Holiday Lights Winter Paddle Parade in Bend

Last night we had a front row seat to watch the paddle parade go by on the Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon. This event has taken place for many years, rain or shine. It was kind of blustery weather last night but there were still a lot of people participating in the parade.

Paddle Parade, Bend, Oregon 14December2018
The watercraft headed toward the Flag Bridge

The event is hosted by Tumalo Creek Kayak and Canoe in the Old Mill district. Participants dress up their watercraft and themselves with colorful lights. The parade takes place from about 4:00 to 6:00 pm. After it’s over, everyone gets together for nice warm drinks.

Paddle Parade, Bend, Oregon 14December2018
Of course Santa has a raft pulled by flamingos!
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Big Bold Art in Bend: LAPC

Big bold and beautiful

This summer a new big bold mural was added to the collection of outdoor art in the Old Mill District of Bend, Oregon. Yuya Negishi created this artwork. He was inspired by the mountains, colorful skies, and brilliant flowers of Central Oregon.

Did you notice that the dragon in this mural is breathing flowers instead of fire?

Big bold mural Bend, Oregon 19October2018Here’s more about the artist from a post about Art Murals Around Bend.

“Yuya Negishi is a Japanese visual artist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His work combines his extensive background in the classical Japanese techniques of calligraphy and SUMI with Japanese pop culture images such as koi, dragons and Buddha’s. Yuya approaches his work in the spirit of play often exploring new ideas and mediums. He also teaches hands on workshops sharing his approaches to SUMI and Calligraphy.

Yuya was born in a small farming community in the mountains beyond Tokyo. Yuya draws artistic inspiration from the memories and sensations of growing up in the Japanese countryside, where he would roam “like a hidden Ninja” exploring the woods, temples and mountain tops of the breathtaking Gunma region.”

See more of Yuya’s amazing art on yuyart .

This big bold artwork is right next to the flag bridge and it can be seen when you’re walking the Mill A Loop trail or floating the Deschutes River.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – BIG can be beautiful too!

 

Antelope bitterbrush in bloom: Friday Flowers

Bitterbrush blossoms

Bitterbrush Blossoms in Central Oregon 9May2018

The antelope bitterbrush appears to be reaching for the sky in this photograph. This plant gets its common name due to the fact that it is so important to wildlife. Deer, elk, moose, mountain sheep, and pronghorn (antelope) browse on its small three-toothed leaves and use its dense growth for cover. It’s also important for deer mice, kangaroo rats, sage grouse, and Lewis’ woodpecker.

Mule Deer browsing on bitterbrush & sagebrush 9March2018I have seen plants over twelve feet tall but in my yard, they only reach a height of about three feet. My “landscapers” love to prune them. In certain parts of this plant’s range, bitterbrush can comprise up to 91% of mule deer’s diet in September.

Friday Flowers

Outdoor Bonsai: Artful Miniatures LAPC

A sculpted garden of outdoor bonsai plants

I saw these outdoor bonsai trees on the High Desert Garden Tour in Bend, Oregon this summer. I marveled at the artistry that went into sculpting these plants. Though I’ve seen bonsai trees in the past, I was pleasantly surprised to see tree species that grow locally sculpted into small replicas of full size trees. You can see why they are referred to as “living art.”

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Small is beautiful

Flower Border at Old Mill: Friday Flowers

Flower border in full bloom

Flower Border at the Old Mill district of Bend, Oregon 14 September 2018It’s been a while since I walked one of my favorite  short trails in Bend, Oregon . The flower border along the Mill A Loop trail is spectacular right now. Even my dog had to stop and smell the roses.

Flower Border at the Old Mill district of Bend, Oregon 14 September 2018

Friday Flowers

Summer & Winter Prickly Pear Cactus: Friday Flowers

Prickly pear cactus in my garden

Summer prickly pear cactus 24June2018

Winter prickly pear cactus 22February2018

The prickly pear cactus in my garden are highlighted in the summer with bright yellow flowers and in the winter with layers of snow. The sharp needles make their presence known throughout the year.

Friday Flowers

High Desert Garden Tour: Colorful

Colorful Flowers on the High Desert Garden Tour

Bend Garden Tour July 2017 & 2018 Bend, Oregon

Here are some pictures from the High Desert Garden Tour  located in Bend, Oregon. Lots of colorful gardens out there!

There were gardens with winding paths and comfortable places to sit to take in the scenery.

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Ice plant in my garden: Friday Flowers

Ice plants in Bend, Oregon 24June2018

These colorful ice plant blossoms brighten up my garden in the spring and summer months. This a drought resistant plant that the bees love. The small succulent leaves are interesting too. Ice plants are a low-maintenance ground cover plant that does well in areas with hot, dry summers.

Tatarian honeysuckle blossoms: Friday Flowers

Pretty but invasive

Tatarian honeysuckle blossoms 10May2018

These honeysuckle blossoms are pretty but they are on an introduced plant that has been so successful it’s considered invasive in some parts of the country. These tall shrubs are growing along the Deschutes River and they produce a lot of berries later in the summer.

Friday Flowers

Red Hot Poker: Friday Flowers

Red Hot plants in the garden

Red Hot Poker plants in Bend, Oregon 25 June 2018

Sometimes the common name of a plant really fits. Here is one of those plants. The red hot poker plant is native to Africa and it grows well in the high desert of Oregon. It is a  drought tolerant perennial that has both herbaceous and evergreen species.  They are also known as torch lilies.

Red Hot Poker plants in Bend, Oregon 25 June 2018

Red hot plants can grow to a height of five feet and their colorful flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. Orioles are also attracted to the nectar. Here’s a post from Mountain Valley Growers showing orioles busy sipping nectar. This plant is deer and rabbit resistant.

The Better Homes and Garden site refers to this plant as “an eye-catching burst of color that is both whimsical and architectural.” Yes, that description fits the red hot poker well. 🙂

 

New About page on Bend Branches

About page story

About page pronghorn sage 31May2018

Yes, that pronghorn is kind of bossy, but I hope you’ll take a minute to look at my “new and improved” About page. Thanks for visiting!

Bend Branches About page

Cooling Otters: Lens-Artists Photo Challenge

Three guys cooling their jets

When it’s as hot as it’s been (102 degrees here yesterday!) I wish I could do a little cooling off by being an otter. Here are three cooling otters in motion.

Three Otters Cooling at the High Desert Museum, Bend, Oregon 19March2018

They always look like they’re having so much fun.

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Lilacs in bloom: Friday Flowers

The special scent of lilacs

The smell of moist earth and lilacs hung in the air like wisps of the past and hints of the future.      Margaret Millar

Friday Flowers

Cup of Gold: Friday Flowers

A dawn lily

Here’s a photo I took in the early morning hours of a daylily splashed with rain. It looks like a perfect little cup of gold.

A cup of gold daylily 18June2018

You get a two-fer today since this is being posted under Friday Flowers and Cee’s Flower of the Day . Enjoy!

Wisdom in Black & White: CB&W

Great Horned Owl Up Close

Here’s a shot of the piercing gaze of a great horned owl. The bird looks even more powerful and full of wisdom in black and white.

Wisdom Black & White Great Horned Owl 20January2018

Cee’s Black And White Photography Challenge – Birds

Lupine in my garden: Friday Flowers

A stately lupine

This lupine flower stands tall and stately in my garden. Though different from its wild cousins, it is just as beautiful.

Lupine 14May2018

Friday Flowers

Baby bunny: Tuesday Photo Challenge

New life in the form of a baby bunny

Last night my dog was shaking with excitement looking at something right outside the sliding glass door. A baby bunny! However, it wasn’t just any rabbit. This one was a tiny “kit” that was just a few inches long.

Baby bunny in Bend 17June2018

I have seen jackrabbits and cottontails in the shrub-steppe High Desert habitat where I live. This could be a cottontail or maybe even a pygmy rabbit. It’s hard to tell when they are young.

Yes, the background is not the best for this shot. But sometimes nature comes to you and you have to take advantage of it and grab your camera. The sprinkler head is just over an inch across so this gives you an idea how small it was.

Needless to say, my dog did not get to go outside for a while. The bunny went back to its burrow which is probably under our porch. Life goes on for this little cutie.

Tuesday Photo Challenge – New

Strawberry Blossoms: Friday Flowers

Strawberry Blossoms 10May2018

Things to come

Delicate pink strawberry blossoms capturing the passing rain to feed the succulent fruit to come.

Friday Flowers

Flowers & flags: Friday Flowers

Bright yellow flowers on a currant shrub with colorful flags flying in the background. The bridge passes over the Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon.

See my post about one of the short, easy trails in this area here.

Flowers & Flags - currant blossoms May 2018

Friday Flowers

Osprey pair in action: WPC

An unlikely sighting

Last week I was out walking my dog on the Mill A Loop Trail  in Bend, Oregon and I happened to see an osprey pair in the process of creating more ospreys. Spring is in the air!

Ospreys on Nest 27April2018

Osprey pair on nest at Bend Whitewater Park, Oregon

Ospreys often nest in areas close to human activity. This nest is right next to the Bend Whitewater Park. There are perches and platforms installed on both sides of the Deschutes River here for birds. I’m glad to see them using the site after the initial disturbance caused by the park’s construction.

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The osprey pair will lay 1-4 eggs and incubate them for 36-42 days. The nestlings will be in the nest for 50-55 days. It will be great to see more of them flying around in a couple of months.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Unlikely

Succulent Wall: WPC

I often stop to look at the succulent wall at my favorite plant nursery. Varied in their colors, shapes, and textures, these prolific plants always impress me.

Succulent Wall in Bend, Oregon 27March2018Weekly Photo Challenge – Prolific

 

Many moods of my muse: WPC

In my backyard, an old western juniper tree serves as my muse. Hope you enjoy these pictures that show the many moods of my muse through the seasons. The moods in the sunsets range from a quiet blush to a loud show of anger.

My cover image shows a rainbow of emotions surrounding the tree.

Juniper sunrise 2Feb2015

Weekly Photo Challenge – Rise/Set

Beautiful Beadwork – OWPC: Museum

Messages communicated without words

I am always amazed by the beautiful beadwork on display at the High Desert Museum where I volunteer. The carefully crafted pieces represent work by tribes of the Columbia Plateau in parts of modern-day Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

Beautiful Beadwork at the High Desert Museum 25February2018Tribes represented include Umatilla, Wasco, Wishram, Paiute, Washo, Chehalis, Quinault, Nez Perce, Skokomish, Chinook, Tillamook, Yakima, Warm Springs, Haida, Salish, Yaqui, and others.

Doris Swayze Bounds Collection of Native American Artifacts

They are artifacts with an emphasis on “art.” However, Native Americans in the 1700’s and 1800’s did not make art for art’s sake. Beads embellished utilitarian pieces.  Beads adorned items ranging from small handbags and knife cases, to deerskin clothing and footwear.

Beautiful Beadwork at the High Desert Museum 9December2015The High Desert Museum houses the Doris Swayze Bounds Collection of Native American Artifacts. Born in 1904 in Oklahoma, Doris Swayze Bounds later lived in Hermiston, Oregon, where she worked as a banker. She always appreciated Native American people and their culture. Many of the pieces in the collection were gifted to her by local Native Americans as a way of showing their respect and affection to her. The artifacts date from the 1870’s to the 1960’s. The collection has many pieces, but I focused on the beadwork in this post.

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A Bluebird Day? : WPC

A bluebird day in Bend, Oregon 13March2018

A bluebird of unhappiness

The mountain bluebird perched on the snag for a long time in a drenching rainstorm. While all the other birds sought shelter, he stubbornly remained on his perch. He wondered if it really was a bluebird day. The bird thought his brilliant blue plumage would attract a mate by reminding her of the sky on a sunny day. No such luck!

Weekly Photo Challenge – I’d rather be…

Mill A Loop – Deschutes River Trail

Short and sweet hike

Mill A Loop Deschutes River Trail 13August2016

Mill A Loop Deschutes River Trail

The Mill A Loop is a short and easy hike that starts on the flag bridge in the Old Mill district of Bend. This 1.1 mile trail is paved and mostly flat. You walk along the Deschutes River for most of the hike.  At certain times of the year, kayakers, stand up paddleboarders, and innertubers will float by you on the river.

Iconic attractions

The Flag Bridge is a well-known sight in Bend. The flags are changed to celebrate different holidays and events. I am always impressed by these flags of many colors fluttering in the breeze. They also fly over a smaller pond near the restaurants.

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Silent barks: WPC

Silent barks speak with voices needing to be heard.

Silent Barks Western Juniper 8August2016Unknown worlds are tucked into their cracks and crevices.

Silent Barks Paper Birch 16February2018Layers peel away to reveal glimpses of their hearts.

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Tour of Bend

The Weekly Photo Challenge this week is Tour Guide. This will be easy!

Enjoy some pictures of beautiful sights in and around Bend, Oregon. Can you see why I love living here?

JanuarySunrise 6January2018