Partner's Mom passed away early this morning.

Coughing, coughing and clearing the throat again today. Sighs. But I got thru last night without any pills for the pulled muscle across my ribs, so that's nice.

The last three nights, we've had a low of 20° (-6°C), Gah. and it's just too cold. I don't like it.

But by the time I get moving, it's warmed up to 39°.

ha, my shadow, next to the sun!

I've noticed their vertical pupil before, and it's just so weird looking!

Vertical pupils help with depth perception... especially in low light conditions. Nutrias are crepuscular and nocturnal, tho they do come out during the day in winter.

I learned a bit from this web page: High Trails: Purpose of Pupils. Very Interesting!

Tag: january 2025

Green Wing Teals and Mallards.

There's a couple Starlings in here, but these are mostly Brewer Blackbirds!

Just tryin' to take a damn nap here, ya'll! (But the friends are bouncing around the branches like it's party time!) Haha!

Hellllooo? Cute lil Junco?

The Golden Crown Sparrows are very cute today as well.

Ooop! ha, See Ya!

A little hard to read, even tho I fixed the colour...

It's time
for us as a
people to
Make a
Change

Ain't that the truth??

Tag: january 2025

I'm coughing again today, which is so painful with the rib muscle I pulled. ugh. I tense up all my other muscles and try to cough with the least amount of chest movement I can. It doesn't really help, but ambient pain seems to be better, so it is healing.

I get pills and head out.

A blurry House Finch.

Pine Siskins... and What are we looking at?

It's fine, I don't need to worry about it? Okay!

A too bouncy Yellow Rump Warbler. This is the western race, called Audubon.

Canada Geese.

There's a little flock of Green Wing Teals here! But the bright sun makes photography difficult.

Ha! Another Yellow Rump Warbler! And this one is the eastern race, called Myrtle!

Oh my gosh! I see a bird flying with a flight path I don't recognize. They are too far away, and plus there's some homeless people here and I don't want to stop right in front of them!

Bird flies some more and lands in a tree above the path. Arg! I am still too close to the humans! Will the bird sit for a minute?

No. He flies away. aw. But then he lands!

A Kestrel!! Wow! I wish I had gotten a better photo, but that's how it goes sometimes!

Tag: january 2025

Okay. Ambient rib pain from the muscle I pulled, is tolerable, tho moving rib pain is definitely not. I've sneezed once this morning and regretted it... and wished I could get a refund on my whole life. ha. But I'm not coughing or clearing my throat, today. thank goodness.

I'm gonna need pills to get thru the day, but I'll probably survive.

It's another very cold morning... it got down to 22° (-5°C) last night and looks like more of that is in the forecast. bleh.

I am impressed by these bike drawings! Have you ever tried to draw a bike? *laughs*

Haha, the little Nutria is floating again!

And a bit further on, there's a bigger Nutria standing next to the bike path.

Aw, here's a pair of Steller Jays... one is guarding and this one is down in the water for a bath!

They are NOT sure about me, at first.

But they determine that I'm okay!

The droplets are catching rainbows!

And gonna dry off in the sun!

Tag: january 2025

I'm back to coughing a lot today. Which is def bettter than the throat clearing stuff!

Unfortunately, I had pulled a rib muscle a while ago, it was getting better but I've re-injured it... Last night I was sleeping in a weird position, and I woke up suddenly with the coughing. I wasn't awake enough to realize what I had done.

But now it is so painful to cough. And breathe. Worse, much worse than the orignal problem. GAH.

I get some pills for my walk.

But I'm having trouble caring about the photography.

It's got so cold last night, ice has formed in the shade at the edges of the creek.

Back at home, the pain from my re-injured rib muscle is so intense I decide to double up with pain pills. I had taken Ibuprofen, and now I add a Tylenol.

And just the frustration. I can't ever get a break, and I just want to cry.

Tag: january 2025

I woke up with good motivation this morning, but by the time I go out for my walk, the energy has fallen off.

And it got cold last night... It's 36° when I leave the house but there's still frost in the shadows.

Brr! And a Cold Weather Advisory tonight, forecast low is for 25° (-4°C). UGH!

Haha!

And there's another Nutria still in the grass at the left.

But she decides to go back to the creek as well. Ha, those big ol' feet are great for swimming, they've got webbed toes. But it must be like walking with scuba flippers! So Cute!

There's some House Finches, but I'm not taking good photos today.

I think the female House Finch is trying to tell me something, but I'm terrible at Charades!

And here's a Yellow Rump Warbler who has interesting shadows!

Back at home I am really lamenting my lack of energy.

Partner says Don't mope! And I try not to, but it's so frustrating to get a bit of energy one day and think the covid is clearing up... only to have no energy the next day. So Frustrating.

Tag: january 2025

Okay! I am coughing and clearing my throat a lot again today... That kind of comes and goes, less one day and then more the next. Annoying.

But I feel like I have more energy today!

Unfortunately, energy is the same way: It comes and goes. So I have to enjoy it while I've got it!

I am heading to the garden with kitchen scraps to throw on our plot for compost. I haven't been able to do this lately and my backpack has a comfortable weight to it.

As I get to the Community Garden, a flash of red catches my eye...

Um. He's a Finch... but House Finches are more of a red-orange, and this guy is decidedly raspberry red! Could he be a Purple Finch?

Oh my gosh! I think he's a Cassin Finch!!

No streaks on his underparts! Unfortunately you can't quite see his peaked crown at this angle. But I'm pretty sure. Compare Cassin Finch!

He's a bit outside of his normal range. And I'm a bit bummed because I didn't get many photos. ha. Oh Well.

I go into the garden and... oh foo. The below freezing nights lately, have made the Fava droopy!

The big Strawberry plant is still okay, tho!

And the smaller Favas are undamaged from the cold.

I rake aside some leaves and dump the kitchen scraps and cover them well. With all the rain we get, it won't take long for them to decompose... in the Spring, I might see a couple avocado pits, but that's about it!

I wander thru the Community Garden, looking at the other plots.

I have serious concerns about this plot...

This is the plot that is full of Lesser Celandine, a terrible invasive plant in our area.

There were three men working on this plot yesterday... the Lesser Celandine was absolutely LUSH under the blue tarp. The men were hoeing with a lot of energy, but that's NOT going to kill the plants. Lesser Celandine has tiny little root balls, you basically have to haul all the dirt away! Just killing the aboveground part of the plant isn't going to do a single thing!

And then, WHY didn't they put the tarp back on? This is just going to be a disaster as the Celandine comes back!

Sighs. Dumb Humans. I move on.

There's still some Calendula blooms at out little pollinator garden, but they're looking pretty rough.

There's a garden plot at the front, that has a little greenhouse built on it, and I check it out.

Cacti! That's fun!

Over the Cacti is an Olive Tree? Interesting. And on the right is Strawberry plants.

This is a very developed plot, several raised beds and well taken care of. But we aren't allowed to have trees.

Or at least, that's what the rules say. Of course, they ignore the rules for certain people. The powers that be LOVE raised beds and give those plots lots of extra leeway with the rules.

Grass in the pathways is fine if you have raised beds. Not fine if you are me! And now, apparently, trees are fine if you have raised beds.

This is why I've gone subversive here. The Community Garden Director has really turned on the bull shit in the last year or so and I'll be quietly undermining their authority!

As I leave the Garden, this one has flown in!

Not Rudra. It's the shy one again!

Of course, he flew as I moved closer. But he didn't go far.

I've seen him enough times now to name him. I go thru a few names in my head, before landing on Sir Shy. :)

My Mom had surgery today to put a plate in her poor broken arm.

When she fell, last Saturday, she had broken both the ulna and the radius, the wrist bones were fine. They determined that healing time would be faster if she had surgery.

The surgery went fine. They had given her a nerve block, which lasted the rest of the day, but not into the evening. And then she's got the good drugs.

And my good energy has lasted the entire day! Maybe I'm starting to come back to life!!

Tag: january 2025

Ugh, it's another not great day, and I'm feeling the covid exhaustion acutely.

But I stubbornly go out for my walk!

The whole time I wasn't sure if I could make it and kept thinking about turning around and going home.

But I'd see someone to take pictures of... and that would revive me for a few more minutes!

For once, the Merganser Pair is close enough to get them both in the same frame. Aren't they sweet with their naps!

... huh. Look at their tails! When they paddle, their tails are always spread out in the water. Interesting!

And across from the Community Garden, this little Nutria makes me laugh!

She's literally just floating down stream, with her bit of grass! haha!

There's another small one over here... I think they are siblings and there's three all together, altho I don't see the third one today.

The first Nutria paddles back up stream and finds her own rock to stand on in the water.

And then I encounter a family of Crows!

They are watching over a kid goofing off in the water!

I get home exhausted, altho I'm not any more tired than when I started today's walk.

And my appetite is weird... I feel like I need to re-fuel to combat the tiredness, but nothing tastes good and nothing is satisfying anyway.

So tired of this! Covid Be Gone!

Tag: january 2025

Clearing my throat a lot today. And honestly I wish I was coughing instead. It just feels like there's a big gob of guck in the back of my throat (sorry, tmi I know) and nothing helps and I just keep trying to clear my throat for an abnormal amount of time!

And I'm really noticing the brain fog today as well. I just can't keep a thought in my head. SIGHS.

I head out, hoping some fresh air and nature time will help my respiratory system AND my poor brain.

Right outside the Community Garden... is this the new shy Red Shoulder?

He lets me get a little closer... Wow, are you getting used to me?

But then sure enough, he flies away! *laughs* oh well.

And then the usual pair of Hooded Mergansers.

I still haven't picked out names for them.

This Flicker was bounging around in the tree too quickly for me to get a decent picture of her. foo.

Hi Henrietta!

Back at home... I ran out of energy and went down for a nap.

It is just beyond frustrating that I'm not well yet. It's been weeks!

Tag: january 2025

I am fighting the covid weariness again today... Just dragging.

I head out for a walk, but I'm putting most of my bandwidth into keeping my legs moving and I'm not looking around at nature.

But a couple people in fur and feathers manage to catch my attention!

And my friend, the sad Kingfisher without her boyfriend, is still flying by quietly.

Tag: january 2025

There was some serious frost this morning when I got up and 25° (-4°C). ugh. And I'm coughing, coughing, and clearing my throat a lot, again. ugh some more.

And when I found out that Cecile Richards had died, sighs. I am just really down.

So it's nice to be greeted by a furry neighbor, right out the door.

It's warmed up to 34° (1°C) and the sun will bring us up to 44° (6°C) this afternoon. But right now there's still frost in the shadows, and there's some ice on the wet prairie puddles!

Oop! Haha. But look at the cute Alder catkins and tiny cones!!

The little group of Lesser Goldfinches are eating the seeds out of the Alder cones!

On the way home, I come across this cute little Bewick Wren.

He's talking up a storm in this patch of Blackberries!

Happy that I'm encountering so many cute birds today!

And a little bit further on, my Kingfisher friend deems me worthy for another chance at photography.

I've been thinking about her.

She hasn't been laughing like she usually does when she flies by on her patrol up and down the creek. And I am pretty sure I've only seen her...

Where is her boyfriend??? Did he die? Aw. I am sad for her.

What will happen? Will she find someone new this spring? Will she lose her territory, if she's flying so quietly and not announcing it?

Sighs.

Tag: january 2025

Hello? aw, nutz! No respect for the camera! *laughs*

Well, at least some people will look at the camera!

And some people just won't.

I zig zag thru the neighborhoods on the way home. Gudu-Kut has some good puddles for the frogs! But I don't hear any singing today.

Tag: january 2025

This morning's clouds seem to be breaking up, but it hasn't warmed up by the time I left the house. It's still just 36° (2°C) and a bit of wind.

But this one makes me so happy!

He sits for me and tries to show off his colours a little!

What a sweetheart!

Is this the third time I've seen this Hooded Merganser pair?

It would be nice to give them names! They will leave in the spring, but if they're going to let me take pics of them in the meantime... hm. I wil have to think up a good pair of names.

And of course, my friend the Belted Kingfisher has been flying back and forth today.

She sees me... but sits for an extra couple seconds!!

Aw! Thank You Dear Heart!

I keep going, pretty impresssed by my photo opportunites today. But I can feel the covid exhaustion creeping up on me again. Sighs.

Back at home, I try to counteract the tiredness with some art!

In the past I've done daily art on ATC sized cards, and I pull one out to make a swirl. I got some refill inks for my copic markers for christmas, and it's good to use those colours again!

I'm happy with my art, and wonder if I can return to doing art every day.

But in the evening, my Brother has sent an email saying that Mom and Dad are at the ER because Mom fell over and broke her arm and maybe wrist.

*Wails*

Tag: january 2025

Still overly cold, and still more of the same in the forecast. I'm still cranking the heat at home, and I'm still being grumpy about being cold all the time.

And the covid symptoms continue, coughing and sniffling and the energy isn't really there. And I'm grumpy about that as well.

Bah.

But at least I have enough energy for a bit of a walk every day. It gets me out of the house... and into nature for a little while!

*laughs* Camera can't quite figure it out today!

It's started misting and I'm back to the overly Blurry Bird pics!

Tag: january 2025

Another cold day, it's 34° (1°C) as I leave the house today.

We've had an Air Stagnation thing going on this week, which has been extended thru Friday... In theory, that should bring a change in the weather, but it's never going to warm up! All the overnight low temperatures in the forcast are horrifying mid- and upper-20s! Ugh!

I'm walking past the Community Garden, and I see this one again.

And again, he flies away as soon as he notices me looking at him. Shy.

Hi Henrietta! Always nice to run into you!

This is a crappy photo of a Robin... but all the tiny twigs look interesting!

*laughs* My friend the Belted Kingfisher rarely sits for any photography...

She's been flying back and forth along the creek, as she does every winter. I saw her yesterday as well.

Usually she laughs at me as she goes by, but she's quiet this time and I just notice her flash of blue.

Tag: january 2025

What a Interesting walk today!

This pair of Hooded Mergansers again!

I'm walking a bit further today, and approaching the back of the Events Center... Oh My Gosh.

They've removed the Fallen and Dead Leaning Tree.

oh. oh, I am so sad.

But the Leaning Tree has been dead for a year. All three trunks had fallen over in the ice storm last January. It was obvious the north and south trunks had separated from their roots. They cut those down but left the west trunk.

It made a few small leaves in the spring, but it was just leftover life. They shriveled and dried up and now we knew this trunk was separated from it's roots as well.

We've had a long time to mourn. But it's still a sad thing to not see the Leaning Tree anymore.

Sighs.

The Cackling Geese are here... I was looking for the one with leucism on her neck, and I didn't see her at the time. But back at home, looking carefully at my photos...

haha! It's a Different Cackling Goose with leucism!!

There's a flock of Rock Doves hanging out here, too!

They are all so pretty, even on the dreariest day.

I'm heading back, and as I pass the Community Garden... Rudra, is that you?

It's NOT Rudra! This one notices me looking and flies away! Rudra was much more friendly and let me walk up really close to her.

hmm.

I'm passing a spot where a bunch of different sparrows like to hang out. And one of the Golden Crowns catches my eye...

Oh my gosh! She's got some leucism as well!

She's very nervous about being watched, which is understandable. I don't get many photos of her.

But how crazy to see all this leucism today!

Tag: january 2025

Major setback today with covid symptoms!

I got up this morning with a little bit of good energy.

But heading out for my walk... it was 36° (2°C) and I was just uncomfortably cold, even with all my layers.

*laughs* when I found this...

The Ducks are the local college football team.

And a blurry but cute Yellow Rump Warbler.

She's a female and with no trace of yellow on her throat, so she's of the eastern, Myrtle race.

I walked a little further... But I was done!

I went home. Ate lunch half-heartedly.

But I just can't do this life thing anymore!! I'm exhaused and I'm cold all the time and miserable with the continuing coughing. and I crashed for a two hour nap.

And my gosh I had serious trouble getting up when I woke up. UGH!

But eventually I got vertical. But I'm just surfing the internets and goofing off for the rest of the evening.

And catching up with some of my blogs...

∞ Julie Zickefoose: A Spark Bird for Liam

This blog post just delighted me! It's Julie's story about her adult son Liam identifying a duck. *laughs* It seems silly but enthusiasm for birds just comes thru Julie's writing so clearly!

And she talks about the cover of The New Birder's Guide. ... Which is a book I don't have for some reason!

Tag: january 2025

It's been six weeks since I've visited the Community Garden and I'm curious about what's going on there!

Hooded Mergansers are winter visitors at the creek.

He and his girlfriend are shy and hide behind a bush.

I get to the garden.

And look how happy the Fava is, in my plot!!

That's great! Maybe I'll be able to gather some Fava beans in the spring. It would be nice to get some fresh ones for re-planting!

Most of the Fava is pretty moth eaten. Which is fine... I'm happy to feed the bugs! Some Favas are better off, tho!

And the volunteer Elephant Garlics are growing nicely. Nothing ever disturbs them, they grow thru it all!

The Leeks are... still hanging on. They were at the end of the Tofu Patch, and didn't grow very big last year because the dirt there is stunting most everyone's growth.

I don't know. Maybe I should just pull them up and make soup. They are ridiculously small tho, prob not even ¾ inch wide! Sighs.

Someone's Calendulas are still blooming!

The splash of cheerful colour is a welcome sight!

I am still sniffly and coughing, but maybe less exhausted today? When I get home, in the afternoon I get so, so cold. I am so tired of being cold all the time, so I crank up the heat in my room!

ha, does it help? I guess. I just want to be better.

Tag: january 2025

I slept hard last night and I'm feeling a little better this morning. I jumped into my morning projects with enthusiasm!

Putting on my shoes didn't exhaust me! I walked about a block before the exhaustion hit. But, yep, I kept going!

Takin' a nap.

um. yeah. I could just lie down myself. Yep, right here on the sidewalk. Tho the Nutria's little place in the grass looks a lot more comfortable than concrete!

I get home, and I get thru the day.

The covid symptoms have been more like a bad cold, now... Stuffed up and runny nose, I still have the hard cough, tho I don't have to cough constantly like I did last week.

But if I could just get my energy back. I am just so tired. Like in my bones, you know?

Tag: january 2025

I'm walking again today. But I am so tired. It makes me tired just to put my shoes on!

But I head out.

There was a single frog singing, as I walked by the back of Gudu-Kut park.

He's probably lonely. I wish our frogs could thrive here, but they mostly just disappear.

I love the sky today.

I come across a hummingbird, but she's not interested in photography!

I think she's going for bugs in the spruce tree!

Tag: january 2025

It was raining when I woke this morning... and I woke up WITHOUT a headache!!

Yay! I feel stronger! I did some exercises!

And I coughed. but that's okay because I have some energy!

When I was the sickest, last Friday thru Monday, it was raining day and night. That was the only nice thing... that I could lay there, when I wasn't coughing, and listen to the beautiful rain coming down.

I am so happy to get outside today... first time in a week. But I realized how much energy I really don't have! Every step is a slog. But I kept going. Nature is healing.

I'm putting a lot of energy into just moving my feet forward. But somehow I do take a couple photos along the way!

And in the afternoon, I crashed and took a long nap.

Tag: january 2025

Yesterday I was congratulating myself for not getting sick during my December travels. I almost always get sick, but thought I had escaped it this time.

But I woke up with a headache. I thought some fresh air would help. I thought getting a good lunch would help. I thought eating a vitamin would help.

Instead, I started coughing and the headache got worse and my joints are all vaguely achy.

Sighs.

Well. When I thought the fresh air would help, I did go for a walk! It's warm, 48° (9°C) and pouring down rain, no wind.

It's rained enough that the creek is flooding the bike path under the bridges.

I have to go up to the road to get past the bridge, and I decide to walk thru the neighborhood instead of getting back on the bike path.

Rock Doves!

I love how individual their colouration is! Some are darker, the spots and bars across their wings are all different, some have no spots, some are a warmer shade of grey!

If you got to see the same flock every day, you would easily be able to tell everyone apart. You would be able to get to know them as individuals!

I'm a little bummed that I only rarely get to see Rock Doves and I don't get to know them.

There was a person coming up behind me, and I got nervous... but I had to try to get a pic of this lovely Pigeon...

I wonder if leucism is more prevalent in Rock Doves?

On the way home...

Solar Baby!

*laughs* Everyone looks a bit scraggly from the rain.

I manage to do halfway normal things for the rest of the day. I've got a lot of catching up to do, after all, with being gone for most of December.

But when I start coughing... ugh, hard dry coughing... and the headache is getting worse, and feeling ever more blah. I'm sick.

Tag: january 2025

Again, didn't sleep well last night. That's okay, I'm ready to get the New Year going!

First thing, I'm thrilled to see Mr Unnamed, our Western Grey Squirrel neighbor, bouncing around on the sidewalk in front of the apartment! So happy to start the New Year with him, even if he's too early for photography!

And the weather is much nicer for the walk today... 45° (7°C) and it's misting. Sounds about perfect!

Very Dreary. It's nice... but Too dreary for bird photography!

That's a female Flicker.

Henrietta!

He's busy, but it's so wonderful to meet up with all the wildlife I've named! *laughs*

Oh! Here's someone new... behind the Mallard is a non-cooperating Pied Bill Grebe!!

Our Grebes are super cute, but my goodness they look weird without a tail. Yep, that's normal!

Cute... even when blurry!

Tag: january 2025

So happy to be home. But I didn't sleep well, arg. Tossed and turned and why can't I just be comfortable in my own stupid bed?!

The morning came eventually, and... now then! How am I going to run this day?

I start by double checking the mail box. It's empty, thank goodness! I had put a hold on the mail. The hold will end today and all the December mail will be delivered as a packet.

Okay. Plants!

Nobody died!

I had set up an irrigation system for the water loving plants. There was still a little bit of water in the reservoirs I had set up! So that worked out great, and the Peace Lily has loved the extra water and it has unfurled some shiny new leaves!

The tougher plants got a big water before I left and nothing since. They are dry but fine, and I give them all a good watering. Maybe that will make the African Violet bloom again... They love dry periods!

Up next, is computer stuff! I've got to move all the files from the Emily Laptop that I was using for the trip, back onto my desktop computer. My file manager system is powerful, but I always forget how to move new and modified files only... haha! Edit/Copy To... is the command I need that pulls up all the extra options to get that done!

Okay! I need a walk! Brr. It's 34° (1°C). And foggy and 100% humidity! *laughs* It's good to be home! Well, except for the barely above freezing part.

Oh my gosh, I am so happy to walk along my home paths again!

Not having much luck with the photography, tho...

*laughs*

Oh well. I'll be back tomorrow to try again! Of course!

Back at home, I have to fiddle with the file transfer some more. All the photos... there are 1,162 of them. It will take some serious time to sort all those, but it could have been worse!

In the evening, I pick up the mail packet. It's a hefty pile. I get it separated: Happy Mail, official mail, Partner's mail and junk to toss.

I goof off online for a while, but I am just so tired... from not sleeping last night, and so worn out from all the tasks of the day. I'm shutting down early, and hope I'll get a better night's sleep!

Tag: december 2024

One last regular morning of relaxing at the kitchen table with puzzles and our devices.

Yesterday Mom had done the trick on my jeans: I had gotten a drip of wax from the candle at church. She uses a paper towel to soak up the wax, and her iron to melt it. She had thrown it in the laundry to get the rest, and worked like a charm! Thanks Mom!

There's a wind advisory, and I ask if wind ever shuts down the airport. Yes it does.

Oh great. I pull up a web page that shows plane departures at DIA, and sure enough, there's a few delays... and then there's suddenly a lot more delays! Mostly between 15mins and half an hour. Arg. Nothing cancelled yet, and my plane in the evening is still on time, but if delays start cascading? bleh!

I go look at Dad's weather station thingee. It clocks the wind at 24mph. Brother goes to look at it too, and says there are gusts up over 30mph. Crazy wind.

But by lunch time the wind has slowed down. There's fewer delays at the airport, and most of them are just a few minutes or 15min at most! Yay!

We head to the airport in the afternoon. We usually get a bite to eat and have a last chat before going down to TSA. But as we approach Subway they announce Salads Only! We're out of bread! oh foo. We wander around a bit, but there aren't many choices on this side of TSA, especially for vegan food.

Humph! But I need to give my stomach something to keep it occupied and at the Starbucks I get some over priced fruit and a Kind bar.

Last hugs and the Partner and I are going thru the TSA line. And then we get out to our gate with about 20mins to spare before boarding.

But we are missing our fourth flight attendant. We have to wait for them, and it sets us 40mins behind. I'm glad we've got a direct flight, the delay is just annoying instead of stressful.

Once on the plane and in the air, there's a guy in front of me watching Frozen. I kind of watch with him, tho I can't hear the audio of course. And I cry, anyway, when Anna saves Elsa. :)

Unfortunately the plane ride lasts a lot longer than the movie, and I am bored and miserable for the rest. But there's hardly any turbulence so at least the motion sickness isn't bad!

We eventually get all the way home, and my goal is to take care of Partner's paperwork and be in bed by midnight!

Accomplished!

Tag: december 2024

Church this morning. And tho it's boring, I can appreciate the fact that this church is more welcoming -- dare I say more progressive, ha -- than the church we went to in Iowa!

Back at home, we are relaxing at the kitchen table.

After lunch, I've convinced Brother to join Mom and me for a walk!

I already loved this neighbors blowup christmas decorations, but when I got closer, I noticed the little unicorn in there as well!! ♥!

Partner is working on some paperwork that must be done in 2024. He's having trouble with it and I look at it as well. The PDF they've sent him can't be digitally signed. ARG!

We will have to take care of it back at home, where I can print up the page and partner can physically sign it, and then scan that back in. Annoying. And since the contact for this paperwork lives in Florida, we will have to do this the instant we get home, in order to have it sent by the deadline. Sighs. Wishing people would catch up with technology! ha.

In the evening, we had signed up for a Christmas Light display! At dusk, we head out and as we approached the place, oh wow, all the pretty lights!

When we get to the check in, they are happy that Dad printed up the receipt on paper. Ha, apparently the QR code is a lot easier to scan on paper rather than people's phones!

I have LOADS of fun with the photography, as we drive around the park!!

After all, even the blurry photos are interesting and cool!

As we are approaching this wall of green and red lights, which blink and show fireworks, Dad says, They should've put an American flag there! I'm all, What? Why?

To be patriotic! Uh huh. His idea of Christmas happened 2,000 years ago in the Middle East. There is NO reason to insert the USA into that except that my Dad is Maga. Most of my family is Maga.

I wonder if he knows that the USA flag is now a symbol for Proud Boys and other violent hate groups of that ilk... used against progressive people with lefty politics. People like me.

He must. And it surprises me (... and yet, doesn't) that he would want to be divisive at a time when his religion is trying to bring people together.

But if there's one thing that Magas love, it's being a hypocrite. So there you go.

Most of the lit scenes blick to show movement...

It's fun trying to capture it all... but I need more practice! *laughs*

Turns out the wall is actually a tunnel!

That was a lot of fun!

Goodbye, Wonderfully Colourful Place!

We go to the Pour House for dinner again... and I got the same thing I did last time because it was SO Good: Pink Lemonade Martini and Namaste (avocado) Sandwich. YUM!

Back at home, I pull up the free trivia website and we play a bit of that.

And then I tell them about an online word game that I found a few months ago, Blossom. We give it a go, Mom and I looking at the letters, and Brother calling out words from across the table... Every once in a while, I get a reminder about how smart he is, and this is one of those times. He didn't even look at the site, I just verbally told him the letters to use and he is calling out complicated words just on that!

We get 180 points with Brother's help. I think the first time I played by myself I got like 70 points! *Laughs*

Partner has come down and we sit at the table with our devices for a while before bed. Tomorrow is the last day in Colorado and I'm a little sad already.

Tag: december 2024

Back to our relaxing mornings, spent around the kitchen table!

I look at the newspaper, but then I have some Swap-Bot chores to catch up with. That takes a while and then I'm catching up with NPR, The Guardian, Daily Kos and the couple of Substacks that I'm subscribed to. Yeah, I'm crazy about the news!

It's 11:30 and I'm starting to feel lazy! *Laughs* Brother seems to be restless as well, he's wandering thru the house and looking out the front window notices a Bunny sitting out in the yard!

Cute!

And that gets me in motion! I've got a load of laundry going and then I get some lunch.

In the afternoon and evening, we have our own personal celebration.

It took a while but eventually we reduced that, down to this:

*laughs*

Mom defrosted some soup that she had pre-made and also had some cornbread to go with it. It was all so yummy, and that's another thing I need to think about making at home: cornbread is pretty easy, you just mix and put it in the oven, right? :)

We played the new card game Junk, and hey! I won! We also get a game of 65 going, and Brother won that one.

We start dispursing for bed. But I stay up for a minute. I grab Dad's camera and steal all his photos! Haha!

I'm looking thru them, and Mom is explaining. They went to a graduation and had good family time with Dad's side. A camping trip shows their trailer camper in a beautiful spot. And Mom tells me what a Bear Box is! huh.

Eventually Mom and I get to bed as well!

Tag: december 2024

Mom and Dad got in early from the hotel this morning, and Dad loaded up the truck and we were on the road at 9:05am!

It's cloudy and dreary and well above freezing: perfect weather for driving. There's some sprinkles in the morning but the clouds broke up in the afternoon, unfortunately... a bummer when you're driving west, into the setting sun!

Brother had loaded his phone up with a couple albums he had gotten from the library... the soundtracks to Princess Bride and Lady Hawke!!! Oh my gosh, that was awesome. Those are my favorite movies!

While we were still on the road, but getting close, we put in an online order for pizza. We got there on time, but they were running late... Friday night, after all! A 15 or 20 minute wait and then we were heading to Mom and Dad's house!

After dinner, we just continued to sit at the table. Everyone pulled out their devices and we just goofed off, in our separate worlds online!

I was reading the news from home and saw that we had gotten enough rain that the creek was high... They had to rescue some people and a dog who got trapped in their tent, under the bridge on our street! Yikes!

And then I saw this, beautiful photography!

∞ On a wing and a prayer: the hidden beauty of insect's flight - in pictures Barcelona-based visual artist Xavi Bou

Wow, just amazing!

And everyone turned in early! A long day, tho good to be back at Mom and Dad's home!!

Tag: december 2024

I support local journalism. I subscribe to the paper version of the local (corporate) newspaper. And Eugene also has an alternative newspaper, the Eugene Weekly. The paper version is free. It's printed on Thursdays and I usually read it on Saturday because the regular newspaper is not delivered that day (to give the delivery drivers a break).

I open up this week's EW, looking forward to reading the Letters to the Editor (because the corporate newspaper discontinued this a while ago) (jerks).

I see the Letters, but on the opposite page, there's an article about 4J, our school district...

I am child-free by choice. But kids are important members of the community! So I try to read all the news about the local schools. There has been a thing about one of the principals resigning in the last month or so, and I assumed that's what this article is about.

Nope. This is something else...

∞ Our Children Are Our Common Ground

The blurb says "Eugene District 4J affirms its commitment to equity and belonging" and I decide to read this before the Letters...

By the 2nd paragraph, I'm hooked! In Eugene School District 4J, our answer is to reaffirm our commitment to providing a safe, welcoming and inclusive learning environment - one where every student is valued, supported and challenged to reach their full potential.

I love what this guy is saying, and tears have sprung to my eyes. About ⅔ into the article, I'm reading the school district resolutions he has included.

The first one is about welcoming students of all national origins without barriers related to immigration or documentation status. Yay!

And then the first resolution of 2025, affirms gender identity, expression and equity for transgender and gender-expansive students and staff.

... And now I need to pause to have a quiet cry.

I'm happy. This is happy crying. I'm relieved. I'm so glad that our community, our schools, will protect children - ALL children. Our trans kids are so important, and they need all the help they can get. And I love the city and state I live in!

Okay. It's mostly happy crying.

The reason why I'm so emotional, of course, is because Felon45 is threatening our children.

It's sad that school districts have to broadcast the fact that all students are entitled to a high-quality educational experience, free from discrimination or harassment. It seems like this should be just ... expected from our schools. But here we are.

And it's necessary to point out that we will protect them by all legal means available.

Hell Yeah!! We are a sanctuary state, so the Legal Means include not letting ICE into the schools. I'm not sure what it means, exactly, for trans kids but the resolution is reassuring.

Tag: february 2024

I slept in a little bit and when I finally got up, Mom and Dad had just arrived from their hotel room. Everyone was sitting around the table... Uncle and Aunt, Aunt and Uncle from Texas, Mom and Dad and Brother.

Uncle is going to take us to a neighbor's museum. But as we are trying to get out the door, other Aunt and Cousin and his little girl are just arriving! *laughs* We greet each other and then maneuver around each other, and the few of us who are leaving, get on the road.

The museum is a guy's private collection of... toy tractors...

There were also a bunch of these engines...

They are hit and miss engines with a fly wheel. And I don't know what they were used for! Like, running the pump on your water well, maybe? IDK.

Lots of other random stuff in here...

But it's just stuff, with no explanation and no stories.

Back at Uncle's house, Aunt feeds us some lunch and then the games begin.

I needed to take a step back from the crazy Uno games! *laughs* but then they decided to play a new game called Junk. That was pretty fun.

We were going to go out for dinner, to give Aunt a break from all the food prep! But then we realized that other Aunt and Cousin and child would be driving home from the restaurant... so we needed to do the gift exchange before we left!

Mom's birthday is in a couple days, and also all the women exchange fun presents. And, of course, the child gets some new toys as well!

Aunt from Texas makes quilts and those are always amazing!

We all went out to eat, and the restaurant was so non-vegan that I had to bring my own salad along to eat. Sighs.

Back at Uncle and Aunts house for a game of Natalia's Four Square. Mom won!

And then Mom and Dad leave for their hotel room, and I stay up for a little while organizing the luggage. We'll be leaving for Colorado in the morning!

Tag: december 2024

Traditionally Christmas Day is a day of complete relaxation. We are usually up pretty late for Christmas Eve, and it's nice to play with our new toys! :)

But today, Aunt's kids will arrive. We will have a Christmas with them and then we will move back to other Uncle and Aunt's house.

So people are moving around quite a bit when I get up in the morning. We are all packing up, and running the sheets and towels thru the laundry. And being generally unsettled and not relaxed.

At noon, there's a stupid football game. All the TVs in the house are on and blasting loud. *laughs* Certain people are very excited about the game. But it's so loud, I have trouble reading.

Mom and Dad will be staying in a hotel for a couple nights, since Aunt and Uncle from Texas will also be staying at other Uncle's and there's just not enough room for everyone.

I go with them to checkin and drop off their luggage. The quality of a hotel in tiny town, Iowa ... is not great. Dad checks for bed bugs, and then he finds leftover takeout food in the fridge. Haha, lordy!

There's free coffee all day in the sitting room downstairs, and no coffee maker in the room. Which is probably for the best, considering the fridge!

Cousins' families start arriving in the afternoon, and when the children arrive we jump right into opening presents.

It's crazy chaos, of course! *laughs*

Mom and Dad get an awesome gift from Cousins: a hiking backpack with wine, glasses and utensils for a snack! That's really cool!

In the evening, we get back over to Uncle and Aunt's house. Our Texas Aunt and Uncle are there and everyone is happy to see each other!

After dinner, we all play a game of Attack Uno! Haha, that is wacky fun! I was trying to pet the little machine to make it like me and not shoot out a million cards when I had to draw a card! It didn't work!

People went to bed, and and then those of us left got a game of All Wilds Uno.

*laughs* All these different Uno games that I've not heard of before!

Tag: december 2024

I was amused about a coincidence today...

I've been writing blog posts for the end of December, and so I'm referrencing my journal entries from that time.

This little nugget was in the journal entry I'm looking at today:

∞ The Democratic Party's relationship with its voters has turned spammy and abusive

>>> Yeah, seriously... I could write a blog post about this!!

And surfing the internets today, I hit upon this little nugget with the exact same core:

∞ So The DCCC Called Me Up For Money, And I Apply Jiu Jitsu And Vent About The Democrats vs Trump.

It's just unbelievable to me that these idiots are STILL asking for money. After they got millions for the Harris campaign. That failed!

Dems are literally doing nothing while Trump and Musk chaotically dismantle the government, not to mention dismantling democracy itself!

And then I came across another article today that made me just start to rage...

∞ Democratic leaders are pissed voters want them to do their job
The outlet reports that a senior House Democrat told them that Jeffries is 'very frustrated' at activist groups like MoveOn and Indivisible that have helped concerned Americans make phone calls to congressional offices.... Democratic Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia, told the outlet [Axios] that his office has been rebuffing these callers, telling them, 'Please call the Republicans.'

UNFUCKING BELIEVEABLE!

People are dying because of Trumps policies. DYING! People have _been_ dying from the first go around, when he radicalized the Supreme Court and they turned over Roe v Wade.

And people are going to die because of each and every one of the exec. orders that traitor has been signing since he became a dictator on day one.

People are DYING! and all the Dems have is Please call the Republicans??! WTF.

...

I am not a registered democrat. I'm registered as independent. And for this, for what has been going on with Dems sitting on their hands and doing nothing, barely even lip service... I will Never change over to democrat. I have had it up to here with these worthless Dems, who are NOT representing us. FUCK THEM!

And it's probably never going to matter. Because at the rate that things are going... we won't ever get to vote again, anyway.

...

*Deep Breath*

And so we must depend on ourselves. We can't trust those Dem bastards in D.C. They don't care about us and they don't have our backs.

We will have to take care of each other!

Tag: february 2024

Our family celebrates on Christmas Eve... it's tradition to go see the Childrens play at the church in the evening and then home for dinner and then opening presents.

But the morning is relatively quiet.

There's a couple games of Qwixx, but I'm played out and don't join. I just need some time, and sit in the living room with my kindle, reading That Librarian.

After lunch, everyone else sets up for Blank Slate, a game I'm not familiar with. I stick with reading my book, tho I glance up now and then at the exciting moments! :)

We head out at 5:30pm for the Christmas Program at the church. and oh my goodness... this is the absolute Worse program I have ever attended. Apparently the new pastor is terrible all over the place!

It opened with the same Stupid Song we sang in church a couple day ago. Oh Come Emanuel. ALL seven verses. Seven. Again! That we JUST sang on Sunday. GAH... How many christmas songs are in your damn hymnal? Apparently just three, here. *Shakes Head* at the ridiculousness.

And then the program itself. Kids would read a short bible passage, there was a song. Rinse, Repeat. Seriously. It was Awful. and Boring. Just completely lame!

And the end, we got to sing Silent Night with candles as the kids filed out. Which, that's nice. However, that made it so there would be no clapping or applause for the kids. (Because, really, the boring program isn't their fault! They did what they could with what they were given!)

Apparently being joyfull and happy (that this stupid boring thing is over) is not allowed in this church.

Well. We came home, got dinner and then opened our Christmas gifts.

Brother had found a new dice game for Uncle and Aunt, Liars Dice. And we set about trying to play, right away!

Bahaha! The instructions... were contradictory! They seemed to say one thing, and in the next paragraph it said something else!

It was hilarious. And I lost right away, of course. and Brother professed that he loved the game, of course!

*laughs*

Tag: december 2024

The grownups have errands to run, and Mom and Dad have to go in to town, to do insurance things. The rest of us sat at the table and played with our devices and chatted.

Everybody gets back and we have some oh so nice quiet time, reading in the living room.

After lunch, we play a game: Up and Down River, the new-to-me card game. After 9 rounds Uncle won with 69 and I was in second with 62. Mom 51, Dad and Bro tied again with 43, Aunt with 42... she usually has good luck with card games, so it's surprising at how badly she lost this one!

Uncle had a party to go to, and I convinced Mom and Brother to go with me on a walk. We just walked down to my Great Aunt's house, which is now a rental. It's just over a mile away. It's chilly and we didn't walk fast enough to get warm. And there was no wildlife to take photos of... the birds and the black squirrels were not out.

We played a bit of trivia from the free site that I had signed up for.

Dinner was fried potatoes and their yummy Home Grown and Home Canned green beans in a flavored vinegar. Oh my gosh, I don't do canning but eating these green beans made me wish I would. So Good!

And then a game of Phase 10 that went on forever!

I was losing bad, and Uncle was winning bad. But it went on long enough that both our fates changed and Brother caught up and Mom caught up, zooming thru the phases!

And they are sitting at the 10th phase and Brother laid down and Uncle laid down but Brother won with least points. And Mom was at the 10th phase as well, but took over the Losing, with the most points!

So, I've lost my winning streak but at least I haven't started a losing streak!

Tag: december 2024

Church this morning. The pastor there is new and we had an amusing chat about communion before we all went to sit down.

Well. I was amused! The pastor, on the other hand... I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm going to hell! Bahaha!!

After that, I got a load of laundry done. And then we packed up to go stay at Other Uncle and Aunt's house.

Cousin's family was still there and we played some pool. I just watched the first games... Brother won a game, and then Cousin won a game, and then, dangit, I don't remember who won the tie breaker! *laughs*

Uncle came in and we decided to be partners. I got to break and I actually put a ball down! And then I got another ball in! And then Aunt called us back for dinner. Ha. So much for that winning streak!

Dinner was sloppy joe, and mine made with crumbles was excellent. I should remember that, so I can eat it at home since it's relatively easy to make!

Aunt got the party games going again. I happened to win one of them, but only because Cousin's Wife set me up for it. heh. The prize I won was a Christmas Light necklace. Just what I always wanted! *laughs*

Cousin's family left to go do Christmas with other families. And Dad and Partner bowed out to get some extra sleep.

The rest of us, Aunt, Uncle, Mom, Brother and I played a 5 handed game of Hand And Foot. I Killed it!! Ha! I don't even understand all this winning, but it's kind of fun!

Tag: december 2024

The Adults had a Breakfast to go to this morning, and when I got up, evenutally, I took a couple photos and goofed off online.

I took this blurry photo and I wondered who the heck that is on the left with the striped face!!

I didn't worry about it too much because I was enchanted by the black Fox Squirrel!

The Eastern Fox Squirrels at home in Oregon are invasive, and their DNA is limited and they all look the same. The black ones are fairly common here, tho!

The adults came back and I talked about Wisdom the Albatross, since I was reading about her in the BWD Magazine email.

And then I showed the blurry pic of the little bird that I couldn't identify. We looked at the guide books for a while and went back and forth. But my photo was just too blurry to work with!

Then Dad saw that another bird had shown up at the feeders, with the same stripy face and I was able to get a better pic...

Ah Ha! Purple Finch!!

Aunt and Uncle were excited because they weren't sure if Purple Finches ever visited the feeders! And now they have proof!

After lunch we went over to Other Uncle and Aunt's house.

Cousin and I won a couple games of billiards until Aunt and Brother beat us.

Brother and Dad beat Cousin and Uncle at foosball... Brother is actually an expert player so no one is going to beat him!

And then back upstairs to open Christmas presents with cousin's family.

Dinner was a taco bar, Aunt made me plain rice and crumbles, to accommodate my vegen-ness and that was good!

We played Wits and Wagers, on Partner's suggestion. It was a good idea, because I won! Haha! The first game at least. I think Brother won the second game maybe?

And then Aunt had some party games prepared!

Two players got blindfolds and you are to pick up marshmallows with a spatula and put them into your big bowl. Ha.

Cousin was the big winner here... he managed to get 20 marshmallows in his bowl!!

Later we got out a game that Cousin's Kid enjoys... Happy Salmon. *Laughs* It's pretty obnoxious with the shouting, but Brother really liked it! And this is the kind of game where it doesn't really matter who won since everyone is having obnoxious fun anyway.

We settled down and got Natalia's Four Square going. It ended up being a long game, but I won this one too! My luck with games is turning around!

About 11:30 when we left, to go back to our sleep areas at other Uncles house.

Tag: december 2024

I stayed in bed for a little while this morning, but I can hear people chatting at the kitchen table upstairs.

Eventually I get moving, and join everyone one at the table. The house has picture windows looking down into the back yard, and Uncle maintains a bunch of bird feeders! It's always fun watching the birds!!

And of course, it's exciting for me to see different birds! No Cardinals in Oregon!! ... or in Colorado, for that matter!

Wow!

At the feeders there are Goldfinches, House Finches. There are Juncos on the ground, picking up seeds. And there are some Nuthatches there for the suet.

I tell everyone about the little Lesser Goldfinches we have in Oregon. And Dad and Uncle were talking about the Eastern Goldfinches... haha! That's what they always called them, but they are actually talking about American Goldfinches!

I wonder if they had a name change somewhere along the line, or if Eastern Goldfinch is just a local name!

Our House Finches are the same tho... Technically they are invasive on the eastern side of the US!

I remember that I always wish I take more photos of everyone at the feeders... but I figure I've got some time, and it's not long before I put the camera away.

We start the games with Qwixx, the dice game... and Dad and Aunt win with a tie of 44! But I was actually doing good as well, with 41 points!

Dad's Sister arrives and we happily greet her.

And now we are set up for a partner game, so we play Hand And Foot. Yikes... the men thrashed us so badly that we didn't even have to count the third hand, let alone play the fourth. Sheesh!

I insist that we take a moment to re-group before playing the next game! So what shall we talk about? *laughs* I have a topic!

I am wearing my Rocky Mountain Raptor Center shirt. It's in Fort Collins, Colorado and I had gotten it when we went there, last year. So that was a fun story as we talked about the raptors we got to meet that day!

And back to the games... The Women's Team won a game of Farkle, which is another dice game! Yeah!

We started a card game of 10 card Flipper Golf... but haha it took a while to remember all the rules! We had forgotten about the individual discard piles!! Oops! Not sure who won this.

Dinner for me was rice and beans and a lettuce salad.

We got out the dominoes, and played a game of Chicken Foot. I started out the first few rounds in low, but fell apart and of course, lost. heh, oh well.

Dad's Sis left around 9pm and everyone started shutting down after that.

Tag: december 2024

We are driving from Colorado to Iowa today.

Dad loaded up the truck with all our stuff and we were on the road at 8:10am.

My car motion sickness has been getting better over the years (while my airplane motion sickness seems to be getting worse). I was actually able to read about 50pages of That Librarian!

We arrived at Uncle and Aunt's house at 7:22pm. With the time change, that's a bit over ten hours.

Long day. Aunt fed us soup, Uncle gave out Fireball shots. We chatted, figured out the bed situations, and went to sleep!

Tag: december 2024

Last night, I finally looked at the bottom of my foot which had been kind of annoying me... haha, the fast walk yesterday in the brand new shoes had given me a big ol' blister! Odd spot, too, on the ball of my foot. There is a smaller blister in the same place on the left foot as well. huh. And those shoes felt so comfortable! Oh well, I'll get used to them!

Just relaxing at the kitchen table again this morning! Oh how I love it!

I notice another bird at the barn... a female Flicker. They have the same Red Shaft race that we have in Oregon. I guess the dividing line for the Yellow Shafts in the east is not the Rocky Mountains! Maybe it's the Mississippi River that divides them?

Hm. Drinking water from the gutter?

In my part of the world, the rain gutters would be full of leaves and there would be bugs to eat there. But there aren't any trees to shed leaves into these gutters, so she's just drinking from a puddle there.

At the kitchen table I read the newspaper and goof off online. Work on the daily entry for the Highs and Lows swap I'm participating in. And write another letter!

After lunch I've got presents to wrap. I've got most of them done, when I hear Partner has gotten up. I can hear his voice in the kitchen. I go get him and we finish the rest of the presents together!

I'm checking my list and see I've got two presents that haven't arrived yet. I double check the amz deliveries, and the box that is supposed to arrive this afternoon has two items in it. Great!

The neighbors will be looking after the house while we're gone, and Dad takes him around and explains what to do if the furnace dies again. So nice to have awesome neighbors!

When they were done, Mom and I went home with neighbor... I had been invited to meet their new dog Zoe!

What a cutie. Zoe is a Maltese + Shih Tzu mix. She wasn't sure about me! She barked at me, and then licked me and then barked at me again. *laughs*

I don't have any experience with dog photography, so it's just as well I didn't take the camera with me. But do wish I could show how adorable Zoe is.

Back at Parents house, we got another fire going in the pit!

The sun is going down and soon this...

... turns into this!

Back inside we play a card game that's new to me... Up and Down the River. Ha! I won!

And after dinner we got a game of Qwixx going. Mom won with 112, but I was right there with her with 110!!

We will have a long day of travel tomorrow, so every one headed for bed pretty early.

Tag: december 2024

Last night, the night light in the bathroom that's attached to my bedroom went out. I had to sleep in the dark! *laughs* So that was the thing on my mind when I got up this morning.

Got a new bulb in the night light. And I'm happy to see Partner is up as well. And it's another relaxing morning!

Mom left for errands and Dad brought up the Rack-O game. Brother won with 250, Dad 225, Partner 215, and me with... a lot less. heh.

I started a load of laundry, and after lunch I moved the load to the dryer and announced a walk for anyone who wanted to get some exercises.

Haha, no one wanted to walk with me! But Dad came out with me and rode his electric bike along side as I walked.

And this turned out to be exactly what I needed!

Dad took me around a couple loops. But I kept wanting to go farther!

And I walked FAST! I started out huffing and puffing, but eventually I caught my breath and started breathing like a normal person... I guess the red blood cells have finally caught up to keep me supplied with oxygen in the higher elevation. Yay!

In Eugene Oregon, our home is 420 feet above sea level. Out here in Colorado, Parents home is at 5,180 feet above sea level... This is a helpful website!

∞ What is My Elevation?

At the end of this road, you could see out to the base of the foothills. Parents house is so close to the foothills, you can't actually see the mountains!

Out in the distance, there was a Prairie Dog here and there! Too far away for any kind of photography, that was a bummer. But fun to see them keeping watch at their burrows!

And then, with my extra oxygen being supplied, I was able to walk fast AND look around. There are quite a few neighbors here who have big pets!

And who have amusing christmas decorations!

Haha, looks pretty real, doesn't it!!

But, back to the big pets!

Alpacas! Aren't they cute!

The walk made me feel SOOO good! So glad I went out!

When we got back, I folded up my dry clothes and Partner, Dad, Bro and I played a game of 65. I guess Bro was tired of keeping score, so I did it this time...

And I was winning several hands at the beginning! Then Bro won a couple hands. Mom finally came home (it was like 5pm and I was starting to wonder what had happened to her!)

Dad won the last hand... but when I added up the scores Bro and I were tied with Stars but I got 2 extra stars for the low score!!

I WON!!! WooHoo!

*laughs* I should keep score more often!!

We got drinks and I tried to create a raspberry thing with real raspberries... four raspberries, muddled + two fingers vodka, a splash of 43, 4 drops of Lemon Ginger Bitters, a bit of lemonade, ½ spoonful of sugar. It was on the okay side of good, definitely not great.

Dinner was taco salad, very excellent! And then we got out Kimbo.

This is a game that requires a bit more strategy and planning ahead than I actually possess. Brother won with Dad close behind and Mom and I still only had three guys in the center.

Fun, but not a game I'll ever win!

We tried out some photo trivia on the free site I found. Until Aunt and Uncle phoned to talk to Mom about our upcoming trip out to see them!

Everyone else goes to bed early, and Mom and I hang out in the living room. She's reading her library book, and I'm comfortable on the rocking recliner with the laptop!

Tag: december 2024

I was happily surprised to see Partner at the kitchen table when I got up this morning. They were talking about football and cars, and you know what? I'm glad I mostly missed that! haha!

I wrote letters like crazy and with the two I started yesterday, there were four to drop in the outgoing mail today!! Yay!

After lunch, Dad, Bro and I went to the liquor store to find some gifts for Uncle. We also stopped at the grocery because Mom was running out of cookie ingredients! Can't have that!!

Along the way I tried to take another photo out the car window of the mountains... and my goodness! It doesn't even look real!!

And the wind coming off Mount Meeker and Longs Peak, really cool!

We are continuing to play the free trivia website, and I decide to sign us up for an account. Here we are:

∞ M-Fam at Fun Trivia *laughs!*

At 5pm we headed out to Pour House in Loveland for an early Happy Hour and dinner.

We picked out Pour House because they had a few vegan things on their menu. I went for a veganized Namaste, an avocado sandwich with red pepper hummus. Yum, so good! And happy to say they use Dave's Killer Bread for this sandwich, which is vegan too.

(so often restaurants have zero knowledge of bread ingredients... very frustrating!)

I also got a Pink Lemonade Martini, again with the raspberry flavoring, and it was so much better than the cocktail I'd gotten the other day...

Okay. It was probably just the sugar that made it so good!

But Mom was not impressed with her gin and tonic. The house gin was not up to her standards! *laughs*

I enjoyed the art.

The labels say the price of each painting... over 2,000$! Wow!

And then we went on to the Christmas Walk in the Woods.

I loved this! All the pretty lights!

And look! That's the moon again!!

The temperature was a few degrees below freezing... but there wasn't even a breath of wind, so it was actually pretty nice for all the cold!

We admired the projected lights up in the trees and debated about whether Dad and Mom should get some for the spruce in their yard that is getting too big to string with christmas lights!

We arrived at the end.

I would have walked thru again, but it was cold and I thought I'd gotten good photos.

Back at home and gathered around the kitchen table again.

Mom, Bro and I were just fiddling with our devices. and I suggested a game of Monopoly Deals...

And MOM won! Yay! ... Altho it does not make up for her terrible loss at Aggravation yesterday! *laughs*

Tag: december 2024

After church we came home and got back to relaxing!

I wrote some letters. Mom made more cookies... and Brother and I frosted and candied some Peppermint Melts. Mmmm! I think those are my favorite!

I found a good free trivia web site and I called out questions for a while and then we got down to some real games.

Can't Stop is a pretty fun board game. Brother usually wins this... but this time I Won!! woohoo!

Haha! I'm green, of course! The first person to get to the top of three columns, wins... I've got 2, 3 and 8!!

And that might be the first time I've ever won that game! *laughs*

Scattergories is another game I love in theory, but I really really suck at, in reality! ... I think it's the timer. My brain just goes blank!

Brother had 19, Mom was right behind him with 17 and then surprisingly Dad and I tied with 12. It's a surprise that I got that many points! ha!

Aggravation is definitely Mom's game... but everyone kind of ganged up on her for this round! haha, Brother won and Mom came in last. It just seems wrong!

Dinner was left over wipe out, except more spaghetti had to be made.

And then we sat and played GeoCities at the tv again.

The walks in the UK started out in cities, which is usually easier to figure out because eventually they will go past a sign. But then we started getting more of people walking thru that big park in England.

It's beautiful, but getting it over and over got to be boring!

Everyone shut down early, but I needed to take care of some Swap-Bot stuff. I glanced over the GR stuff as well. Keepin' things organized!

Tag: december 2024

And then I noticed the moon coming up...

As we walked back up the path, Mom was looking down instead of up!

But I can't get enough of the colours in the sky!

We get back to the head of the trail and see that the blackboard has been filled out since we arrived! Darn it, I missed the Magpie!

We head out, and I try to take a picture of the mountains and sunset from the car.

The tallest mountains on the right are Mount Meeker and Longs Peak.

We were going to a whiskey tasting room... but it was closed. Bummer. We picked a bar randomly that was near Brother's house, and it was pretty good.

There was a wide variety of cocktails, Dad and Bro got beers, I got a hard lemonade with raspberry vodka (meh) but Mom's Caramel Express something was excellent!

It was very not vegan, so I did not try it, but everyone else agreed that it was amazing. Mom took a photo of the ingredients so they could try to re-create it at home! *laughs*

Back at home, dinner was spaghetti and lots o' veggies in the sauce! oh yeah!

We played 65 and of course Dad won, with five stars. Brother had low score, but had four stars. Partner had three stars, but he was the one who went out on the last hand, and that's the hardest one!

Tag: december 2024

Another wonderful morning of hanging out in the kitchen and being relaxed! We goofed off online, did crossword puzzles and Mom made more cookies.

In the early afternoon, Mom has Another mild dizzy spell. She's sitting again when this one comes on, so it's not a huge deal. But it's concerning that she's getting a couple, so close together! I think usually they are several weeks apart!

But when it's time to leave, Mom's up for it. So that's good.

We are going to Fossil Creek Reservoir southeast of Fort Collins.

It's a place where Bald Eagles hang out during the winter. On Saturdays there are naturalist from Auduobon who set up spotting scopes and are there to tell stories and answer questions.

We've been out to visit several times in past years, and I really enjoy it!

We chat with the Audubon people who have a table at the head of the trail. And then we head on down to the lake!

There's a large viewing platform, and the Audubon people have set up four spotting scopes!

One of the spotting scopes has a phone attached, to see better!

There are only five Bald Eagles here today and the Audubon people are so disappointed. They explain that there have been up to 45 Eagles hanging out around the lake in the past!

Almost straight across the lake are two juvenile Bald Eagles standing close to each other.

Bald Eagles start out life with mostly brown feathers, with varying amounts of white as they get older.

When they are five years old, they will look like the iconic Bald Eagle, with the white head.

The Eagles are here for the fish, and they might get to eat a duck or a goose.

It's a beautiful place.

We listen to the naturalists talk for a while. There are over 300 breeding pairs in Colorado now... much more than in the bad old, DDT days!

They also said how many Bald Eagles are in the area, locally. I've forgotten the number, however many dozen, but Mom asked if that included an active nest that she watches every year, near a road they drive along often. She gives the location and our naturalist knows it and says, Oh Yes!

And Mom asks questions about when they lay their eggs. So she knows what to look for when they drive by the Eagles' nest in January and February! I think he said the babies will hatch in mid-February.

The sun is starting to get low, and there's another family arriving at the viewing platform. We decide to walk down to one of the blinds... they've said that there might be some shore birds running around on the beach there.

We've walked down Sandpiper Trail, to the closer blind... Nope, no shore birds. But the number of ducks and geese here, all across the lake, really is incredible.

There's a few that are closer to the blind. Looks like Canada Geese and a lot of Mallards.

And who is that over on the right?

Ah, he's a Wigeon.

The Audubon people had told us that these are Great Blue Heron nests. They nest in colonies... they get the tops of the trees, and Egrets might have nests under them!

Stay tuned for Part 2!

Tag: december 2024

Another blissful and relaxing day!

Just hanging out at the kitchen table. Chatting and doing crosswords and playing on the laptops and phones. It's just so wonderful!

I got a bunch of GR postcards written, and that made me feel accomplished!

In the afternoon, I convinced Brother to walk. But it's so crazy windy, he didn't want to go out on the road like yesterday. He just wants to stay in the yard.

So I will walk the same route as we did yesterday, and he will walk around the yard. And then we will see how many laps it takes when I get back.

I set out, and I'm trying to capture the little clouds at the horizon, just above the foothills. But the camera exposure says oh hell no. And eventually I just give up. *laughs* Damnit.

But here's the land underneath the little clouds.

And the wind is just so insane. It's nice and warm, the high is 52°, and I don't need a jacket. Dad says when the wind is out of the west, it's always warmer!

But the wind makes walking unpleasant... It makes me glad I don't live here!!

And when I get back, there's no sign of Brother in the yard... he had given up after just a couple laps, because of the wind! Haha!

We get a game of Monopoly Deals going... It's a card game and I really like it. Not that I win, or anything! *laughs* Dad won, of course.

And then we played the Crazy Camel game. It's fun as well, but there's some set up at the beginning, and end, and each leg of the race. At the end, Brother was a couple of dollars above Dad. And at the poor end of the spectrum, Mom had a couple dollars more than I.

heh. It's normal for me to lose all the games.

We started a game of Trivial Pursuit. This is a game that I like in theory, but the questions are so old, and so random... It's just not as fun in reality.

Dinner was chic patty sandwiches with tater tots and a really yummy Canned Veggie Salad. I loved that, I should get the recipe!

Mom gets a dizzy spell, which is distressing. She says it's a mild one. After we get dinner cleaned up, we join her in the living room.

I connect the Emily Laptop to the tv and we play some GeoCities. "Monuments" is a bit too easy, except the ones we have no clue about. We do some "America" and some "Europe".

There's a bunch of walks in a big park in the UK... those are really absolutely lovely. You could set those to play and just watch them for some meditation time!!

Tag: december 2024

Ahhh!

I slept in! I relaxed at the kitchen table with Mom and Dad and Brother. We did puzzles... Dad collects and prints up crosswords, and there's the odd sudoku as well.

Out the porch door...

Aw, how cool is that? She's a female Kestrel, the males have blue on their wings.

I fiddled online for a bit and then wrote a couple of my goodreads postcards. When I take them out to the mailbox, oh my gosh, it is lovely outside, warm and no wind. We should go for a walk!

At 10:50am the furnace guy arrives... Dad and Mom have been having ongoing issues with the gas furnace for months! It just shuts off, every week or so!

With Winter in Colorado, this is terrible! But it's happened so often, Dad has the temporary fix down... with the fire place and the stove running with fans they can keep the house warm! But since we are traveling to Iowa soon, the furnace needs to be actually and permanently fixed before we go!!

After lunch, Brother and I go for a walk around to the end of the street.

I am crazy for the Rock Doves here, too!

A Robin in an unknown tree

We were back to hanging out at the kitchen table again, later in the afternoon. And Brother just declares, Sister wants a fire! Everyone agreed, and we all got up immediately to make it happen!

*laughs* Dad went to haul wood, Mom gathered some mulling spices for drinks, and Brother and I got the patio chairs out of the barn!

The mulling spices were for the apple cider, and there was some Fireball too. mmmm!

Stir fry for dinner and then we got going with the games again.

Dad won the first round of Qwixx. But then Mom won the second round, and broke Dad's winning streak!

Natalia's Four Square is a card game. Dad won.

And then Dad suggested Hand And Foot, a partner card game. Since Dad has been winning so much, I suggested he be my partner!

*laughs* We lost spectacularly!!

Tag: december 2024

We got up at o'dark thirty for a plane ride to Colorado!

Let me tell you something. I hate airports. The only thing I hate MORE than airports... is airplanes!

I hate the stress and I really hate motion sickness.

But I deal with these things to see my family!

We arrived at a decent morning hour and I am so happy!

We got some breakfast at a little local diner... I was mildly amused when our server didn't know what a vegan is. I'm trying to figure out what I can eat and she's all We do have eggs! *laughs* and *sighs* (and *yuck*) heh.

And then we drove to my parents house.

Partner went to bed, since he hadn't slept. And I was thrilled to settle in and just relax at the kitchen table with Mom and Dad and Brother.

Eventually we got some games going!

Fun City is very old board game, but new to me! It's a bit complicated but fun! Dad won.

Phase 10. Also fun, but Dad won.

And a card game called "65". Dad won. hmm.

For dinner, Mom had pre-made Pizza Soup and Rosemary Scones. YUM!

And then we all shut down pretty early... I took a blissful shower and was in bed at 9:15pm!

Tag: december 2024

Good Morning My Dear.

A grey day, 36° when I left the house. But no wind.

Oh, nice! It's been ages since Suspish has been out here!

I admire the colours of the foliage of the native rose bushes along the creek.

There's a huge flock of Cackling Geese at the back of the Events Center again! Hundreds!

I'm looking for that one goose with Leucism on her neck.

But I don't see her today.

I move on, but a guy and a dog disturbs the flock!

Wow! They circle and some of them come back down.

Aw, look! Some Nutria kids are out of their burrow!

Oh my gosh, they are so adorable!

Does your Mom know you are out and about??

Too Cute!

I go into the Community Garden one last time to double check my plot. But I am easily distracted by the birds hanging out here!

*laughs*

Oh, hey! We've got a new Solar Baby?!

*laughs* Nah, here's the original Solar Baby!

Lots of awesome experiences today!

Tag: december 2024

I'll be heading out for my December travels later this week, and thought I would get in one last adventure up the hill today.

Ha! A Squirrel munched a Persimmon!

Actually, the squirrels must LOVE Persimmons! *laughs*

There are a few houses in the neighborhood with christmas decorations up.

I like the penguins on the left with the US Mail Box!! :D

Other than the Steller Jay, there don't seem to be many birds around today. I resign myself to looking at foliage instead!

Thimble Berry.

Red Flowering Currants.

... and more attempts to capture the beauty of the little waterfall.

I get to the Acorn Woodpeckers territory... aw, I don't see or hear ANY birds up here. Not the woodpeckers and no little birds in the brush...

But I do hear construction further up the hill. sighs.

Back to the foliage, I guess!

Oh Hey!

well foo. Little Nuthatch was too fast for me! I also missed quite a few Bewick Wrens on the way down.

eh, that's how it goes sometimes!

Back in the neighborhoods and I've found some more cute christmas decorations.

A Robin in an Elderberry tree.

Wow, all the berries! crazy!

Raw Elderberries are poisonous to us humans, but once you cook them they are good!

Tag: december 2024

*laughs* Yep, it's one of those days when I just can't get a good picture.

Hermit Thrush? Dang it.

Lots of Bewick Wrens all over the place. But they are too bouncy, even on the best of days!

I stop by the Community Garden to make sure the plot is as Borage-free as I can make it. My little friend is still hanging out!

Yet another Bewick Wren is bouncing around the Comm Garden compost pile!

And IN the compost pile!

I guess that's as good as the photography is going to get, today. eh. That's okay... I will keep trying! :)

Tag: december 2024

*breathes*

I'm heading out to the Community Garden to see what I can do to bring the plot into compliance with the rules.

If I don't, I will get a mark against me. The old rules said if you get three marks in a row (for the three compliance checks in a year) they would kick you out. The new 2025 rules say there are now four compliance checks in a year and if you get two marks, you're out... and it is not clear if that's 2 marks in a row or in a year or if it's 2 marks ever.

So it's bullshit all around, and if I want to stay in the Comm Garden I should probably do something.

Yep. I did seriously consider just letting it go and making them kick me out next year.

But visiting the Community Garden makes me so happy. All the birds and bugs and flowers and all the thousands of photos I take! Thousands? Maybe millions!

I don't care about the veggies so much, altho I do love the Lemon Cucumbers and the SunGolds. But the work gives me pleasure... I feel good when I put things in the ground and they start growing. I feel strong when I haul wheel barrows of leaves to the plot.

So yes. I would desperately miss all of these things if I was forced give up our Community Garden plot.

So I'm going to the garden today to satisfy the stupid powers that be, who seem to have it out for me. Or who hate the beautiful chaos which I cultivate in the plot.

Sighs.

And, of course, it's raining today.

But Rudra is here, and it's nice to see her!

Here I am at my plot.

Borage not managed, weeds not managed.

Okay. They said we could keep the Borage, but you couldn't have any within a foot of the border. I only just pulled up all that borage along the front, next to the path. So possibly that's what they are referencing.

But I can't take the chance. So I'm going to pull up all the borage today. I feel so bad and sad for the Honey Bees who think this is a place to get nectar from the Borage blooms.

And then the weeds not managed. Looking at the plot, ahh! Okay, they don't like the couple of Amaranth stalks I've left standing in the front with the Fava.

The Amaranth seed heads are full, and I wanted the birds to come and have a snack. Again, it makes me so sad that I have to take food away from the wildlife. :(

Here's the After pic... Just the winter cover crop of Fava is left, with some Garlics growing behind. The Leeks are out of frame, on the left.

The Borage has been managed to death. And what they call weeds have been pulled up.

But I've been having some subversive thoughts along the way!

What I've done here today, will keep me in the Community Garden for another year.

But what they've done... Changing the rules arbitrarily, making us comply with the new 2025 rules when that's not what we signed up for (we literally sign a contract!), and trying to classify Borage as an invasive when no one has ever called it as invasive and it is the best Summer companion and cover crop.

All of this. And I'm going to fight them from the inside!

You can't plant new Borage? hmm. That'll be an easy rule to bend. Seed bombs are fun.

I'll have to study the new manual to see what else I can do to help nature and thwart idiot humans who have too much time on their hands and who have too much propensity for rule making.

heh, heh, heh. *Mine is an evil laugh*

Tag: december 2024

Henrietta... I never noticed before...

It looks almost like he has a bald spot since his blue feathers are so long!

*laughs* It's kind of cute, actually!!

I'm at the garden and I am jamming thru the last bit of winterizing that is required by the Community Garden rules.

I've hauled four wheel barrow loads of leaves today to cover the front...

A light sprinkling of leaves in the Fava!

And a tidy layer of leaves in the front to cover the Borage I pulled up yesterday.

I've also moved the trellis and tomato cages...

Usually I leave them lying down in the plot, but they are so hard to see, I worry that someone would accidentally walk on them and hurt themselves! But now that I have the big trellis, I've set it up with all the tomato cages inside it. This seems more visable and less dangerous!

I've also tidied up the little junk pile...

I had some wood stakes, and I put them under the bucket. And the rest is all neat as well, with the bricks and grids approximately at the border with Kevin's plot.

I'm proud of all the work I've done!

And I'm really happy the new rules let us keep the Borage in our plots! It's crazy that they still have blooms!

Pretty, pretty!

And I still have some time when I leave the garden, so I'm going to walk an extra mile!

Stumpy still has its leaves!

Steller Jay... no cooperation!

And a Scrub Jay... I love all our blue coloured Jays!!

And then I get home. In the afternoon, we get an email from the powers that be at the Community Garden.

Your plot is currently out of compliance.

*SCREAMING*

*Screaming*

*And cussing*

Borage not managed, weeds not managed.

... ummmm? What?

I thought they decided the borage was fine? And Weeds? What weeds? Do they think the Fava, Leeks and Garlics are weeds? Or what?

I am so confused and so blasted annoyed!

*more cussing*

Dang it, I was so proud of all the work I've done.

And here they are again, telling me that I suck.

bastards.

Tag: december 2024

Good Morning My Dear!

Again with the freezing fog, and again little wind. There's no frost on the ground but the trees were dripping as I started my walk... the frost above the ground starting to melt.

Okay! I'm going to plant the strawberries that I picked up the other day! The strawberry patch is not doing great and some borage took over.

So I'm going to clear that...

There are probably half a dozen strawberry plants, each with a couple green leaves coming out of their root balls. But this one, near the Fava, is the only plant that is still really living... It even has two little green fruits on it!

Hopefully All the plants will come back alive in the spring! I get the new ones planted...

And then I cover them with leaves. The big strawberry poking out so it can catch what little sunshine there is!

I hauled six wheel barrow loads of leaves, and got the rest of the back of the plot covered!

I had extra time, so I pulled up the Borage that had grown up between the path and the front Fava patch. I just laid it down where it was, to return the nutrients to the soil, and I'll cover it with leaves tomorrow.

And I'll probably be done tomorrow! Yipee!

I don't like to eat peppers, but I do like how bright and cheerful they are right now!

Tag: december 2024

Yesterday I purposefully avoided all the news about the inaugeration of that traitor and rapist.

The ignorance was bliss!

Today, I barely skimmed a few articles. Because maybe I want to keep my ignorance.

But this got thru...

∞ Trump Pretends He Banned Birthright Citizenship. You Gonna Go Along With That?

So much for that silly oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.

I'd assume that all those other dictatorial decrees are unconstitutional and unlawful and probably generally unworkable. He doesn't care. All he wants to do is make chaos. fucking moron.

And, let's see, what else?

Oh hey. We've got some anti-trans bigotry wrapped up in some heavy misogyny.

All of this hate will only lead to emboldened violence. But it's what the Maga-hats wanted. They want hate. That's what they voted for. Did they understand that our democracy would come crashing down as well?

I'll be standing up for love. We need to protect our neighbors and friends as best we can.

Tag: january 2025

Another dreary and foggy day, just below freezing but little wind again and I'm good under all my clothing layers.

There's a bunch of ducks gathered along the bike path... and the Mallard with his tail ripped out is still alive!

And it's always nice to see some Non-Mallards at the creek! These are Green Wing Teals.

As I approach the Community Garden, there are three cars in the parking lot, ARG!

But the van was pulling away. Good. And the one guy was just finishing up and left as I got my first wheel barrow loaded up with leaves. Good!

The last guy was just covering his raised beds with leaves. He hauled another couple of wheel barrow loads and was done and out pretty quickly as well.

Great! It's so much nicer to be at the garden alone!

And THEN the squirrels came back! All the ones who like to dig thru the leaf piles. And even the one hanging with me in my plot! And a couple crows as well. And the chirping happy birds in the tree and shrubs on the east side!

so I'm not the only one who prefers the garden without men.

So anyway. The neighbor on the right side has covered their plot with leaves... barely. There's hardly a single layer and there are holes all along the damn border, jerks!

So I haul a couple extra loads to reinforce that border. Ticks me off, doing extra work for these useless Pot People. I wonder if I'll have to put up with them again next year.

Well. I have hauled 7 wheel barrow loads of leaves to my plot today. But I've been annoyed almost the entire time. So I try to get my happy vibe back on the walk back home.

Some cute little birds.

Some Snowberries.

And an attempt to capture the beautiful colours of the native Nootka Roses along the creek.

Tag: december 2024

∞ Cecile Richards, former Planned Parenthood president and feminist activist, has died
Richards died Monday of an aggressive brain cancer. She was 67.

Oh no.

I very much admired Cecile Richards, she was absolutely a hero.

I loved her book. and I was actually disappointed when she left Planned Parenthood. She had done such good work there as the president, and I felt like she had more to do there! She had other things to do...

Now we've lost her entirely.

Condolences to Cecile Richards family.

Rest in Power.

∞ Everything We Could
A few words on Cecile Richards

Tag: january 2025

Heavy fog this morning but it has warmed up from freezing to 34°. The wind is light, so it's bearable.

The dew on this spider web is still frozen, tho!

Okay! Here I am at the garden plot!

Today I'm going to dig up the Sunchoke roots that are on the left side border. I've already broken off all the stalks, and it's mostly just the roots left.

The Sunchoke here was a volunteer, but it's really not kosher to have such a tall plant near the border. I want to be a good neighbor, so I'm going to try to remove this thing. Hopefully, it won't be like the Comfrey and take years to kill!

The roots are the food part of Sunchoke... but I don't like them. I'll be hauling them to the Community Garden compost heap! Here's the first bucket...

... The second bucket...

... The third bucket... I'm having to dig a bit deeper for the roots now. And I'm shaking thru the soil with the fork.

... And the fourth bucket! a bit over half full!

That bucket took a while, sifting and digging further out to find new roots.

And dang, that was some work! This area is probably 6x4 ish.

And those buckets were difficult to carry. Guessing a good 20pounds each... well over 75 pounds total. And that's just so much food! You know, if you could eat it.

I now understand what neighbor Kevin meant when he said You'll never go hungry! when he saw the Sunchoke growing. *laughs*

Meantime, my little friend has been digging at my plot as well.

The same one as yesterday? I'm not sure, but we are just as companionable, both of us with our digging projects!

Nom nom!

I consider my next projects as I head out... Continue hauling leaves in, of course.

But I need to think about the other Sunchoke that was in the front garden square, as well... I had pushed over the tall stalks the other day. I guess I will leave those roots tho...

It is a beautiful native plant after all and it makes the bees and birds so happy!

Hmmm... I also need to clear out that Borage in the front, that's mixed in with the Fava cover crop. For the new 1 foot rule... They've decided we can keep our Borage, but it cannot be within 1foot of any borders.

Tag: december 2024

∞ Trump's border czar says immigration raids will begin next week, including in Chicago

If mass deportations actually happen, it will rip out the heart and soul of America.

We will all get to watch as the human rights violations turn the US into Nazi Germany.

I am afraid. And this is just one thing I am afraid of.

Tag: january 2025

Cold and dry... I guess the droplets on the pine tree above are dew from the high humidity.

It's 32° when I leave the house, but no wind! Walking warms me up nicely, under all my layers!

A Sweet Gum caught my eye with interesting shapes.

I get to the Garden, and the squirrels are still having a hay day with the leaf pile!

Found something yummy!

I start hauling leaves. I'm working on the left side of the plot today... but getting the wheel barrow over these stupid clumps of grass is difficult...

So I got the heavy fork and I jammed it in... huh! The clumps just popped right out! Ha!

That was a surprise! The work is going much smoother now! And I'm able to enjoy the day.

It's just me and the squirrels, here at the Community Garden. And one Crow.

I so enjoy the squirrels company!! This one in my plot wasn't even worried about me. Let me walk right up and watch what he's doing!

I hauled six wheel barrow loads today, and this is the view from the back corner with the stunted Leeks... I did go a good bit over the border with the leaves.

And I am just so pleased that getting those stupid clumps of grass out was so easy!!

There is a bit of a hole there, tho. So I covered it with sticks from the back Sunchoke. It's not perfect, but should alert anyone walking by to the tripping hazard. I'll add more sticks when I chop down the front Sunchoke.

An Oregon Junco on some Red Amaranth in the diagonal plot behind ours...

His Amaranths were unusually short... maybe stunted in the same way that my Tofu Patch plants were? I guess I'm lucky that only a bit of the dirt in my plot is like that!

I'm heading out, but my friend the squirrel is still hard at work in my plot!

Tag: december 2024

Ugh, it's 34° when I leave the house, brr! But there's no wind, for once, so it's not too terrible.

Henrietta! So nice to see you!

At the garden, I'm taking it easy today because it's Sunday!

I just need to clear a path on the left side of the plot so I can get the wheel barrow thru. There was some Borage, the Giant Marigolds, and a couple of stunted Sunflower stalks. And I just pulled it all up and threw it in the Tofu Patch.

I had planted the Tofu Patch with some Fava on Nov7, but nothing has come up... Mostly likely it's just been too chilly, but maybe also whatever is wrong with the dirt here has contributed too. This is the place where most all the plants were stunted.

Here's the After picture...

I really need to get rid of those huge clumps of grass there at the front, as well. Ugh. I feel like that's going to be really hard, and I've been avoiding those stupid clumps all summer!

Maybe tomorrow.

As I leave, I see three Flickers checking out the Community Garden!

hmm. Not great photography today with the dreariness.

Oh well.

Tag: december 2024

Good Morning My Dear!

Always nice to greet the wildlife right outside the door!

And then I get ½ a mile up the bike path, and this one notices me watching her. And she sweetly invites me to come with her!

I love Song Sparrows!

She kicks leaves out of her way, which totally cracks me up!

A bike goes by on the path, and she flies out of the way. And then we start over, with another invitation to follow!

Back on the path, looking for stuff to eat.

Kicking...

... And Looking...

And, haha, your leg looks funny!

Oh, have you found something?

*Pounce*

Thanks so much for letting me watch!

But I've got work to do at the garden, so I move on reluctantly.

Ugh, the sun comes out and I get hot with all my layers. But I've done 6 wheel barrow loads today.

I'm happy the powers that be have decided to let us keep our Borage. It's still blooming, and there's a few Honey Bees out today, buzzing in the sun!

The plot is slowly filling up with leaves.

Tag: november 2024

oof. It's cold today with a bit of a breeze and I am glad for all my clothing layers under the rain jacket, which is acting as a wind breaker!

Okay! I arrive at the garden and I get to work hauling leaves to the plot! I am doing good work today! Seven wheel barrow loads!!

As I go back and forth with the wheel barrow, I do some math in my head to keep me occupied...

I go by 13 plots + mine + out to the leaf pile
== 15 x 20feet each x 2 rounds
== 600ft x 7 hauls
== 4,200ft
There's 5280 feet in a mile.
So if I did 9 hauls, that would be just over a mile!

*laughs*

I've also moved the big trellis out of the way. And here's what the plot is looking like from the front right.

Like I said yesterday, I am layering these leaves very thickly. The leaves do bring in a lot of slugs, which is unfortunate. But they are also just organic mass... I think about all the weight I took out of the garden in the form of zucchinis, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans...
Take, take, take!

Putting leaves on the plot is my only real chance to give something back. Sure, I put vegan fertilizer down during the growing season. But that doesn't even come close to the weight of a single big Old German Tomato! Granted, it's mostly water, but still!

So I am happy to haul leaves like a crazy person!

I'm heading out, but stop to take a portrait of one of the squirrels! There's LOADS of squirrels climbing and digging thru the leaf piles!

They are good company for me, and they make me smile every time I come back to the leaves!

Tag: november 2024

I don't celebrate Thanksgiving. Too depressing with all the turkeys being murdered for the day.

But I am happy to go out and start the serious work of dumping leaves on the garden plot to winterize it. It's part of the Community Garden requirements.

Heading out, I come across a little flock of Lesser Goldfinches, but I'm too impatient to get anyone's portrait.

I had trouble sleeping because both my shoulders are sore from the vaccinations I got yesterday. Covid vax in the left shoulder, flu shot in the right.

But no problem doing my pushups this morning, and no problem hauling leaves today either!!

I get to the Garden and have a little issue in the tool shed. There's plenty of wheel barrows, but only one pathetic looking fork that looks like it's going to break the moment I scoop something!

*Cursing* How am I supposed to get any work done around here?!

I rage for a moment! And then I notice a bundle of tools in the corner. They are strangely wrapped up with blue tape, and I find a potato fork and two more heavy forks.

Why? Just... why?

I pull out what I need and put the rest on the hangers where they belong so they are easy to find, because *more cursing*

A *Deep Breathe* and I'm ready to work. But first... There's some freebie Strawberries on the picnic table! I nab those and drop them off in my plot.

And then I notice Kevin's Nasturtiums have dumped seeds into my side of the plot boundry!

I gather some of them up to plant next year. A couple of his chili peppers have fallen too... but I am definitely not interested in eating those, or saving the seed!!

Okay! Hauling leaves!

I didn't accomplish much... just four wheel barrows of leaves hauled today. And I'm laying the leaves very thick, so I didn't cover much ground.

I'm starting slow because I don't want to kill myself on Day One, here!

There's more weeding to do, and I will need to move the trellis out of the way as well.

Much to do, much to do!

At home, I put the gathered Nasturtium seeds in front of the fan so they can dry out!

Tag: november 2024

I've got an appointment to get a covid vax and flu shot. I'm grateful that it's not raining, so I can walk to my appointment without trouble. But also there's not much wind, for once, and that makes it such a nice day!

I've given myself some extra time to take pics on the way... hey!

Well, whatever!

Very spikey in there!

Okay. There's a Red Shoulder Hawk standing in the tree over Blazey's Throne...

... But this is my turn off for the pharmacy.

I go in and get my shots. Like last year, it's no big deal and I hardly have to talk to anyone! Don't even have to pull out my ID or insurance card. So nice to just be able to get health care without trouble. Yay Oregon!

I was out in just 15minutes, and I headed straight for the Red Shoulder, who is still hanging out!

And, you know what? I think this is Rudra!

But Suddenly there's so much going on, all over the place!!

This one is saying "Check! Check!" and I assume he's a Red-wing Blackbird... I don't know it at the time, but he's obviously NOT a Red-wing!

There's no time to assess the blackbird, because my friend the Belted Kingfisher stops by for a second!

This is the female, and the pair fly up and down the creek every winter! I love to see them!

But she doesn't stick around, so I go back to the blackbirds.

This is a male Brewer Blackbird!

But why did I think he was a Red-wing? Ah... Brewer's Blackbirds often make a tchup or chuk similar to the calls of other blackbirds. Okay! He was speaking the language of Red-wings, who I am more familiar with since I see them more often!

I continue with my walk, and the sun comes out. That's nice, it makes the day nice and warm.

And I come across another Red Shoulder. Not Rudra, she's moved on.

And then I get to see Solar Baby, too! Red Shoulders everywhere!

Tag: november 2024

There's a heavy misting happening off and on. I just drape my arm over the camera and don't have to tuck it under the rain jacket.

Not Rudra.

But very patient with me wandering around her tree.

Probably I should give this one a name as well!

A Yellow Rump Warbler...

With her white throat, she belongs to the Myrtle subspecies, supposedly of the eastern side of the continent. The Audubon subspecies of the west has a yellow throat... but I think they all get mixed up here during the winter!

I stop by the Solidarity Garden again, and am impressed with how much is still alive again!

Sunchoke still blooming.

Sunflowers.

Even this potted Angel Wing Begonia!

The Rock Doves are here again!

I wish they would let me get closer!

I've stopped off at the garden to drop off some compost. This is from the back corner...

And here's from the other back corner, where I've been working lately... Clearing out the Squash Square and the Wax Beans from the big trellis.

I really need to stop fiddling and start hauling leaves to winterize the plot.

Aw! A Caterpillar in the Fava... tho I bet she wishes she had dug herself underground instead of being all exposed in the cold like this!

I am thrilled to support any kind of bugs in the garden plot! And caterpillars are so so important for the birds!

This Red Shoulder Hawk loves the new solar panels along the bike path! I'm going to name him Solar Baby!

Solarbabies was a scifi movie from the 80s that I LOVED!

... okay, this write-up about Solarbabies totally cracked me up...

∞ Trilogy of Terror: Solarbabies (1986)

Yep, it really is that awful!! And yet I still love that movie!! *laughs*

Bath Time!

She's yelling for her friend to join her... The water's fine!

Your feathers look a bit muddy, for all that!

It's fine, you're not done yet. Okay!

Tag: november 2024

It rained the entire walk today. The camera mostly stayed under my rain jacket but I did take a couple of pics.

Tag: november 2024

A little pop of colour!

I stop by the garden and admire the Fava.

The first planting is well over a foot tall! I love all the seeds on the Amaranths, too. Will be good meals for some birds!

Oh! Who's this?!

They look like a squash bug, but with colour! *searching the internets* Ah!

Whitecrossed Seed Bug! An American native.

This makes me laugh... the cute little teeth marks!

Tag: november 2024

It's raining as I leave the house today.

Aw, really? *snort*

Okay! That's better! Thank You!

I walk past the Solidarity Garden... how come their Sunflowers are still alive?? I am entirely jealous!

Their Asters are still alive, too. I used to have Asters at the front of my garden plot, but that was years ago... I should plant them again!

Wayside Micro Park... with a jar of peanut butter and, a squash? ha.

*laughs* I just can't get enough of that tree over there!

Back at home, I finally shelled the soybeans.

There were so few, it took me less than 15minutes!

Remember last year's crop of soybeans? Nov7 Shelling Soybeans It took me Four Days to shell all those!

Tag: november 2024

Good Morning, My Dear! You've got a good breakfast!

Oh! Point and Click and Hope! A crappy photo of a Golden Crown Kinglet!

Unlike the Ruby Crown Kinglet, the Goldens always show their crown. And the Ruby Crowns are winter visitors, while the Golden Crowns are here year round.

Supposedly. But I don't get to see them all that often.

But maybe instead of taking crappy bird photos, I could look at the waterfalls instead.

Oh!

... Annnd, he never turns around! SIGHS.

Back to the waterfalls! *laughs*

I get to the top of the trail and I walk up to the Acorn Woodpeckers territory.

This is the bioswale that feeds the waterfall.

Ha! The wind up here is crazy!

I wonder where the boys are today.

And then on the way back down the hill, it started sprinkling and then pouring. So much for that blue sky!

Tag: november 2024

Oh hey! A Ruby Crown Kinglet!

He's bouncing around so quickly, I'm just pointing the camera and hoping for the best. But look!

He's showing his crown! There must be a female here, who he's trying to impress!

(I don't ever see her tho.)

I am just at the turn-off for the Community Garden... and here's yet another little flock of birds! This is just crazy!

They are mostly House Finches, but there's some White Crown Sparrows as well.

I think this is an Ash tree that they are eating the seeds of.

I am really focused on the happy flock, but I kind of notice this one has been approaching me.

He's getting closer and closer and I've already told him that I don't have any treats or anything for him.

But he's still coming towards me, and I finally pay attention when he is WAY closer than it's safe to be to a human!

Do I know you? I look at him closely, but I seriously don't recognize him. He bounces on past me and I go back to looking at the finches.

But then I feel a tug on my jeans! Dude. Haha, he thought about climbing up my leg, crazy guy!

He bounces away again. But I'm thinking I need to carry some walnuts with me, or something!

*laughs* Not that this kind of behavior should be rewarded! He's liable to get himself hurt by a human who isn't so accommodating.

But he is really cute! :)

Tag: november 2024

Sick of being sick.

So I am going to do some chores and get some stuff done... even if if kills me!

Tag: january 2025

I'm at the same level of unwellness as yesterday... Headache, occasional cough, lack of energy.

And I'm really getting frustrated. I've been sick for a week now. And yes, I'm better... I'm definitely better!

But I have so much to do. And no energy to do it.

Wai!

Tag: january 2025

There were a couple hours, yesterday evening, where the coughing calmed down a good bit. And I was finally able to get some better sleep as well!

Thank goodness! I still don't have my energy back. But being less miserable is a big win.

Tag: january 2025

It's sprinkling, and then pouring, this morning. But the clouds are moving around a good bit as I head out. And there's some blue sky happening by the time I get to the bike path!

But there's still some low clouds in the hills.

Hi, Robin! You are looking dapper today!

With the rain this morning, I'm walking past the garden. There is much to do there, but I don't want to work in the mud!

Past the end of the bike path, I walk thru the neighborhoods. In someone's front yard...

Oh my gosh! Look at them all! Pine Siskins!

Wow! I walk a little further, and here's another bunch at a feeder!

I wonder what kind of seed is in the feeder.

Hey! No Fighting!

Did you get pecked in the face because you WERE FIGHTING??! Sheesh. :(

Moving on, again. Pigeons!

I love the Rock Doves and wish I got to see them more often. But today is not the day... One of my bike path friends rides by, just then, and when we greet each other, the Pigeons fly away. :)

To be continued...

Tag: november 2024

Still very sick.

My Mom and Brother are sick too... *Wails* I don't want them to be sick!

They both had covid tests that are less expired than mine, and they both tested positive.

Tag: january 2025

I am so tired of the constant coughing attacks.

Partner had mentioned that he got us some throat spray, Chloraseptic. I am not a huge fan of trying new medicines, due to my propensity for side-effects. But I've been coughing sooo much, I just need a break.

Partner says he sprays about 10 times, and gargles.

Uh huh. I read the directions. You spray once, let it sit in your throat for 15seconds, then spit it out. It's good for two hours, (is that all? jeez.) and you shouldn't use it for more than two days. Which begs the question: why do they sell such a big bottle if you can only use it for two days? There's probably thousands of doses in this bottle. I know I have some brain fog, but this does not compute at all!

Okay. Anyway. Focus.

I sprayed. And I spit it out immediately! And walked away!

Gah, that stuff is gross!

But the next time I did it correctly.

I didn't cough for 25mins.

Which would have been nice. Except I couldn't get to sleep during that time, which is all I really wanted. Side Effect? Probably.

And then the cough came back with a vengence.

So that was a major disappointment. But at least that one actually does something...

Let me take a little tangent here to chat about another one of the many reasons why I hate cold medicines and how the FDA failed us.

When pseudoephedrine (the good Sudafed) started being abused, they put it behind the counter, or in my state they made it prescription only. Phenylephrine replaced it in most cold medicines.

Trouble is phenyleprhrine doesn't actually work. On top of that, it gives me a headache. That side-effect thing, you know.

Studies were done, repeatedly, and at the end of 2023, there was some news about this stupid worthless stuff. And how the FDA knew but did _nothing_ about it for decades.

∞ How Two Pharmacists Figured Out That Decongestants Don't Work A loophole in FDA processes means older drugs such as those in oral decongestants weren't properly tested. Here's how we learned the most popular one [phenyleprhrine] doesn't work.

So, thanks for two decades of headaches, FDA.

The thing is. With Felon 45 (Traitor. Rapist.) loading up all his political appointments with evil, stuff like the above is going to proliferate and become commonplace.

All of these appointments want government to come crashing down and they will wreak as much havoc as they can. It'll be chaos on every front.

It's terrifying. It's going to result in more than just two decades of headaches, that's for sure. And Republicans don't care about how many people die because of their actions... they've already got lots of practice killing pregnant people in red states, post-Roe.

Tag: january 2025

Fever, most all night. Major couging attacks. Miserable.

I'm so miserable, and with the fever, I'm pretty sure it's break-thru covid. I've got some weird symptoms, too. So there's no doubt.

Glad I got vaxed before the December travels.

Tag: january 2025

We had some wind last night, but it's much warmer and nicer today. Even with the bit of off and on wind, it's not cold at all.

∞ 'Bomb cyclone' kills 2 and knocks out power to over half a million homes across the Pacific Northwest

There's some branches down from that, and a couple sections of fence down, too. But we didn't get the big wind and there's no major damage here.

*sadness* ...

This is a black ball cap in the middle of the bike path, but at first glance all I saw was a black thing, in Blazey's spot, curled up on the path with a bit of white.

I miss Blazey SO MUCH. Jan26 Tribute.

I arrive at the garden and find pumpkins at the gate!

*laughs* Too big for me to carry home. But they will make someone very happy!

Okay! I'm going to work on the big trellis today!

I thought the Wax Bean vines would give me trouble. But when I cleared the back of the trellis yesterday, they had decomposed just enough where I could break the vines in places. I still have to unwind long sections, but it's not as hard as I thought it would be!

Again, I left the blooming Borage for the Honey Bees.

And I found some surprises! One last Tomatillo! Yay! And there was a Wax Bean plant still alive under the Borage with green leaves and everything! It had one edible bean on it...

Also in the pic: another skeletonized Tomatillo husk, and some Sunchoke roots!

There were a lot of wax beans on the vines that I didn't want to bring home. I tossed them in the Squash Square. Maybe they will grow next year?

On my way out, I noticed how healthy the Columbine is looking!

It barely bloomed last spring, but it has grown big and happy under the Zuc where it got watered regularly! Hopefully, it will make babies next year!!

Tag: november 2024

Another stupid windy day with 14mph breeze. I am tired of being cold out here, and I've loaded up my layers!

The trees still have some beautiful autumn colour!

But when I go a bit further, the hills in the disance have a dusting of snow!!

The squirrels think the wind is making things too cold, as well!

*Laughs* Look how chunky this one is! Good Job getting all that winter bulk!

Squiggles in the Willow twigs make me happy.

Okay! I'm at the garden and it's time to do some work! Here's my spot today...

And after...

I've cleared some of the Squash Square, and most of the Wax Bean vines from the back of the big trellis.

I'm leaving the blooming Borage... When it warms up, Honey Bees are still visiting here!

On the way home, I encounter a little flock of sparrows...

*laughs*

And one of the Juncos stood for a portrait as well!

Tag: november 2024

Happy Happy New Year!!

In the past, I have traditionally done a huge Review and Revise post for the first of the year. But the last few years, it's been too much work to complete. So I'm just going to keep this post simple!

2025 is going to be a hard and heartbreaking year. Felon 45 (traitor. rapist.) will take office and he will destroy everything that is good about America. I am part of the resistance, so I need my personal life to be calm and comfortable.

To make that happen, I want to do a major overhaul here at home. Declutter and Clean. With the book, Unf*ck Your Habitat: You're Better Than Your Mess motivating me to move along!

I hate cleaning with all my being. And it's kind of a disaster around here. I would be embarrassed for my Mom to see this. So I'm going to tidy!

My specific goal is to do three 10-5 sessions every week. The book advocates for 20-10s... 20 minutes of work and a 10 minute reward. But twenty minutes is too long for me, I would never even start! Ten minutes of work seems more doable.

Beyond that, I will need to buy a car this year. And get a job. bleh.

Last year I worked hard to catch up my reading journal... I want to continue that, of course. But I also want to get back to typing book reviews on GR. Posting reviews helps me remember what the book is about and makes it easier to find books I've already read.

We'll see how that goes... I'm just home from traveling most of December, and I'm not back to my normal yet. So this post is Subject to Change! :)

Happy New Year!

Tag: january 2025

I have been meaning to take out the poor dead Petunias for a while. Monday is the day to take the bag of kitchen scraps to throw on the garden as compost...

A tiny spider had taken residence and made webs around the blossoms. In case she is still living here, I wanted to make sure the plant is at the top of the bag so she can potientially just go free at the garden!

I love spiders, and always wish the best for them! :)

I head out and oh my gosh the wind again today is so annoying. Yesterday it was 16mph, and today it's down to 13mph but gah.

You know, I hesitate to say I hate anything about Nature. But this wind. It's seriously getting to the point of hating!

Even when it makes the clouds do interesting things.

A Red Shoulder Hawk, not Rudra.

Rudra has more grey on her face going up between her eyes.

I'm at the garden, but someone else has arrived as well, so I'm not going to stay. I don't want to chat, so I take a longer path around to the garden plot.

I quickly dump the compost and head out.

Tag: november 2024

It's pouring down rain, and I decide to walk down to Stewart Pond Park for something different!

The tiny forest here is my favorite part! With the heavy rain, I figured the wildlife would be hunkered down...

But there's actually a little flock of sparrows boucing around here!!

Juvenile Golden Crown Sparrow.

With the rain and thick clouds, I have trouble getting decent photos. But look! This one is thinking about eating a Snow Berry.

The clouds start breaking up as I take the long path out past the Frisbee Golf course. Here's the wet prairie in front of the park...

No ponds yet. We'll need a lot more rain for that!

Heading home on the bike path, I encounter another flock of little birds. Yellow Rump Warblers!

I'm almost home when I see this cute juvenile White Crown Sparrow...

Hanging out with this Golden Crown Sparrow!

All the birds today make me happy!

Tag: november 2024

Last night, I was lying in bed and I heard funny and cute, interesting sounds. I sat up and looked out the window... A little family of Raccoons!

I immediately wished for the camera, but there's no good photos out the window and in the dark! ha, oh well...

A Mom and two grown kids maybe? I think there were three of them, but they wandered off pretty quickly.

It is nice to have wildlife around.

Yes, even you my invasive friend...

Yes, Really!

It's cold today. 39° when I left the house and I'm walking into the 6mph breeze.

Oh! Is it Rudra?

*laughs* Not sure.

But this is definitely Henrietta.

He's preening, with feathers in his beak!

I walk past the Events Center, and there's a bunch of cars parked out back. I try to remember what all was going on there this month... Oh! Could it be the Saturday Holiday Market?

It is! Admittance is free so I go in and wander around.

I don't take any photos tho. Humans make me nervous! *laughs*

But I did make note of one business I want to check out...

∞ Cosmic Garden
Unfortunately, her website is a facebook page, and she doesn't have anything on her etsy page. But here's an example of the work that caught my eye: Saturday Market, Amazing layered paper creation

I keep walking after I emerge from the Holiday Market and go up to Wayside Micropark. It still looks weird without it's big trees, which came down in January's ice storm.

They haven't cut down the Mimosa that's trying to regrow!

Back to the bike path. Bleh, there's foam in the creek.

But I have to get artsy with it!

It reminds me of that line in Miss Potter: Last summer, at the farm, I was drawing something that looked quite lovely in the sun, until I realized I was drawing the pig's swill bucket. Haha! Yep!

Here's Shadow, our local stray, trying to be unphotogenic.

Tag: november 2024

I am thinking about taking on a new swap at Swap-Bot. A friend of mine had a post in the forums that said she needs someone to host the December edition of her monthly swap while she takes a break.

I have been considering it, and last night I decided Yes! I'd like to take it on, and I was excited and thinking about it thru the night!

This morning I got up and sent my friend a message!

I get to the top of the trail, and go into the Acorn Woodpeckers territory. I do see a couple... but everybody is too far away for photography.

Humph!

And that's all I get today. ha. oh well! At least I got good exercise getting up here!

On the way back down, I happen to notice this little patch of plants for the first time...

Oh my gosh! Thimbleberry!

Tag: november 2024

Clouds are moving around a lot and this morning the sun comes out while we are having a little rain shower! I think I should be able to see the rainbow from my window... it must be up there, but I can't find it.

The break in the cloud doesn't last long. And the bit of rain doesn't last long either. But the two weather conditions tag team it, all morning! Sun and Rain chasing after each other!

I head out, just walking today, no garden. The ducks are walking the bike path too!

Oh but then I see the one male has gotten his tail feathers ripped out. Second from the back. That's painful, poor guy.

I see birds moving around... but they're the kind that bounces around too fast for me and the camera. But hey! Here I've got two birds for the price of one, random point and click! haha!

A blurry Chickadee on the far left, and more difficult to see, a Ruby Crowned Kinglet on the far right.

Birb!

The sun came out and oof, I was hot with the heavy shirt under the rain jacket.

But on the way home the next storm rolled in and poured down rain and the wind picked up and made the wet clothes chilly... I was glad for the heavy shirt, keeping my core warm!

White Crown Sparrow... she's got a Snowberry and looks like she's trying to decide to eat it or not!

Hmmm...

Maybe not?

*laughs*

Tag: november 2024

The wind kept waking me up last night, and there's some branches down this morning.

But the Wind Advisory has switched to a Flood Advisory.

I think it rained a bit thru the night, and it was off and on this morning. But now that I'm heading out for a walk, it's pouring. Coupled with a 10mph breeze, annoying.

I decide to do the Neighborhood Zig Zag. No frogs singing at Gudu-Kut right now... I don't know why, isn't this their weather?! Maybe not with the wind.

You don't like the wind, either?

I've come around the back of the Events Center... there's a big flock of Cackling Geese! And the Crows are keeping an eye on everyone.

Cackling Geese are the smallest cousins of Canada Geese and they are so cute! um. Hang on...

Oh my gosh!

This one has Leucism!

Leucism is a condition with partial loss of pigmentation. They will be white or pale in splotches, or entirely. Except for the eyes! If they are white with pink eyes, then it's albinism. In humans, leucism is called Vitiligo.

So that's really cool.

Then I turn around and see there's a pair of ... Canada Geese?

ha, nope! The one on the left is a hybrid... Canada Goose and Greylag!

So that is super interesting.

I went digging for more information. This type of hybrid is sterile. There's just too much genetic difference between Canadas and Greylags, since they are in different genuses.

So I'm glad this hybrid goose has a friend!

Well. Moving on. I'm walking around the flock of Cackling Geese.

It's funny how the Crows are always around!

Song Sparrow. Not singing right now, but a fast Jeep. Jeep. Jeep, their contact call.

The pouring rain lasted for most of my walk, and now we are down to sprinkles.

We got so much rain today! Total = 1.21 inches!

The normal average for a day of November rain is 0.20 inches.

Tag: november 2024

Gah with the climate change wind. Weather page says it's 16mph again today, and we've got a wind advisory in the forecast for tonight.

But the sun is trying to come out and I'm walking out to the garden for some more work.

Oh nice... They've finished the lights on this side!

The clouds are moving around quite a bit, and when the sun comes out it heats stuff up right away. I'm glad I just wore my light shirt, but the rain jacket feels like a sauna!

And the wind is making the trees wave all around. Even tho we've had this climate change wind for most of a year now, I still haven't figured out how to find birds in these conditions. Heck, even taking pictures of flowers is an exercise in annoyance. I finally just grabbed the stem to hold it steady...

Hope that wasn't contact poisonous! We've got a bunch of wildflowers around here that are! Ha!

I get to the garden and oh sheesh. Michelle is here, working in her plot, the next one over. I'm grumpy about the wind messing everything up, and don't feel like talking to her. Fortunately, she's the same this morning, and we both manage to avoid looking at each other!

I had meant to cut down the Sunchoke today, the one that's on the border that I need to eventually dig out. But that's on Michelle's side, so instead I decide to clear some of the Squash Square behind the Wax Bean trellis. Here's the before photo...

Ugh. It's muddy. I hate that. But here's what I accomplished.

And I found a few more Tomatillos! A couple had gone soft, but these are all firm and I think they are good.

So cool how the husk sometimes decomposes!

Michelle left, and I had time to cut the Sunchoke down, after all. I just forgot to take photos of the thing.

Oh well. Heading out.

Last time the unknown flock was Robins. This time...

It's Cedar Waxwings! It's funny how close they like to stand next to each other!

There are a variety of Dogwoods along the creek. Red Osier has white berries, Silky Dogwood has these beautiful blue berries...

We also have some Yellow Twig Dogwoods, but most of those are farther from the path, so I don't notice their flowers or berries.

The sun peeks thru the clouds one last time...

And then the rain clouds roll in.

Tag: november 2024

It rained and poured last night. The temperature is decent, it's 48° when I leave the house this morning. But the wind is blowing like crazy. The weather page says 16mph.

Those trees still have leaves, but between the heavy rain last night and the serious wind this morning... most of the pretty autumn leaves are on the ground.

The view past the dead Leaning Tree is much less colourful today.

At the back of the Events Center, there was a guy walking a little black terrier.

And he was throwing snacks to the crows!!

At first, I thought he was throwing crackers or something, because the crows were bringing them to puddles.

But they were peanuts in the shell and the crows wanted to eat them right away, instead of burying them for later!

And maybe it's easier to get into the shell, once they've been soaked?

You have to roll it a little if your puddle isn't deep enough...

Haha!

So that was fun! And a little bit along the way... A Red Shoulder Hawk!

Is it Rudra? I'm not sure!

But very cooperative for the photography! She lets me walk all around her tree!

I do stop at the garden, I'm dropping off the week's compost. And the sun breaks free for a minute... and I'm trying to capture these amazing colours!

Just... My Goodness!

I am still processing the election, and terrified of what that guy is going to do to our democracy. and the climate. and how many people are going to die.

My new mantra: What would Sarah Connor do?

ha. I will never be as bad ass as Sarah Connor, or as dedicated. She's a warrior, and I'm just a soft, little vegan.

But I'll be part of the resistance... I just need to figure out how.

Tag: november 2024

There was a bit of rain last night. As I'm heading out, I'm thinking about other projects to work on at the garden, since it might be too muddy to continue weeding.

I get to the plot and find the section I was weeding -- the grass that had grown up under the tomato plants -- isn't actually too muddy yet. So I finish that off!

And then I pause before I leave.

ha, camera can't figure out where the focus is.

The one volunteer Fava in the back is getting pretty tall!

There we go! Now we've found our focus!

I've been tossing some of the kitchen scraps into the front garden square with the Fava seedlings. It will compost thru our rainy winter. The bad Aubergines amuse me: 1, 2, 3!

*laughs* There were two Aubergines that the slugs didn't munch on... I brought those home and I need to figure out what to do with them! I've never cooked Eggplant before.

Heading home! There's some birds bouncing around at the edge of the path... A Towhee and Golden Crown Sparrows.

Oh, Cool! There's a White Throat Sparrow with them as well!

They are winter visitors as well, along with the Golden Crowns and White Crowns. I don't get to see them as often as the other sparrows tho, so I'm excited to see this one!

And on the way home, at the back of the Gudu-Kut Park, I hear four? frogs singing! And then another one, further along.

It makes me happy to hear them, our cute little Pacific Chorus Frogs!

Tag: november 2024

Good Morning My Dear!

The weather is similar to yesterday, and I again misjudged and wore the heavy shirt that I really, really did not need! Ha.

(stupid pole!)

There's a family of Scrub Jays bouncing around at the Community Garden!

Oh my gosh. What's going on with your foot?

All the front toes are contracted down? ugh, poor baby.

This garden plot in the back always has cute decorations.

Okay! Here I am at my plot, and I'm going to fork and weed some of this grass that was growing under the tomato plants...

And the After pic...

I marked the area with zucchini branches, ha, because I need to keep track of where the third Fava planting begins!

And Look, look! These are definitely little Favas germinating!

Let's see... I put that third planting down on Oct23. Not quite 2.5 weeks and that's not too bad! The nights have mostly been in the 40s since then.

Heading home. Who's this? Just a little too far away to tell.

Oh! Robins! First sign of spring, right?

Haha. Actually Robins can be found all year round in most of the US!

They finished 12 of the lights on the bike path yesterday!

The battery on these things is pretty substantial! Probably a little bit bigger than a car battery.

It looks like the rain is going to start up again tonight. which is a bummer for garden work.

Tag: november 2024

The sun has burned off the morning fog! It was still a little chilly, but I regreted wearing the heavy shirt under my jacket almost right away, with the sun beating down!

And oh my gosh, the sky is amazing today!

And that cute little tree is so bright.

They put up "Path Closed" signs blocking the bike path a couple days ago, with no actual work being done. It was annoying, and I was thinking about moving the signs aside today, just to be subversive, ha... But they've finally started working!

They are putting solar lights on the poles they set up a while ago! Yay! They are just finishing up the second one!

Still admiring the cirrus clouds!

But sometimes I look down, too!

The sun has even made it warm enough for the bees!

Okay! I'm at the garden and today I'm going to pull out the dead tomato plants. There's an Old German, a Black Tomato and the big Sungold here...

And here's the After pic.

Dang it, a lot of grass was growing under the tomatoes. That'll have to be cleared out before I start putting leaves down for mulch.

Also, Dang it, I am not having good luck with the birds.

Oh well, try again tomorrow, right? *laughs*

Heading home, and they've finished a couple more lights!

Nice!

So. The ongoing experiments with consuming Sunchoke roots!

*laughs* I tried some raw Sunchokes in my Casserole Bowl... hum. The chunks are a little bit too hard, I should have cut them up a bit smaller.

And they are tasteless. Which would have been fine, if they were just adding a bit of crunch.

But even this, I'm still pretty meh.

As a plant, Sunchoke is lovely and makes a variety of birds happy with the seeds in the flowers. But I'm not so much interested in eating it!

Tag: november 2024

Chilly this morning but the sun is vanquishing the heavy fog, and the walk to the garden warms me up nicely.

Henrietta!

Our little Lesser Goldfinches are so bright!

Ha, their little feet!

There's no one at the Community Garden, Yay! Walking past this plot, I could hear a bird in the trellis...

This is Trumpet Vine, and on the other side of the trellis is some kind of Honeysuckle.

I keep hearing contact calls, and I walk to the other side. and then back again. Hello? Are you going to make an appearance?

A Bewick Wren! huh. I was not expecting that! I guess I should look up their songs and contact calls! (Yeah, they have a variety of different contact calls, besides the buzzy one I'm familiar with!)

Such a cute little bird!

With a funny tail.

And who bounces around too quickly for the camera to keep up!

Okay! I'm at my plot! My work today is to put down some Fava beans in the Tofu Patch as a winter cover crop. I work around the Leeks, on both sides.

It's probably too chilly for the Favas to grow now, but you never know. We might get some warm days to get them germinated and growing. Or they will have a head start in the spring!

I put down a LOT of beans here! and there's not much left of the one pound bag of Small Fava that I bought.

Hmmm... This could be the first of the 3rd planting of Favas...

The third planting of fava was when I put some beans in the hole created when I pulled up the front Sungold, and I also seeded some more at the back of the Front Garden Square. Good to know that might actually come up, despite the cooler nights!

And always happy to see more Elephant Garlics come up!

And the first planting of Favas are very happy. They are a good 1foot tall! There's lots of Borage mixed in with it, and I'm surprised it's still alive... but the Honey Bees are still at the blooms, so that's great!

Heading home. There's still some fog on the hills, but the sun is catching the colours of the autumn trees!

Oh! Haha! They are probably both doing the same thing... working on their winter stores!!

Mr Unnamed! How lovely to see you!

And the handful of Sunchoke roots I ate today, again in my Casserole Bowl...

I don't know. I think I'm leaning towards I don't like Sunchokes. *laughs*

Maybe I should try them out raw instead.

Tag: november 2024

Dreary and Cold, it's 43° when I leave the house... but at least the wind isn't blowing and no rain, either. So I'm heading out to continue work at the garden.

I get to the Community Garden, and from the outside, I notice the cream coloured cat is stalking here. And then I get around to the gate and see that Rudra the Red Shoulder Hawk is here too...

Making all the little birds very nervous!

She flies over to a different tree...

But then decides to go elsewhere.

I finish weeding around the Leeks at the end of the Tofu Patch that I cleared yesterday...

I've dumped a good bit of our kitchen scraps here, to compost through the winter. (Yep, those are a couple of yellow zucchinis that went bad before I could eat them!)... Just hoping to improve the poor soil with nutrients and organic matter!

And then I decide to gather some of the Sunchoke roots. I just pull up a couple stalks and gather what's at the top.

I don't want to bring home too many... They don't keep well, and there's only so much I can eat at a time!

I look around one more time, but the little birds are still being nervous. I think that cat is still here.

And at home, I've cleaned and chopped a couple of the Sunchoke roots to eat with my Lunch Casserole Bowl.

Anything you do to potatoes, you can do to Sunchoke. Roasted, fried, mashed, whatever. But you can also eat Sunchokes raw, it's kind of a water chestnut vibe.

But you are supposed to wait until after the first hard frost, which changes the sugars. And then the Sunchoke roots will have a nutty taste.

We might get that kind of weather in January or February, but not right now. So the Sunroot tastes kind of ... meh. It has the starchiness of potatoes, but without the yumminess of potatoes.

They are mostly okay, since I'm mixing them with a bunch of other veggies and flavors in my Casserole Bowl. But I think I'm going to have to figure something else out. Because they aren't great. At all!

Tag: november 2024

The sun has been trying to shine. And it's not actually raining. So I need to get some garden work done!

With all the rain we've had, and all the rain in the forecast as well... I'm thinking that I need to use all the non-rainy days for garden work as much as I can. I might even need to work in the rain, ugh!

The winter compliance check is mid-December, but it's an important one that I cannot screw up! And there's a lot of stuff that needs to happen before then!

But first: I'm enjoying the walk to the garden!

Look at all the Hooded Mergansers!

They are nervous around humans staring at them, and they always paddle away to hide themselves behind bushes.

Oh, haha! Here's the Mergansers again!

Oh my gosh! I caught one diving! It's a little hard to make out because the water is distorting his shape... but there he is, underwater, top left!

That's fun!

Okay. I'm at the garden and here's the spot where I'm working today... This is the former Tofu Patch, along the left border of the plot.

I'm pulling up the veggies and flowers: the poor stunted Soybean plants, the Tomatillo, the Giant Marigolds and the wild Amaranths. And then I hand weeded the little bit of grass. It's muddy so I'm just pulling the green part. Here's the After photo!

The Borage is still blooming and supporting bees, so I left the bigger clumps of that.

My goal is to put some Fava seeds down here. It's way too late in the season, the nights are probably too chilly for them to germinate. But, dang it, I have to do something for the dirt here... I don't know what is causing the stunted plants, so I'm going to throw the whole tool box at it! *laughs*

And I'm looking at the Sunchoke roots again...

The Internets say this won't taste great until after the first hard frost. But who knows when that will happen around here... our rainy winters are mild! But this back Sunchoke is too close to the border and I will need to dig it up and get rid of it.

Heading home. Oh Hey! It's Henrietta!

I can't get a clear view, and he's clearly busy. I wonder who he is hunting.

Ha. Someone has disposed of their Halloween pumpkins by tossing them off the bridge into the creek!

The ducks have an interest!

Tag: november 2024

It rained a good bit thru the night, and it's sprinkling off and on this morning. It's 50° when I leave the house and I'm grateful I switched to my light shirt under the rain jacket... there is a bit of wind cooling things down, but when I have to zip up the jacket it starts becoming a sauna!

On the way back, I go into the Community Garden to dump our kitchen scraps in our plot. And admire the little Favas.

Tag: november 2024

This is one of our local stray cats. She's not human friendly but has been around for ages. She must be getting pretty old. And yes, she only has one eye.

One neighbor had named her Frodo, but I heard a different neighbor call her Shadow... and that's a much better name for her. Shadow gets lonely, and often follows the outdoor cats around.

The sun is trying to make an appearance this morning!

Golden Crown Sparrows are winter visitors.

I don't know what this little tree is, but it's been catching the light so beautifully.

Gulls come to visit us in the winter, as well. Identifying their species, tho...

There's five species of gulls that all look the same: white with light grey wings.

∞ Gulls and Terns in Oregon Identification of the large pink-footed gulls (Herring, Thayer's, Glaucous-winged, Western and Glaucous) along the West Coast is difficult.

I stop at the Community Garden, but I'm not doing anything today.

The front right of the plot is looking good, with two plantings of Favas growing, and the Amaranth providing seeds and perches for the birds.

But, sheesh, the front left side of the plot is looking kinda messy...

I need to tidy those tomato cages. And cut down the pretty Sunchoke. But I don't want to mess with the blooming Borage, since they are still providing nectar and pollen to the few bees who are still out and about when it warms up!

Haha! This Butternut went bad, and I left it as compost in the garden... a mouse, perhaps, is munching it...

And it's surprising how nice the innards look. Probably I could have eaten that myself. ... Except I have standards for when things start getting moldy! haha! Little mouse is welcome to it!

Happy Favas.

Tag: november 2024

And that ball of red in the lower left corner...

Poor thing has a serious underbite... with Pugs it's cute, but not so much on a dragon! haha!

I'm at the top of the hill... oh good! There's one Acorn Woodpecker up here to take photos of!

But it's also started sprinkling... and pointing the camera up is just getting water drops on the lens!

English Holly... invasive. and really, I think our native Oregon Grapes, which also have holly-like leaves, are much prettier!

Tag: november 2024

It's been pouring down rain this morning, but now and then it takes a break to sprinkle down instead.

A point and click at these juvenile White Crown Sparrows because they are blending into the foliage a little too well.

The birds are out... but am I going to get any luck with the photography today??!

The clouds are moving around! More light is going to help the camera.

And as I walk by the back of Gudu-Kut park, I hear frogs singing! Winter is their breeding season because of the rain!

Our new 900 pound blocks.

I thought this was a pair of Flickers, but when I get close enough I see they are both female.

Of course, they may still be a pair! *smiles*

This one keeps an eye on me.

Ha, it's weird to see a Flicker standing on a twig... it makes them look like a regular bird instead of the woodpecker they are!

There's been so much rain, the bike path is flooded under the bridge.

The sun is emerging and all of a sudden I can't get enough of the trees! *laughs*

I come around the corner, walking thru the neighborhood and... OH MY GOSH!!!

... OH MY GOSH!

BAHAHA! I love that SO MUCH!!

And walking back, Rudru the Red Shoulder Hawk is at the Community Garden!

∞ Trump shares totally normal fantasy of Liz Cheney facing a firing squad

I don't know what is wrong with people.

∞ Trump's Civil War ignorance shows why 'letting states decide' abortion is wrong

Excellent article, worth thinking about!

Tag: novmeber 2024

Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

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Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

We're screwed. In so many different ways. And each and every way overwhelms me, individually.

So how do we face all the different ways Trump is going to kill us? I don't know. ... I don't know.

Goodbye Science.

Mass deportations. Families can be deported together. 14th Amendment, birthright citizenship, gone. The Department of Education, gone. The National Institute of Health, corrupted. and ivermectin instead of vaccines. ACA repealed, and not replaced. EPA was already getting corrupted from Trump's first time round and SCOTUS rulings. He'll be making Climate Change worse. A national abortion ban will kill a lot of us and maternal mortality will skyrocket. Mifepristone access removed. Because the FDA will be corrupted. Rolling back safety regulations... on food even. Climate disasters will be worse and FEMA support will occasionally go to red states, but it won't be long before someone starts lining their pockets with that money.

Each of these things is utterly terrifying!

And that's just the goals for the first month or so. Democracy will not survive four years of Trump.

A lot of us will not survive four years of Trump.

∞ PoliticsGirl: What's Next America?

∞ Will the American project survive the anger of white men? by Carol Anderson
At key moments throughout US history, white male anger has been privileged over national security, progress or basic welfare

Tag: november 2024

Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

Tag: october 2024

Well, that was fast. The emboldened threats of violence have begun. Trump made this.

∞ [They] Are Trying To Terrorize Our Daughters And Children 'Your body, my choice' is the newest rallying cry

And.

∞ Racist text messages referencing slavery raise alarms in multiple states and prompt investigations

Disgusting.

I don't know how to make men have empathy.

Our job is to LOVE and SUPPORT each other!

Not all of us are going to live thru this... we've just got to do the best we can to live.

Tag: november 2024

Tag: october 2024

Last night I accidently dipped my toes into Maga land.

There was a video I watched. A person who was worried about physical violence, happening to them personally. And their family was organizing to leave the country. They talked about their projects which wouldn't be finished. They spoke calmly and they reiterated several times that they don't hate Trump supporters, they just don't understand why.

The Maga comments fell into two categories. The first one was along the lines of Suck it up, Buttercup. One comment near the top really caught my attention, You need to toughen up, it's the only way.

*shakes head*

The other category of Maga comments was Oh, you'll be fiiine, and rolling eyes at the unnecessary drama.

The utter cluelessness of the Magas is just ... stunning.

Cis/het white males. They will be fine.

But when will they look around and notice that the rest of us are really not fine??? How many people have to die before they pay attention?

Tag: november 2024

Tag: october 2024

America voted for hate.

The rest of us need to grieve, do what it takes to take care of ourselves...

And then we need to get back to spreading LOVE!

It's going to be bad, folks. People are going to die. A lot of people.

And we need to love and comfort them in all the time we've got left!

We needed to do something drastic for climate change fairly quickly. And with Trump, that is not going to happen.

But honestly, we should have been doing something drastic 20 years ago. heck, 50 years ago. Democrats have failed us by being too moderate this entire time.

And now we've blown it. Climate change will get worse, our bugs will continue to die, ecosystems will collapse.

We can witness. We can grieve. And we can live our lives with love and empathy.

That will kill us too.

Wild Iris Ridge was closed yesterday morning, someone had died on the trail. They choose a beautiful place to go out.

If you're heading that way... please call or text the 988 Lifeline if you're in the US. You can also chat on the website. Give them a minute... they're busy.

Tag: november 2024

Tag: october 2024

Trump won. I'm surprised. I really thought we had learned our lesson.

Stay and Fight?

There's nothing to fight for. All of our neighbors are Maga. This is what they want.

Climate change will accelerate. If you don't understand what that means, well, ignorance is bliss. I envy you. But we're going to die. We are going to destroy nature and we will all die.

Women and many others can't get healthcare in 22 states... as a result of the first Trump presidency. It's just a matter of time before we lose the right to vote, as well.

Having a president who is a traitor and a rapist is going to embolden violent tendancies. Open mysogeny and racism will become normal. We will all suffer.

America is dead. Apparently it's been dead for a while, we just didn't notice.

Tag: november 2024

Tag: october 2024

Yay! I voted!

Since Oregon has mail-in ballots, I didn't get a sticker.

But! On the back of the paper with the list of Ballot Box loctions ... is the inaugural I Voted colouring page by Keri Fountain, Election Specialist of Lane County Elections! How delightful!

The mountainous skyline is the Three Sisters, to the east. That's Heceta Head Lighthouse, out at the coast. Douglas Fir and an acorn for our Oak trees. Salmon and Mushrooms and a Bumblebee. The Ducks are the local college sports team, here in town.

Not sure about the covered bridge and the blueberries. Are those a thing here? Asking the internets. Oh! Oregon grows the second most blueberries out of any state in the country. Wow! I had no idea!

And the covered bridges? Yep, Lane County has more covered bridges than any other county west of the Mississippi River. Wikipedia, List of covered bridges in Oregon None close by, tho. That's a bummer.

But how fun and good to learn these things!!

Back to the art... the generic flowers are a miss!

I would have put in some Rhododendrons... very recognizable and very Eugene. Also some Oregon Grapes, our state flower.

But other than that, I love the art! And what a good idea, in place of the I Voted stickers that most everyone else gets.

Tag: november 2024

Tag: october 2024

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January 2024 (partial)

February 2024

March 2024

April 2024

May 2024

June 2024

July 2024

August 2024

February 2023 (partial)

March 2023

April 2023

May 2023 (partial)

June 2023 (partial)

July 2023

August 2023

September 2023

October 2023

November 2023

December 2023

So I've looked at a map, and I hope I get around the new Downtown Riverfront Park without getting lost this time. It's closed because they are using it for the World Athletics Championships, which started yesterday and runs until the 25th.

This amazing mural just outside the Rose Garden was finished just in time for the Championships.

And, of course, you can't go by the Rose Garden without obsessively taking photos of the roses.

And then we gotta check the Osprey nest on the other side of the river. There's one child there today, and she takes off ... only to make a loop and come back to the nest.

XXX... Goal: Finish this post!

Tag: xxx 2022

I'm archiving the 2022 posts...

∞ January 2022

∞ February 2022

∞ March 2022
Story of nesting Anna Hummingbird begins here!

∞ April 2022
... And the nesting Hummer story continues here, until the babies fly away in mid-April!

∞ May 2022

∞ June 2022

∞ July 2022

(completed 28 May 2023...)

January thru July 2021 Archive

August 2021 Archive

September 2021 Archive

October 2021 Archive

(No entries for November 2021)

December 2021 Archive

Goal: revisit August 2021... Road Trip to Utah!

And then keep filling in posts from there thru the end of 2021.

Tag: 2021

(completed 27 Dec 2020 thru 5 Jan 2021...)

2020 Archive... January thru July

(posted 21 Apr 2023...)

2020 Archive... Aug thru Dec

GOAL...

Revisit the Aug thru Dec archive page and add photos and clear out the xxx!

Tag: 2020

(Posted 22 Dec 2020...)

The new archive is HTML5, and completely validated!

2019 journal entries

Tag: 2019

(Posted 18 Dec 2020...)

I have managed to move all of the 2018 journal entries into an archive page. I did not write very much in 2018, so I decided not to divide them up into months, like I usually do.

The new archive is HTML5, and completely validated!

2018 journal entries

Tag: 2018

(Posted 19 Dec 2020...)

I have managed to move all of the 2017 journal entries into an archive page. And again, I didn't write very much, so the posts for the entire year are on one page.

The new archive is HTML5, and completely validated!

2017 journal entries

Tag: 2017