Macro Monday

Jerusalem cricket up close: Macro Monday

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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!

Jerusalem cricket

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.

Macro Monday

Black cottonwood up close: Macro Monday

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This black cottonwood up close picture was taken at Malheur NWR headquarters in Oregon.

Black cottonwood

I kinda have a thing for taking pictures of bark. Can you see why I thought this tree was ready for its close up?

Macro Monday

Lichens & moss up close: Macro Monday

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This limb held an interesting collection of lichens & moss. It had a great variety of colors and textures. Golden grasses nicely framed the scene.

Lichens & moss

Macro Monday

Pink Chrysanthemum up close: Macro Monday

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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!

pink chrysanthemum

Macro Monday

Double yolk thunderegg: Macro Monday

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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.

Double yolk thunderegg

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.

Rough side of rock

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.

Macro Monday

Euphorbia up close: Macro Monday

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Here’s a photograph of Euphorbia, up close, growing in the fall. In spring, this type has bright yellow flowers. These plants, also known as ‘spurge’, are drought tolerant and easy to grow. There are more than 2,000 types of Euphorbia.

Euphorbia

Macro Monday

Lungwort up close: Macro Monday

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Here’s a picture of lungwort up close, taken near the North Santiam River in Oregon.

Lungwort
Lungwort, Lobania pulmonaria

Also known as Lung lichen, this lichen has been used in dyes, teas, and for treatment of lung ailments. Deer and moose browse on lungwort and other animals use it for nest material.

Lungwort is sensitive to air pollution and doesn’t grow well in polluted locations. In fact, the National Forest Service keeps a database on this and other lichens “to detect, map, evaluate trends, and assess the ecological impacts of air pollutants.”

Macro Monday

Skimmia up close: Macro Monday

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Skimmia shrub with berries up close. This plant was seen at the Portland Japanese Garden in the fall.

Skimmia

Macro Monday

Frosty around the edges: Macro Monday

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These Oregon grape leaves were frosty around the edges. This picture, taken in November, shows the leaves getting their fall color.

Frosty around the edges

Macro Monday

Pickled herring fossil?: Macro Monday

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Could this be a pickled herring fossil? I got this fossil from my mom and don’t know anything about it’s history. It looks like the herring fish pictured on this Green River Fossil site. Though I was hoping it was something rare, fossils of this small fish are common.

pickled herring fossil

The Green River Formation, located in parts of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, is one of the best places to find fish fossils in the world.

Macro Monday

Let us (or lettuce) be grateful: Macro Monday

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Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

Marcel Proust
Let us (lettuce)

A little play on the words “let us” with this up close picture of lettuce growing in Hollinshead Park’s community garden in Bend, Oregon.

Macro Monday

This and that rock: Macro Monday

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This and that rock from Fischer Canyon, Oregon. According to the Central Oregon rockhounding map, published by the Bureau of Land Management, you can find petrified wood, jasper, and agate here. Other sources list calcite and quartz as being at this site.

This small conglomerate includes several types of rock that merged together.

this and that rock
conglomerate rock

Macro Monday

Jasper shown up close: Macro Monday

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This piece of jasper, shown up close, comes from Fischer Canyon, south of Prineville Reservoir. I liked this rock because the yellow lichen stood out in bold contrast against the red background.

Jasper shown up close

Macro Monday

Trailing petunias up close: Macro Monday

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I saw these multi-colored trailing petunias in a hanging basket in downtown Bend. Since they produce so many flowers, another common name for this plant is ‘million bells.’

Trailing petunias
Trailing petunias Calibrachoa hybrida

These perennials are hybrids from plants originally grown in South America. They bloom from spring through first frost and they’re easy to grow. They make a perfect addition to hanging baskets.

Macro Monday

Wind-sculpted poem: Haiku & MM

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Beach scene in Oregon

wind-sculpted mountains
emerge from sandy shorelines
embrace life, vanish

wind-sculpted mountains

Note: These sand “mountains” near Waldport, Oregon are about 1/2 inch tall.

Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge – Sand and Life

Macro Monday

Captured sunshine: Macro Monday

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These colorful lichens at Lake Abert look like bits of captured sunshine.

Captured sunshine in lichens
Colorful lichens at Lake Abert, Oregon

Macro Monday

Cactus buds in my garden: Macro Monday

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Here’s an up close view of prickly pear cactus buds in my garden. Yes, those spikes are sharp and difficult to weed around, but I eagerly await the day when their delicate yellow flowers unfurl.

Cactus buds

Macro Monday

Tulips up close: Macro Monday

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Here’s a picture of tulips up close growing in my garden. There’s something special about these two flowers.

tulips up close

They are the first to make it to this stage without being eaten by our resident deer!

Mule deer

Macro Monday

Petrified wood bits – Bear Creek: LAPC & Macro Monday

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Last month, we collected petrified wood bits from Bear Creek, south of Prineville Reservoir in Oregon. The following pieces are one inch or less in size. Getting decent photographs of these tiny stones proved to be a challenge.

I set up a tabletop studio and tried a Panasonic Lumix and a Galaxy Ultra phone camera. I had to keep adjusting the spotlights outside of the studio. Each stone was given a quick spritz of water to bring out their color. After many unsuccessful attempts with both cameras, I finally got some good shots with the Panasonic.

petrified wood
Close up of wood
petrified wood
close up of rock
Read more: Petrified wood bits – Bear Creek: LAPC & Macro Monday Continue reading →

A white poppy up close: Macro Monday

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A white poppy up close growing in our garden last year. Poppies come in a variety of colors, but they’re also pretty in white.

a white poppy

Macro Monday

Ammonite fossil up close: Macro Monday

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This picture of an ammonite fossil up close shows their beautiful spiraling structure. In ancient times they were called “snake stones” or “serpent stones.” The stones were thought to have healing and oracular powers. Fossils of these once abundant, now extinct, marine molluscs are popular with collectors.

Ammonite fossil up close

Macro Monday

Stilbite up close: Macro Monday

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This is a beautiful piece of stilbite up close. Specimens like these, from the stilbite subgroup, can be found near Mill Creek, Polk County, Oregon. The crystals on this mineral are gorgeous, but I also like the parallel lines surrounding the cavity in this piece.

Stilbite up close

Macro Monday

Labradorite up close: Macro Monday

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Here’s a picture of a piece of polished labradorite up close. This feldspar mineral has a unique appearance. Its iridescence catches your attention and is referred to as “labradorescence.” I like holding a piece with a lot of color and tilting it to see different colors in the light. The parallel lines of color within the stone, the twinning surfaces, reflect the light.

Labradorite up close

Macro Monday

Blanket flowers up close: Macro Monday

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Here’s a photo of blanket flowers up close that I took last summer. These perennial flowers are big and showy. Their contrasting colors make them stand out as a star in any garden. These easy to grow plants are also drought tolerant. They attract butterflies and birds.

Blanket flowers up close

Macro Monday

A larch in waiting up close: Macro Monday

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This larch in waiting photo shows one of their tiny cones up close. The western larch needles turn gold in the fall before dropping. The pompom needle clusters in this photo were just beginning to turn. This unique tree is one of my local favorites.

A larch in waiting

Macro Monday

Marigolds up close: Macro Monday

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I saw these marigolds up close in a park at the end of July. These vignettes show orange, yellow, and white flowers that were growing in a border planting. Marigolds are an easy to grow annual that blooms for weeks during the summer months.

Marigolds up close
Yellow flower blooming
White flower blooming

Macro Monday

Mushrooms up close – A true story: Macro Monday & OLWG

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Mushrooms up close
Mushrooms & whirlybirds in Portland, Oregon

A couple I once knew had a memorable experience involving mushrooms, up close and personal. They went out mushroom picking with friends in the rainforests near Olympia, Washington. That night, they prepared a fancy meal that included the mushrooms they harvested.

After dinner, they sat around the table exclaiming how wonderful the freshly-harvested mushrooms tasted. Suddenly, they noticed the family cat had jumped onto the counter and eaten a little of the mushroom sauce. She immediately began to vomit.

The dinner guests looked at each other with horror. When they picked the mushrooms, they weren’t sure of the exact species. Even when you look at mushrooms up close they can be difficult to identify. If you eat the wrong type, it might kill you.

Out of an abundance of caution, they decided to go to the hospital. Everyone had their stomach pumped in case the mushrooms were poisonous.

When they returned home, they were surprised to find the cat with a litter of newborn kittens. The cat wasn’t sick from poisoning—the vomiting was due to her labor.

At the time it happened they decided to err on the side of caution, but later, they thought their reaction was pretty funny. 😀

Macro Monday

On-line Writer’s Guild (OLWG) #232 – It might kill you

Autumn cascara leaves up close: Macro Monday

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Here are a couple pictures of autumn cascara leaves up close. I spotted these beautiful multi-colored leaves on shrubs near Santiam Junction in Oregon. They were growing within an inhospitable looking lava bed.

Autumn cascara

This tall shrub is attractive year round. The oblong leaves, with their distinctive parallel veins, are glossy green for most of the year. Autumn cascara leaves have spectacular colors. Cascara produce greenish-yellow flowers in the spring, and dark purple fruit in the summer.

fall leaves

One of their common names is Cascara sagrada, Spanish for “sacred bark.” The bark is well known for its laxative effects. See the Names section of Cascara, Frangula purshiana for funny Chinook names based on these qualities. 😉

Macro Monday

Milkweed seedpod up close: Macro Monday

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Here are three photos of a milkweed seedpod up close. As you may know, milkweed flowers are a favorite of monarch butterflies. North American populations of this butterfly have been rapidly declining.

I got a packet of seeds for free from Deschutes Land Trust, one of our local conservation nonprofits. To find milkweed seeds near you, use the Milkweed Seed Finder courtesy of the Xerces Society.

milkweed seedpod
seeds up close
Milkweed seedpod

We planted milkweed starts in our garden this year, but they fried during a week of unusually hot weather. 🙁

My friend, Suzy, planted hers last year and had greater success. This seedpod she gave me measures 4 inches in length. A couple of days ago it split along a seam. Each seed is attached to a little wispy fluff known as coma.

Does this milkweed seedpod remind anyone else out there of the pods in Invasion of the Body Snatchers?

Macro Monday

Poppies & honeybee up close: Macro Monday

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Poppies & honeybee up close in our garden this spring. This bee has full pollen baskets on its hind legs. Did you know these pollen pellets can account for 30% of a bee’s weight?

Poppies & honeybees

Macro Monday

Fading hibiscus up close: Macro Monday

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I saw these fading hibiscus flowers at a local garden center in early June. The petals are past their prime, but the flowers still have a style all their own.

Fading hibiscus

Macro Monday

Artichoke blooming up close: Macro Monday

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We planted a couple artichoke plants in our garden this year and assumed they died after a week of extreme heat. Several leaves on both plants turned brown from the sun, but the plants survived. Here are their purple blossoms up close. Artichokes are pretty and tasty!

Artichoke blossom close up
vegetables in bloom

Macro Monday

Yellow & white iris up close: Macro Monday

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I saw this yellow & white iris in bloom in mid June. When you see them blooming, summer is on the way. The golden colors in this blossom mirror the warmth of summer days to come.

Yellow & white iris

Macro Monday

Whirlybirds up close: Macro Monday

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Whirlybirds up close on a maple tree in my High Desert yard. I have fond childhood memories of collecting whirlybirds from the ground and tossing them up into the air. Watching them helicopter towards the ground was cheap entertainment in those days.

Whirlybirds up close

Macro Monday

Baby bird among the berries: Macro Monday

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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

Ponderosa pine bark up close: Macro Monday

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Ponderosa pine bark up close. This bark is made even more interesting with drips of amber pitch.

Macro Monday

Colorful lichens up close: Macro Monday

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These colorful lichens are growing on a rock in my High Desert yard. So much variety in a tiny landscape!

Colorful lichens up close

Macro Monday

Manzanita blossoms up close: Macro Monday

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Manzanita blossoms May2021

Manzanita blossoms are putting on a show right now in Central Oregon. The delicate pink blossoms contrast with the thick, leathery green leaves and red bark. The bark on these shrubs peels like on a madrone tree. It’s one of my favorite local plants but it refuses to grow in my garden. That gives me an excuse to seek them out in the wild.

Macro Monday

Colorful lichen up close: Macro Monday

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Colorful lichens up close

A rainbow of colorful lichen up close. These lichens grow on the rocks in my High Desert yard. Though they are small, they have a big presence

Macro Monday