Sometimes the simplest sights can make for the greatest ideas. A sign of spring is this small pine tree showing off it’s new growth, while a rose bush shoots out like a vine, adorning the tree with it’s springtime blooms. It is a pretty picture for Spring, yet it would also be a pretty picture [...]
A recent trip to Portland’s Forest Park reminded me that nature can be enjoyed in a larger scale and in a smaller scale. We can look out over a grand vista and look at the sky or the sea or the forest as a whole. Or we can look at the detail of the trees [...]
Over the years, I have taken quite a few pictures of rhododendrons that were not in bloom. This is mostly because they keep their leaves all year, and their buds seem to look like they are going to open at any time, even as they lie dormant in the winter. So, it occurred to me [...]
Over the years, I have planted a number of trees in various places, many of those in places in the yard where I have lived. The one issue there is that if you move, you don’t get to see the tree that you planted in the backyard grow anymore. So sad sometimes. Anyway, I found [...]
The thing about spring: After living through months with trees bare of their leaves, all of a sudden there are trees all over the place with white and pink buds. All is well with the world now, as there is color all around us. We start to take the color in the trees for granted, [...]
So, what has Bryan done now? I’m looking for my daily photo, yet all I get is something that looks like he just pointed the camera at the ground and took the picture. What kind of thing is that? Well, that’s just about what this is. Yet, there’s something strangely soothing about some grass, a [...]
Spring has truly sprung in many parts of Cascadia. Daffodils have been pushing toward the sky and flowers and trees have come to life all over the place for a month now. But nowhere was it as eye catching as this bush in Portland’s Peninsula Park in North Portland. While most of the flowers in [...]
So, I have this thing about planting odd things in my garden. So once (or a few times) I planted an artichoke in the backyard to see what it would do. Someone suggested that I harvest the artichoke and enjoy it’s homegrown flavor when it was ready. On this occasion, I chose to let it [...]
Sometimes a bit of beauty can pop up in the winter despite it all. This little pond; cattails, reflection, and all; sits amidst an office and industrial park in Beaverton. Despite the fact that it is a cold day and nothing is blooming, it is still a nice setting in the middle of a suburban [...]
On the radio this morning was a story about Ireland of a few centuries ago. They said it was common for a man to go from town to town during the Winter with a wren in a cage. People would pay to see it, as a means of adding a bit of joy to an [...]
