Views from the Cosmos: Friday Flowers
Oregon
Love is in the air on Valentine’s Day
On this day when love is in the air, remember to…
Be the rainbow in someone else’s cloud.
Maya Angelou
On the Hunt for Joy Challenge – Cheer Someone Up
Beaded hat, Wasco tribe: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Someday in the future: LAPC
Someday in the future I’ll live on a street full of possibilities
Someday I’ll live where birds are the color of the sky
And flowers are the color of the sun
White-headed woodpecker: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Great horned owl nest in silhouette: Monochrome Monday
Monochrome Monday
Secret Blue Views: Two short stories
Did you know there are secret rooms at McMenamins Old St Francis in Bend? Here are pictures of two of the blacklight rooms with their secret blue views.
You can’t get into to the rooms through a traditional door. You have to find special panels in the hallway and push them in just the right spot.
The secret blue views inspired me to write microfiction stories related to each room.
Story 1
On the night of the harvest moon, trees in a hidden forest create plump blue and red fruit. Jackrabbits venture into the forest, searching for the red fruit. They nibble on their magic and dance until the sun rises and the fruit disappears.
A snack at Crux: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
We got the beet!: Silent Sunday & LAPC
Autumn walk in Bend: LAPC – Finding something red
A beautiful October walk along the Mill A Loop Trail in Bend, Oregon. The rising sun’s rays highlight gold and red fall foliage. The sunlight was hitting the trees just right on this autumn walk.
An American flag flies from one of the Old Mill smokestacks. Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) renovated the 28,000-square-foot former lumber mill and opened a retail store there in 2005. They retained much of the building’s historic charm and it’s one of Bend’s iconic landmarks.
The Lens-Artist Photo Challenge (LAPC) today is Find Something Red.
Noticing the lines in a scene: LAPC
When I travel, I think about photographing what I see by noticing the lines. Your eye wants to follow where they lead you. Here a few leading lines from northern Oregon.
Spruce cones up close: SMM
A photograph of spruce cones up close that I took in my Bend, Oregon yard.
Sunshine’s Macro Monday (SMM)
Pub Art at Silver Moon Brewing
This pub art at Silver Moon Brewing captures many of the iconic landmarks of Bend, Oregon. Artist Natalie Fletcher included Smith Rock in the background flanked by the Painted Hills on the left and Mt Bachelor on the right. The Deschutes River winds through the scene.
Can you see the source of the river? An overflowing glass of beer of course. Little Lava Lake is the “real” source and it’s a great place for kayaking.
Continue readingForests of Steens Mountain: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Ordinary to extraordinary: Monochrome Monday
Even a little bit of snow turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. Here are some patterns in the snow I noticed on my morning walks.
Monochrome Monday
One acre at a time: On the Hunt for Joy Challenge
Last week I helped preserve a bit of the desert, one acre at a time. Sometimes it isn’t apparent how your $$$ help a cause. When you donate to conserve.org, you can see your money in action.
Making a difference
For only $46 per acre, you can help the Oregon Desert Land Trust purchase part of the 118,794 Diablo Mountain Wilderness Study Area in eastern Oregon. You can view a 360-degree photo of each individual acre and choose which you want to help buy.
Continue readingProstrate lupine – a tiny beauty: Friday Flowers
We stopped at the Kiger Gorge overlook on Steens Mountain in August and saw tiny flowers at our feet. These are prostrate lupines, Lupinus lepidus var. lobbii. I put my hand in the picture just to give you an idea of the scale.
This native plant grows in alpine habitats. The tiny blue or purple flowers measure 1/3 inch across. The plant grows to a height of 4-6 inches. Another common name for this low profile plant is “dwarf lupine.” Lupines have distinctive leaves that are almost star-like in form. The seedpods are often covered with soft “hair.”
Continue readingDo you wanna play?: Monochrome Monday
Monochrome Monday
Snow in the Sage: Monochrome Monday
Monochrome Monday
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.
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 readingDo 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
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
Pintos & Appaloosas on the Plains: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday