Wordless Wednesday
West Thumb Geyser Basin: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Stepping back in time: Monochrome Monday
Monochrome Monday
Summer’s bounty on display: LAPC
Snowy quilts now cover the gardens, but I remember summer’s bounty
Glossy purple eggplants, leafy green artichoke buds, and garlic cloves wrapped in crisp colorful coverings
Rainbow shades of plump tiny tomatoes
White petunias by the river: Friday Flowers
Friday Flowers
Spirits captured by Rick Bartow: Wordless Wednesday
A moment with a Mariposa: SMM
Sunshine’s Macro Monday (SMM)
Rainy view of otters: Pull up a seat challenge
I had a rainy view of otters from this log bench shaded by a red-leaved tree. The otters at the High Desert Museum seem to have fun no matter what the weather is.
An accidental abstract: LAPC
I took an accidental abstract when I was crossing a wooden bridge. I must have pushed the shutter button by accident. It’s slightly blurred, but I kinda like how it turned out! 😀
This is one more entry for this week’s Lens-Artist Photo Challenge (LAPC) of Abstract.
Hard at Work on the Range: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
A Fiery Western Columbine: SMM
Sunshine’s Macro Monday (SMM)
Tunnel of Joy in Bend: LAPC
I often walk through this “Tunnel of Joy” by the Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon. I call it that because the bright artwork is so joyful. I’ve previously featured one side of the bridge and the other but never the inside of the tunnel.
The abstract painting lining the tunnel is by artist, Tom Cramer. He works in a variety of media and is one of the most successful artists currently working in Portland, Oregon. His best-known mural was “Machine”, painted in 1989.
At first this mural appears to just be random shapes, but if you look closer you may notice shapes you recognize. I see faces, hearts, snakes, and wings. You can use your imagination to find objects in an abstract work of art.
Continue readingX marks the spot: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Do you get the point?: Monochrome Monday
A collection of different types of barbed wire on display at Fort Rock, Oregon.
Monochrome Monday
Covered in coldness poem: LAPC
Covered in coldness
Obscured from view
Layered in lightness
Dazzling and new
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Cold
Sunflowers & Stagecoaches at the Steens
Sunflowers & stagecoaches? You may be wondering how those two things go together.
Last August we explored the Steens Mountain area by car. Did you know you can drive all the way around this 50-mile long mountain and to its 9,700-foot peak at certain times of the year? The views from up there are breathtaking!
Common sunflower
The following pictures are from the dirt road on the east side of Steens Mountain. Common sunflowers, Helianthus annus L., were in full bloom along the road.
As their name implies, common sunflowers are common throughout the conterminous United States and in parts of Canada and Mexico. Sunflowers have been introduced in other parts of North America and throughout the world. They occur in a wide variety of habitats including prairies, roadsides, near railroad right-of-ways, savannas, and forest edges.
Peace in the Pueblo Mountains: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
A marvelous moth at rest: SMM
I saw this marvelous moth near Great Basin National Park in eastern Nevada. What a beauty! 😀
Sunshine’s Macro Monday (SMM)
Watching & waiting for clouds: LAPC
Watching & waiting for clouds
Turning the sky into a color collecting kaleidoscope
Expressing their thoughts with fiery punctuation
Contrasting colors working together: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Teepee made from tules: Monchrome Monday
This teepee made from tules is a re-creation of what Native Americans of Central Oregon once used as a home.
Tule bulrushes (pictured below at Hosmer Lake) grow along the shores of lakes, ponds, and waterways.
This plant was used to make teepees, baskets, mats, bedding, footwear, and clothing. Tules were also used medicinally, as a source of food, and in making boats.
Bright bouquets of fall foliage poem
Autumn
is bright bouquets
shining in fading light
warming our souls through the winter
season
A porcupine’s pointy portrait: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
A sweet little onion in bloom: SMM
Sunshine’s Macro Monday (SMM)
A black & white world – 4 haiku: LAPC
In a black & white world, everything is laid bare for all to see.
A lack of color
Highlights drama in the skies
In brilliant detail
A lack of color
Gives expression to patterns
Often unobserved
Blazing star beauties: Friday flowers
I saw these blazing star beauties at the top of Pilot Butte in Bend, Oregon last August. Pilot Butte is an extinct volcano that is a state scenic viewpoint. It’s a great place to visit for a 360 degree high desert view! You can see in the photos that these flowers are growing on cinder rocks. The Sisters volcanic peaks are in the background of the last picture.
Someone needed their coffee fast!: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
With two you can… : LAPC
The Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week is Seeing Double. Sometimes two heads are better than one.
With two you can share your wisdom.
With two you can have differences of opinion…
A covered wagon at rest: Monochrome Monday
Monochrome Monday
Belted kingfisher drawing & photo: BOTD
I drew this stylized picture of a belted kingfisher in flight several years ago. These interesting songbirds nest in horizontal burrows near shorelines. The tunnels range in length from 1 – 8 feet. Tunnels as long as 15 feet have been found.
This drawing is of a male bird. Belted kingfishers are one of the few songbirds where the female is more colorful. They have an additional orange-colored breast band.
While out walking my dog on the Deschutes River Trail this morning, I caught a glimpse of a male belted kingfisher perched on a tree limb. A lucky sighting! He was kind of far away but I had time to snap a quick shot before he flew.
Granny Shot It – Bird of the Day challenge BOTD
Pintos & Appaloosas on the Plains: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Arrowhead Art at Fort Rock: Monochrome Monday
This interesting collection of framed arrowhead art is on display at the Fort Rock Homestead Village Museum. The obsidian used to make much of this art exists throughout parts of Central Oregon. It is abundant at Glass Buttes . Big Obsidian Flow, (shown here) at Newberry National Volcanic Monument, contains 380 million cubic yards of obsidian. Native peoples had a lot of material to work with close by.
Monochrome Monday
Stories within the layers of stone: LAPC
Sometimes I look at layered rock formations and imagine stories within the layers.
This formation at Fort Rock looks like the giant prow of a ship bursting through the cliffs.
A closer look shows where the water levels were before the ship drained the basin.
Magnificent Mural: A Photo a Week Challenge – Signs
We recently saw this magnificent mural in the downtown area of The Dalles, Oregon. Isn’t it fantastic! This is The Valley Gorge Hub by Blaine Fontana. Blaine and Jeremy Nichols used hundreds of cans of spray paint to create this mural in 2018. Toma Villa consulted on this project. He is a colleague of Fontana’s and an enrolled member of the Yakama Nation.
This building has murals painted on the north, south, and east sides. You can see a small sign for Kung Fu classes on the left side of the building.
This Valley Gorge project is one of many planned to bring together the communities near the Columbia River Gorge. They plan to “build a more inclusive mecca for creativity, culture, outdoor recreation, and opportunities for new and existing businesses.”
Blaine created another magnificent mural in The Dalles as a part of the Oregon Mural Trail. This project is funding seven large murals in seven small Oregon towns located throughout the state.
The Dalles has an amazing collection of murals. The Dalles Mural Society has more information on them.
Nancy Merrill’s A Photo a Week Challenge – Signs
A brilliant desert morning: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Scene from a museum: Monochrome Monday
This is a scene from a museum in Baker City, Oregon. I thought the rustic details came out much more clearly in black and white.
Monochrome Monday
Candids of Critters: LAPC
Sometimes you get lucky when you’re taking candids of critters. This little burrowing owl gave me a knowing wink right when I took its picture.
We visited the Caswell Sculpture Garden in Troutdale, Oregon a couple days ago. This sculpture of two great blue herons is right by the entrance.
I noticed a movement near the willows right behind this sculpture. I spied a real great blue heron!
A rosy outlook: Friday Flowers
Friday Flowers
Clouds over my commute: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Furry & Feathered Frame Fillers: LAPC
I decided to feature some furry & feathered frame fillers for this week’s lens-artists photo challenge. The challenge is Filling the Frame. Here are some photos I took at Yellowstone National Park.
This high-flying eagle is in a small museum near Fishing Bridge. It looked so real swooping over our heads.
We saw this pronghorn buck near Mammoth Hot Springs. Most people drove right past him. You have to learn to look for pieces that don’t quite fit into the landscape puzzle to spot wildlife.
Purple coneflower up close: SMM
These coneflowers’ colors are fading as summer turns to fall. Their form is still beautiful and I look forward to seeing them bloom next spring.