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.

Hollinshead park gardens

Gardeners plant in concise or freeform patterns. Some use various supports or covers.

Hollinshead park panorama

It’s a great place to take pictures throughout the year.

Let us (lettuce)

You can see pale green wall-of-water plant protectors in the foreground below. They help protect the plants from freezing temperatures.

Community garden

The flowers in bloom can change from week to week.

Hollinshead Park gardens

This looks like a very healthy zucchini plant.

Zucchini

The community gardens are scattered throughout Bend and nearby towns. In fact, they are so popular some use a lottery system to select potential gardeners.

Hollinshead Water-wise Garden

The Hollinshead Water-wise Garden focuses on landscaping plants that require less water. This garden is supported by the same organizations as the community garden, plus the City of Bend.

Hollinshead park gardens

I like how plants are clearly labeled in this garden. Seeing these plants in person can help you decide if you want them in your yard.

Blazing star

This weeping Norway spruce was huge! We have one in our front yard.

weeping spruce

I always think of Spirea as a plant for wetter environments, but there are varieties that do well with less water.

Spirea

If you’re looking for a variety of scents in your garden, you can check out fragrant plants as well.

Fragrant Abelia

You can find more examples of plants that grow well in Central Oregon at the Extension Service Garden at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond, Oregon. The Central Oregon Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Madras also has labeled plants.

Friday Flowers

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.

Lichens & moss

Macro Monday

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!

pink chrysanthemum

Macro Monday

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.

Glowing moments sunset

While the rising moon shines in subdued tones.

Full moon

Purple lupine flowers shine on a cool spring morning.

Blooming lupine
Continue reading

Euphorbia up close: Macro Monday

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

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

Angles of the Earth: LAPC

Angles of the Earth sculpted by pounding waves.

Angles of the earth
Seaside sandstone formations at Pacific City, OR

Rising on the edge of a caldera in olivine and crimson shades.

Volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks
Volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks at Prineville Reservoir, OR

Fracturing leaden lava flows, brushed with a glow of lichens.

Continue reading

The touch of nature: LAPC

The touch of nature can be sharp and cold or

The touch of nature
Prickly pear cactus in the snow, Bend, Oregon

Ridged and dry

Dry reservoir
Low water in Wickiup Reservoir, Oregon

The touch of nature can be smooth and wet or

The touch of nature
Cobble Beach near Newport, Oregon

Continue reading

Lighter and darker nature pictures: LAPC

I’m showing lighter and darker nature pictures to go with the lens-artists photo challenge of “exposure” this week. Sometimes I frame a shot with lighter and darker settings; other times I make changes during the photo editing process.

The first two pictures are of maidenhair fern growing along the trail in Silver Falls State Park. In this case I like both versions. Maybe it’s because I like all shades of green. 🙂

The next two pictures show a mountain peak near Mitchell, Oregon. The first shows the structure of the rimrock at the peak and the second brings out the clouds. I prefer the darker, more evil-looking, version.

Continue reading

Greetings from Bend mural: Monday Mural

Here’s a picture of the new “Greetings from Bend, Oregon” mural. This mural is near the flag bridge in the Old Mill district in Bend. It’s on the Mill A Loop trail, where I walk regularly.

This colorful mural is by artist Karen Eland. I’m a big fan of her artwork and have previously featured her work in Bend. She collaborated with five other artists on this work in the Foxtail Bakery in the Box Factory district.

Foxtail closed in January 2022. The restaurant currently at that location, Papi Chulo’s Taqueria, has new murals adorning their walls. More murals for me to seek out and share!

Greetings from Bend mural

Karen features local flora and fauna in this Greetings from Bend, Oregon mural. This mural includes columbine, lupine, and paintbrush flowers. A Western Tanager perches on “From” and a Rufous Hummingbird hovers over “Oregon.” Tiger swallowtail butterflies flit about the edges and a honeybee perches on a flower in a corner. Cascade volcanoes float in the background and the iconic smokestacks of the Old Mill stand tall in the foreground.

You can see another example of Karen’s work in this mural in Sisters, Oregon. She collaborated on that piece with fellow artist Katie Daisy .

Monday Mural

Weird and wonderful sights: LAPC

In your travels near and far, you may find weird and wonderful sights.

Weird architecture

Sometimes you find a weird sight when you’re driving down the highway and look it up later. This is the Smith Mansion, located in Wapiti, Wyoming, halfway between Cody and Yellowstone.

Lee Smith, a former builder and engineer, began constructing this structure from locally harvested logs. However, he became obsessed with adding on to the building, which led to his divorce. For 22 years he continued construction so that eventually it was 5-stories tall. One day, unfortunately, he slipped while working and fell to his death. His daughter owned the house for many years until it was sold to a neighbor in 2020.

Weird

For a better look at this amazing structure inside and out, watch this video by Scott Richard.

Wonderful tastes

At other times you’ll go a little off the beaten path in search of a good meal. This delicious barbecue dinner is from the Apple Valley BBQ in Parkdale, Oregon. Parkdale, at the base of Mt Hood, is a small town with a population of about 650. Fruit orchards fill the valleys in this part of Oregon and the restaurant incorporates fruit into their meals. The coleslaw pictured contains slices of fresh pears. They use local cherry wood to smoke their meat. Yum, definitely one of my favorites!

Apple Valley BBQ
Continue reading

Wind-sculpted poem: Haiku & MM

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

Memorable moments from home: LAPC

Trying to choose only three of my favorite photos for this challenge was very difficult. I decided to focus on memorable moments from home.

The first shows a glorious fall sunset behind my juniper tree muse. I like the combination of color, lightness and darkness, and texture in this photo. The branches of the western juniper tree seem to be directing a symphony of clouds.

best photos dusk desert sky

The second is a close up view of a different juniper tree’s bark. Though some see western junipers as an unwelcome invader in sagebrush habitats, I’m impressed by their beauty. Their rough bark varies in color, as does their wood. Wrinkles add to their character as they age. The birds in my yard are grateful for the shelter and food these trees provide.

memorable moments with juniper bark

The third picture is of my “pet” Cooper’s Hawk. I’ve taken a lot of pictures of her. On this day, she took an extended bath and spent a long time preening her feathers. Her fluffed up feathers, piercing gaze, and stance are not the typical view you get of these raptors. It was one of those memorable moments!

Cooper's hawk visited me

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Picking favorites

Double views in changing seasons: LAPC & WWP

Changing seasons bring double views

Shining cactus blossoms returning

double views of cactus

Mothers guarding their curious young

Cow with calves

Dramatic storms hovering over landscapes

Double views of Summer Lake
Continue reading

High Desert voices of the many and the few: LAPC

High Desert voices can be heard throughout Central Oregon if you just pause and listen.

Bold shouts of the many

High desert voices Abert Rim
Lichen-covered boulders at Abert Rim

Quiet whispers of the few

Painted By The Earth Summer Lake, Oregon 30March2018
Stones layered with calcite at Summer Lake

Raucous calls of the many

High desert voices Summer Lake
Waterbird colony at Summer Lake
Continue reading

Aspen eyes – somebody’s watching me: TTL

When I’m out walking among the aspen eyes early in the morning, I always feel like somebody’s watching me. While Michael Jackson was referring to his fans or the paparazzi with those lyrics, I’m referring to the eyes of nature. These aspen trees watch over me, always making sure I’m safe. My many-eyed guardians are beginning to leaf out with their distinctive fluttering leaves.

Thursday Tree Love 130

Photo in thirds? Bending the rules: LAPC

When taking pictures, you might want to think about composing your photo in thirds. What?

According to the Digital Photography School, the rule of thirds “is a compositional guideline that breaks an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so you have nine pieces and four gridlines. According to the rule, by positioning key elements along the gridlines, you’ll end up with better compositions.”

While browsing my photos, I realized horizontal layers are more important to me in composition. Do my pictures always follow the rule of thirds guidelines? No, it’s okay to bend the rules.

SLR Lounge notes, “Of all the “rules” in photography, the rule of thirds is one of the easiest to successfully break.”

My photo in thirds examples (with layers)

This sandhill crane is in the upper third corner, but the differing textures and colors of the plants catch your attention. This photo has four layers.

Photo in thirds

This pronghorn is near the lower third of the picture. I could have cropped it more, but I didn’t want to cut out the misty mountains in the background. This photo has five layers.

Pronghorn at Yellowstone
Continue reading

Focus on what is important: LAPC

Focus on what is important and blur the distractions.

Burrowing owl

Magnify the delicacy of Nature’s architecture.

Apple blossoms

Find subjects that stand out from the herd and capture their strength.

Focus on what is important - bison

Focus on the palette of colors used to create distant masterpieces.

View from Gray Butte

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Bokeh

Delicate feather haiku: Weekly Haiku Challenge

delicate feather
propelled by whispers of wind
settles on snow drifts

Delicate feather

Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge – Feather & whisper

The heart of a river: WWE

This photo of the heart of a river was taken near the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park. I’m sharing this image created by Mother Nature with you on Valentine’s Day. Have a wonderful day!

the heart of a river

Water, Water Everywhere (WWE)

Big changes at the Amphitheater: LAPC

There have been some big changes at the amphitheater in Bend, Oregon. I featured the art in and around this venue in a post in June 2020. At that time, it was called the Les Schwab Amphitheater. It was named after a local entrepreneur who developed a thriving national tire business. Now the site is the Hayden Homes Amphitheater, named after a local home builder.

This site, the largest outdoor music venue in Bend, hosts concerts as well as events like Brewfest. Live Nation, the world’s leading live entertainment company, will partner with Hayden Homes in managing events. This page lists events scheduled for 2022.

Before and after views of the big changes

Today I’ll turn my lenses toward some of the changes at this site.

The stage before was small with whimsical art on the front and back. Here’s the artwork that was on the back of the stage. I loved the raven in this mural.

Art at the Amphitheater , Bend, Oregon November 2018

The new industrial-style stage is much larger and has a big open “window” space to take in the view.

Close view of stage
Continue reading

It’s a Boy! Pine tree: Thursday Tree Love

I saw this “it’s a boy” pine tree along the trail to Big Tree, the largest ponderosa pine of its kind, in LaPine State Park, Oregon. I may have walked right past this odd tree, but I noticed two teenage boys laughing loudly and pointing at it. They took multiple pictures to share with their friends. Their reaction to it was almost as funny as the tree itself! 😀

Its a boy pine tree

Thursday Tree Love -122

Some of my best photos from 2021: LAPC, SS

It’s time to share special photos from the past year. Please enjoy this selection of nature, history, and art photos from Bend Branches.

Best Nature Pictures

The first photo shows a scene at the Portland Japanese Garden. We visited in October, when fall colors were at their peak.

best photos Portland Japanese Garden

This picture shows a pronghorn buck at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. My following pronghorn post includes several pictures of these icons of the West.

Grazing pronghorn buck in Yellowstone

We get spectacular sunsets and sunrises in our High Desert yard in Bend, Oregon. I wrote a two-line essence poem to go along with this image.

best photos dusk desert sky
Continue reading

A Painted View: Pull Up a Seat Challenge

A painted view in the Painted Hills in John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon. Rainfall from a passing storm brought out the colors of this natural wonder.

A painted view
Painted Hills, Oregon

Pull Up a Seat Challenge

An old bench at Sahalie Falls: Pull up a Seat Challenge

This old bench at Sahalie Falls, Oregon stands in stark contrast to the new fences bordering the trail. It’s nice they preserved a piece of the past here.

Old bench at Sahalie Falls

It’s a short walk from the parking area to view the falls. Aren’t they spectacular?

Pull Up a Seat Photo Challenge 2021 – Week 42

Do you wonder when you wander?: LAPC

Do you wonder when you wander
Where the path will lead?

Up to mountains,
Where scattering clouds reveal the peaks of possibility?

Mt Shuksan, Washington

Down to deserts,
Where sandstorms expose the color of earth’s soul?

Blue Basin Trail, Oregon

Over to ocean shores,
Where waves create cryptic messages in the sand?

Do you wonder? Near Dingle, Ireland

Through dense forests,
Where trees of different character stand together as one?

Do you wonder - near Republic,  WA

Do you wonder when you wander
Where the path will lead?

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Keep Walking

Seeing things differently with photo edits: LAPC

Photo editing is all about seeing things differently. I had fun with my Corel PaintShop Pro editing program in this post.

Making colors shine

I was impressed by the rainbow of colors at our local Farmer’s Market. This photo looked like it would be a good candidate for the kaleidoscope special effect and I was right. Wow!

Farmers marketSeeing things differently kaleidoscope of veggies

The color or the structure?

I took this picture near Grizzly Peak in Wyoming and I couldn’t decide which edit I liked better — color or black & white? The blue sky in the background pops in the color version, while the structure of the trees gets your attention in black & white.

Sylvan Lake, WyomingSeeing things differently in Wyoming

Eliminating distractions

Continue reading

Wonderful colors inspired by a song: LAPC

This week I’m featuring pictures of green, red, blue, and white. These are colors in What a Wonderful World, a song that brings back a special memory. Many years ago, I helped a kindergartner class with an art project related to the song. I assigned each student a color and let them paint anything they wanted. It was a “wonderful” experience!

Here’s my take on the colors from the song.

This picture shows the vibrancy of green foliage surrounding a great blue heron in Troutdale.

Wonderful great blue heron

Here’s a picture featuring the power of red in an up close portrait of a hibiscus.

Close up of hyacinth flower
Continue reading

Special photos from 2020: LAPC & SS

It’s time to share special photos from the past year. Please enjoy this selection of nature, history, and art photos from Bend Branches.

Nature Photos

One day, while playing around with editing effects, this mirror image of autumn leaves sparked my imagination. I saw a woman wearing a crimson cape in the photo below. The short story I created, The Tree People of Autumn , is based on edited photos of trees.

The tree people of autumn

I tried to turn my camera towards things in my yard more this year. Here’s one of my prickly pear cactus in bloom.

Prickly pear cactus with petals radiating Bend, Oregon 4June2020

We created a big vegetable garden this year. Some of our produce may not have won ribbons at the fair, but it was entertaining. 😊

Three-headed carrot Bend, Oregon August 2020
Continue reading