Plants

Succulent mural in Bend: Monday Mural

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This succulent mural is at River’s Place, a food truck pod on the east side of Bend. We are lucky to have at least seven of these “pods” where trucks can hook up to water and power to serve customers. Each pod has indoor seating with numerous beers on tap. They also host musicians, trivia nights, and other events.

This mural was created by Nicole Fontana, of Fontana Painting. Succulents are one of my favorite types of plants because they have so much variety. She captured that variety well.

I have featured Nicole’s work in a previous post featuring whimsical doors in Tumalo. I loved the detail in those paintings and in this succulent mural.

succulent mural

Monday Mural

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

Old, new, borrowed, blue gardens: LAPC

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old, new, borrowed, blue Daylilies with the Sisters in the background, Oregon 20July2019 20July2019
Day lilies with the Sisters mountains in the background

The challenge for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this weekend is Something old, new, borrowed, and blue. I am highlighting the recent High Desert Garden Tour in Central Oregon.

Something old

I saw many plants I’m familiar with on this tour. Some I knew the names of, others I was like, “Uh… what was your name again?” Fortunately, the plants were labeled or the person whose garden it was could tell you.

Here are some old friends.

Blazing star, Madras, Oregon 20July2019
Blazing star
Old, new, borrowed, blue Honeycrisp apple, Madras Oregon 20July2019
Honeycrisp apple
Love-in-a-mist, Culver, Oregon 20July2019
Love-in-a-mist
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Roses-Summer Blooms & Fall Fruit: Friday Flowers

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Roses Blooms 13September2018
Roses Fruit 18October2018

I enjoy watching these roses growing along the Mill A Loop trail along the Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon. They produce a bounty in the summer and the fall for walkers and wildlife.

Friday Flowers

Tatarian honeysuckle blossoms: Friday Flowers

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Pretty but invasive

Tatarian honeysuckle blossoms 10May2018

These honeysuckle blossoms are pretty but they are on an introduced plant that has been so successful it’s considered invasive in some parts of the country. These tall shrubs are growing along the Deschutes River and they produce a lot of berries later in the summer.

Friday Flowers

Green Worlds Beneath Me: Photo Challenge – Wonder

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Tiny worlds beneath me

I often have to remind myself to look down and notice the worlds beneath me when I’m taking pictures. Here’s a picture of aquatic plants being combed by the waves and highlighted by the sun.

Green worlds beneath me. Aquatic plants at Yellowstone National Park, WY 2June2018

Here’s a picture of a lichen “forest”  growing on weathered wood. Worlds of wonder exist in landscapes large and small.

Worlds beneath me - a lichen forest on weathered wood 21June2018

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Wonder

Succulent Wall: WPC

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I often stop to look at the succulent wall at my favorite plant nursery. Varied in their colors, shapes, and textures, these prolific plants always impress me.

Succulent Wall in Bend, Oregon 27March2018Weekly Photo Challenge – Prolific

 

Crazy Quilt of Colors

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I noticed this crazy quilt of colors along the shores of Little Lava Lake in September. The sedges and rushes varied in their color and had interesting forms. It was almost as if they formed a single living organism.

Crazy quilt of color along the shores of Little Lava Lake, Oregon 28September2017

Weekly Photo Challenge – Variations on a Theme

Persisting

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Persisting Plant June2015.jpg

Though barriers may sometimes block your way, if you persist you can find your way around them.

Weekly Photography Challenge – Against the odds

Fall Foliage Fireworks: Weekly Photo Challenge

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Fall foliage at Doris Lake, Oregon 20Sept2016

Fall leaves
Bursting with color
Explosions of warms and cools
Reflecting the last rays of summer
On a quest towards the
Cold crispness to come

Weekly Photo Challenge – Quest

Mendel’s Garden: Lupines of many colors

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Mendels garden lupine flowers

Is this Mendel’s garden? I think the Gene Jeannie has been at work in my backyard. I planted one purple and white lupine and it has multiplied.  Now I have a violet and purple one, two purple and white ones, a violet and white one, and an all white one.

Optimism in a single flower – Inspiration

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Optimism -Carnation, Dianthus sp.
Carnation, Dianthus sp.

Some put everything they have into making the world a better place.

Successful Invaders: Flora and Fauna that won

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Successful invaders Old western juniper tree at dusk
Old western juniper tree at dusk

What are successful invaders?

There are certain members of the plant and animal world that I call successful invaders. Some are admired; others are reviled. A few are both liked and despised at the same time.

Western juniper

Where I live, the Western juniper, Juniperus occidentalis, fits into that last category. It is a native species but due to fire suppression and habitat destruction, it has spread like -excuse the reference- wildfire. Juniper has taken advantage of the situation and has significantly expanded its range. I have heard a lot about how much water it can suck out of the landscape – supposedly 30 gallons a day.  Its root system taps downwards and outwards to effectively use the available water. Many people don’t like them for that reason and because at times they have a not-so-pleasant scent.  I’ll always remember listening to a person that lives in the wealthy part of town saying that she eliminated all 18 junipers on her property as soon as she moved in. Eighteen trees.

However, juniper also has its good side. As it ages it epitomizes the image many people associate with the Wild West. I love to photograph them. The form of the tree generally changes from a pyramid-like shape to a twisted, sprawling irregular one. It can be covered by purplish berries (that are really cones) and these are used in gin production. Wildlife loves it for cover, nesting, and food. Its wood is bi-colored and long lasting.

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Indian Ford Preserve: Dramatic peaks & fall color

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Indian Ford Preserve in Oregon
Broken Top, the Three Sisters, and Black Crater

Indian Ford Preserve Field Trip

In late October I visited the Indian Ford Preserve, which is located several miles northeast of Sisters, Oregon, with Deschutes Land Trust (DLT) leader Kelly Madden. This is the flagship property of the group and it was purchased in 1995. Preserves are purchased outright, donated, or are protected through easement agreements with the owners. This property is 63 acres in size and consists of meadow, forest, and stream habitat.  Indian Ford Creek meanders through the property. It is on the border of land dominated by Ponderosa pine or Western juniper.

Willows near Sisters, Oregon
Willows along Indian Ford Creek
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My favorite bouquets: A gift from Nature

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My favorite bouquets Dwarf Monkey Flower
Dwarf monkeyflower (Mimulus nanus)

My favorite bouquets are the ones Mother Nature gives me.

Metolius Preserve Hike in Autumn

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Metolius Preserve Hike

Last week I went on a Metolius Preserve hike with the Deschutes Land Trust (DLT).  This 1,240 acre preserve is located about ten miles west of Sisters, OR and was acquired by the DLT in 2003.

The forest

Ponderosa pine trees dominate the landscape but there are also Douglas fir, grand fir, incense cedar, and western larch trees. The pine trees near the kiosk are spaced about 30-40 feet apart and bunchgrass forms the dominant ground cover. Though the habitat appears natural, the forest has been restored with the help of Pacific Stewardship. The forest has been thinned and prescribed burns will foster an old-growth type of habitat. They have even created snags so that some of the 13 types of woodpeckers that live here find a good place to feed and nest. DLT also planted bunchgrass.

Larch tree in the fall October 2015
Western larch
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Fall’s Laughter

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Close up of maple

Fall begins with joyous laughter and warm caresses that

Nod and wink as they cloak you with a touch of frost

Standing there entranced, you are enveloped by color

FallLaughs2Cool greens evolving into explosions of vibrant

Yellow, orange, and crimson

North winds swirl about you encircling you

FallLaughs4Wrapping you in the scent of remembrance

Snaps and crackles sound under your feet

Inviting you to grab handfuls and throw them into the air

FallLaughs3You smile as the coolness surrounding you is

Warmed by a shower of brilliant laughing tones

Emanating from falling leaves readying themselves for winter

Finding Frémont Exhibit: Early Explorer of Oregon

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Fremont portrait

If you type “John C. Frémont” into a search engine, you will turn up places named after him in over a dozen states in the U.S.  So who was this guy and why were so many things named after him? To find out, I visited the Deschutes Historical Museum in Bend, Oregon to see their current exhibit about Frémont. The Museum was lucky to get the exhibit and it will be on display there until the end of December 2015.

This exhibit focuses on Frémont’s Second Exploring Expedition that occurred in 1843-1844. Many consider it to be the apex of his career. The purpose of this trip was to explore the Oregon country. Frémont, together with 27 handpicked men, including the explorer Kit Carson, set out to map the second half of the Oregon Trail.

Fremont Model
Sword detail
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Caption this! Comments & Answer

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I had several comments on my Facebook page about how to caption the tree photo I posted here a couple of days ago. If I was guessing what was going on, I might have said, “Tree Hugging 101 class”. Here are captions from Facebook:

  • “Black Legged Sap Sucker – very rare, and that’s for sure”.
  • Lady sniffing tree. “Yes Harry, this is the tree that farted”
  • “Stand back, hide behind a tree and maybe the grizzly bear and the black legged sap sucker won’t notice us”.
  • “My first boyfriend wrote our initials on one of these trees”.

Caption this! - TreesThe thing that was really happening in the photo was that a volunteer naturalist at the High Desert Museum was leading a walk and he had people smelling the Ponderosa pine’s bark. It has a sweet cinnamon-like smell.

Here’s a link to an article that talks more about the tree and its unique scent. Ponderosa pines sweet smell.

 

Branches

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Cling on to leaves all seasons

Brilliant leaves dropping in fall

Profusions of big, bold flowers

Flowers that are quiet and small

Cones that depend upon fire

Tiny, but intoxicating cones

Juicy, sweet abundant fruit

Fruit that is dry as a bone

Delicate and ephemeral

Resilient and strong

Twisting and rough

Straight and long

Furrows in the bark

Bark peeling and red

Running near the surface roots

Deep-reaching roots that are more widespread

Cheerleaders of Fall

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Rabbitbrush

I can always tell when fall is on the way here because the rubber rabbitbrush, Ericameria nauseosa, gets out its bright yellow pom pom flowers and cheers into the wind.