2015

Wishing everyone a 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Crocheted Tire Cover!

Interesting tire cover!

Giant Cosmos Plant

We have a monstrous cosmos plant.  Can not determine if it is perennial or annual like its tiny cousins.  On the Internet some people claim that these monstrous cosmos plants are perennial.

The tall cosmos plant

Buds at the top of the plant;
found two more banches with buds

Spring is Here Again!

Took a walk in our neighborhood to capture autumn and I found it is always spring somewhere.  Two trees had decided to make this autumn their spring!

two trees side-by-side bursting forth with
blossoms as if it were spring!

Elegance!

A doggie "fountain" at the Heathman Hotel.

Autumn!

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."
                                                      Albert Camus

House Wren on the Patio Garden

House wren alert!  A house wren couple visited our patio garden and we photographed one!

Canon Live Learning in Action

Attended two Canon Live Learning in Action workshops this weekend.  It was really enlightening.  It was a great exercise for the mind.  The only issue with learning about settings to achieve various shots is that "capture the moment" is not a priority.

Video on the run; photographing in-the-moment requires a dependance on what the default technology of the camera offers.  Perhaps when I have time to cogitate in my old age, I will have the luxury to set the settings on my camera and sit in a blind for hours to take a sunset video or shot of a crane.

Until then, I will depend on the generous auto capabilities of my Canon EOS camera to "capture the moment" of life.

Kikyo- One of 秋の七草 (7 Autumn Flowers) - Part 2

The kikyo bloomed today!  

Mimosa

Mimosa tree in Laurelhurst Park.  We have them growing all over the place in Hawaii.

Kikyo- One of 秋の七草 (7 Autumn Flowers)

After 7 years of searching, finally a kikyo flower!  Or it will be in a few days.  I used to have them growing under the front plumeria tree in Kailua.

In Flight

Caught a bee in flight among the poppy blossoms!

Downhill Side of Summer - Dahlia Time!

In Portland there is a saying that August means Fall is just around the corner.  A lot of the trees around our home is beginning to turn already.  We went holoholo to the Swan Island Dahlia Farm in Canby.

Bambino

Bashful

Lollipop

Miz Bee Haven

Pooh

Pumpkin

Tahoma Moonshot

TG-1

Twilite

Yellow Bird

10 Aug 2014 Super Moon

Super Moon through the trees!

This Little Piggy Posed for Me

Amigurumi-to-go publishes the cutest, easiest amigumi animals!  Any fiber craft project takes a while, but here is Mr. Piggy.

California Poppies

I love wild flowers!  Even if they are planted in pots on our patio, they still resemble wild flowers.

Ladybug Brigade - the Movie

Ladybug brigade in the movies.

The Ladybug Brigade

Today, purchased some ladybugs from Ludeman's Farm and Garden Store called Healing Pond on 12675 SW Canyon Rd. 

Amazing, a whole 1,500 l
adybugs for $8.  I hope they
can help my fuchsia make a
comeback!

This morning I found aphids on the fuchsia plant.  Thought it was the end of our beautiful relationship!  I was so sad.  Cruised the Internet and found that ladybugs eat aphids among other things.  Whoo-hoo!  So, we drove to Ludeman's farm and garden store and they did have ladybugs for sale.

They are pretty impatient.
I couldn't wait for evening because I was impatient too!

I sprinkled water on the dahlias and then sprinkled the ladies on them.

Ladybugs were impatient to start working!

They have been working hard on the fuchsia for a while.  Hope they stick around but being a realist, these ladies probably ate all the aphids already.  According to the Internet they eat as much as 50 aphids a day!

California Poppies in the Sun!

What a beautiful sight!  Our California Poppies in the afternoon sun.  We planted the poppies for the bees.  Enjoy!

Busy Bee on a Beautiful Portland Day

Spotted Gray Squirrel

We saw the squirrel busy at work at the Portland Women's Forum State Scenic Viewpoint.

California Poppies on the Patio

California poppies are growing and blooming!

Peony

After three long years, peony flowers!  So lovely!

God Bless America!

On this Memorial Day, God Bless America, the land of the Brave and the home of the Free!

Geese Day Care Update at Brookwood

An update on Geese Day Care!  The parents are so careful to move the brood around to different areas all the time.

Geese Day Care

The Geese have it figured out.  We always see about 6 parents and their goslings.  Like when a goose can no longer travel with the flock, a pair of geese escort the goose to the ground.  If/when the goose is able to travel they meet up with the flock or if the goose passes on, the pair are free to go.  The Geese have it figured out, it takes a village to care for the young and the infirm.

Ooops - Our California Poppy Flower!

I've never seen California poppy flower buds bloom before!  Sorry, this post is being corrected.  When I planted the poppy and cosmos seeds, the labels got mixed up!  

The California poppies start out looking like garlic spears and slowly change color.  Oh, excitement!  See the bud on the left photo and see the beginnings of the flower on the right.

Today in Our Backyard Park

Birds in our backyard park braving the rain…

Finches waiting for the rain to stop

Wren looking for goodies

Wren spouse looking for goodies too

Another Day at Brookwood Park

Another very peaceful day at Brookwood Park.  Every so often we take a walk along the trails and find fascinating things to photograph.

Blue Jay posing

Redwing Black birds

Geese landing