Friday, May 27, 2011

Old Moore's Valley Eye Candy

These pictures are not photo-shopped.  This little Lazuli Bunting really does have an incredibly bright turquoise head.  Looks like he was dipped upside down in a bucket of cheap paint.  We call them turque heads.

These pictures were taken from Sid's office window.  A visual treat!

Wild Ginger.  Blossoms hide beneath the shiny leaves.
Rhubarb.  Going to make some yummy rhubarb bars today.



Crimson clover. Call me a tourist, I couldn't resist taking pictures.   
Eastern Red Bud.  Just starting to bloom.  

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Whose feet are these?

Take a look at these feet.  Can you tell what they belong to?

The feet belong to the alligator lizard that lives out by the barn.  Alligator lizards creep me out.  They have big head and big teeth.  If they bite you, they don't let go.  I have read that they will twist their bodies as they hold on to you in order to make the bite worse.

   
This guy is a good 12 inches long.  The biggest alligator lizard I have ever seen.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I am back!

Another virus on my computer, so another running it into McMinnville for a few days.  I took it to a different computer fix-it company.  Something I did not know:  If something pops up that could be a virus, or anything that looks suspect pops up, use "task manager" to close it down.  Never click on the X (close) within the pop up, it actually opens and embeds the virus rather than closing it down.  So, my new best friend is "task manager".   I just wish that the previous computer fix-it company would have told me to use task manager. Of course, it greatly benefits them if my computer gets a virus once a month or so.

With all the rain and cold, we don't have our garden tilled.  Not sure when/if it will happen.  So rather than be dependent upon tilling that cold clay soil, we are going to plant at least part of our garden in raised beds.  I am getting several wine barrels from Winter's Hill (the winery where I work) to plant in.  Should be an interesting experiment.  I will take pictures as we go.

Have any of you seen wine barrels used as raised beds?  I have seen barrels as planters for flowers, but not anything as ambitious as I have in mind.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

One Tree. One Morning.

Drinking my coffee this morning in the sun room and watching all the birds visiting the small oak tree, I had to run get my digital camera. (Click on the picture to enlarge.)



Little house finch.  The first one that we have seen this year.












A flock of American goldfinch.  They look like tree ornaments.






Our resident mama Western Bluebird.  They haven't started nesting yet, but are certainly defending their nesting box.




And this pretty boy. No wonder she finds him attractive.




This Chipping Sparrow looks like a cartoon bird.  Look at that little puffed up body.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mother's Day Parade

Thought you might like to see the parade of elk that greeted us this morning.  28 of them.  Mostly cows and a few bulls.  Earlier this morning we saw a group of 8 bulls.  We haven't seen this many for quite awhile.  A nice way to start the day.

This apple tree is right next to our driveway.  It is just starting to blossom.  The apples are less than appetizing until they get a strong frost.  The cold must bring on the sugars, because come late November, early December, the apples taste great.  So nice to be able to walk outside in the middle of winter and pick a fresh apple from this tree.

You can see how the entire trunk is hollowed out, with a hole that goes all the way through.  It has been this way for several years and yet still manages to live....and produce apples.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Where is the sun?

Oregon 2011.....Perpetually February.  

Kind of like the movie "Ground Hog Day.


I would like some sunshine.  Thank you very much.


I am getting grouchy, and I need vitamin D.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Happy May Day!

Wow!  We have sunshine.  It might even get to 60 plus degrees today.  Yeah!

Had breakfast in the sunroom and counted 18 different kinds of birds this morning.

My new favorite is a yellow rumped warbler.  There is a pair of them, so we are hoping that they are nesting somewhere close by.  Very pretty little birds about half the size of the western bluebird.

I love May Day.  I think I will go pick some flowers, leave them on a doorstep, ring the bell and run away.  My sisters and I did that every May Day.  And Megan and Spencer carried on the tradition when they were growing up.  So Happy May Day!  I think I hear your door bell ringing!