Latest Blog Posts
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Ridgefield NWR and Vancouver Lake Lowlands, February 2025
Close encounters with Red-tail Hawks and Northern Harriers, a clear view of a coyote at the hunt, and many species of swimming, wading, and song birds.
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Camassia Nature Preserve, February 2025
A “Plan B” visit to Camassia.
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Manzanita Beach, January 2025
Scenes and critters on the Oregon Coast.
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Tualatin NWR, January 2025
A Sunday morning visit on a crisp sunny winter day.
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Japanese Garden, January 2025
A frosty visit to the Garden and the Kintsugi exhibition, after a couple of stops on the way.
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2024 Bird Photo Review
66 of my favorite bird photos from 2024.
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A Great Heron Day at Fernhill Wetlands and Beaverton Creek, January 2025
Herons, and many other birds, on a beautiful winter morning.
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Discoveries: Works of Art
Some favorite encounters with art in museums and public places in Spain and Portugal.
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Discoveries: Landscapes and Fauna
Images of the northern and western coasts of the Iberian peninsula.
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Discoveries: Architecture Old and New
Intention and artistry in buildings and streets of Spain and Portugal.
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Manzanita, OR, December 2024
On a trip to the coast, we encountered eagles, elk, more birds, and a winter beach with all its wonders.
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Birds in Spain
Yes, there were birds in Spain! Here are some old friends in new places, and some newly met birds.
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Discoveries: Forms in Space
Gehry, Serra, and Chillida, in Northern Spain.
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Discoveries: Art on the Road
First notes and photos from our trip to Spain.
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Sandhill Cranes, November 2024
Visiting the Sandhill Cranes at the Vancouver Lake Lowlands on a mild fall day.
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Japanese Garden Fall Colors 2024
Returning home from a month of travel, to beautiful Portland fall colors at the Japanese Garden.
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Super Blue Moon, August 19, 2024
Front porch view of the full moon.
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Oceanside, Summer 2024
Exploring the Oregon Coast on a family vacation.
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Hospice and Music Practice
Thoughts on being a Hospice Musical Companion.
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A Long Strange Trip
I have a new accordion!
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Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, June 2024
Another visit to Nisqually NWR. Highlights include baby ducks and juvenile eagles; mammals, amphibians, and insects; and of course the songbirds.
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Central Oregon Landscapes, Spring 2024
The non-avian photos from our exploration of Central Oregon.
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Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Spring 2024
Spring flowers in bloom, in Richmond, Virginia.
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Summer Lake, Spring 2024
Bird photos from our expedition to Central Oregon.
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Virginia, April 2024: Birds
We had a chance to explore Virginia in the springtime, and what a show! Here are some birds from that trip.
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Camassia Nature Preserve, Spring 2024
Another wildflower outing, to Camassia Nature Preserve in nearby West Linn.
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Catherine Creek Wildflowers, March 2024
A blustery spring hike to check out the wildflower bloom along the Gorge.
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Cherry Blossoms, Spring 2024
Cherry Blossom time, at the Japanese Garden and Waterfront
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Nisqually NWR, March 2024
An early spring visit to Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.
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Ridgefield NWR, February 2024
An amazing day at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.
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Oaks Bottom, February 2024
A winter morning walk, with Kingfishers, many Herons, an eagle pair, and others.
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Tualatin NWR, February 2024
My first visit of the new year to this nearby National Wildlife Refuge.
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Sandhill Cranes, January 2024
My third annual meet-up in southern Washington with the migrating Sandhill Cranes.
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Virginia, January 2024
Some different birds at a Virginia bird-feeder.
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Giverny, June 2019
Some photos of Monet’s garden and related paintings from our trip to France in 2019.
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Greenway Park, December 2023
A wet winter visit to a nearby park along Fanno Creek.
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Japanese Garden, Nov. 30, 2023
One last fall visit to the Garden.
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Mountains! November, 2023
On a crisp, clear day, we headed for elevation on the westside, and found four mountains visible from Council Crest.
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Fall Colors at the Japanese Garden, 2023
Three visits to the Japanese Garden to watch the changing fall colors.
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Silver Falls, October 2023
A day trip to Silver Falls, for 7 waterfalls and fall colors.
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Hoyt Arboretum, Fall 2023
Fall colors at the Arboretum, and trying out different settings for landscape photos.
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Elk Rock Garden, Fall 2023
Fall berries and flashes of color among the greenery.
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Smith & Bybee Lakes, and Vanport Wetlands, October 2023
A foggy morning visit to two nearby urban wetlands.
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Jackson Bottom Wetlands, October 2023
A return visit to this wetland in the Tualatin River Watershed near the city of Hillsboro.
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Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, September 2023
I took advantage of some in-between time on the calendar and a clear morning with fall in the air to visit the nearby Tualatin National Wildlife Refuge.
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Nehalem Bay, September 2023
A birthday morning outing along the Nehalem River Dike Trail.
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Backyard Bird Breakfast Buffet, Summer 2023
Two summer mornings of backyard birds.
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Birds Watching
Birds watching me.
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Whitaker Ponds and Vanport Wetlands, Summer 2023
A summer morning visit to two urban wetlands.
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Tualatin River Watershed
Exploring the local watershed, Part 1
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A Trip to Washington: Seaquest State Park and Ridgefield NWR, Summer 2023
A Trip to Washington: Seaquest State Park and Ridgefield NWR, Summer 2023
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Japanese Garden, Spring 2023
Spring visits to the Japanese Garden, 2023
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Spring Outings, 2023
Spring outings in 2023: Powell Butte, Leach Garden, Lacamas Park, and Beaverton Creek Wetlands.
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Cherry Blossoms On The Waterfront, 2023
Cherry Blossoms at Waterfront Park, 2023
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Fernhill Wetlands, Winter 2022-23
A winter visit to Fernhill Wetlands, in January 2023.
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Locations List
Check out the Locations page, which lists many of the places mentioned in posts and captions, with brief descriptions and links to relevant web sites.
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Wildflowers: Memaloose, Spring 2023
A wildflower walk on the Memaloose Overlook Trail.
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Camassia Natural Area, Spring 2023
Our first wildflower outing of the season, to Camassia Nature Preserve, to see the Camas Lillies, and other wildflowers and birds.
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Ridgefield and Steigerwald NWR, Spring 2023
I spent a beautiful early Spring day revisiting two nearby National Wildlife Refuges in southwest Washington: Ridgefield, and Steigerwald Lake. Although the driving route is circuitous, Ridgefield is just 5 miles as the crane flies from Frenchman’s Bar (site of my recent Sandhill Crane visit). The seasonal trails had not yet opened, so I drove…
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Ram Dass on Trees
One of my favorite Ram Dass teachings, and some illustrative trees.
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Welcome!
Here it is: my new website with photo galleries and blog posts.
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Sandhill Cranes, January 2023
A trip to the Vancouver Lake Lowlands in January, 2023 to see the Sandhill Cranes
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From the Archive: Japanese Garden Fall 2022: Timeless Scenes
Looking away from the brilliant yellows and fiery reds to enjoy some of the more serene parts of the garden.
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From the Archive: Japanese Garden Fall Colors 2022
Highlights from the 2022 changing Fall Colors at the Portland Japanese Garden.
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From the Archive: Latourell Falls, September 2022
We took advantage of the beautiful fall weather and the absence of summer crowds to get in our first Gorge hike in ages.
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From the Archive: Manzanita Beach, September 2022
We spent my birthday weekend on the Oregon Coast with the kids and grandkids, a perfect way to mark the passage of the year.
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From the Archive: Tualatin River NWR, September 2022
A visit to Tualatin National Wildlife Refuge, September 2022.
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From the Archive: Neskowin and Cascade Head, August 2022
We headed out to the Oregon coast for a quick getaway, to escape the heat and celebrate our anniversary.
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From the Archive: Fernhill Wetlands, August 2022
A summer visit to Fernhill Wetlands (August 2022).
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From the Archive: Tualatin River NWR, August 2022
The kids agreed to a bird walk at Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge “on the way” to an afternoon at our house. It was short in minutes and miles, but rich in discoveries and conversation.
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From the Archive: Backyard Blueberry Birds, August 2022
When the blueberries are ripe, everybody comes to visit!
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From the Archive: McIver State Park, July 2022
Some photos from a day trip to explore possible locations for camping with the grandkids.
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From the Archive: Urban Wetlands: Koll Center and Smith & Bybee Lakes, Summer 2022
Visits to two nearby urban wetlands, tucked away just off the beaten asphalt path.
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From the Archive: Jackson Bottom Wetlands, July 2022
This visit was sunny and warm, with the waterfowl at a distance in the receding wetlands, and lots of fast moving birds in the foliage along the trail.
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From the Archive: Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, June 2022
A pleasant return, with summer scenes of wildflowers, singing sparrows, cedar waxwings, and a downy woodpecker nest.
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From the Archive: Ridgefield NWR, June 2022
It was great to get back to Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge on a sunny and dry day with the seasonal trails open.
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From the Archive: Backyard Fledgling Crow, 6/4/22
A young crow in our backyard, working its way up to the top of the kids’ climbing structure, before taking a long inelegant glide to a distant raised bed.
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From the Archive: Steigerwald Lake, May 2022
Some highlights from a great visit to Steigerwald National Wildlife Refuge.
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From the Archive: Another Spring Visit to the Japanese Garden, April 2022
Catching my eye this time: the bonsai collection, fresh looks at some of the design features, and the continuing spring color show.
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From the Archive: Cooper Mountain Nature Park, April 2022
Plenty of views and critters at a nearby park.
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From the Archive: Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, April 2022
The first signs of spring at Tualatin NWR.
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From the Archive: Japanese Garden Bonus: Netsuke Carvings
Some photos of an exhibition of netsuke carvings at the Japanese Garden.
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From the Archive: Spring 2022 at the Japanese Garden and Tryon Creek State Natural Area
For the last day of March, a two-fer: an early morning visit to the Japanese Garden, and an afternoon walk at Tryon Creek State Natural Area.
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From the Archive: Cherry Blossoms, March 23, 2022
Our schedules, the weather, the kids, and the bloom all aligned on a Spring day.
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From the Archive: Powell Butte, March 2022
A beautiful walk on a crisp Spring day.
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From the Archive: Home From Nisqually: Silver Lake and Ridgefield, February 2022
After our day at Nisqually, we left Centralia the next morning and raced the rain back to Portland, with two stops along the way: Seaquest (WA) State Park at Silver Lake, and Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.
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From the Archive: Nisqually NWR
At the end of February (2022) we finally made it to Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, outside of Olympia, Washington.
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From the Archive: Mom’s 90th
February 26, 2022 would have been Mom’s 90th birthday. Here are some milestone photos.
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From the Archive: Tualatin Hills Nature Park, and Beaverton Creek Wetlands
Two urban-adjacent natural areas in nearby Beaverton.
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From the Archive: Lo De Marcos, Mexico, 2018
Reminiscing about warm winter travels.
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From the Archive: Whitaker Ponds and Smith & Bybee Lakes, January 2022
A visit to two urban wetlands, in January 2022
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From the Archive: Oregon Coast, January 2022
A rare overnight trip (during the pandemic), exploring the area around Yachats.
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From the Archive: Papa’s Birthday
Post from January 20, 2022: my grandfather’s 132nd birthday.
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From the Archive: Sandhill Cranes and Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge, January 2022
Our first outing of 2022 was to the Vancouver Lake Lowlands for a tour of the Sandhill Cranes wintering habitat.
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From the Archive: New Camera! (January 2022)
Here are some of my first efforts with a new camera, starting with a cool morning in our backyard, followed by outings to the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Jackson Bottom Wetlands, and Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge.
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From the Archive: Snowbirds, December 2021
After a late December snow, we set out some birdseed for our familiar backyard crew of Western Scrub Jays, Dark-eyed Juncos, Song Sparrows, and Spotted Towhees.
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From the Archive: Fernhill Wetlands December 2021
In December 2021 I spent a long morning with my new camera at Fernhill Wetlands.
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From the Archive: Fall Colors 2020
October 2020 visits to the Portland Japanese Garden, Hoyt Arboretum, and Elk Rock Garden.
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Tags
Art Backyard Birds Family Japanese Garden Journeys Landscapes Oregon Coast Spain Trees Waterfalls Wildflowers