2024

Chilly and raining still today, and I've decided to walk up to Wild Iris Ridge for the second time. Partly to look at the parking lot again, and partly to see how far up the trail I can get.

Oh, nice! I didn't notice this the first time. A Little Free Library, well stocked!

And yep, that's a little dusting of snow up on the hill... The snow level is down to 1,100 feet this morning! (Home is at 475feet, and the trail head is at 900feet.)

And like I said, the street I walk out on is actually pretty nice. It's still a street tho, when I'd rather be walking in a forest!

I finally arrive at the park... and the tiny parking lot is full again. foo. There's room for 10 cars, and there's 9. Even in this cold rain! And no possible way for any overflow parking on the street. I wonder what happens with good weather!

And strangely, there's not a bike rack here. There isn't any convenient place to lock up a bike. humph.

There's a crew here today. Not sure what they are doing.

I decide to go up the right side trail today... the one that follows the power lines. It's can't be too terrible, right?

Right! You get to look into the forest!

And there's water running off the hill, every which way!

I don't get very far up the hill, unfortunately. The walk out here is 2.1miles, and after a decent hike up on the trail, I need to consider the walk home.

Here's looking back at the trail I started going up...

And coming back thru the neighborhoods on the way home, I meet up with a group of female Wild Turkeys!

So Cute!

They are headed the same direction I am, and I follow at a respectful distance.

Ha! Oh my gosh! She shakes off the rain and she loses a feather!

How Awesome is that!!! ♥!

Every once in a while, I will read the newspaper and some article pisses me off so much, I feel the need to write to my government representatives to express myself.

Granted, I have gotten a bit jaded about this. I rarely sign Internet petitions any more, because seriously, what _ever_ happens?! Nothing.

I used to think an actual physical letter or postcard carried more weight...

But then, I've lost track of how many times I've written to try to get rid of Postmaster Louis DeJoy... I hate that smug faced bastard who has ruined our formerly trusted Postal Service. And all President Biden has to do is appoint a couple of members to the Board of Governors who will get rid of him.

So. That's not happened and now I'm pretty bitter about writing postcards to anyone in government.

But here I am again.

The Backstory: Voters in Oregon passed Measure 110 in 2020, to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs.

This is some awesome legislation, first in the nation! And it started working right away... with a significant reduction in drug arrests, which is exactly what we want. Jail is not going to help people who are addicted to drugs. It's just not.

And today's rant and postcard writing is brought to you by House Bill 4002...

∞ Oregon takes massive step toward recriminalizing drug possession

Yeah. This is just massively frustrating. This bill goes against everything that was good AND voted for by the people in Measure 110.

And yesterday the Oregon House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed this bullshit, 51-7.

yeah, I'm thrilled to pieces that every once in a while those people can be bipartisan!

BUT WHY??! This bill is exactly the opposite of what we all voted for! Why, Why, WHY are they doing this??!

Oh I am so annoyed!

So yep, I print up two of my rainbow postcards. One is to express my extreme disappointment in my representative in the House, who voted Aye on HB 4002.

And the other is for my senator who will be voting on this bill soon...

Translation: Please vote against HB 4002! The people of Oregon voted for Measure 110 because we want to decriminalize small amounts of drugs. HB 4002 goes against the will of the people. Jail time for people who use drugs does not help. M.110 gives us the chance to try something different! I want Oregon to be different! Sincerely, rift :)

Unfortunately, I didn't realize the vote would come so quickly. They pushed everything else out of the way and did it today! ARG!

And HB 4002, evil and stupid that it is, passed the senate as well. ARG!

Altho I am happy to see that my senator actually voted against it. I don't know why, and it didn't make a difference, but I'm glad he voted against it.

But this is entirely discouraging.

It was snowing this morning when I got up! Big fluffy things coming out of the sky! It didn't last very long but it was lovely as it came down and it didn't stick at all!

I take postcards out to the mailbox first thing in the morning, and there's neighbors out chatting, even tho it's really chilly. I'm called over and learn that Neighbor J's car was stolen last night!

Oh no! Terrible! She's already made a police report, and Neighbor B has offered to drive her around. But what else can we do?

I go out for my walk, and the sun comes out a little bit. And I think about the poor thief who would steal our car. They wouldn't get very far, since it breaks down right after you hit 35 miles per hour! *laughs*

Does insurance give you any money when your car gets stolen?

And this Camellia bush again. I know, I know! I just can't get enough of the pretty pink blossoms!

Oh, someone has spilled some food near the Little Free Pantry and a family of crows is cheerfully cleaning it up!

One brings a treat over to a puddle to break it up in the water.

But another crow comes by and nabs the bits!

She starts to get huffy. but oops, me and the camera have been noticed!

Hey! Are you gonna just let them walk away with your food??!

You let them get away! sheesh.

What? Oh, you're saying this is my fault?

Um. Yeah. Sorry I distracted you.

I finally asked google about the purple flowers... lots of people have them in their yards and I keep taking photos of them.

Ha. Primroses! I'm not sure why I didn't know that!

I took a detour to look at some Cherry Trees.

Unfortunately, there was a bit of a breeze that made it frustrating to take pictures. Moving target, and all.

Okay. This is kind of funny...

The bird I was aiming for is sitting in the branches that the camera chose not to focus on. bah. But if you look very closely in the bottom left quadrant... there are a couple Robins standing on the ground back there! *laughs*

Are we goofing off with that tiny bit of twig?

Hey, play is serious business!

*Laughs* Seriously?

I was walking along the creek, back behind the Events Center, when I walked past this little tree.

I glanced at it and my brain said, oh that's just a chunk of bark that's caught up in the center of that tree... but my feet slowed down so I could look at it properly...

Oh my gosh! It's a Bushtit nest, left from last summer!

It's well below eye level, but also well buried in this little tree! Hawthorn Tree, with thorns over an inch long! How many times did I walk past it last year as the Bushtit family was raising their babies? *laughs* And how many times have I gone past this tree, all this winter when the nest is more exposed?!

This just delights me! That I didn't even notice the nest, for all this time!

Are you all thinking about going back up to Canada, for some nesting, yet? No? Still too chilly? Okay!

When I dragged myself out of bed this morning, Partner tells me the internet is down. Ugh. I re-boot the router, but it seems like it's an outside issue. The internet slowly comes back up, on it's own, over the next hour or so.

It's funny how useless you feel when you don't have internet!

Still a mess here at the beginning of the trail in the native plants area.

As I come to the top of the hill, there's a family of Scrub Jays flying around and yelling and being excited! *laughs* Jays being jays!

I walk all the way around the Acorn Woodpecker's territory, but don't see anyone on guard duty. But I do hear their Wika-wika-wika in the trees on the north side.

ha. Oh well. I didn't have high expectations today anyway, with the clouds.

They've made a pretty nice bio-swale up here... looks like it's decidedly needed, see how dirty the water is, coming in at the left? yuck!

It'll be interesting to see what happens here in the summer... The waterfall is fed by springs, and they keep running all thru the dry summer. But I wonder how much water will remain in the swale as everything dries out.

It's chilly again today, but the clouds are breaking up and the sun will shine.

Oh Kitty. Where is your hooman? Can you tell them you need to be an indoor only kitty? Please?

Dang it, Little Bird... you could have been so beautiful up there in the Willow catkins!

I decide to stop in at the Community Garden.

And here I am at my own sad plot... The Fava cover crop was mostly killed by the ice storm in mid-January. And now the slugs are desperately munching what's left! Will these last few plants live?

Foo. I am just not having the luck with the birds today! *laughs* It happens that way some times.

The fallen Leaning Tree. How many more chances will I get to see it, before they chop it up?

Wild Violets! These are tiny!

Oh, hey! When I was looking down at this one, I assumed she was a Eurasian Collared Dove... But this is actually a Mourning Dove!

The Eugene Christmas Bird Count mentioned that the Eurasian doves are on a steady decline here. Which is pretty interesting.

oh my.

There has been a small homeless camp here for a good long while, a couple of tents. But when I walk thru I see that it's gotten a lot bigger since the last time I was here. More tents, loads of people milling around, several dogs too.

The cops and the city are clearing them out. But they've got no place to go, and they'll be cleared out from the next place they set up as well. It's a stupid and pointless cycle.

Here I am at the ponds, but there aren't any birds here today. Still some snow on the hills, tho.

There's a couple ducks and geese over on the other side of the road, tho!

Oh, maybe everyone on this side is hiding from these two!

As I'm walking to get closer, one of the hawks dives down to the ground. Pounce!

I couldn't see if he got someone... He was down on the ground for just a few minutes, so if he did kill someone, they must have been small, and swallowed quickly.

Aw, they are flying together! Such a cute couple, I hope they have a successful nesting season!

The birds in the forest re-appear right away! But I don't get any good pics. humph.

And then on the way home... *laughs* You are so cute, my little ankle biter! And your companion has very pretty nails! It's good that you are so well cared for!

*laughs* Yesterday, I did not have good luck with the photography... I saw some cool birds, but wasn't getting decent photos. And I decided to try again today!

It's not hard to take photos of flowers, at least!

Oh, great.

Hi Henrietta! Good to see you! As handsome as ever!

At the ponds, there are exactly two ducks. And they get one look at me and fly away.

And the pair of Canada Geese are still hanging out on the other side of the road. One of them stomps their foot to let me know they are quite done with me! *laughs* Okay, okay, I'll go away now!

Oh! Another Chickadee is going to give me a chance?

Aw, you're so nice!

And we've caught a tiny little grub! Poor little grub.

Thank you!

Oh sheesh. Today's hawk is in a tree even further away than the pair yesterday. Come on, people! Work with me!

Nope! *laughs*

The city hasn't started the cleanup here yet, from the ice storm. They will get to it eventually, tho, because when this all dries out in the summer, they like to mow here to keep the invasives down.

Really??!

You insist on having a stick in your face. Well, fine then.

The Saucer Magnolia is blooming, but the ancient Cherry Tree isn't yet.

There's a group of turkeys and I make a detour off the bike path to visit them! One male and a group of females.

He is displaying to the females, but also trying to keep an eye on me... but he's so round when he's puffed up he can't see behind himself. So he has to turn to the side, and that is messing up the view for the people he actually wants to impress!

But isn't he pretty with all his different feathers!

And then I turned around to resume my walk and realize there was a couple with a dog, waiting for me -- it was nice that they didn't want to disturb the turkeys while I was taking photos, but actually I was just standing in the middle of the sidewalk, taking up the entire way!

But also: how long had they been standing there?! Because I had been talking to the turkeys the entire time!! Who's a pretty boy?...

Oh jeez! I glance at them as I go by and yep, their faces looked amused and like they are trying not to laugh!! Lordy, lordy! :)

The Art Pavilion at the Downtown Riverfront Park. It's been sprinkling this morning... but more annoying is the stupid gusty wind, blowing rain in my face.

I go across the river on Autzen Walking Bridge... to the east is Interstate 5.

The Eugene Christmas Bird Count says there are a few Turkey Vultures who winter here! In general tho, they migrate to the south for warmer weather.

I always pause at the bridge to listen to the river.

And the sun comes out, just for a few minutes on my walk back!

But the clouds roll in again, and just as I reach the car to go home, it starts pouring! Timed almost perfectly!

Oh YEAH! Let's get some Appreciation going!

∞ Rewire: Abortion Providers Are Vital, Let's Celebrate and Protect Them Join us in thanking independent abortion providers and working toward a world where everyone can seek the care they deserve.

And I've decided to pick up my Abortion Provider Appreciation postcard project again!

I've done this in the past, I send a happy and loving postcard to every independent abortion clinic I can find in the US...

Translation: Dear Beautiful People,
Thank you for providing abortion care, you make the world a better place every single day! The work you do is so important and I know sometimes it is so hard. Please know you are appreciated, you are loved and you are AWESOME!
Happy Day, rift

Of course, these days we've got whole states where there aren't any clinics, due to abortion bans. So I've decided to expand my postcard sending to the Planned Parenthoods who provide abortion care as well!

We shall see how that goes! I will report on my progress!

A Northern Flicker on the Community Garden fence!

I love Flickers, they are one of my favorite birds... all those decorations!

But today I'm wondering about their name! Northern Flicker. Does that mean there's a Southern Flicker?

Ha. Kinda...

∞ eBird: Andean Flicker (Southern)

Cool!

oh foo.

This art on someones fence is lovely. But why didn't they paint our native Anna Hummingbird??

As I come to the ponds... there are Swallows! They are skimming over the ponds and the grass, going after bugs.

I try to take pictures to figure out if they are Tree Swallows or Violet Green Swallows, who look about the same when they are flying, but nope.

oh well. Welcome Back, Swallows!

And here's a Black Phoebe, going after bugs as well!

Oh look! We found some lunch!

The tripping hazard on the path thru the forest needed a new stick to mark it!

Oh, aren't you cute!

Are the seeds on that thing any good?

These are really pretty! Just a couple of varieties of Daffodils, I think, growing wild.

oh my gosh!!

And here's the male!

Wood ducks are the ones who nest up in the tree... once the babies hatch, they have to JUMP! down to the forest floor and walk to the pond.

Sounds like a terrifying Day One of Life, but that's what they do!

She's got my number!

She is just so cute up there.

Still keeping eyes on me!

He's not sure about me either.

Looking all around.

Dang, that is cool! Tho I have to say, I hope they don't find a hole to nest in, here... There won't be a pond here, once the rain stops, and that's important protection for the babies.

Not to mention all the humans traipsing thru, since this is a popular frisbee golf course!

Well. I trust them to make the right decision!

Traffic is backed up on the street I have to cross... What is going on? I walk a bit down the hill. Oh! Haha! A big group of turkeys is crossing the road!

They are walking towards me, so when it's safe, I cross the street to get out of their way!

There are 30 turkeys altogether, just two males and the rest are females!

So precious! I especially love the lucastic ones! Those partially white feathers means that one of their ancestors has escaped from evil humans! YAY! Go Vegan!

*Laughs* This Northern Flicker is drumming on the metal chimney cover! It's actually a surprisingly pleasant sound!

Oh! And here's another one! ha!

And that's rain that's being lit up by the sun! :)

Into the forest! The Fawn Lilies are starting to come up.

At the top of the hill, they are doing construction right across from the Acorn Woodpeckers territory.

But they are here, watching over their hoard of acorns!

Yet again, I don't get any good pics. Oh well.

See ya later!

Oh, they finally got around to working on this tree limb that was leaning against the roof top of a little house back there.

It's been two months since the ice storm, and cleanup continues.

Oh my gosh! When I first walked up, it looked like the male was checking out this nesting box!!

But these are Bluebird nesting boxes... the hole to get into them is WAY too small for Flickers! haha!

Such a cute couple!

well. They fly away, and I'm moving on...

I walk out the door, and oh my gosh! It's the Varied Thrush who has been singing outside the apartment since January!!

He doesn't let me get any good photos, but that's okay. I am just glad I got to see him once, before he flies away to the forest to do some nesting!

I decide to walk on a different street, going out, to see different things!

This is the same artist who painted the non-native hummingbird on that other fence. At least this is a species found here, and all across North America. A Painted Lady Butterfly!

Well, that's just great.

At least Henrietta waits patiently for the camera to work properly!

Oh good, we have some ducks at the ponds today! Probably a couple dozen Green Wing Teals. Tho they broke up and paddled away when they saw the stupid human.

And there's some Shovelers in a pond further along.

There aren't any birds in the little forest... there were just a couple of people walking their exuberant and off-leash dogs thru the park.

I decide to wander into the garden today.

Oh look! Someone has built a cloche for their lettuce!

I get to our plot... *laughs* yep, that's my silhouette with the camera! The bit of green next to me is volunteer Elephant Garlics.

Aw, dang it. The slugs have munched to death ALL the Fava that was trying to be a winter cover crop. Even the babies that sprang up after the ice storm.

That many hungry slugs doesn't bode well for the Sugar Snap Peas I will want to plant in a few weeks!

Excuse me, Mx Robin... could you eat some slugs instead of worms? Please?

Weird. Why is House Finch head yellow?

huh. I guess their colour depends on what they are eating!

I walk on. And, oh. The Leaning Tree.

They've chopped up the north and south trunks, but haven't started on the west trunk.

Angle's friend. I've still not seen Angle since before the ice storm. And this one will be moving on before too long as well.

Time marches on, things change.

They are still doing cleanup here at the parks along the river as well...

It's a lovely day, the sun is shining and the temperature is perfect. There's a lot of people! But I was prepared for it so they are not damping my nature experience!

Birds are singing like mad all over the place! But can I get a decent photo? No.

Well, this one isn't singing! *laughs* Looks like a 4 year old Bald Eagle.

Two invasive Red Ear Sliders, and one native Western Pond Turtle.

But also:

It is just so beautiful out here!

As I've walked thru the ponds, there are swallows swooping, going after bugs. And on my way back...

Oh my gosh! Checking out a nesting site?!

Spring is moving right along, but these Lenten Roses started blooming months ago... and are still at it!

And the trees are bringing some spring time colour as well!

And the place where the Golden Crown Sparrows usually hang out, is all quiet. They must have started their migration up to Canada and Alaska, where they'll be nesting and raising a family!

The Yellow Rump Warblers, on the other hand, are here to do their family raising!

And... what the heck! The Leaning Tree is still here?!

They were chopping it up on Friday! I thought that was it!

They must have run out of time on Friday, or maybe they decided to go home early.

I suppose they'll be back on Monday to finish up. sighs.

Oh, hey! It's Knotty! I've not seen her in a while!

Huh. So I thought for sure they would continue working on the fallen Leaning Tree after the weekend. But no one is here yet.

On my way back, there are some city workers here who are fixing to work on the trees here. Will they chop down this beautiful Weeping Willow on the corner, with a big limb down... or just trim it?

Coming back home, I came across a couple of homeless people talking. The one guy, on a bike is someone I always try to avoid... he has always ignored me, but he just sets off my Spidey Sense.

So he's on a bike, wielding a knife.

And I do mean wielding. Holding it out in a threatening manner. While pedaling his bike in a circle on the street.

The other homeless guy is speaking calmly and trying to get crazy guy off the street. Crazy guy is more likely to hurt his own self at this point, but still acts aggro.

I give wide berth, and walk a different direction, keeping the situation in my peripheral vision.

The homeless people here -- and men, in general -- are harmless for the most part.

But this is the third, um, shall we say aggressive incident this year on the bike path... Which is WAY more often, than has happened in the past.

Concerning, but not going to stop me.

Pete and Repeat sat on a log,
Pete jumped off, who was left?
Repeat.
Pete and Repeat sat on a log...

*laughs*

You know, I always thought Pete and Repeat were frogs on a log. But looking up the joke, there aren't any logs, but there are a lot of sitting on a fence and were in/on a boat. And Pete falls off or out of the thing. Just clumsy, I guess?

I like my jumping frog version better!

Anyway, what I meant to say is this is a repeat of yesterday's post with just slightly different photos!

Hm. And I think I like yesterday's view of this scene better than today's!

Oop! I thought all the Golden Crowns had left, for their migration up to Canada. Don't you need to be moving along, my dear?

I just love all the colours of these Japanese Anemones.

Yay! They trimmed the Willow Tree instead of chopping it down! It looks a bit pathetic right now, but it will fill out soon, and maybe that big stump will do something later.

This is a crappy pic... but Look! It's been age and ages since I've taken a photo of an American Goldfinch. It's mostly just the Lesser Goldfinches around here.

The fallen Leaning Tree again.

Here's another view of the Willow Tree, on my way back. It's a lovely old tree and I'm so glad they let it stand!

Today, it's mostly Teals at the ponds and there's a pair of Canada Geese at the other end. And I hear several Killdeers, but don't see any.

This one flew by, and her long tail gave her away... Cooper Hawk!

They usually leave the trees that have fallen at this park, and the Turkeytail mushrooms are pretty!

There's a variety of birds hanging out in the little forest, despite the hawk who flew by a little while ago... White Crown Sparrows, Ruby Crown Kinglets, Lesser Goldfinches, a Bewick Wren... But the photography is just not happening today. Oh well!

Yep, here's the Song Sparrow to greet me as I come into the Rhododendron Garden!

These are pretty! Lungwort.

Oh, and these are pretty too! Snowflakes.

These are interesting! Don't know what they are!

Huh... They will be installing a fence here to close the road. They've just got the posts up, right now.

There's a sign that says they will close the road for critical safety issues like wildfires or tree or slope failures.

Wow, there's a lot of Song Sparrows today!

Okay! Here's someone else! And she pulled up a worm, right there at the edge of the path!

Oh! but foo, she's too far away!

And here's the other end for the new gates to close the road.

Hmmmmm? Who's this?

Oh my gosh! Pacific Wren! How cool is that?

But dang it! She is bouncing around way too fast for me and the camera. *laughs*

Fringe Cups... and the white bits are Cherry Blossom petals!

I go up Oak Knoll, and Wow! It seems crazy early to see the Camas Lilies blooming.

Um. What are these, again?! Oh yeah, Coast Toothwort!

Oh! Someone has created some forest art in a hollow stump!

Okay. That's a lot of photos for one day. And yes, I'm feeling crazy about that again! *laughs*

But what can I do? I see something beautiful or interesting and I take a photo... I can't just let the pics languish in the computer! I must share with the world!

It's sprinkling off and on today, and I decide to check out the Community Garden again.

Oh, wow, look at the colours this Starling has got going, even without any sunshine!

Our Garden plot neighbor had emailed us last week saying he was going to replace the boards on the raised bed in the back of his plot. He's worked on that project, and has moved the edge of the bed in a bit, where before it was right on the border between our plots.

So that was nice of him. I do have a walkway along that border, and I didn't mind that he has to use it as well... I mean he's the most wonderful of all our bordering neighbors and I want to keep him happy. Not that this was a tough competition, since the east side neighbor has the word evil in his name, and west side neighbor shows up about twice a year! *laughs*

I just love the peach coloured daffodils!

Moving on! I'm still so glad that they let this old Willow Tree stand...

It was already so beautiful, and now we've got added interest with the stump of it's big limb.

Hmm. The west trunk of the fallen Leaning Tree is still here.

They had chopped up the north and south trunks of the tree last friday. And I thought for sure they would be back this week to finish the job.

And they have returned to pick up most of the chopped up trunks they had left, lying on the ground. But haven't done any other work.

Is there ANY chance they will just leave this iconic tree, fallen, as it is?

Oh, hey! Canada Geese in the creek?! That's not normal!

They must be looking for a place to nest. And I'm glad I disabused them of that particular spot!

I'm sorry, my dear! It's just that the bike path is Right HERE! It would have been a great place to nest, but SO Many Humans!

Off you go! Nice to see you, but there are better places, trust me!

Speaking of better places to go...

∞ Abandoned chickens rescued from Eugene parking garage

Aw, poor Chickens! This story has a happy ending... the Chickens were gathered up and taken to the humane society where they received cute car names like Fiat, Ford and Lamborghini! :)

But Please don't abandon your pet chickens. Some Chickens do like to hang out in the wild, but most of them prefer to sleep in a coop with their friends.

Usually on Saturdays, I like to drive out to the river. But today the car has no gas in it, so I'm not going to bother with that. And when I walk out the door, it starts to sprinkle. So I suddenly decide to walk up to Wild Iris Ridge again to see what it's like on a rainy weekend morning... So far, the small parking lot has been crowded and full every time I go!

Hang on. Those red-violet flowers in the background...

Those spotted leaves. Hmm.

Oh! The blue flowers at Hendricks Park! Lungworts! I like them! These are quite a bit taller than the blue ones... I like that better because it's easier to take pics when they are not right on the ground! ha.

And then I get hung up in this beautiful tree. Might be some ornamental cherry blossoms, I'm not sure. But, Lovely!

Okay, I tear myself away from the tree and move on! There are some fields along the road I walk, and today there are horses!

Probably a dozen or so!

And I get to the park, and the parking lot has one open space. For a very small car.

Yeah. If I ever decide to drive up here to actually explore the trails... I'm gonna have to figure something else out. I need to look at the map, because I think one of the trails opens up into a neighborhood. Maybe I could park on the street up there?

Anyway. Today I'll see how far up the left side path, into the forest I can get.

The trees here are mostly oaks, I think. But, oh! The Madrone Trees!

You see that warm orange colour on the darker trunks? Pacific Madrones! Native and so beautiful and interesting!

Okay. This looks like a good turn around spot! I note the time so I can figure out how many miles I've gone.

I hear water and walk down to investigate this little rill running thru the forest.

And then, heading towards the trail head, there's kind of a marshy area along the path that gets you up to the forest. And there's some birds...

Their behavior piques my interest... the way they are flying, down low into the grasses and brambles. That's not something I've seen before and I know this is a new-to-me bird!

And being all scruffy looking from the rain, didn't make identification any easier! *laughs* But I finally decided they are Lincoln Sparrows.

They migrate, and we are right on the border between their wintering area and their nesting area! So I'll need to come back to see if they stay for the summer!

Walking back, the wind has picked up a little... and Cherry Blossom petals are coming down like snow!

It takes me almost an hour to get home from the bench at Wild Iris. I did get distracted by the Sparrows, but otherwise I walked very fast... so that's almost three miles.

And the fast walk, up and down hills, killed my poor back! *laughs* It started aching just a couple hours later, and took days to get over it!

Good Exercise! I should do that more often!

So, the first ½ mile of today's walk was fine... but then I started feeling my poor aching back. I walked way too fast, up and down the hills coming home yesterday! Ugh.

But I'm stubborn, and I went past the old Stumpy Willow Tree and got out to the Leaning Tree.

I was wondering if I could count the rings to find out how old it is... but the cut lines from the chainsaw are going to make a count difficult.

I think there's easily a couple hundred rings, in there. The stained parts are easier to count, but the outside rings look near impossible to see.

Surfing the interwebs this afternoon, I came across this news article at The Guardian...

∞ How birdwatching's biggest record threw its online community into chaos
In late 2023, Peter Kaestner was about to log his 10,000th bird species seen in the wild. Then Jason Mann showed up.

This is a really cool and crazy thing and I was fascinated to read about the intrigue of this cheater guy who just kind of stole fanfare from Peter K.'s accomplishment.

But as I'm thinking about the article, I'm looking at the fun photo at the top...

And I realize! Um! That's my camera!

Haha! Peter K is using the same camera that I do!

How crazy is that?! And then I thought... Dang, his camera is a lot cleaner than mine! *laughs* I don't usually open up the viewing screen like that, and it was a bit dirty underneath!

Anyway. It's a decent camera... you can't buy it for new anymore tho.

∞ Panasonic Lumix FZ1000

And, back to the news article... I'm wondering if I should start keeping a Birding Life List?

It would be pretty easy to back track on a list, since I like to blog about new birds I see, like the Lincoln Sparrow I saw for the first time yesterday! But the blog is not complete, I've skipped weeks and months in the past.

There are all kinds of journals and apps for keeping bird lists... and it would be interesting and it's scientifically important to know the kind of data that these lists provide.

But I think it's not for me.

Maybe.

ugh! My poor back is killing me today, from Saturday's fast walk home. It is a major distraction from my nature time, and I only take a few photos.

Oh pretty! Too bad for the dreary day... there's not enough light for the camera to take a decent pic. oh well.

Yellow Rump Warbler in a Cherry Tree.

Okay! The back is not quite as miserable as yesterday. *sheesh* You'd think with all the walking I do, a little extra exercise wouldn't bother me at all! Ha!

It was sprinkling when I left the house, but now the clouds are moving around!

Oh Hello tiny fellow! Nutria youngster!

You certainly are very cute!

He's so little I could probably scoop him up in my hand!

And then he RAN for a tunnel thru the brambles down to the creek! *laughs*

Good Morning my dear.

Oh my gosh, I get really hung up in this cherry tree!

The rainy day greys and the blossom pinks! Dang, it's just beautiful!

I'm heading out to Stewart Pond Park, but it starts pouring down rain! And unfortunately the wind is blowing too.

It's so annoying when the wind blows rain up into my face and gets my eyeglasses wet. But the rain is coming down so hard, my clothes are getting soaking wet too. I'm walking fast enough that it's not too cold, but it's hard to take photos in this state!

The rain jacket protected the camera, but the rest of me is soaked to the bone! Socks squishing in my shoes, shirt sleeves wet up to the shoulder and my hands couldn't warm up and my fingers were stiff from the cold. And the jeans are wet all the way up to my underwear... yeah, let me tell you: that is uncomfortable!! *Laughs*

So I wanted to do something comforting when I got home. I got out of my soaking wet clothes and warmed up... and got the bread machine going!

When I first went vegan, about a million years ago, vegan bread was hard to find. It annoyed me. And so I decided to make my own stupid bread!

I got a bread machine and experimented with a lot of different recipes. And I developed my own recipe that is super simple and makes a very sweet sandwich bread that goes well with everything.

It takes ten minutes to set it up, including clean up time and making sure I've got a good dough ball going. A quick set up time is important to me because I hate kitchen work. I just do not enjoy cooking or baking or doing anything in the kitchen. But 10 minutes? I can survive that!

2 cups whole wheat flour, put into bread pan
1¼ cups warmish water, added to bread pan

¾ cup white flour
¼ cup wheat gluten
¾ teaspoon salt
3 heaping tablespoons sugar
3 heaping tablespoons oil
1½ teaspoons yeast

Dump the above ingredients into the bread pan, with the soaking wheat flour. Set the bread machine controls for a 1.5pound loaf, white bread, and your choice of crust colour. (I always pick the lightest one.)

As the bread machine is doing it's first slow stir, hand wash all the measuring utensils you used.

The bread machine will be at it's first normal stir, now. Use a silicon spatula to scrape down the flour from the sides and make sure a perfect dough ball forms by adding drops of water or spoonfuls of flour, whichever it needs.

Close the lid and let it do it's thing!

Good Morning!

Still with the gusty wind today, but at least it's not blowing rain into my face. Mostly.

Hello, my dear! Trying to find some ants?

Except for the Flicker, the birds have been flying away from me today... I have pics of empty branches! *laughs* So I'm grateful that this Lesser Goldfinch hangs out with me for a few seconds!

Different shades of purple! Grape Hyacinth and some Red Dead Nettle!

Oh, hey! I thought all the Golden Crown Sparrows had left for their nesting season in Canada. But there's still one left!

I stay and look at this sparrow for a little bit too long... and she stomps her foot at me!!

*Laughs* Feisty! But I get the clue and move on!

Back at home, I've read a newspaper article that makes me happy!

∞ OHA launches statewide abortion access and information website
OHA remains staunchly committed to protecting access to the full range of reproductive health care -- including and especially abortion, fertility services, and contraception -- for all those who live in and visit our state.

Yay! And here's the website at the Oregon Health Authority:

∞ Abortion Access in Oregon

This just warms my heart so much!

And it's so important... Women and people who can get pregnant in Washington state, California and Nevada do have access to healthcare. But our eastern neighbor, Idaho has some of the worst healthcare bans in the nation.

I am so thrilled, I decide to send some happy postcards, thanking our governor and the director of the Oregon Health Authority...

Translation: Dear Dr. Hathi, I was so pleased to read in the newspaper today that the OHA launched an abortion access website! Than you for supporting abortion care! I am proud to live in a state where women and everyone can get the health care they need! Happy Day, rift :)

Yay Abortion Access! And I am so totally proud of my state for doing this!!

sheesh. I am such a sucker for colourful things! :)

Okay, I am at the top of Hidden Trail, at the Acorn Woodpeckers territory. There's construction going on up here, and I'm wondering if everyone isn't off-put by the noise.

I just hope they don't cut down and clear out this tiny bit of forest... many of the dead trees there are holding the hoard of acorns!

I only get a bare glimpse of one of the Acorn Woodpeckers...

and then this one comes along!

The hawk will scare the little birds into hiding, so I head back down the hill.

Oh, hey! Are we making a nest?!

Both Flicker parents make the nest and take care of the babies!

Yep! How are things looking, up there? :)

Back down in the neighborhood, I come across a few turkeys wandering thru yards! A bachelor group.

Whoa!

Blinded by your own snood!

*Laughs* Be careful with that thing!!

I like how the other turkey is just calmly looking on, Dude. Keep your head steady and you won't have this problem! heh.

The heritage Cherry Tree at the Rose Garden is around 275 years old... and looking absolutely stunning!

*laughs*

It is just so beautiful out here.

I turned one of my photos of the ornamental Cherry Blossoms today into a postcard. Postcrossing, US-10294669

Train tracks go past this part of the RiverBank Path, and it's always fun to see a train go by!

ha, and a Killdeer walking the tracks!

Before heading over the bridge for my turn around point, I decide to go the other way. The path goes under the train tracks and leads to some of the University of Oregon campus.

The biggest building has a raised walkway around the back of it, between the building and a canal. And there's this wonderful bioswale...

Heading back to the river...

*laughs* That's my shadow next to a lamp! :)

The sun at Alton Baker Park, part of the science installation of the to scale solar system!

And back at the Rose Garden. I looked over this guy's shoulder, and he's making a tiny painting of the Cherry Tree!

Oh! Some American Goldfinches again!

You've got some Willow catkin bits on your face, my dear! Ha! They both do... are they eating seeds out of the catkins or does the pollen taste good?

The Eugene Christmas Bird Count says we have quite a few more Lesser Goldfinches than American Goldfinches...

Lesser Goldfinch = 325 (Record High, 281 in 2020)
American Goldfinch = 213
PDF, Christmas Count Tally 2023

Oh Hey! Knotty! Lookin' Good, Girl!

And the first of the bright pink ornamental Cherry Blossoms! Way up in the top of the tree!