Spring Goldfinch on cattails at Summer Lake, Oregon
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!
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.
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. 😀
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.
Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.
Aeromotor windmill: Wordless Wednesday
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.
Others retained parts of the original structure with updates, like modern windows.
The Federal Building housed the Post Office at one time. I think it was once the tallest building in Burns.
More river surfing: Friday Fun
Paddling near Prineville : WW & LAPC
Paddling near Prineville on a spring day.
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Skyscapes or Cloudscapes
Muttart Conservatory : Monochrome Monday
The path: LAPC, WWP, WS
The path in front of you may be dark and foreboding
At times, it will zig and zag, causing you to lose hope
Keep your eyes and mind open, looking for an ephemeral glimmer of light
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.
Gardeners plant in concise or freeform patterns. Some use various supports or covers.
It’s a great place to take pictures throughout the year.
Models forever in flight: 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.
Here’s a closer look at its head. Look at those teeth!
Flowers and forest firepits
This firepit looked like a round flower, full of flame.
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.
At the end of the day: Wordless Wednesday
Black cottonwood up close: Macro Monday
This black cottonwood up close picture was taken at Malheur NWR headquarters in Oregon.
I kinda have a thing for taking pictures of bark. Can you see why I thought this tree was ready for its close up?
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
Others pair off with thoughts of creating families
Some blend into the background, unnoticed
Continue readingMallard 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.
This hen was very photogenic. She stood a few feet away from me one warm summer day, posing in different positions.
Yaquina Bay Lighthouse: Wordless Wednesday
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.
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.
Cooling her jets after fetch: WW
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.
Collection of… : LAPC
A collection of ingredients used to cure maladies at an ancient apothecary
A few carefully curated contemporary works, echoing history
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
Spring’s gentle beauty haiku: HPC
on arduous treks
take time to pause and notice
spring’s gentle beauty
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!
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.
While the rising moon shines in subdued tones.
Purple lupine flowers shine on a cool spring morning.
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.
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.
A trellis in Portland: Wordless Wednesday
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.
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?
…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.
…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.
Continue readingMurre at Brentwood Bay: Wordless Wednesday
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.
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.
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.
Continue readingA lazy lizard in the sun: Wordless Wednesday
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.
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.
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.
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.
Tall, graceful penstemon pull in passing pollinators.
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 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.
I liked how the display boards had brief, informative explanations.
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.
When misty fog surrounds haiku: HPC
seek a firm anchor
when misty fog surrounds you
dawn will show the way
