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, Rudra 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!

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!

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.

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.

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!

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 locations ... 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.

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!

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 tendencies. Open misogyny 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.

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.

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.

The sun has burned off the morning fog! It was still a little chilly, but I regretted 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!

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?

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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*

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!

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.

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 bouncing 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!

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 potentially 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.

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 distance 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!

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!!

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...

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! :)

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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 boundary!

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!

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!

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.