19-DEC-2014
Juvenlie White Crowned Sparrow?
Feedback (thanks, Tom) has led me to conclude that this is an immature White Crowned Sparrow. This one was photographed in Delta Ponds. To see the coloring of the immature white crowned sparrow SEE (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-crowned_sparrow) and scroll down the page.
18-DEC-2014
Are You Sure We Aren't On The Runway?
The way the two cormorants on the left are looking up while the other glides past behind them looks to me as if they are wondering if by accident they are on the airport runway. :) The cormorant going by has just landed. The scene is in Delta Ponds.
17-DEC-2014
The 'Great' Blue Heron!
I can't help it! I love to photograph the great blue heron. Fortunately, I see them pretty often around here. If one waits around long enough, the heron will do something that makes a nice photograph. They can strike such great poses, like here with wings spread. It was photographed in Delta Ponds.
16-DEC-2014
Lowell High - Where I Attended In My Freshman Year
Lowell High School, in Lowell Oregon, is a four year high school where I attended school during my freshman year. This was back when 'initiation' was a grueling process. I had to wear a gunny sack dyed purple with hip boots. Upper class-men made us wear an onion from a string around our necks, which they would rub in our faces. Of course, we also ended up covered with lipstick. We were required to march down main street during lunchtime in our 'costumes'. Since that time initiations have either been eliminated or reduced to mild events.
To add insult to injury, my family then moved to Eugene where I started a three year high school and went through initiation all over again. This time it was less of an ordeal. What was most difficult to adjust to was leaving a high school with total attendance of 125 for one where my graduating class numbered 450! Ah, sweet memories!
15-DEC-2014
Declining Population - The Western Gray Squirrel
Gray Squirrel photographed on Skinner Butte.
"Western gray squirrel populations are declining throughout Oregon. The species is classified as State Sensitive–Vulnerable in the Willamette Valley Ecoregion. In Washington, it was listed as a State Threatened species in 1993 and biologists continue to be concerned with possible extinction of the species." (Oregon ODFW)
14-DEC-2014
Hey, It Hasn't Even Snowed Yet!
Took a neighborhood walk this morning and saw this in a front yard. It hasn't even snowed yet! Still, it looked pretty neat, though just a bit worse for the weather! Someone was quite creative!
13-DEC-2014
Willamette River on a Foggy Morning
We had a lot of fog this morning but it cleared up nicely later. I got this shot of the Willamette River as the sun shone through the fog. The photograph was made at Clearwater Park. It's sort of a monochrome in color! :)
12-DEC-2014
Bib or Bow Tie?
The Northern Flicker is a great looking bird! I was fortunate to capture this one in Delta Ponds. It looks to me like it is all dressed up in its very best! The black patch on its chest reminds me of a bib or bow tie. :) A very handsome bird!
11-DEC-2014
Portrait of a Leaf
I found a willing subject in this lovely leaf. It willingly stayed fixed in a pose, giving me time to compose and shoot the picture. Don't you agree that it is a beautiful subject?
10-DEC-2014
Matching colors
I love the colors in this scene. It's especially refreshing because all we have had recently are dark, cloudy days. The colors of fall here make a wonderful matching background for this Song Sparrow (I believe that's what it is).
09-DEC-2014
This Car Is Younger Than I Am!
This beautiful 1937 Ford Coupe is a year younger than I am! Of course, it has been rebuilt with new parts, I am sure! But then so have I! I think it is in better shape, but I am doing OK. I remember a 1937 Ford 4-door sedan my father had when I was in my pre-teens. It was a nice car, but I remember two things about it. It had mechanical brakes and if one didn't keep them well lubed and clean they could be somewhat ineffective. Of course, my father took good care of his equipment and so the brakes on his cars were always topnotch. They always worked fine!
The other thing I remember wasn't so easily solved. The heaters in the older cars were not so effective on cold days. Our solution for that, since us kids were always in the backseat, was to bring a blanket along. That way we were snug as a bug in a rug. :) My father never had a car I didn't like. :)
08-DEC-2014
On Patrol
The Ring-Necked Ducks are back at Delta Ponds. I love their bright eyes! These four were part of a group I saw this morning. I have never seen the ring on the neck, but assume there must be one. Anyway, a great looking duck!