds. This month, I’m showing a simple pen and ink drawing I did of one.
When you first see a cedar waxwing, you might think of it as “simple” looking. They don’t have bold markings. Instead, their markings blend together smoothly.
Their tail feathers are tipped with a yellow wax-like substance and their wingtips are tipped with red.
The dramatic cloud formations caught my attention in this Soda Springs scene.
Soda Springs is a small city in Idaho known for its geyser and mineral springs. The Soda Springs Geyser is on a timed release valve and it goes off once an hour. Yes, really!
This Mt View Orchards mural is located in Parkdale, Oregon. The plants growing around the mural make it blend into the background.
This is one of our favorite businesses to visit to buy fresh local fruit in the fall. You can pick your own fruit and flowers or buy what they’ve harvested. They also produce beer, wine, and cider. This beautiful 50+ acre site was featured on a Top Chef episode in 2021.
This business is part of the Hood River Fruit Loop. There are 28 farms open to visitors along the 35-mile route .
Here’s some of the fruit we bought last year. Yum!
Continue readingSeeing the softness of nature
Walking behind a wall of water of a woodland waterfall
Regarding a heron ruminating over rippling reflections
Spotting the strength of steel softened by a spring snow
The rocks I remember may rest on the slopes of extinct volcanoes
And show cryptic carved messages created years ago
These photographs show a winter tree near Bend, Oregon shown from 3 perspectives .
Western juniper trees are great to photograph. I show this one from a distance, looking up its trunk, and with a close up view of its rough and wrinkled bark. These trees’ unique characteristics are enhanced by a light snowfall.
When I process pictures, I think about how to enhance the beauty of the subject.
The natural features at the Red Canyon Overlook in Dutch John, Utah are beautiful, but so is the visitor center. The roof looks like wings swooping upwards. A fence with a modern design and a standing dead tree add to the beauty.
To enhance the architecture of the building, I used a cold filter and a dark vignette. I framed it with a simple white slide mount effect.
Today I’m sharing a coyote print & photo. I drew the coyote in pen and ink and printed it with sublimation ink onto special paper. Then I used a heat press to transfer it onto a fabric bag. I gave the finished product to a friend for a birthday present.
This was my first attempt at this type of printing. It turned out a little blurry. I tried transferring another one of my drawings and didn’t have the press hot enough. Maybe I should have read the suggested settings by the fabric manufacturer. 😉
What is sublimation printing? It uses heat to bind the ink and fabric together. A post on prodigi describes it as follows: “The inks that are used turn into gas when brought under heat, then combine with the fabric and permanently print onto the fabric.” They compare it to a tattoo.
One thing to think about if you are considering trying this type of printing; the printer should only be used with sublimation inks. Fortunately, the cost of the equipment is relatively low. I bought an Epson ET-2800 printer and an Offnova heat press machine for less than $300 total. Of course, you can spend hundreds of dollars if you want products with more features.
Continue readingNear the ocean’s shore, wind and water create ephemeral works of art
Ebbs and flows peel away the earth’s surface to reveal its hidden brilliance
A rough Painted Hills trail meanders ahead
Curving towards colorful hills of mystery
Cutting through foliage, shriveled and dead
Through an ancient landscape filled with history
Covered with ash spewed by Cascade volcanoes
Compacted, sculpted into hillside rainbows
Layered with varied stripes of red, green, and gold
Reminders of climates, hot, humid, and cold
Jo’s Monday Walk (JMW)
What’s so special about the metropolis of Thermopolis? It’s a great place to stay to see several amazing attractions nearby.
Thermopolis is a small city located in central Wyoming. In 2020, its population was 2,725. Its name means “hot city” in Greek. Here’s a view of it in the distance from Hot Springs State Park. Though I didn’t take pictures of the downtown, the sights within and near the city are very photogenic.
As you can see in the photo below, they proudly advertise their hot springs. “World’s Largest Mineral Hot Spring” is spelled out in big white lettering. Visitors can pay to soak in two commercial hot springs or soak for free in the state-owned State Bath House.
We stayed in our campervan for much of our recent multi-state trip, but our driver needed a break, so we stayed in a Thermopolis hotel for a couple of nights.
The view from a Badlands bench in Badlands National Park, South Dakota.
Why are they called the Badlands? The Lakota name for this place is mako sica, which translates to “bad lands.” Later, when early French fur trappers moved through this land, they called it les mauvaises terres a traveser, which means “bad lands to travel across.”
Hot, dry summers and cold, windy winters, combined with few sources of water, make this an inhospitable environment. During times of heavy rainfall, the soil becomes slick and sticky. The jagged mountains and canyons are hard to navigate through. Though evidence of Indigenous people hunting in this area has been found, it was used seasonally, not year-round.
We were at this Badlands bench scenic viewpoint in the beginning of June, early in the morning. Temperatures were already in the low 90s. It must get really hot in the middle of summer. The layered mountains are photogenic, probably even more so after a good rain.
Garden art may be realistic and small
Or tall and abstract, casting striking shadows
You may hear garden art bark from the shadows cast by trees
Continue readingIn the moments before dawn,
Light from a single star
Awakens the spirit
Hidden within
Slumbering winter trees
