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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
One of my favorite stops at the park is the bridge that spans across Mount Scott Creek. It’s especially fun after it rained and the current is swifter than usually. I love how the light creates these abstract patterns and reflections in the water. 🙂
Yes! I’m talking to you! “Please Be Kind” said this smart and considerate hummingbird: This now new world order requires an invisible physically distant border around you and me and everyone we see along with a mask to stay disease-free. Most humans are kind and […]
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 […]
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 […]
Were I to ever find myself stranded on a tropical island, on which I could choose only one kind of fruit tree to grow, it would be a mango tree. While I love most fruit, the mango is my absolute favorite! Right now my favorite […]
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 […]
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 […]
Stepping out from the Visitor Center into the Oregon Garden After endless rain all week I awoke to a bright blue sky and sunshine on Monday morning. I decided to enjoy this beautiful day at the Oregon Garden. This Amazing Water Garden was created by […]
An intriguing cookbook I recently came across at the library was “Bake the Seasons”. The author is Marcella DiLonardo and I think her book is fantastic. While browsing through pages of yummy sounding recipes, I noticed this Wild Mushroom & Coffee Dutch Baby recipe. It’s […]
Under gloomy skies summer’s fragrant last blossoms dazzle in first fall rain.
Despite fewer blossoms to nourish the visiting hummers now, they still visit daily. I watch them sip nectar and defend their territory against other birds and me. The butterfly bushes, a hummingbird favorite, will continue to flower until the first frost. Once the last flowers wilt, these […]
The Art of Photography
Less is not enough.
Exploring my world with pictures and words.
To See a World in a Grain of Sand...
My Journey Towards Retirement by the Sea
And then I stop and sit and eat.
Professional Wildlife, Landscape and Seascape Photography
Following the Path to the Past
Strolling around SE Michigan & sending joy in the journey.
Life is in the Details
Mindfulness, Philosophy, Spirituality, Meditation, Awareness, Religion, Nature Photography
Still learning after all these years.....
Exceptional moments are right there in the many ordinary moments. I depend on this to be true.
by Lize Bard
