juniper

Bend Branches birthday

/ SoyBend / 33 Comments

Ten years ago today, I published my first post on this blog. I am celebrating Bend Branches birthday with a little treat.

My first post was titled, Time. It featured a photo of my favorite western juniper tree in my yard in Bend, Oregon. A winter sunset paints the skies in the background.

Bend Branches birthday

My post also included the following observation:

“The twists and turns of time can ravage one or make them into a thing of beauty.”

Thank you to my followers and to others who stop by to view my posts. Your likes and comments have encouraged and inspired me. I hope to celebrate another Bend Branches birthday ten years from now.

Bend Branches always appreciates your comments and likes. Comments may not appear right away since they’re screened for spam prior to posting. Thanks!

Blog anniversary

Snowy sunrise: Sunday Trees & Weekend Sky

/ SoyBend / 8 Comments

A snowy sunrise over western juniper trees in the High Desert.

Snowy sunrise over junipers

Sunday Trees

Weekend Sky

Bend Branches always appreciates your comments and likes. Comments may not appear right away since they’re screened for spam prior to posting. Thanks!

Small and large scale: LAPC

/ SoyBend / 18 Comments

In photography, the way you show objects in small and large scale can have a big impact.

When I’ve seen grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park, most of the time they are hundreds of yards away. I took this small scale picture through my spotting scope of a sow with two cubs in the Lamar Valley.

small and large scale

To see a closer view of a grizzly bear, I visited the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Montana. They are massive creatures.

Grizzly bear

Sometimes, bonsai masters sculpt smaller versions of objects of nature. This is a juniper tree bonsai, recently purchased at the Bend Summer Festival. It measures 4 inches in height.

Continue reading →

Winter tree from 3 perspectives: TTL

/ SoyBend / 18 Comments

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.

winter tree
juniper tree

Close up of bark

Thursday Tree Love (TTL)

In the moments before dawn poem: WWP & WIL

/ SoyBend / 10 Comments

In the moments before dawn,
Light from a single star
Awakens the spirit
Hidden within
Slumbering winter trees

in the moments before dawn

Weekend Writing Prompt (WWP) – Spirit (18 words)

Whatsoever is Lovely

A winter wonderland: Thursday Tree Love

/ SoyBend / 15 Comments

There’s a winter wonderland in my yard near Bend, Oregon. My favorite western juniper is dressed up for the season with a few inches of snow.

Snowfall softens edges while sharpening the contrast. It can also mute colors, as it did in this photo. The structure shines through, even on a cloudy day.

Winter wonderland

Thursday Tree Love #138

Had too much fun on Earth Day

/ SoyBend / 2 Comments
too much fun dead juniper
Western juniper at Fischer Canyon, Oregon

This western juniper looks like it had too much fun on Earth Day. I think it was trying to sleep it off. 😉

Trees

Rooted in the past: Thursday Tree Love

/ SoyBend / 3 Comments
Rooted in the past

These western juniper trees near the shore of Prineville Reservoir were rooted in the past. After many years of fluctuating water levels, their roots became exposed. The red volcanic soil here stands out in strong contrast with the deep blue sky and green foliage.

Thursday Tree Love

Baby bird among the berries: Macro Monday

/ SoyBend / 9 Comments

This morning I was out taking pictures of the sunrise and noticed this baby bird among the berries. It was lucky to have landed in a place covered with a cushioning layer of western juniper leaves.

I looked up in the tree overhead and spotted the nest. An adult American robin perched nearby, completely motionless. I talked to it and got no response at all. I have read that birds sleep with one eye open but this one didn’t follow that theory.

When we placed the baby bird back in its nest, it squawked and that finally got the attention of its parents. I hope it stays in the nest and fledges with its siblings.

Baby bird among the berries

Robins like junipers because they provide shelter and food. In the fall, they and other thrushes eat as many as 220 berries in a day.

The nest is in this tree. Can you spot it?

Robin nest in juniper tree

Macro Monday

Old one’s last winter haiku: Haiku Prompt Challenge

/ SoyBend / Leave a comment
Old ones last winter

bound by ancient roots
branches sway in desert winds
old one’s last winter

Ronovan Writes Haiku Prompt Challenge – Bound and sway

Juniper caught misty moon poem: Monochrome Monday

/ SoyBend / 4 Comments

Juniper caught misty moon on a chill winter night
Struggling to escape, moon gave up on the fight

Juniper caught the misty moon

Scrub jays gathered atop the great tree
Pecking and prodding until moon was set free

scrub jays infrared

Monochrome Monday in infrared

Struck by Lightning – Bye 2020!: TTL

/ SoyBend / 12 Comments
Struck by lightning western juniper tree June 2020
Western juniper tree struck by lightning near Brothers, Oregon

I’m representing my feelings towards 2020 by showing it being struck by lightning. Yes, there were some great moments, but I’m glad to be saying bye to this particular year.

See how all the other western juniper trees around this tree are thriving? Can you see the sliver of blue in the distant sky? Once the dark clouds dissipate, we’ll have a brighter future where more of us can thrive.

Happy New Year!

Thursday Tree Love (TTL)

The softness of snow: MM, SS, & Six Sentence Story

/ SoyBend / 9 Comments

Peering through a branch-lined portal at the softness of snow.

The softness of snow on junipers

Where frosty starbursts emerge from the desert soil.

Bunchgrass covered in snow

And wise elders rejoice, reaching to the sky with arms contorted by the years. Ancient trees collect the bountiful flakes falling from the sky to share.

Ancient juniper tree near Bend, Oregon

They tuck the next generation under downy crystalline blankets. When spring awakens them, they will change into new beings who will continue the cycle and share the softness of snow.

The softness of snow covering pinecones

Monochrome Monday (MM)

Sunday Stills (SS) – Winter Wonderland

Sunday’s Six Sentence Stories – Change

From different perspectives: LAPC

/ SoyBend / 7 Comments

I am trying to take a look at things at home from different perspectives.

The western juniper trees are always ready to be photographed from a distance or close up.

My juniper muse from the ground up.

From different perspectives, juniper from ground up Bend, Oregon 6April2020

Ripples and layers.

Western juniper bark, Bend, Oregon 25April2020
Continue reading →

Many moods of my muse: WPC

/ SoyBend / 12 Comments

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

Cheeky Scrub Jay

/ SoyBend / 3 Comments

This young scrub jay patiently followed its cheeky parent around even though they kept dropping bark on its head. The young bird was waiting to be fed but maybe it should be thinking about leaving the nest soon. 🙂

Weekly Photo Challenge – Cheeky

Juniper of Dreams

/ SoyBend / 2 Comments

“Its trunk had twisted and turned over the years as the roots sought water far below. The tree was more than a thousand years old. Crinkled yellow-green lichens adorned dark bare branches reaching skyward. Clumps of scaly foliage and tiny silver-blue cones clung to a scattering of branches.” – Description of Enebros de Sueños, the Juniper of Dreams, in a magical realism story I’m working on.

Western tree in Bend, Oregon 19November2017

I have lots of western juniper trees on my property but this particular one serves as my muse. I have included it in many photos – see Juniper Muse – but now it is also a mysterious character in a children’s book I’m working on. The tree is old and twisted with age, yet it persists.

The Daily Post – Particular

Peek-a-boo view of flicker

/ SoyBend / 18 Comments

View of flicker in western juniper nest 19June2017

Some birds you hear long before you see them. I was happy to follow the sound of a northern flicker’s calls to discover it was nesting on our property. Here is peek-a-boo view of it looking out from its nest cavity in a western juniper tree. Their markings are loud and sharp – just like their calls. I know the birds won’t be in their nest for long, but I am glad to catch glimpses of them glimpsing at me.

Northern Flicker2 11-14-2015

Weekly Photography Challenge – Transient