Wrens are small, active songbirds that rarely sit still for very long. Bewick’s wrens are about 5 1/2 inches long and live in the underbrush along forest edges. Wrens are easily identified by their distinctive white eyebrows, beige and brown plumage and long white-tipped […]
All posts filed under: Musings
Hummingbird Magic!
“Can you see me now?” Hummingbirds never cease to amaze me! There’s an unbelievable amount of energy packed into these tiny birds. They appear seemingly out of nowhere, feast on their favorite flowers and then … they disappear again. Just like that! Sometimes if I’m […]
Tasty Tuesday … Winter Vegetable Curry
Winter Vegetable Curry with Paratha and a little Indian Tomato Pickle Like I’ve said many times, I could eat some kind of curry almost every night and never get tired of it. This hasn’t changed for me even during the pandemic. I think I crave […]
Hummingbird Magic!
A well deserved rest after a delicious snack! This little guy was quite busy feeding on one of their favorite blossoms. Crocosmia in any garden here will attract lots of hummers. Be safe! Be happy! 🙂
Charles “Chuck” Clemans Sculpture Garden
Just southeast of Portland, Oregon you’ll find the smallish town of Oregon City. The “upper” part of the city, is perched on an ancient basalt cliff and prone to landslides. This became obvious when I went on this delightful hike  where the path had […]
Hummingbird Magic!
I LOVE hummingbirds! Hummingbirds are just as curious about us humans as we humans are about them. They are fiercely territorial and rarely sit still for any amount of time. This year I spent a lot of time outside to watch them enjoy the flowers I […]
Happy Friday from my Garden!
These adorable tiny bushtits visit our garden multiple times every day. They always come in large flocks, perhaps as many as 50 and more. They announce themselves with a cheery chatter and then descent onto the suet feeders. Bushtits are small kinglet sized birds around […]
Tasty Tuesday … To Knead or not to Knead! That is the Question!
The pandemic has been a rather frightening and sobering experience and has made us appreciate many times over all the good things, friends and family in our lives. Thankfully no one close to us has gotten infected. But millions and millions of our fellow […]
Hummingbird Magic!
Look at this tongue!! “I feel good” he chirps dewdrop bathtub freshly filled what sunrise delight. I haven’t been sleeping well since the beginning of the pandemic. Many nights I wake up, often from Covid nightmares. After a particularly awful nightmare one night, I got […]
Tasty Tuesday … Vegan Pad Prik King
One upside of the pandemic for me has been learning to better manage grocery shopping and varying our meals without having to run to the store all the time. Â A couple of trips to the grocery store got my pantry restocked with our favorite condiments, […]
Oregon’s Nature Nooks … North Clackamas Park
Here are a few more photographs of these adorable, hungry young swallows. Amazing how quickly the parents would race back and forth to feed their babies! When I finally got home I told the Zendog “Every time I visit the park there’s a surprise waiting […]
Oregon’s Nature Nooks … NorthClackamas Park
After I had noticed the swallows around the bird house I began stopping by the nesting box every time I visited the park, once upon arriving and then again after my walk before leaving. Somehow, I never saw the swallows and never heard any sounds […]
Oregon’s Nature Nooks … North Clackamas Park
Earlier this spring, on one of my many walks at North Clackamas Park I spotted a pair of brilliantly colored violet-green swallows. They were busy flying in and out of this small nesting box right by the community garden. There are four bird houses hanging […]
Oregon’s Nature Nooks: Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden
View from the garden entrance The Zendog and I finally ventured out to explore the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden here in Portland. It’s located on SE 28th Avenue in the Westmoreland neighborhood. This garden got its start in the 1950 as a test garden and […]
Autumn Magic at the Oregon Garden
Can you hear the leaves crunching underfoot?  water striders and sunlit autumn afternoons always float my boat. Late October was the perfect time to visit the Oregon Garden for fall colors. Four large brick reflecting pools and and forty brick planters occupy this garden plaza. Each […]
Ribbit!
Last week started off so well, or so I thought! Monday I went to my drawing class and then later in the day to my watercolor class. I love both courses. The drawing is taught at a local community center and the watercolor class is […]
Autumn Magic at the Oregon Garden, Part 3
Every time I’m at the Oregon Garden I stop at this sign and then … … head down this narrow path towards the Secret Garden … … only to remember, when I come around the bend, that this is a dead end … The view […]
Autumn Magic at the Oregon Garden, Part 2
If you turn right outside the Visitors Center you’ll walk right into the Fuchsia Garden. Dozens of enormous hardy fuchsias grow there on the hillsid . Some are 6 to 7 foot high. Since we haven’t had any frost around the area fuchsias are still in full […]
in cahoots with muddy boots 