Cheerful words on my walk: Monochrome Monday

I saw these cheerful words on my walk in a local park. I’m thankful for the unknown artist who is making everyone’s days a little brighter. 😀

Cheerful words on my walk October 2020

See other examples in Encouraging words on my walk and Hopeful words on my walk.

Monochrome Monday

Birds on my Christmas tree: LAPC & SS

Many of us won’t be celebrating the holidays with close relatives, but we’ve grown closer to bird “families” in our yards. Interest in birding is soaring and people are flocking to this activity during the pandemic. I’m sharing the joy of birds in these photos of ornaments I’ve collected over the years.

Bluebirds capture the essence of the sky in their plumage. I’m hoping we have more bluebird days to look forward to soon.

Birds in my tree 19December2020
Mountain bluebird

Flocks of whooping crane birds fill the landscape with their unique “unison” call. Maybe people can heed the call towards unison in the upcoming year.

Whooping crane ornament December 2020
Whooping crane
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A calm jay painting: First Friday Art

California scrub jays are usually a loud and active kind of bird. I shared this painting I did of a calm jay exactly four years ago today after a hectic political season. I wanted to show that a sense of calmness can return even after a time of chaos.

Calm jay by Siobhan Sullivan Oct 2020

The jay pictured above, and the one below, appear calm on the surface. But underneath those calm exteriors, there is a flurry of activity. Their minds are running through a lot of “what ifs” and their bodies are ready to spring into action.

Jay getting a drink

Today we are facing many challenges and “what ifs.” It may be difficult, but I hope you’re able to capture moments of calm, no matter how brief, before you flutter to your next destination.  

First Friday Art

Do you have artwork you would like to share? Include a First Friday Art tag on your post.

High Desert Hideaway Hut: LAPC

High Desert Hideaway hut in Bend, Oregon

I showed you how I created this mural but I didn’t show you the inside of my High Desert hideaway hut. This 8 foot by 16 foot hut used to be a garden shed. We repurposed it into a guesthouse for visiting relatives and a studio space for me.

This $50 thrift shop door we installed is interesting on the inside and outside. What a great find!

  • Thrift shop door
  • Thrift shop door
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Finding serenity in a kayak: LAPC

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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Writing a book is like making a bowl of oatmeal

You start by preparing either a quick type by the seat of your pants or

One that cooks longer and involves more planning

Once it’s cooked, the oatmeal, and the book draft, may be dull and boring

Writing a book like making oatmeal30April2019

So you spice it up by sprinkling it with cinnamon

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The Watcher Within: Thursday Doors

Doors with eyes

I took this picture on a trip to the ghost town of Shaniko, Oregon and didn’t notice the watcher within until I edited the photo. I thought it was something inside but realized later it was a reflection of the Shaniko Hotel across the street. It looked like some alien creature out of a Star Wars movie watching me. I found some interesting doors in Shaniko but apparently they were keeping an eye on me.

The Watcher Within doors at Shaniko, Oregon 16May2018

Thursday Doors

 

Clear Lake Underwater Worlds: WPC

Life Beneath the Waves

I saw strange sights while out kayaking on Clear Lake in Oregon. Moss-covered creatures live beneath the waves waiting to enchant you and take you into their liquid world.

Clear Lake Underwater Oregon 30August2016

Weekly Photo Challenge – Liquid

Where the deer and the antelope played

Celebrating a life

After living a life full of leaps and bounds, she settled down in her favorite aspen grove. The bunchgrass waved goodbye. The rabbitbrush shaded her in her final moments. The rosebush provided fruit in celebration of her life. And finally, the aspen covered her in leaves of gold.

Where the deer and the antelope played 2November2017Weekly Photo Challenge – Story

Earth and Water: Daily Post Photo Challenge-Opposites

Earth & Water at Spring Creek, OR 25June2016

Earth and water photographed at Spring Creek near Camp Sherman, OR

Daily Post Photo Challenge – Opposites

Grounded – A poem of the Earth

Grounded Notice the Thermophiles Yellowstone NPk

Look beneath your feet
And notice

Colors blending Yellowstone NPk

Notice the textures
Notice the colors blending
And bold

Bold and brilliant hues
Bold and distinct edges
And patterns

Ridges Yellowstone NPk

Patterns of cracks
Patterns of smoothness
And transitions

Transitions moving towards new
Transitions moving in a rhythm
And beat

Grounded Notice everything at Grand Prismatic Spring Yellowstone NPk

Beat into the earth
Beat into your memory
And soul

Antique Thoughts

Things I’ve learned while antiquing that apply to life…

You can find wonderful and amazing things if you just remember to look up.

Imperfections may make things less valuable but they are the most treasured.

The experience is worth more than finding the thing you seek.

Winter Sunrise captured in words and visions

Winter Sunrise

Winter Sunrise

Cool snowy blankets
Boldly contrasting branches
Frame an immense sky
Blinking awake in deep blue
Blushing in flashes of fire

New Year: An optimistic reflective poem

New Year - Black-tailed Deer. Olympic National Park, WA
Black-tailed Deer. Olympic National Park, WA

As the new year approaches
You can choose to look down and back
Or up and forward

Jays – A bird always a part of my life

Blue Jay by Siobhan Sullivan
Blue Jay

Jays have insisted on being a part of my life since I was a young child. They are brash, bold, raucous, and not easily ignored.

As a five-year old living on a wooded lot in Maryland, the Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata,  introduced itself to me with little formality. Its loud voice and striking appearance said, “Notice me!” Its frequent companion, the Northern Cardinal, also made it hard for me to look away. I guess that must be why I have a thing for birds with crests on top of their heads.

When I moved back across the country to Washington State, I met more Jays. On camping trips with my family, the Gray Jay, Perisoreus canadensis,  made its kleptomaniac presence known. Otherwise known as the Camp Robber, this gray bird has a way of sneaking in and taking what it wants.

Gray Jays, Yellowstone NPk
Gray Jays

I had a boyfriend in high school named Jay. One winter I was out of town for a couple of weeks and when I came back he broke up with me. He told me he had started going out with “Mary” while I was gone. He said he had gone outside in the middle of the night and shouted to the world how much he loved Mary. Like I said, Jays have a way of being loud and taking what they want.

Steller's Jay, Harrison Hot Springs, B.C.
Steller’s Jay

The next Jay played an important role in my life for many years. Steller’s Jays, Cyanocitta stelleri, are a deep azure blue topped with a black crested head. They like to imitate Red-Tailed Hawks and other birds. Steller’s Jays also have an appetite for other bird’s eggs and young. They especially like to prey on the endangered marbled murrelet, a small seabird that breeds in inland forests. While working on a project to preserve a forest where murrelets nested, I learned more about the football-shaped seabirds and their predation by jays than I knew about any pigskin football.

Western Scrub Jay, Bend, Oregon
Western Scrub Jay

The latest Jay in my life is the Western Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica . When we first considered moving to the high desert of Oregon, I remember looking at potential houses and thinking, “What is that bird I keep seeing?” The bird raised its white eyebrows, cocked its head, and regarded me curiously. When we found the place we eventually bought, the blue, white, and gray Western Scrub Jays were in the backyard shouting a welcome.

Jays, with their distinctive appearance and mannerisms, always seem to be a part of my life.

Clouds

Clouds…

Obscure what was once clear

Release things that burden them

Blanket the cold nights

Shine brightness on what’s to come

Surround us in the divine

My favorite bouquets: A gift from Nature

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

My favorite bouquets are the ones Mother Nature gives me.

A fluttering of wings: Townsend’s solitaire

Townsend's Solitaire in Bend, Oregon  October 2015

A fluttering of wings draws my attention.

A fluttering of wings - Townsend's Solitaire

Looking out of my window, I see a Townsend’s solitaire beating its wings and attacking its reflection in the side mirror of my parked car. It has been there for hours. Long strokes of white droppings adorn the side of my car. At first I assume the bird must be a male defending its territory.

Alike in appearance

Townsend’s solitaires are a drab gray relative of the American robin that most people wouldn’t even notice. They are not showy.

Male birds are usually the ones with colorful plumage but that is not the case with solitaires; the male and female look almost identical. I guess they decided not to follow the theory that a male is more brightly colored to attract females and the female has duller colors so she can sit undetected on a nest.

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Fall’s Laughter

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

Stronger than the Wind: A poem of resilience

Stronger than the wind Coopers Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk at High Desert Museum

Sometimes you will be happily flying along in life when – WHAM!

A gust of wind comes out of nowhere and hurtles you to the ground.

Pick yourself up, preen those damaged wings, and remind yourself

You are stronger than the wind.

Cheerleaders of Fall

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.

Teenage Birds: Big, but are they invincible?

Teenage birds young robin
Me with a teenage American Robin many years ago

I have been seeing a lot of teenage birds lately. You can tell they’re teenagers because they appear to be nearly adult size and act like they’re invincible.

Cedar waxwings – Smooth, elegant birds

Cedar waxwings

I moved to the high desert a couple of years ago and thought I left some of my favorite friends behind. One of my favorite birds where I lived before were the cedar waxwings. I felt lucky when I saw one.

If I could use one word to describe cedar waxwings it would be “smooth”.  Whenever I see one I have an urge to reach out and touch it. Its tawny feathers ombre into a creamy yellow on its underparts and gray near its tail. The feathers connect together so tightly that they give it a silky smooth appearance.

Bird in a cherry tree

Facts about cedar waxwings

Cedar waxwings get their name by a unique feature on the tips of their wings and tail. They look as if they got too close to a craft project that involved melting crayons. Their tail are tipped in Sunshine Yellow. Small waxy droplets of Sizzling Red tip the wings.

They seem to wear a disguise on their faces. Black masks bordered with white frame their eyes. They raise a small crest of feathers on the tops of their heads as part of their communication. It alters their appearance so that they look like someone else.

Their voices are a wispy series of notes. I always recognize it even if I don’t see the bird. It is very high pitched, making them sound smaller than they actually are. One time I saw a grosbeak feeding one and thought it might be because it mistook the call for one of its young.

cedar waxwings

At some times of the year, waxwings flock together. I see specks flying high across the sky announcing their identity with their distinctive calls.  Where I lived before, I was happy to see one or two waxwing birds at a time. Now I see flocks in my yard.

Reflections

I left behind people I had grown close to to move here, but now I flock with different crowds. Sometimes they remind me so much of someone I knew before. Are they wearing disguises or did a special piece of my past follow me to my present?

Glory- A breathtaking geyser view

Morning glory geyser in Yellowstone
Morning Glory – Yellowstone National Park

Some places just take your breath away with their beauty. The Morning Glory geyser at Yellowstone National Park is one of them for me. Mine eyes have seen the glory…

Listen to the smallest voices in Nature

Listen to the smallest voices in Yellowstone

Listen to the smallest voices for they often have the most to say.

(Close-up of heat loving thermophiles near Dragon’s Cauldron at Yellowstone National Park).

Chatter

Black and white and full of chatter. No, it’s not a newspaper; it’s a bird.

Distinctive black and white plumage and raucous calls make this bird easy to identify. Its unusually long tail gives it a unique silhouette. A magpie.

Their loud calls are often heard in the wild places they live in. They are also master imitators. Is that hawk you hear or is just a magpie?

Magpie perched in sagebrush by Siobhan SullivanFrom a distance they just look like a black and white bird. Look a little closer. Their plumage catches every little bit of light and reflects it back in an iridescent glow.

Some see them as smart opportunists while others see them as pests. Are they using their voice and brains to get ahead or get under your skin?

Not everything you see in black and white should be taken at face value. Look for colorful reflections. Listen beyond the chatter. Forgive those who use what they think will get them ahead to their advantage.