Oregon

Birds of the Shore: LAPC

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Birds of the shore are common in the spring in parts of eastern Oregon. Why? Because flood irrigation is one of the main methods used to water the crops. As the snow melts off surrounding mountains, it collects in rivers and reaches the lower elevations.

Birds of the shore in Harney County, Oregon 12April2019
Harney County basin flood irrigation. Sandhill cranes collecting around the water.

It is released in controlled amounts in the Harney Basin, where 320 bird species congregate. This ancient method of irrigation benefits the rancher and the birdwatcher.

Birds such as sandhill cranes take advantage of all of that water. You can see flocks of them in the photo above and a single bird below.

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Raptors in Eastern Oregon

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Birds of Prey Tour

I saw plenty of raptors on a Birds of Prey tour in the wide-open country of Harney County, Oregon last April. We ventured briefly into the Malheur National Forest in search of eagles. Though we didn’t see any eagles, we did get a nice view of an American kestrel.

Raptors in Malheur National Forest, American kestrel 13April2019
American kestrel

We saw immature and mature bald eagles later that day. It’s always exciting to see them.

  • Bald eagles in Harney County, Oregon 13April2019
    Immature bald eagle
  • Bald eagles in Harney County, Oregon 13April2019
    Bald eagle in flight
  • Bald eagles in Harney County, Oregon 13April2019
    Adult bald eagle

Some of the wildlife out there was keeping an eye on us. This herd of elk on a distant ridge top watched us for a while.

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Obsidian Up close & personal

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I enjoy visiting Glass Buttes in Central Oregon to collect obsidian. Did you know there are over 24 kinds found there? Here are photos of obsidian up close. The stones are beautiful in color, but also in form.

  • Obsidian up close from Glass Buttes, Oregon 15July2019
  • Obsidian from Glass Buttes, Oregon 15July2019
  • From Glass Buttes, Oregon 15July2019
  • Glass Buttes obsidian, Oregon 15July2019
  • From Glass Buttes, Oregon 15July2019
  • Obsidian up close from Glass Buttes, Oregon 15July2019

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Detail

Clouds in my sky: LAPC

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I can be jubilant one moment and pensive the next, and a cloud could go by and make that happen.

Bob Dylan

Here are few clouds in my sky from the last year’s worth of Lens-Artists Photo Challenges. These pictures were taken in Eastern and Central Oregon, my favorite country. Enjoy their many moods.

Steens Mountain 1May2017
A flock of clouds over Steens Mountain
Winter Walks Art Station 9March2019
Light winter clouds over the Art Station
Unusual Clouds in my sky in Bend, Oregon 18October2017
A brilliant sunrise of clouds in my sky from home
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Purple Pretties: Friday Flowers

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Here are a few of my purple pretties in full bloom in my High Desert yard in Central Oregon.

  • Purple pretties, Lupine flowers in Bend, Oregon 22May2019
    Lupine
  • Phacelia flowers in Bend, Oregon 24June2019
    Phacelia
  • Purple pretties, lavender in Bend, Oregon 19July2018
    Lavender
  • Larkspur flowers in Bend, Oregon 25May2019
    Larkspur
  • Aster flowers in Bend, Oregon 4July2019
    Aster

Finding serenity in a kayak: LAPC

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I always have a way of finding serenity when I’m in a kayak.

Majestic mountains can surround you in a gentle hug.

Finding serenity at Wallowa Lake, Oregon 4 June2019
Wallowa Lake

You can pause and reflect on your life.

Reflections at Clear Lake, Oregon 30August2016
Reflections at Clear Lake
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Springtime Cosmos: A Photo a Week Challenge

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It’s always a thrill to see these lacy-leaved springtime cosmos in the morning sun.

Springtime cosmos Bend. Oregon 21June2019
Cosmos Bend. Oregon 21June2019

A Photo a Week Challenge – Flowers

Unique Sights-High & Low: LAPC

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The Lens-Artists photo challenge today is “unique.” I thought of several unique sights I’ve seen in Oregon that fit this category.

Unique sights "Super 8" Petroglyph, Harney County, OR 11April2019
“Super 8” Petroglyph

Our guide in Harney County referred to this ancient petroglyph as the Super 8. Do you see a resemblance to an old movie camera? Petroglyphs are carved into stone while pictographs are painted onto stone.

Hairy clematis flowers 4June2019
Hairy clematis flowers

I saw these hairy clematis flowers at the Hell’s Canyon Overlook earlier this month. This unusual flower has a lot of common names including lion’s beard, leather flower, vase flower, and sugar bowl. They look similar to prairie smoke flowers featured in a previous post.

Unique sights Great Basin Spadefoot Toad 4May2018
Great Basin Spadefoot Toad

I can’t help but think of the words “unique sights” when I recall this toad I found in my high desert yard. I thought it was so interesting that I wrote a short story about it called The Toad Queen.

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Nature Walks with Llamas

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Llamas in eastern Oregon 13April2019
My guy, Marty McFly

This spring I tried something new by going on two nature walks with llamas. The first hike was part of the Harney County Migratory Bird Festival in eastern Oregon. The second hike, just north of Burns, Oregon, was to help a llama get certification for the Pack Llama Trial Association (PLTA).

First Hike

On the first 4-mile hike, my llama was Marty McFly, AKA “The Professor.” He was not the most dominant llama there, but he was considered to be the smartest. He was always on the lookout. Llamas have large eyes, much like pronghorns, so they can spot predators.

Close up of Marty McFly 13April2019
My, what big eyes you have
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Pining for Ponderosa Pine: LAPC

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Ponderosa pine is a tree for the senses. These trees can grow as tall as 268 feet. Their bark turns an interesting shade of orange-red as they mature.

The branches twist and contort into interesting shapes as the tree ages.

Ponderosa pine tree 31May2019

The furrowed bark has been described as smelling like vanilla, butterscotch, or cinnamon. The bark looks like jigsaw puzzle pieces.

I love taking pictures of bark! See Silent Barks for a few more of my photos.

Ponderosa Pine bark
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Favorite Rocks in Oregon: LAPC

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Oregon rocks come in a wide variety of shapes and colors. Here are a few of my favorite rocks.

Craggy cliffs circling wonder

Blue Pool 14September2016
Blue Pool

Sculptures shaped by the sea

Favorite Rocks, Pacific City, Oregon 21June2018
Pacific City
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Wild Oregon-Steens to the Sea: LAPC

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There are many wild Oregon places and this post highlights just a few of them. The ever changing skies can make familiar landscapes look completely different. Here are some portraits of Oregon’s wild places.

Oregon is an inspiration. Whether you come to it, or are born to it, you become entranced by our state’s beauty, the opportunity she affords, and the independent spirit of her citizens.

Tom McCall, former governor of Oregon
Steens Mountain 1May2017
Steens Mountain
Wild Oregon - the Painted Hills 26October2018
Painted Hills
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Kam Wah Chung: A Step Back in Time

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The store inside Kam Wah Chung, John Day, OR 26October2018
The store inside Kam Wah Chung

Have you ever stepped inside a time capsule and discovered a place frozen in time? You have the opportunity to visit such a place if you stop at the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site in John Day, Oregon. The small building, located two blocks north of Highway 26, was, at one time, bustling with activity. Kam Wah Chung, which translates to the “Golden Flower of Prosperity,” served as a dry goods store, herbalist shop, import business, house of worship, and boarding house. It also housed an informal library and post office.

Exterior of the building, John Day, OR 26October2018
Exterior of the building
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One Ringy Dingy…: Monochrome Monday

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One Ringy Dingy switchboard, Burns, Oregon 12April2019

I saw this old switchboard at the Harney County Historical Museum in Burns, Oregon. I could imagine Ernestine sitting in front of it saying, “One ringy dingy…two ringy dingy. Is this the party to whom I am speaking?” Making calls is a little easier today.

Delicate Beauties: Friday Flowers & LAPC

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I don’t see the desert as barren at all; I see it as full and ripe. It doesn’t need to be flattered with rain. It certainly needs rain, but it does with what it has, and creates amazing beauty.

Joy Harjo

Here are a few delicate beauties growing in the High Desert near Bend, Oregon. Enjoy their rainbow colors and gentle grace.

Delicate-Beauties-Blue flax 24May2019
Blue flax
Prickly poppy-24June2018
Prickly poppy
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Double O Ranch Sign: Monochrome Monday

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Double-O-Ranch-13April2019

This interesting Double O Ranch sign is on part of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon. At one time this 17,000 acre ranch was privately owned by Bill Hanley. The U.S. Government purchased most of it in 1941 and added it to the refuge. The ranch was originally owned by Amos W. Riley and James A. Hardin. It was established in 1875 and was one of the first permanent pioneer settlements in Harney County.

Sand lily – High Desert Star: Friday Flowers

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Sand lily - High desert star
Sand lily, Leucocrinum montanum

The sand lily, also known as the star lily, is a delicate perennial wildflower found in western North America. It grows in sagebrush deserts, open montane forests, and in sandy and rocky soils.

The plant above is growing near sagebrush in an uncultivated part of my property near Bend, Oregon. There is only one plant and I look forward to it blooming every spring.

Sand lily - High desert star 15May2019
A field of sand lilies
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Stairway of Art: LAPC

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The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps – we must step up the stairs.

Vance Havner
Stairway of Art 24November2018

This stairway of art in the Old Mill district of Bend invites you to hear its story. The garbage can and utility box are supporting cast members in this tale.

This work is by Yuya Negishi. I show another of his pieces and tell a bit more about him in Big Bold Art in Bend.

Here is a short video showing Yuya creating this stairway of art.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Street Art

Blue Basin Bench: Pull up a Seat

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Blue Basin bench at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

This bench awaits you at the end of the Blue Basin Island in Time Trail at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Eastern Oregon. When you sit there, you are surrounded by an amphitheater of greenish blue stone highlighted by hills of red volcanic soil. It’s a dramatic, and impressive, landscape.

Here is a 360-degree view of what I saw at the end of the Island in Time Trail.

Pull Up a Seat Photo Challenge

Drum painting: Monochrome Monday

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Desert Glyph: Drum Painting

Drum Painting, High Desert Museum 2May2019
Front view

This drum painting is part of the new Desert Reflections: Water Shapes the West exhibit at the High Desert Museum. The artist, Ka’ila Farrell-Smith, blends traditional indigenous art forms and contemporary installation art. The traditional concept of a drum is extended into a large rectangular form. Two “hitchhiker” rocks anchor it to the ground.

The sounds and views of this instrument change as it reacts to sunlight. The shadows of the sinew on the back move across the front as the sun moves across the sky. The sinew expands and contracts as temperatures change.

Drum Painting, High Desert Museum 2May2019
Back view

The painting on the front references the Long Lake abstract petroglyphs. It is an example of Great Basin Curvilinear, Rectilinear, and Representational rock art styles.

I liked the back of this work just as much as the front. Loved the lines!

Monochrome Monday

Harmony in Nature: Songsters of Spring

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“I’d rather learn from one bird how to sing than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance.” e.e. cummings

At this time of the year, I often think of harmony in nature. Every time I go outside, I hear the songsters of spring. Here are a few local songsters whose voices and plumage are full of gold.

Click on the word “song” in the caption below each photograph to hear the harmony in nature these birds share with us.

Songsters of Spring Western kingbird 17April2017
Western kingbird at Fort Rock, Oregon. Their song.
American Goldfinch On Cattails 30March2018
American Goldfinch On Cattails at Summer Lake, Oregon. Their song.
Harmony in Nature Yellow-headed blackbird 5April2018
Yellow-headed blackbird at Malheur NWR, Oregon. Their song.
Harmony in Nature Western Meadowlark 5April2018
Western Meadowlark at Crane Hot Springs, Oregon. Their song.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Harmony

Where the pronghorn roam: Monochrome Monday

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Where the pronghorn roam 1November2017
A large herd of pronghorn near Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, Oregon

Monochrome Monday