This week I spent some time birdwatching in my garden. I made a makeshift “bird blind” using an old blanket, a beach chair and an outdoor plant shelf to sit behind/underneath to observe and photograph our backyard visitors. Many birds aren’t all that shy if […]
Yesterday after filling up my bird feeders, I went back outside to see if any birds would come by. It didn’t take more than a few minutes before the regulars flocked in, bringing with them this bright yellow Townsend’s Warbler. It was such a treat […]
When I got up Thursday morning and opened the blinds I was greeted by a magical winter scene right outside my living room window. It had snowed again over night! After drinking my morning java, I quickly got ready to go out for a walk. […]
Earlier this afternoon I got caught in the flightpath of a delightful flock of bushtits. Dozens of these tiny birds suddenly appeared on the suet feeders in my garden. They chattered, ate and didn’t seem to mind me standing just about a meter from the […]
The sun peeked out a little from behind the clouds reflecting the daffodils on the kitchen table’s surface. That led me to play around with some inexpensive cellphone clip-on lenses. And since I enjoy looking at things up close, I thought I would mix it […]
My Friday today was a productive one. I ran some errands, got a couple of care packages ready to go to the post office and cleaned up a little . I also baked some delicious blueberry-corn muffins while listening to some of my favorite music. […]
Ominous skies are a given during our seemingly endless rainy season, which made me appreciate these bright red roses even more. I noticed them in the parking lot of my favorite grocery store the other day. Moments after I got back into my car, the […]
A couple of weeks ago I took a wrong turn while looking for the Oregon Garden. Silverton is a small town, and getting lost there seems almost impossible. I found a place to make a u-turn, and as I headed back towards downtown, I saw […]
Last week we spent a couple of days at our favorite beach in Lincoln City. After a deluge of rain, the weather forecast predicted two days of sunshine and warm (for early November) temperatures. We promptly booked a room at our usual hotel and packed […]
It’s been raining here non-stop for a day and a half. That has left the air smelling crisp and clean. The leaves are starting to turn color every where you look! Hopefully we’ll get a little sunshine next week so that I can go on […]
Koi carp are beautiful! I’ve often wished for a pond outdoors where I could have a few koi like these. This particular pond is at a local shopping mall in our area, and I never tire of watching them swim about, blow bubbles and interact […]
The days are getting shorter, the nights longer, and the early evening light put a golden glow on everything. Garden clean up has been on my to-do-list this week. I am just about finished cleaning up and trimming the plants in the front yard. Now […]
The changing of seasons always reminds me that nothing in life is static. I’ve been spending a lot of time outside trying to soak in every last ray of sunshine. The daytime temperatures have cooled off, the nights are getting nippy, and we turned on […]
The last two mornings had a definite chill in the air. Fall is arriving! There’s even rain in the forecast. Much of my garden looks heat stressed, despite watering. This summer’s been extremely hot and dry for this area. Rain will be good, especially for […]
It’s late Friday afternoon here in Portland. The weather has been sunny and warm with a gentle breeze blowing at times. While strolling through the garden a few minutes ago, I spotted this busy bee collecting pollen in these Rose of Sharon blossoms. Bees, […]
Poppies have always been a favorite flower of mine! Imagine my excitement when I noticed this bright patch of poppies growing in a field alongside the road in Jacksonville, Oregon. Lucky for me, there was also a spot where I could safely pull over and […]
During the past few weeks, I’ve been spending a lot of time in my garden: weeding, planting, pruning, spreading new mulch and of course sitting on the deck in the evening. The rainy winter can be forgiven and forgotten since we have been rewarded with […]
Much of my time was spent in the yard this week. The cycle of life in the garden seems to be never ending. For every weed I pull out, another one seems to come up! Late one afternoon I came face to face with […]
in cahoots with muddy boots 