A Quiet Morning Away

I took this at Kes's request this morning. We  had a lovely birdy outing up in north Portland and this sculpture was near the visitor's center at the Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area. Right in the heart of the industrial area is this oasis. Gorgeous 30 bird flocks of white pelicans in flight as well as more egrets then any of have seen in one place ever. It all worked out perfectly.

Here is a link to the new bird cast site from eBird. Cornell is doing such great stuff with citizen science these days... wonderful.

Into the Woods

Ah the woods. Last week I finished listening to the audiobook version of Tana French's  In the Woods. Just marvelous. Dark and funny and beautifully written.  I'm reading the next in the series in e-book format. And that is what I would like to be doing right now instead of drawing next week's yoga class but..oh well. After.

I actually have a real link today. Have been taking care of both the cats and myself and that hasn't left much time for web surfing.

There is a new Citizen Science project put on by Audubon for recording information about Hummingbirds here on our continent. You can get as involved as you like. One siting or commit to more. They are particularly interested in how climate change is affecting the amazing little birds...

Respite Care

Smoke and marine air made the Columbia River Gorge hazy today. But still, the elevation was exhilarating and well earned this morning. We are moving into fall and more photo ops will present themselves as we do.

It was very nice to have a day off from work after all the stress of the last few weeks.

We are all hanging in there for the moment. :)

The Healing Field

So yesterday I had the rest of a rather large atypical mole removed from my upper back. I'd had part of it out a few weeks ago and the pathologist recommended that it was best to have the whole thing removed. I got a little woozy during the first procedure so this time they gave me drugs.

Wonderful useful drugs. And so last night I was a little ummm, well, drugged and found myself listening to The Infinite Monkey Cage episode from about a month ago on Quantum Cosmology.

Ha! I kept falling asleep. But after three tries and a listen today I managed to hear the whole thing. Even if I maybe understood about 5%. It was fun though. :) And I'm healing nicely. Maybe it was the proximity to the Glastonbury Healing Field?

A Little Long in the Tooth?

I just took this shot a few blocks from home. The hydrangeas, just like the summer, are getting long in the tooth but this one is in a shady spot.

Poor Stella had a bit of a challenging day today but she is hanging in there and sitting here with me. Laptops are still pretty darn cool when one thinks of all one can do.... Even my 3 year old MacBook Pro is hanging in there. (Of course the trackpad doesn't work so great but everything else does.)

Here is a link to this great  document of abandoned building in Detroit. Wow. I could just dive right in. Melancholy and beautiful.

Nice Color Mix

Interview about the moral dilemmas for aging Quadriplegics. This is the couple on the cover of the New York Times Sunday Magazine last week.

Long week. Lots of lovely weather here though.

Imperfect shot. Lovely color mix though.

Better 2.1

This is my favorite kind of dahlia. I am not crazy about the spiky rolled petal ones that remind me of chrysanthemums. I took this Sunday over in a garden in NE Portland.

Things in general have been better today. Though there is always a balance isn't there? As Stella feels a little better and is a bit more stable my Sam the man, the perfectly proportioned orange cat is not feeling well at all.

I still need to go out and wander around the track in the cool of the evening and listen to the audio book of The Woman Upstairs.