Evergreen Aviation, McMinnville: Word of the Day

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Last September, we visited the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, located in McMinnville, Oregon. This large facility is a great place to visit, whether you’re an aviator or not.

I featured their star attraction, the Spruce Goose, in a previous post. It dwarfs the other aircraft there. In several of my images, you’ll see parts of the Spruce Goose towering overhead.

I’ve divided this post by sections shown on the Museum map at the end of this post.

Early Flight

Several of the aircraft in this and other sections are replicas of the original. The first is a flying machine as envisioned by Leonardo Da Vinci, 400 years before the Wright brothers.

Evergreen Aviation

The next plane is a replica of a Curtiss Pusher.

Curtiss Pusher

This de Havilland DH-4 aircraft was used to deliver mail in the 1920s, as weather permitted.

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Waterfall washing away worries: Wordless Wednesday

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South Falls waterfall washing away worries at Silver Falls State Park, Oregon

waterfall washing away worries

South Falls from behind

Wordless Wednesday

Natural frame scenes: LAPC

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A glistening serpent slithers through a natural frame of duckweed and sedges

White calla lilies, surrounded by leathery green leaves, enlighten

Crimson canna lily leaves punctuate a layered landscape of greenness

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Birch bark canoe: Wordless Wednesday

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Birch bark canoe

Birch bark canoe at The Indian Museum of North America® at Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota

Wordless Wednesday

Cedar Bear: Monday Mural

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I saw this Cedar Bear Herbal Supplements mural while visiting Vernal, Utah. I especially liked the blue and green colors in this mural. The artist did a great job of painting liquid, not an easy thing to do. The light outlines of cresting waves filled out the space and gave a good sense of movement.

Cedar Bear mural

Monday Mural

Hummingbird painting: First Friday Art

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Today I’m sharing a hummingbird painting I painted. I did a quick drawing with pen and ink and later filled in the lines with acrylic paint. The colors of the fuschia flower and leaves are reflected in the plumage of the bird.

Hummingbird painting

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

First Friday Art (FFA)

Bison & Bikes YIKES!

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In early June, while driving the roads in Custer State Park, South Dakota, we saw these bison & bikes in front of us. YIKES!

It ends up we were driving through the Ride Across South Dakota (RASDak) annual event. The route for this six-day event changes every year. The part we saw had participants riding 37 miles from Hot Springs to Custer, South Dakota. Mileage of each leg of the 330-mile route varies by day.

Though a RASDak support vehicle parked nearby, I would be nervous being this close to bison with calves. In fact, visitors to Custer State Park are advised to “remain in your vehicle or stay at least 100 yards from bison, elk, and other animals.” I admired the bravery of these bike riders.

Bison & bikes

I’m sure the participants saw amazing sights along the entire route, but they were probably glad to get past this bison & bikes roadblock. What a great way to see the state!

Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge – Roads

Fluttering into a wild iris meadow: WWP

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Fluttering into a wild iris meadow
White-faced Ibis alight
Curved bills preen and probe
Iridescent feathers catch fading light
Casting rainbows over dusty hills
Awakening dormant wildflowers
Yearning for an opportunity
To shine

fluttering into a wild iris meadow

Weekend Writing Prompt (WWP) #322- Flutter (34 words)

Missed it by a hare: LAPC & TDS

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I like to walk the trails in Norris Geyser Basin when visiting Yellowstone National Park. One day, while I walked along a forested trail, I nodded at two people passing me going the opposite direction. Another person walked some distance ahead of me. All of them overlooked something alongside the trail. In fact, they missed it by a hare.

Norris Geyser Basin

Can you spot what I saw near the trail?

Missed it by a hare

Maybe everyone passing by was looking at this geyser on the other side of the trail and missed it.

Geyser

I spotted a movement from a distance and stepped towards it for a closer look.

What is that? A new kind of rabbit? Maybe a pinto bunny?

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Swallowtail on Penstemon: Friday Flowers

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I saw this beautiful Western Tiger Swallowtail on a penstemon flower in my front yard recently. We try to plant flowers that attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. We’ve seen LOTS of butterflies this year.

Swallowtail on penstemon

Friday Flowers

Structure of wings: Monochrome Monday

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This Curtiss JN-4A Jenny, shown without fabric covering, shows the structure of wings. This is one of the many aircraft on display at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

Structure of wings

Here’s an informational poster next to the plane. Note the photo of a couple playing tennis on its wings!

Monochrome Monday

Summer Festival in Bend: LAPC & WOTD

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Earlier this month, we went to the local Summer Festival here in Bend, Oregon.

If it’s a summer festival, you might see fairies walking down the street, right? Are those blurry spots behind them spots on my windshield? Nope, I’m pretty sure that’s a cloud of fairy dust. 😉

Fairies in Bend

As the sign says, this festival features music, food, and art. It takes place downtown on three city blocks, plus a couple side streets. It’s estimated that 70,000 people attend this two and a half day festival.

Summer Festival

The art booths have everything from jewelry and landscape art, to pillows featuring an image of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Various businesses feature their products and services in the Bend Business Showcase section.

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Perfection on the water: FOTD & NPC

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When I think about waterlilies, I think about perfection on the water. Delicate blossoms radiate over thick floating leaves. No more words needed.

perfection on the water

Flower of the Day (FOTD) – Waterlily

Nature Photo Challenge (NPC) #21 – Waterplants

Antelope of the West, the pronghorn: WPWC

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We recently returned from a long road trip through several western states and spotted hundreds of pronghorn along the way. I’m a big fan of this antelope of the west and love taking pictures of them.

Pronghorn, Antilocapra americana, also known as antelope or pronghorn antelope, are quirky animals in many ways. Their scientific name means “American goat-antelope.”

In September of 1804, upon first seeing pronghorn, Lewis and Clark expedition members assumed they were goats. Captain Lewis noted the “superior fleetness of this anamal which was to me really astonishing.” Upon examining them more closely, Lewis referred to them as antelope, based on their resemblance to African antelopes.

In reality, pronghorn are the only surviving members of the North American Antilocapridae family. Goats and true antelopes are in the Bovidae family.

Pronghorn antelope
Pronghorn at Custer State Park, South Dakota

In this post, I’ll share more about their natural history.

Range

Pronghorn range from the southern prairie provinces of Canada, southward into the western states of America and into northern Mexico.  

Pregnant pronghorn in Baker, Nevada 8May2017
Pregnant doe pronghorn near Great Basin National Park, Nevada
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Canna lily leaves up close: MM & FOTD

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These Canna Lily leaves are beautiful up close. Lovely shapes, lines, and colors.

Canna lily leaves
Canna lily, Oregon Garden, Silverton, Oregon

Macro Monday (MM)

Flower of the Day (FOTD)

Fencing near & far: LAPC

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Fencing of rock is heavy and enduring,

Guiding the way

Rock fencing
Coumeenoole Beach, County Kerry, Ireland

And dividing the land to conserve it

Steens Mountain
Steens Mountain, Oregon

A fence of rope is lightweight,

Preserving the past

Poulnabrone Dolmen
Poulnabrone Dolmen, County Clare, Ireland
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Frank Lloyd Wright house: LAPC

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On July 9th, I returned to Silverton, Oregon, to go on a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright house. When I think of simplicity in architecture, I think of Frank Lloyd Wright. I recently featured a view from the road of the Gordon House. Limited tours of the inside are available by reservation only.

Frank Lloyd Wright house


Tour of Frank Lloyd Wright House

Our 45-minute tour began in the great room. Walls of floor-to-ceiling glass doors flanked towering ceilings. They opened to allow a welcome cross breeze on this warm summer day. As in all Wright houses, a fireplace served as a focal point. Red concrete slabs with radiant heat covered the floors, and they made the walls from concrete blocks. Built-in cabinets, desks, and tables are in nearly every room.

Great room

The design featured the fretwork seen here on the interior and exterior of the house. One of the workers joked how he’d gone through all the router bits in the state cutting the house’s fretwork. That was long before laser cutters!

Shelving
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Maidenhair fern: NPC

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I saw this grove of lovely maidenhair fern near South Falls, at Silver Falls State Park, Oregon. The 7.2-mile Trail of Ten Falls wanders through forested lands where you get great views of the waterfalls. You’ll also see many types of fern.

Maidenhair fern
Ferns growing near South Falls, Oregon

The genus name of maidenhairs is Adiantum. It comes from the Greek word for “unwetted” since this plant sheds water without getting wet.

Here’s a picture I took of some growing near Upper North Falls in the park. On this image, I increased the contrast, giving it an almost black background.

Maidenhair fern
Ferns growing near Upper North Falls

This fern, with its delicate, arching fronds growing in fanlike arrangements, is one of my favorites. I experimented with developing pictures of it in black and white when I first became interested in photography. Here’s a picture from my archives.

A rocky start to photography
Maidenhair fern printed in my darkroom

Nature Photo Challenge (NPC) #19: Ferns

Simple scenes I’ve seen: LAPC

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Simple scenes I’ve seen in Oregon

Ripples of sand forming near a single log

Simple scenes at sea

A foggy mist surrounding a lighthouse

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

A golden sunset shining within a blurred landscape

simple scenes sunset
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Cholla painting & photos: FFA & FOTD

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It’s time once again to share a piece of my artwork for the First Friday Art prompt. I created this watercolor painting yesterday afternoon. This is a cholla cactus in bloom. For my inspiration this month, I looked in my own backyard.

Cholla painting

We have a few kinds of cactus growing in our landscaping. You have to be careful when working around them or you’ll get poked by the barbed spines. I held my phone out at arm’s length and snapped a picture, but I couldn’t see the photo I took. It turned out surprisingly well, I thought. I like the how the spines radiate outward from the magenta blossom.

Cholla blossom

Several chollas grow in my backyard. I started a couple in the front yard by placing a cactus stem on the ground. There was no drip irrigation going to those parts of the landscaping, but the plants grew anyway.

Here’s one of the propagated cholla plants blooming. It’s doing great, and currently measures about three feet across.

Cactus blooming

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

First Friday Art (FFA)

Flower of the Day Challenge (FOTD)

Bird Festival Highlights: Bird(s) of the week

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Visitors from near and far converged in Burns, Oregon for the Harney County Migratory Bird Festival in mid-April. I signed up for six tours and events spread out over four days. I already featured the Downtown Walking Tour in a previous post, but this time I’ll focus on the bird-related tours.

Basin Big Day Tour – North of Highway 20

Though I have participated in this bird festival several times, this was the first time I was able to register for the Basin Big Day Tour. Eight participants, guided by Brodie Cass Talbott and assisted by Duke Tuffy, met at 6:00 am at the Fairgrounds for this tour. We returned at 7:00 pm. The goal was to see as many species as we could in that time frame.

Bird Festival

One of our first stops was in front of someone’s house, northeast of Burns. We had permission to scan their feeders for birds. We saw lots of White-crowned Sparrows here and elsewhere that day.

White-crowned sparrows

A bit farther north, we stopped near flooded fields. A few days before my arrival, snow covered these fields. That’s unusual. Our guide said the weird weather meant fewer birds were being seen, but there was more diversity. More species was what we were looking for so this could work out great for us.

Flooded fields
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Grand Prismatic mug & inspiration: LAPC

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This week, as part of the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, host Ritva Sillanmäki asked us to show a photo of our favorite cup. My favorite mug features a wraparound image of Grand Prismatic Hot Spring at Yellowstone National Park. It’s beautiful, like its inspiration, and comfortable to hold. I also like how there is printing inside the mug near the rim.

Grand Prismatic mug

Grand Prismatic mug

Grand Prismatic Hot Spring is especially photogenic. Though I can’t get a drone shot like the one on my mug, I have taken many pictures of this hot spring. Here are a few that show its gorgeous colors.

Yellowstone Hot spring

Grand Prismatic Hot Spring, Yellowstone June 2018

Close-up Grand Prismatic Yellowstone National Park 3June2018

My Grand Prismatic mug reminds me of this special place in Yellowstone everytime I use it.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Inspiration found in the Kitchen

Deschutes Brewery mural: Monday Mural

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This Deschutes Brewery mural was on the outside of their main factory on the westside of Bend, Oregon. I liked how they used different shades of rusted metal to make this work of art. The mountains reflect the peaks and foothills of the Cascades, near the brewery.

Deschutes Brewery mural

To learn more about one of the tours I recently went on here, see Barrel House Tour. Lots of tasty beers to sample while you’re checking out the Deschutes Brewery mural.

There are currently two food trucks in front of the brewery. I enjoyed the lunch I bought there recently from Da Nang Vietnamese Eatery. I later found out it was awarded the 2023 Food Cart of the Year by the Source Weekly. It was a well-deserved recognition!

Da Nang Vietnamese Eatery

Monday Mural

Kitchen of the past: LAPC

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Today, I’m featuring photos from the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site kitchen. I’ve posted about this historical site in John Day, Oregon, before. It was boarded up for many years when the doors were finally opened, it was like a time capsule inside.

Whenever I visit there, I think about how good the various shapes and textures would look in monotone pictures. However, the vibrant colors are also interesting. Since I was unable to decide which way to process the photos I took, I’m showing both color and monotone sepia versions. Move the slider to compare them. I used a dark vignette effect on all of the photos.

The first one shows a wood cooking stove with a small shrine behind it. I like how the orange color glows in the color version.

Kitchen of the pastSepia tone

The second photo shows various products in this kitchen of the past. In this one, I like how the labels stand out in color.

Kitchen sundriesKitchen sundries
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The Gordon House-Frank Lloyd Wright

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This Frank Lloyd Wright house in Silverton, is the only one designed by the well-known architect in Oregon. The Gordon House was designed in 1957 and completed in 1963. When new owners wanted to tear it down in 1997, it was moved from Wilsonville to Silverton. It was carefully refurbished and opened to the public in 2002. It looks right at home, surrounded by stately oak trees.

This house was designed as part of the Usonian series, structures meant to provide affordable housing for working class people.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Though I only looked at the Gordon House from a distance, private tours are available of the inside for a small fee. For a higher fee, up to four people can spend the night in this beautiful house.

Gordon House

Here’s a peek of the inside and outside of the house. I hope to go on the tour soon to get a closer look. 🙂

Bunny & Kitty FaceTime: LAPC

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A couple of days ago, Bunny & Kitty had a little FaceTime meeting. I wonder what kinds of stories they shared. Hmm…

Bunny & Kitty

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Telling a story

Creations of Spirit: LAPC

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The High Desert Museum, in Bend, Oregon, is currently hosting the Creations of Spirit exhibition. The pieces on display include historical artifacts and works by contemporary Native artists.

The beautiful pieces are enhanced by quotes throughout the gallery. I will let their words tell the stories.

Throughout the process, you continually impart yourself in the creation of that object. And when you’ve completed it, it takes on a life of its own.

Philip Cash Cash, Ph. D., Weyíiletpuu (Cayuse) and Niimpíipuu (Nez Perce) tribes
Creations of Spirit dress & fan
Child’s buckskin dress by Plateau artist (late 1800s) with bead dangles added (early 1900s); Feather fan by Umatilla artist (early 1900s)

I wanted to have my own story in the baskets. I wanted to keep the traditional form and the shape, but I wanted to add iconography that talked to the present.

Joe Feddersen, Member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
Baskets & containers

Root bag with multiple figures by Plateau artist (early 1900s); Basket with animal figures by Umatilla artist (mid-1900s); Round Dance pitcher & cup by Joe Feddersen, 2002; Berry-picking container by Vivian Harrison, (StuYat), Yakama/Palouse/Wishram, 2002

Most of my designs are from the petroglyphs along the Nch’i wana [Columbia River]. I love and appreciate where our people came from, and our people left animals as stories in our pictographs and petroglyphs. That’s why I want to instill them in my baskets and keep them alive. I want people to know that we’ve been seeing these animals for tens of thousands of years.

Natalie Kirk, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
Creations of Spirit Baskets
Basket in progress with sturgeon and condor design by Natalie Kirk, 2022; Story Basket by Natalie Kirk, 2022
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Surrounded by green: Thursday Tree Love

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A fall Japanese maple surrounded by green trees at the Oregon Garden in Silverton, Oregon. The red leaves of the maple are surrounded by cedar, pine, and spruce trees.

Surrounded by green

Thursday Tree Love

Sunlight in a flower: Macro Monday

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I always think of yellow and gold flower petals as capturing sunlight in a flower.

Sunlight in a flower

The flowers shown in this post of little rays of sunshine are dedicated to fellow blogger, Bren, of Brashley Photography.

She recently lost her fight with cancer but will be remembered for her stunning, ethereal portraits of flowers. May her gentle soul rest in peace.

double views of cactus

Macro Monday

Crazy Horse sculpture: LAPC

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The sculpture of Crazy Horse in South Dakota stands out along the horizon as you drive north from Custer. We visited the site earlier this month, near the date of its 75th anniversary, to view the progress on the immense sculpture.

Crazy Horse Sculpture

Crazy Horse Memorial

The Crazy Horse Memorial includes a Welcome Center, a gift store and restaurant, the family home of the sculptor, rotating exhibits, indoor and outdoor sculptures, the Native American Educational and Cultural Center, and the Indian Museum of North America. I’ll feature photos of the Museum in a later post. The nonprofit also manages the Indian University of North America.

One of my favorite things was a 1/34 scale model of the Crazy Horse sculpture. The size of the finished sculpture carved into the mountainside will be 641 feet long and 563 feet tall.

Close view of scale model

If you stand in just the right spot, you can capture an image that includes the scale model and the current sculpture.

Crazy Horse
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Little bit of everything garden: Friday Flowers

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I saw this little bit of everything garden on the High Desert Garden Tour in Bend, Oregon in July 2022. The long, narrow yard at this house included fruits, vegetables, and lots of flowers. The homeowners have been working on it for 22 years.

The owners created large, elevated raised beds from wood and tin roofing. You can see sweet alyssum blooming near the front edge. Hummingbird feeders hang near them. They’re growing pear, cherry, and apples on espaliers behind the raised beds.

Raised beds

This raised bed was at ground level. It included red lantana, yellow petunias, orange ganzia, purple salvia, and dark pink snapdragons.

little bit of everything garden

This tiered bed surrounded a tree. It included common sunflowers, orange marigolds, and golden celosia.

little bit of everything garden
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Fishing for fossils: LAPC

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Earlier this month, we took a long journey to go fishing for fossils in Wyoming. We had reservations for June 2, but thunderstorms dumped rain on the site and the owners shut it down. The last seven miles of the dirt road to the quarry turn into a slippery mess during rainstorms. We drove to our next destination in Vernal, Utah and returned to dig fossils the next day.

FishDig Quarry


The FishDig Quarry is north of Kemmerer in southwest Wyoming. Visitors can make reservations ahead of time or just show up. FishDig opened for the season a week before we arrived. Be sure to check their website for hours and fees.


When you arrive at the site, you’re given advice on what to look for and how to split the rock. The helpful staff will try to identify things if you ask. Unlike other fossil-digging sites nearby, you get to keep everything you dig–-except for pieces worth $100,000 or more. In those cases, the owners keep 50% of the value.

splitting materiakl


A rock hammer and chisel are provided for free. They will cut your rocks down to more manageable sizes for no charge. As I’ve mentioned before, rocks are heavy so having less bulk to transport is helpful. Note, they do not provide anything for you to carry your fossils home in. Bring boxes and something to wrap them in, like bubble wrap or newspaper.

fishing for fossils


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Oregon sunshine bouquet: Friday Flowers

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This Oregon sunshine bouquet was growing in my yard. This plant is common in a variety of habitats in western North America.

Oregon sunshine

Oregon sunshine, Eriophyllum lanatum, is a shrubby perennial that grows well in light shade to full sun. They’re obviously drought tolerant, since I don’t water this part of our High Desert property at all. These plants reach a size of one to two feet wide and one to two feet tall. I like their bright yellow, long-lasting flowers. Pollinators and birds like them as well.

It grows so well here, I end up pulling most of the plants like weeds. One year, I decided to just let them grow in a large gravel-covered area. The thick “lawn” of plants, shown below, prevented some of our common weeds from growing.

Wildflowers in bloom

Friday Flowers