Spring in Oregon

[Fleur]

Alice ...
I enjoy much of this, beautiful.

We do have a garden, but no flowers. only trees and shrubs for the birds.
but when I see your pictures, I also want to get plants to grow.

especially the Helleborus, and then like the purple, which I find so beautiful

[macdoum]

Alice,your garden is beautiful already.!!
I spoke too soon about good weather..snowing again yesterday twice and its freezing cold about -3°C daytime and -6°C nights,with east wind going strong.
Snowdrops are out though and the Hellebore is lovely. Here its called "La Rose de Noel".
Time to settle under the duvet with a

[alice44]

We are supposed to be getting a cold front tonight, but I do not think it will be that cold.

[Olga]

We are supposed to be getting a cold front tonight, but I do not think it will be that cold.

Happy birthday!

[alice44]

Thanks!
Now that it is evening it is actually cooler, but it was a great day for working in the yard -- I sawed on the hedge but took no pictures.
But I do have a couple more to post in the next little bit.

[alice44]

Cherry Blossoms from up the road (@ March 4)


A Pink Camellia (March 6)


The Last of the Crocus (March 6)

[alice44]

More Signs of Spring
When I first saw this I was cross that I had not trimmed off all the rose hips but then I realized this rose was down the street from my house ;-)

[alice44]

From my trip to the Ocean March 7

A wild Strawberry


A thimble berry


Flowering Current in Oregon Salal

[alice44]

More typical coast pictures



The light specks off on the distance on these rocks in the river/tide water are Harbour seals sunning themselves. The tide is rushing in and there were lots of fish folk so there must have been fish.


Hooded Mergansers

[alice44]

More just because

[Fleur]

More just because

......it is wonderful

[macdoum]

......it is wonderful

...and so peaceful.

[alice44]

I didn't get a picture but yesterday March 18 when I went to the public library there were all sorts of people -- teens and up sitting on the steps and benches outside the library, discussing, eating and reading a sure sign of at least spring like weather.

[alice44]

I have been taking pictures -- mostly of flowers -- but I did get one of the katsura tree and I will get some of them posted.

@ March 26
I raked up fallen Camellia flowers and used them as mulch around my young trees -- and all those dark spots out in the street are seed pods, "gum balls" or ankle breakers from the Sweet Gum trees.


Fritillarias In my yard

[alice44]

Spring 2011
Wow!
I see I started Spring much earlier last year.

It is still almost cold. The flowers have been blooming for a while, but I know it is spring now because there has been a change in the way the birds are singing. (maybe some migrating birds are back. The vultures are back, but they are not singing in my back yard)


From my parents yard, taken today. You can see they are a bit worse for wear -- they have been open for a week or more but...

[alice44]

And then

This afternoon I was out birding and I got to see my first ever Bobcat

It is not much more than a sort of large speck in the picture, but I am so happy to have seen one.

[Olga]

Congratulations for meeting the lynx. I didn't know earlier that Bobcat is a name for lynx, I looked from google. I have never seen a lynx here, even they live here, too. Our neighbor told, that there are here several lynxes in our village, too.

So, you have a beautiful spring there! I envy you!!

We live about 80 km far from the Estonian shore, our climate here in southern Finland is much like there.

[Kitty KCMO]

Wow, Alice, congratulations on the bobcat sighting! Lucky you! They are very similar to the lynx, but not quite the same, smaller & with less tufting on the ears, usually. We used to see them when I was a youngster in Montana.

[alice44]

I did a little research -- I guess they are the smallest of the 4 in the Lynx family. Compared to what I think of as a Lynx I think they are quite small. This seemed like a large, rather tall house cat with lots of muscles and a slightly big head. The refuge has lots of bunnies so I suppose that is a main source of food.

My parents have both seen bobcats but I was never along on those adventures, so this was an animal I really wanted to see.


(Now I want to see a Cougar, but I will be very happy if it is farther away or if I am in a car.)

[Kitty KCMO]

I did a little research -- I guess they are the smallest of the 4 in the Lynx family. Compared to what I think of as a Lynx I think they are quite small. This seemed like a large, rather tall house cat with lots of muscles and a slightly big head. The refuge has lots of bunnies so I suppose that is a main source of food.

My parents have both seen bobcats but I was never along on those adventures, so this was an animal I really wanted to see.


(Now I want to see a Cougar, but I will be very happy if it is farther away or if I am in a car.)

Yeah, much farther away! They are very shy, but hunger will drive them into contact with people sometimes, unfortunately, with usually disastrous results for one or the other. I think they are really beautiful members of the cat family.