2024

Well! I'm back from visiting family in Colorado and Iowa, and I'm starting the process of catching up with all the projects in my life! Including blog posts!

2023 was a pretty good year, except I really failed with my postcard lists. And I get so much joy from sending postcards, so I'm not sure why that happened. But I'm ready to get back to it! Here's the rest of my projects for 2023

Walking 2023
Yep! I walk every day and generally go 4 to 6 miles. Except in the summer, when I'm working in the garden, then it's just a 2 mile walk.

I've explored the downtown neighborhood to the east of the end of the bike path. Watched the Acorn Woodpeckers, past the end of Hidden Trail. And visited an unnamed wetlands, past the Stewart Pond turnoff.

The car is not dependable, so I don't drive very far. Tho actually... the car _IS_ dependable. It always breaks down when you go faster than 35mph! *laughs*

So, anyway. Because of the car, my other walks are limited to short drives away. But there are several different walks I take along the Ruth Bascom Riverbank trail: north from Maurie Jacobs Park, across the street to the official Delta Ponds, east from the Rose Garden, and across the street to climb Skinner Butte.

And there's the hilly, forest hikes at Hendrick's Park. Tho I haven't really been out there much, this past year.

Photography 2023
in 2018... 11,570 pics, avg 964/month
in 2019... 15,124 pics, avg 1,260/month
in 2020... xxx pics, avg xxx/month
in 2021... xxx pics, avg xxx/month
in 2023... xxx pics, avg xxx/month

Wildlife 2023
This was the Year of Sick and Injured Wildlife.

It started with Blazey, the Bike Path Ambassador, who never came home on Jan26. Well, that's what happens to outdoor cats. Inevitable, but depressing. And I will never be able to erase Wesley Crusher's pain and suffering when he was hit by a car. And then the hundreds of ducklings who died of H5N1.

It just went on and on.

Falkor did survive. The Crow who had a hurt leg. She even got to say Hi to me after she had moved on from her usual territory!

And Angle survived as well. The female Mallard with the hurt wing.

Tho I haven't seen either of them, since.

Mail and Postcards 2023

in 2018... averaged 104 bits of mail every month
in 2019... averaged 76 bits of mail every month
in 2020... averaged 126 bits of mail every month
in 2021... 1390 total, averaging 116 mailings every month
In 2023... xxx total, averaging xxx mailings every month

I did not participate in LetterMo last year. And I've failed my Postcard mailing lists... I only sent out Blue Haze postcards 7 times, and didn't send out ANY postcards to family.

I did keep up with my Goodreads postcard group, and I also kept on top of my weekly TGIF swap. I also sent out a good bit of Postcrossing... 62 postcards there. But only 8 Urgent Action cases for Amnesty International.

But for bit of mail I did send... it feels like the bare minimum. I'd really like to get back to my postcard lists in 2024. I love sharing my photos with people, and telling my little stories! Why can't I let myself have this joy in my life??

I did not do a Review and Revise post in January 2023. The last one I posted was in 2022/january.html January 2022 and hey! That's definitely Henrietta! ha, I wonder how many years he's been here! I finally gave him a name last February.? Community Garde! Art 2024

I am thrilled to start off the New Year with a squirrel!

I still haven't gotten over the cold I caught while traveling in December. I'm just a bit sniffly, but it's def annoying.

Henrietta, up in the fir tree he likes to hang out in.

I go to the Community Garden, and I lay claim to that big trellis that I left behind the other day, and haul it to my plot!

Yes, I am being entirely selfish with all the freebie stuff I've taken! But I've decided that no one wants this big trellis as much as I want this big trellis! *laughs*

Oh, the fog on the hills is lovely.

But, Ugh.

I want to be over the stupid head cold I picked up while travelling in December... But today it's decidedly worse: my throat hurts and the sinus headache is back with a vengeance.

I wonder if I just shouldn't stay home, but once I get out... the fresh air feels so good in my lungs!

There's a pair of Hooded Mergansers at the creek. The female is less shy.

I walk out to the Events Center, but maybe I shouldn't have gone that far?

On the way home, I run out of energy.

And after some food and a hot shower, I lie down for a nap.

Yep, I'm going out for a walk again today. I thought I felt better but I run out of energy pretty quickly. I am seeing interesting things and I just keep walking for some stupid reason!

Hi Henrietta! You are looking very handsome today!

A new Graffitti Artist! I like it! Tho the snail's face needs some help. Maybe they got distracted before they were done.

Poor little guy with messed up toes. Sighs. Looks like it will be another year of Sick and Injured Wildlife.

I've not seen Angle yet, since I got back from my travels. So I'm studying all the ducks I come across. I hope she's okay!

Food, hot shower and then a LONG, two hour nap. heh, that walk completely exhausted me!

There is a Varied Thrush singing who I can hear from my bedroom window in the morning!

They have the most wonderful and interesting song... it is just a single tone whistle. You can listen to it here: AllAboutBirds Varied Thrush, sounds

That song belongs in the forest! And every time I hear it, I imagine an old temperate rain forest in winter... the grey sky, the drizzle coming down, the huge old trees covered in mosses, and the ferns. And the eerie song of a Varied Thrush.

But... I'm still kinda blah today, so I won't be visiting any forests in real life! Just walking down the bike path...

Still looking for Angle.

Back at home, and another nap today.

Oh the cute little Hooded Mergansers!

Usually so shy! but today they are a little bit more bold and I get to take a couple pics before they paddle behind some bushes to hide themselves.

And at home, I get food and take a nice hot shower and lie down for a long, two hour nap. Again.

Sighs! Will I ever get my energy back??!

Pardon me. Um, the fur on your face is a little messed up. If you'd just swipe your hand across your cheek, you'll look all pretty again! :)

The clouds are moving around and eventually some blue sky appears.

Ah. A little book burning on the bike path.

Hopefully the book was boring.

And a Blurry Bird! A tiny Ruby Crown Kinglet -- with just a bit of his crown showing! As usual, he was bouncing around too quickly for me and the camera!

The forecast is saying we might have some weather next week... snow up in the hills and then the potential for the coldest temperatures of the season. blah.

I don't know, do I feel better, or not? I'm still sniffly, and my energy just isn't coming back and I'm kind of grumpy about it!

And then, this morning... look at what I did.

There were other dishes in the sink when I was washing the coffee pot, and I tapped them as I was swishing water around. I didn't even notice it had broken until I went to make coffee... haha. It wasn't a fast leak, but there was def coffee all over the place!

Sheesh.

Hi Henrietta!

Our cute little Lesser Goldfinches are so much brighter than their cousins the American Goldfinches, this time of year!

Well, here I am at the ponds... and there are no ducks, no geese, and no little shore birds. Where is everybody??!

I don't see my friend the Kestrel, either. Sighs!

There are some robins bouncing around in the forest area, tho!

And when I go around to the back of the park... Oh! It looks like they've had a Tree Planting Party! Awesome!

I wonder what kind of trees they are. I'll have to look at them when they get some leaves!

Oh, hey! I've not seen this one before!

And I get the feeling I won't see her again... she is very shy and is high tailing it away from me! ha. Oh well. Have a good life, Beautiful One!

Good Morning, Cuteness! It looks like you're having a good breakfast of peanuts in the shell!

Ah, it looks like you've been burying some of those peanuts, too... Mud on your nose! *laughs*

It is pouring down rain and this is my kind of weather! I mostly have the bike path to myself. There's not as much wildlife out and about, but I can usually find something interesting to take pictures of!

Ha! I am amused by the raindrops in the water!

Oh wow! Our Wayward Beaver doing her important work! And someone official has noticed... I'm not sure what the pink ribbons mean!?

Going past the Community Garden, and Oh My Gosh... She's a youngster! Too Cute!

Hi Baby! Is this your first day away from Mama?

Aw. She looks a little cold. Poor Baby. You got to eat a lot of nuts, and then you'll be nice and fat and you won't notice the cold so much, little one!

When I turn around to go home, I'm walking into the wind. I get soaked, despite the rain jacket and wet clothes make it a little chilly.

But! My energy is finally starting to come back. Yesterday I was able to get a couple chores done, and it felt good to run the vacuum!

And this afternoon, I've finally emptied my luggage from traveling in December. Ha, yep, the bags have been sitting out in the hallway all this time, since I got back!

Now it's nice and tidy!

The Crows are making a ruckus this morning at the wet prairie and I stop to watch them.

There is something in the grass that's making them bounce around and talk excitedly. And then one Crow flies up and a couple others are chasing after her! She flies all around but isn't losing her friends...

She's got a huge chunk of, what? bread or something that she wants to keep for herself! *laughs* I don't know... these photos just amuse me greatly.

Okay. Moving on. Here's a cute Kinglet...

Ha! This is such a small patch of grass that's getting some habitat restoration! I wonder what they've planted.

The Leaning Tree from the other side, looking west. (I usually take pictures on the way out, looking east!)

A White Crown Sparrow.

Ah! The Beaver munched trees, of yesterday with the pink ribbons... They put fencing around those marked trees to keep the Beaver away.

Seems odd. I mean, a Beaver has to chew! Are they going to put fences around all the trees?

I see a duck down in the water and for an instant, I think it's Angle, the Mallard with the messed up wing who is not an Angel. I saw her right before I left for my December travels, but haven't seen her since I got back, and I'm worried!

But then that duck in the water flaps her wings, to rearrange all the feathers properly. And I'm disappointed, Angle can't move her wing that much.

But I can't let go of my suspicion, and I watch her carefully.

She walks up on the bank and settles on some trash, and when I come around to see her right side... oh my gosh! It IS Angle!!!

Angle! Her wing is healing! And she can move it! The pain is getting better! oh wow...

I still doubt she'll ever be able to fly. But I'm so happy to know the pain is lessening and her range of motion is improving! Yay!

I think this is a little Hawthorn tree.

And I think the robins will make quick work of all the berries!

heh... She looks funny...

A Song Sparrow singing from the Red Osier Dogwoods...

And when I come back thru... Angle is still here, napping!

heh. Here's my friend, the female Belted Kingfisher, doing what is normal and flying away from me!

Every year, this pair of Kingfishers flies up and down the creek. I assume they are scouting out good nesting locations. Kingfishers dig their nest into the bank, and I have no idea if they've ever actually nested here.

Every once in a while, one or the other sits long enough for me to get a blurry portrait. But mostly, they fly once they see me looking at them, and stop on a perch just close enough that I think I can try again. But when I get there they fly again.

Yes. They are def making fun of me!

I appreciate the game. But I have cursed at them a lot! *laughs*

I walk almost my entire walk and I'm practically home and I'm wondering if today will be the day that I don't get any decent photos.

But then this one sits for me!

I thank her for her time.

I usually try to thank all the birds for sticking around and letting me click the camera at them. It's just polite, but I do wonder if random humans coming up behind me think I'm crazy! ha!

I awoke to a Winter Wonderland this morning! And little flurries still coming down! And cold! Dang, it's just 27° (-3°C) and not going to warm up much at all today!

I bundled up in my snow gear... heavy shirts under my rain jacket, snow pants and my boots! That should do it! Nice to be able to use the snow pants every few years. ha.

There's Juncos on the steps, right outside...

He's eating a peanut bit, and I don't think you want that snow on your tail feathers, dear!

And while I was looking at the cute lil birds, this one has been trying to get into a walnut for long minutes!

There you go, it's coming open now!

The snow on the bike path is on the crunchy side of slush. It's not slick, and fairly easy to walk.

There's a whole flock of... Hermit Thrushes? Running around on the snow, here! Where'd they all come from all of a sudden?

And a little bit further on, there are loads of Killdeers running around in the grass! So interesting! Why are they all gathering here?

The Leaning Tree looks lovely in the snow...

Little do I know that these will be the last photos I take of the tree in one piece. Or. You know... Three pieces that are actually alive.

The ice will bring it down.

Sighs. But it's beautiful right now.

The novelty and delight in the snow suddenly wore off tho... When I turn around to come home, I was walking into the wind and getting hit in the face with frozen rain -- Hey! OUCH! *laughs*

Not even a trace of ice in the creek, despite the cold. The water is usually in the mid-40s (7°C), this time of year.

Hi Henrietta! You got ice on your shoulders!

When I got back home, I found that the temperature had actually dropped a degree, now at 26°F. And the Wintery Mix kept coming down, all thru the day and into the night.

Freezing rain continued thru the night, and the temperature has settled at 21°F this morning tho the wind chill makes it 15°. Gah.

And it still looks like nice fluffy snow covering everything...

Except it's not snow anymore. It's ice.

Thick, solid, scary ice.

Utterly treacherous, especially since they couldn't be bothered to do anything with the roads yesterday.

I put on all the layers and head out. It is pretty terrifying to walk on the ice. It's smooth, it's hard. I walk slow and a lot of brain power is going into how I place my feet!

The ice is just crazy!

But everything is so beautiful.

Here's a male Brewer Blackbird, down near the water.

He's drinking, and it's probably several degrees warmer down next to the water... but dang. The ice on his back and tail!

Feathers are excellent insulation, keeping the warmth in. But that ice sticking to him must be really annoying.

Everybody I see has ice on them!

And I notice, too, when they fly, their tail hangs down! It looks incredibly awkward. I feel bad for them.

Plus they have to stand directly on that ice. eee.

It feels like a repeat of yesterday! It's 21° with the wind chill bringing it down to 9° and the hard ice continues.

Walking oh so slowly and carefully again, and the trees are still beautiful.

No sign of the Hermit Thrushes who were here the first day, but the Killdeers are still hanging out.

And Henrietta still has ice on his back.

I really wanted to go into the Community Garden... I'm pretty sure the ice has done in the Fava cover crop, it wasn't doing all that great anyway. But I wondered what the volunteer Elephant Garlics were doing...

It turns out, there was no way I was getting into the Garden! *laughs*

The ice is so thick and hard, I couldn't even move the chain! So crazy!

Oh! But look at this! The water in the creek is so warm it's melted a perfect line up on the bank! Ha!

At my turn around point, I pause for a moment and take in the day. And then I realize there's a little brown bird moving around at the edge of the water, under the frozen line...

Oh my gosh! She's a Wilson Snipe! What is she doing here? I've never seen any shorebirds at the creek. She she lost? Or just wandering around on her own? What's her story?!

whoa!

AllAboutBirds says Wilson Snipes feed by burying their bills deep into soft, wet soil to probe for insect larvae, worms, and other invertebrate prey. The bill's flexible tip can open to grasp food while the base of the bill stays closed.

Okay, this is super interesting. How does this work?! I guess there's muscles and ligaments and blood flow inside their beak? I've never thought about this before! Weird!

Hm. I'm headed back home, and this one has been standing at this fence the entire time I've been walking. To be respectful of her space, I inch around her, as far away as I can.

I suppose she's having trouble flying. Poor thing.

The ice is hard on everyone. The city is completely shut down since Saturday. Nothing is open, the buses aren't running, the damn Urgent Care is closed! (But don't get me started about how evil Peacehealth is!) All the flights at the airport are cancelled, stranding people. Today's Martin Luther King Jr Celebrations have been cancelled, which is a bummer.

Holy Shit! I should not have gone out there!

The sun is out, briefly, and the top molecules of the ice have melted. It is slick. So slick! Walking over that is just terrifying... Dang, I thought it was scary before, but this is a hundred times worse!

The slightest incline is horrifying. I was slipping even when I walked in the grass, because it's an ice sheet as well.

Walking back thru the neighborhood, a car and I both came to an intersection at the same time. The car stopped for me, but I waved them thru, since they were going a tiny bit faster than I was! ha.

The passenger rolled down his window. I'm having fun, he announced. He indicated the driver, She's NOT! I laughed and nodded and replied, It's terrifying!

I just walked around the block. It's maybe ¾ mile, and even less than a mile felt like a huge mistake! It took me almost an hour to walk that little bit!

3:15pm... It's been raining for an hour or so. It's still 27° so it's freezing rain again. I watch the wildlife out the window. Lesser Goldfinches, the Varied Thrush flies by, and a squirrel.

And I watch several branches come down. I wonder if the squirrels know to stay out of the trees? The one I see just goes up and down the trunk, but I can't tell if she's avoiding the branches on purpose.

4:05pm... I was working on photos on the computer and the power went out! It goes off and on several times, each time there's a loud noise coming from down the street. After a few seconds, the power is out for good.

I hope the computer is okay. I hope I didn't lose much from the photo file I was working on! I can't remember if I had hit the Save button at all! ha.

I get down to write a letter of the day. And asked Partner to get the candles out.

By the time I'm finishing my letter, I do need the candle light! Done with that, I take my candle and set it in the window sill. My kindle is an E-Ink -- it's not backlit and has no front illumination either -- so I need the candle to read on it! It's got a good charge, so I won't have to worry about that.

When I get hungry for some dinner, I have a peanut butter sandwich and some pistachios. Hot food would have been nicer! heh.

6:30pm Power back on? Yes, it seems to be back on. Computer is good, Internet seems fine as well! And the automatic backup on my software caught most of the work I was doing on that photo file I had been working on! Yay Technology! *laughs*

7:04pm A big branch just hit the roof and slid and fell right in front of my bedroom window. And I'm suddenly scared that the trees are going to kill us!

There's little branches snapping and coming down, almost constantly. But now and then, bigger branches crash down.

∞ Mass cancellations at Eugene Airport strand travelers

∞ EWEB crews restore power to water treatment plant, continue working to address outages
Our water treatment plant had a generator, so it was okay. They weren't as lucky over in Springfield... In the coming days, half the city will be on a boil water notice!

On NextDoor, I see that some of the grocery stores have been open... but the shelves are pretty empty because the trucks haven't been able to get into town to deliver!

∞ User Photos: Winter Weather Gallery KVAL is a local tv station.
This is great, some really good photos here!

9pm... It's warmed up to 30° and it seems like it will continue to get warmer thru the night! Good, I hope it melts before the trees do too much damage.

9:30pm... I go to bed, but I can't sleep. It's so noisy, branches are falling, hail is falling, other unidentifiable sounds. It's very worrisome.

Just after 10pm, there was cracking and a crashing and a very loud thump, and oh, that did not sound good. Not good at all!

I sat up in bed and looked out the window. I expected there to be a big branch down. But I can't see a thing in the darkness.

The shades part in two apartments across the parking lot. A guy came out and then another. It sounded like it hit a car. Yeah, that's what I thought, at first... But then I realized it was just a thump, no glass shattering and no sound of metal.

But we don't see anything, and I lie back down and try to sleep.

It's 43° and raining. The ice is gone from the trees. Still ice on the ground tho, I suppose it will take a while to melt it all.

Here's the branch that fell past my bedroom window at 7pm...

The little round things are Sweet Gum Balls, spiky little seed pods from the trees above.

And this must be the 10pm branch... I think the sound of it falling must have echoed in between the two buildings to make it sound like it fell in the parking lot!

This branch is blocking half the street, has power lines involved, and has dented the roof of the blue suv. What a mess.

And the creek is full of melt water.

There are branches down all over the place.

The bike path under the bridges is flooded... deeper than my boots! *laughs* Yep, I tried! So I didn't walk very far today.

Coming back home on a different route, I saw a couple Big trees had come down across our side street. They had already been chainsawed into pieces, and weren't blocking the road. But I wonder when it happened, and how is it I didn't hear it!

The buses are still not running, but the airport started up with flights, in and out today.

There's still some bits of snow left on the ground, even tho it stayed well above freezing last night and it's 46° this morning.

And when I get out the door, the branch with the power lines is still blocking part of the street. Here's the car under the branch...

The frame is okay but the roof will probably leak, now. They are lucky it didn't bust their windshield!

I walk further today, going around the bridges since the bike path is still flooded.

Branches and trees down all over the place.

oops, this tree took out a street lamp.

heh. It's ironic because this is the same area where vandals were pushing over the street lamps here a couple years ago. The city has probably already replaced that pole two or three times! *laughs*

Oh. My Leaning Tree...

It's leaning on the ground. I am so upset. This is such a beautiful tree.

Yep. It's done. The trunks are broken away from their roots.

They'll have to chop it up and remove it.

*cries*

When I come back home, on my street, there's a good Samaritan with a chainsaw, cutting away the part of the branch that's blocking the road. It doesn't look very safe, he's standing on top of his car to reach.

But there's work for everyone who owns a chainsaw, and you can hear them in the distance, running constantly. I hope they all stay safe!

∞ Hundreds of downed tree limbs and branches causes immense damage across Eugene

Good Morning My Dear! You are looking dapper!

Let's head out and see what we can see today!

Trees down...

Uncooperative birds...

Ah! There are ducks at the ponds, at last!

Oh, hey! There's a Heron here, too! That's different.

Is that you, Henrietta? I don't think so. And I wonder if there's much food here for a carnivore in a temporary, seasonal pond!

oop. Oh Wow!

Definitely reminded about how big these birds are when they open up their wings!

Bye!

Lots of trees and branches down in the little patch of forest, too.

More uncooperative birds! *laughs*

People have been pulling branches off the path... but this one is too big to move easily. I step over it and continue on.

Oh My GOSH!

∞ Cascades Raptor Center grapples with damage after ice storm

Two aviaries destroyed!

They were able to rescue Atticus, the Bald Eagle, right away.

But the tree had fallen on Great Horned Owl Lorax's aviary over night... The frantically looked for her in her crushed aviary, moving branches and structure aside and fearing the worst... but they couldn't find her! She was missing!

Ay Yai Yai! The Raptor Ambassadors who live at the center cannot be returned to the wild because they would not survive.

They started calling for her, and Lorax hooted back!!

She was nearby and when her human partner held up her gloved hand, Lorax came straight down to her! YAY!

She had a scratch on her face, but was otherwise unharmed. phew!

I have a photo of Lorax from a few years ago, that I made into a postcard, so she is especially precious to me! But since our Raptor Center is open to the public, you def get to know all the Raptor Ambassadors when you visit, so there is an undeniable connection!

They estimated 30,000$ for repairs and I think they got it in donations within about 24 hours! I love my community! :)

Out for my walk.

I was too far away for decent photos, but I really wish I knew what was going on here...

There were actually three Northern Flickers standing on this telephone pole, all female. Were they having a conference? Were they family, just having a get-together? What are they discussing? So many questions!

Sighs. I just cannot get over the new configuration of my Leaning Tree.

Remember when the vultures sat here?

The Vulture Gathering was so cool. And it will never happen again here.

∞ Eugene focused on clearing roadways, begins park damage assessment

∞ Nothing is going to stop Mother Nature: Was this ice storm Eugene-Springfield's worst ever?
Don't bother clicking on this, it's behind a pay wall. But here are the highlights...

The storm made a major impact in one of Oregon's most populated areas in numerous ways, including:

* At the peak of power outages, at least 40,000 were without electricity in Eugene-Springfield while another 10,000 lost power in the south valley. It may take a week or longer to restore everyone's power, officials said.

* A boil water notice was issued for Springfield due to power outages that caused a loss of pressure in pipes, which can lead to contamination. No contamination was detected and the advisory was lifted by Saturday morning.
[The boil water notice started on Tuesday, I believe, and included over half the city... So that took five days to sort out!]

* At various points, state highways 126, 99, 36 and 20 were all closed -- while I-5 near Cottage Grove became so gridlocked some spent the night in their cars.

* In Springfield, officials estimate 20,000 city trees were damaged and tens of thousands more were damaged on private property, city officials said. Similar levels of destruction were present across rural areas and the south valley.

* Some schools were closed all week. Springfield Public Schools declared a state of emergency Wednesday night after determining significant damage had been dealt to multiple facilities.

* Lane County, city governments, fire districts and public utilities have collectively spent more than $2 million to respond to the ice storm, and that number will continue to rise.

I can hear the Varied Thrush from my bedroom window, again this morning. I've only seen him twice so far, once during the ice storm. It would be nice to take his picture, even if I have to aim the camera out the window, but I haven't had the opportunity yet... I am happy just to hear from him, now and then in the mornings!

It's sprinkling and so there's not much picture taking, today. That's okay, it's good to just be outside and get some exercise!

Oh, Look! There's a Grebe at the creek! Just having a wander today, my dear?

Such a cute face, but I can't get over how weird they look without tail!

They were saying, out at the Raptor Center there was a tree down, across the driveway up to the center, which had also taken out the electrical lines.

So they had to haul up fuel for the generators, thru the forest!

Oh my gosh, I can just imagine how much hard work that is... not only getting thru the shrubs and thorns of the forest floor, but also going up hill, which will be muddy and slippery with all this wet!

But it's important! The generators supply power to the wildlife hospital. There are about 20 birds in the hospital right now. and I suppose they have their rat room there too, which must be kept warm.

∞ Eugene wildlife care facility forced to close following severe winter weather

This is a sweet little Willow tree along the bike path, one of its big limbs cracked and lying on the ground.

I'd assume this tree is low priority, since it's in no one's way. And I really really hope that by the time they get around to it, they will have time to prune off the limb... Rather than just chopping the whole tree down.

So many trees are going to have to be removed completely. I just wish they would leave some, who are damaged but still alive!

I stop by the Leaning Tree again.

The trees in the neighborhood -- on private property -- are being cared for properly. Just getting their limbs trimmed.

I'm looking around for Angle, but don't see her.

Oh, shoot. It's warm enough today to wake up a caterpillar!

Her bright green would look great in the grass! *laughs* And I make sure she gets to the grass before I leave her.

My cute lil leaf muncher!

They have already done great work at the park, gathering branches and trying to make it safer for the humans.

This is the edge of the playing fields at Maurie Jacobs Park... where I started out watching the eclipse, last year. There are several trees that will need to be chopped down. Sighs.

Oh my goodness! The clouds today!

Wow. There's so much water coming over the spillover, there's hardly a separation at all between the river and the ponds!

The sweet little Golden Crown Sparrows are still so friendly!

Weird that the turtles are out in winter. But I guess the sun has warmed things up enough for them.

The turtle on the far left is our native Western Pond Turtle. The other two are invasive Red Ear Sliders.

There are a few of these printed signs around the park. The paved paths are all clear, but maybe not the trails.

Cute female Lesser Scaups...

Scaup is a weird word. Several dictionaries say scaup probably means scalp, which is a bed of shellfish. And it looks like Scaups like to eat Mollusks.

Oh wow! A week ago it was 20° (-7°C) and now the Osoberries are leafing out! Crazy!

Ah. Yes it is.

Well, that was a lot of photos for the day! That makes me happy! :)

Nice clouds again today!

Oh wow! Look at all the Crows!

Maybe the worms are coming up and it's feast time for the Crows?

And then, another batch of crows at the bike path curve!

But look! It's another limping Falkor...

This crow seems to be a juvenile. And the leg must not hurt much, because she's hopping around like a crazy person! *laughs*

But then one of the watching Crows has noticed me, staring at her child and she flies in...

And comes to stand in front, while everyone gathers protectively around their friend!

They are sticking up for their disadvantaged youngster, and I love them for it!

If only humans could be so wonderful.

I am curious to see what the trees look like, going up the hill thru the forest. Before I get to the trail, I meet up with a few wild turkeys!

This picture cracks me up! Maybe the dog is off duty! *Laughs*

Always happy to see one of our native squirrels!

Here I am at the native plants section of the hiking trail.

But these are the same old logs at the waterfall. It's very good that they leave them, because decomposing trees are an important part of the ecosystem...

There are bugs who specialize in eating up the dead wood of a single, specific tree species. Not to mention all the other hundreds of species of plants, mosses, molds, fungi, bugs and more who will help break down the fallen tree!

Uh, Yikes!

That purple thing is a plastic sled... and I desperately hope that the sled went down WITHOUT a human on it!

The hill is extremely steep here, and I can just imagine some stupid kid thinking how epic a ride down the path would be. Gah. Nothing to keep you on the path, of course. And nothing to slow you down once you get going.

Lordy. I am pretty sure. I'm positive. The sled was just dropped and slid down the hill by itself.

Wow, so bright!

And dang it, I cannot wait for this species to be renamed! Because I can never remember that they are called Townsend Warblers! Hopefully their new name will be more descriptive and memorable.

∞ These American birds and dozens more will be renamed, to remove human monikers
Heck Yeah! and this is a great article!

∞ Bird Names For Birds

∞ Wipipedia, Bird Names for Birds

oof...

Can you imagine how terrifying this must have been?!

heh. Another good sign! :)

Ha! Probably everybody here with a fireplace or fire pit is excited about the access to free wood!

I come across another band of wild turkeys on the way home.

Today is the one year anniversary of Blazey's death, and I thought I would put up a little memorial. I miss Blazey so much. His place on the bike path is empty and sad and I think about him often.

Blazey was the best Bike Path Ambassador! He was always eager to greet all the humans on the bike path, and most of the dogs as well.

As we got to know each other, Blazey would sometimes jog towards me when he saw me. He was so wonderful and sweet!

My last photo of him, on the day that he died...

That squirrel in the background was on one of Blazey's Thrones and eating his dry cat food. But Blazey wasn't too worried about it!

And then a few days later...

Sighs. He deserved better. But this is what happens to outside cats, even loved cats with happy homes.

I was just past the Community Garden and there's a Eugene Parks truck on the path, coming towards me... going even slower than usual. What's going on?

The driver has rolled down his window to talk to me, even tho it's raining :) and says, Do you see the Possum?

I was skeptical. Opossums are nocturnal. I look over and sure enough! That's not a cat! *Laughs*

I thank the Parks Guy profusely and wish him a great day and go and take pictures!

Her cute lil pointed face!

Wuuuhh... HOLY! Haha, a Yawn, because Opossums are nocturnal! But lordy!

Look at how big and round the inside of her cheeks are! Crazy! And she looks like a Thylacine with how much she can open her jaws!

And her cute little nose and her cute little ears!

And her cute naked tail.

Lookin' like a cute stuffed animal!

aw, you're going back home for some sleep? Bye bye!

On with my walk! Oh, foo. This one gets away before the camera could collect itself. But I've never seen a Cormorant at the creek before!

Would have been nice to meet her... did she have to swim away so quickly?!

The Alder Trees are doing their thing.

This Red Shoulder has been hanging out near the Community Garden, but has been evading my picture taking! ha.

I will have to think about a name for her, since I've seen her a few times now.

Some sprinkles off and on, as the clouds re-arrange themselves.

Bath Time!

And the next customer is ready for a bath, too.

Oh, hey! This is the Common Merganser that Angle was hanging out with in December...

Excuse me! um! Have you seen Angle, recently? um? Female Mallard? Droopy right wing? Not an angel?

No? Oh. Okay. Thanks anyway. It's nice to see you again!

Just as I get to the garden, there's a tiny section of Rainbow in the north!

I go into the Community Garden, and ha, the paths are just long puddles!

Oh shoot. These round leaves are Lesser Celandine, a very bad invasive. Maybe I should bring my backpack out here, and dig this up before it starts flowering.

Oh. Now this is interesting! This black tarp is covering part of Probably Not Evil Neighbor's plot. Our plot is on the left, with all the leaves and going over to the two orange buckets.

But you see the pink flag? A couple plots have them, and I think it means Probably Not Evil Neighbor isn't coming back for a second season!

Yay! A new neighbor! I mean, Probably Not Evil was nice enough. Def better than Evil Neighbor that I had to put up with all those years. But Dang, I got so annoyed at having to constantly tidy up the border between our plots, and dig up the invasive Horse Radish in the back of his plot.

And the next neighbor might be just as bad. But you never know! They might be a responsible community member instead!

And in my plot, I'm happy to see the volunteer Elephant Garlics are still alive!

The leaves are extremely munched tho. Weird. I didn't think that slugs like garlics and Alliums.

Not much of the Fava cover crop has survived the ice storm. And what's left is also extremely munched and pathetic looking! Why are the slugs so hungry??

So. That Lesser Celandine? Every green thing in this plot is Lesser Celandine. Ugh. Horrifying! And it's not even to the Complete and Total Mat stage yet... it will be there next year, I suppose.

And it's only a few plots away. I make note of a couple more plants that are growing in the pathways, and I'm determined to come back with my backpack to dig them up!

Yep, I saw so many interesting things today, I decided to split the photos up into two blog posts!

I know. I am crazy.

Oh No!

Poor Baby! All the other birds I've seen with bum feet have been able to hold their leg up. But this leg is just hanging. Which means their ankle is messed up as well.

oh my gosh, so terrible. Did she get frostbite in the ice storm? ugh, so painful. I feel so bad.

But at least she's got her friends to hang out with. And hopefully they will help her.

Feast time for the House Finches!

At the top is Hardhack, a native. And there's a bunch of dried up Himalayan Blackberries as well, invasive but tasty!

What the hell? Another One?!?!

Another useless, dangling leg. And this one's foot is much worse. And so painful. Damn. Poor little birds.

The sun shines today.

And I'm at the Community Garden to murder some Lesser Celandine!

The thing about Lesser Celandine... You have to dig up the dirt under it as well. My little hand spade won't go deep enough, but at least these plants will have to work a bit to come back up.

And the other thing about Lesser Celandine... you can't throw the dug up plants on the compost pile. They will just keep growing and take over!

You have to bag up the plants and dispose of them with the regular trash. And since the Community Garden does not have trash pickup, I'll have to haul this home to throw away.

It's good exercise, carrying a little bit of extra weight! :)

It takes 20minutes to dig up enough Lesser Celandine to fill my smaller backpack. And there's still some patches I want to tackle. So I guess I'll be back tomorrow!

It's a dreary day today!

oh look! It's the bouncy kid from the other day. Falkor Part 2...

She's still bouncing around, and it's obvious that she doesn't worry about things touching her injured foot. Unlike Falkor, who held her foot way up off the ground.

And she's still surrounded by her family, who are less worried about me watching today!

At the Community Garden, I continue the work I started yesterday, digging up Lesser Celandine from the pathways.

It takes me 20mins, again, to fill up my small backpack.

And on the way home, I'm thinking about Angle again. I've not seen her since the ice storm... did she not survive? or has she just moved downstream?

Very often there's a Song Sparrow singing in the bushes as I walk into the Rhododendron Garden! I love that!

I head to the hiking trails. The ice storm has brought down a lot of trees here.

But they've done work to keep the paths clear!

Hello my dear.

Finally able to get a half decent pic of the Red Shoulder who has been hanging out at the Community Garden!

oh, dang. The trees in this mini-park!

These were beautiful Mimosa Trees.

Sighs.