Friday, June 10, 2022, 7:10 am — Mr / Ms Rabbit is catching a moment of sun between the rain … Look at all those raindrops on the grass! … “It’s not your imagination: Portland is experiencing the wettest April, May and early June of any time in at least the past 81 years.” … “12.23 inches of rain at PDX from April 1 through Sunday mid-morning, June 12, 2022” … We’re north of the Columbia River on the Washington side … (photos from deck) …
Saturday, May 7, 2022, 7:27 pm — Male evening grosbeak … “I like my favorite, black oil sunflower seeds … but look at what’s new at the green bird feeder!” …
… Female house sparrow … What’s this?! … New bird seed! … specially mixed for us Pacific Northwest birds … at the Backyard Bird Shop, Vancouver, WA …
Monday, December 6, 2021, 3:09 pm —Jewel in the rain … A gray, rainy Pacific Northwest day may dim, but can’t hide its iridescent luster … male Anna’s hummingbird … Look fast … quick turns of its head reveal flashes of hidden colors … Just image how he’ll gleam in sunlight! …
…Male Anna’s hummingbird …(looks like it won’t play, but it will) …
Here it is! … the mysterious gray shape behind the hummingbird … A busy squirrel … vacuuming up as many black oil sunflower seeds as it can … Red arrows point to Spotted Towhees in background …
Saturday, September 18, 2021, 3:38 pm … A majorly MAJOR change in the weather … RAIN!!! … No rain since June 15 (except a tiny bit, August 6) … (the supposed-to-be-rainy Pacific Northwest!) … then 2.5 inches, September 18-20 … Here’s the miraculous first day …
Sunday, August 22, 2021, 8:42 am —Always amazed how dexterous birds are with their beaks … female black-headed grosbeak … black oil sunflower seed in its mouth …
… In a flash, the outer shell has been crunched open, leaving the tasty kernel …
… Incoming! … a bird with a different seed style …
… the chestnut-backed chickadee uses the grab-n-go method … its beak isn’t made for heavy-duty crunching, like the black-headed grosbeak … it grabs a seed …
… goes to a branch … holds the seed with its feet … pounds repeatedly until shell cracks … a whole lotta work for these little birds! …
… Another grab-n-go bird … nuthatches … who “are not designed to hold the seed between their feet. They carry it to a tree trunk, jam it into a crack, and then pound it open.” – source …While the black-headed grosbeak lives the life of luxury … just sittin’ there, crunchin’ away …
Friday, August 6, 2021, 4:28 am —What’s that strange, delightful sound? … Rain! … the first since June 15! … Worth commemorating with a photo and video …
6:15 am … 2 hours later … Teeny Tuxedo … happy to see the rain … but still sleepy …
… 5:13 pm … 12 hours later … rain has stopped … the freshened air has brought some insect action to the burgeoning butterfly bush … Teeny says, “You gotta take a look!” …
… Ever industrious bee … Hooray for the FZ300’s 24x zoom … Enlarge for details …
… Part of the non-zoom butterfly bush from the corner of the deck … Since it wasn’t pruned last fall, it’s grown gigantically tall, beyond the roof eaves … Red arrow points to itsy-bitsy bee … Wandering clouds are the happy remnants of this morning’s RAIN!! …
Monday, June 14, 2021, 8:42 pm — A break in the rain … giant clouds moving north, east side of deck … butterfly bush in foreground … tiny bird on top of tree in distance … a robin? … Over 1 inch in past few days … much needed …
… 10:11 pm … Teeny Tuxedo … dreaming of rain … and birds! …
… Tuesday, June 15, 5:35 am … Extra rainy Pacific Northwest … even penguins need a raincoat and umbrella … li’l ducks are happy as can be … Penguin, part of mini-collection from “penguin nation” college bookstore …
Sunday, June 13, 2021, 7:50 pm — What fun! … Rabbit standing on back legs to reach tastiest top of tall grass … bent low under raindrops …
Update, August 7, 2021: From April 24, 2005 … 16 years ago! … Rabbit relatives … How many generations back? … In the same location … edge of trees in back … My 1st Panasonic Lumix (1st month) … FZ20, 12x zoom … 2021 photos at top are Lumix FZ200, 24x zoom (purchased Feb. 2015) …
Tuesday, May 18, 2021, 1:49 pm — Perkins … after trip to Feline Medical Clinic Saturday afternoon (anti-nausea injection, subcutaneous fluids) … keeping track of how she’s feeling … so far, so good … tv remote at the ready …
May 18, Tuesday 7:00 am – Large, long rabbit – far left of bedroom window – same a few days ago, into back trees – probably male saw last year – 12:30 pm – rain!! – Perk – top of china cabinet – still feeling good! – eating throughout day/night – no upchucks of fluid
Tuesday, May 18, 2021, 12:51 pm — Perkins … butterfly bush … dry spell ended! … good, solid rain … open window … all the better to hear the rain, feel the cool air …
Friday, May 7, 2021, 12:52 pm — Perkins … Hard Work …colorful clematis, busy growing … sunshine between showers … enlarge to see raindrops … hardy clematis, blooming each spring since at least 2018, planted by cousin L … Perky, busy catnapping … From My Photo a Day Adventure … Jumping back into the photo-a-day challenge after 2 years! … Lumix FZ300
Update, Tuesday, May 18, 2021, 1:17 pm … Powerful …The power of the micro zoom … to reveal the power of the flower … clematis, deck, after rain … Lumix FZ300 …
Monday, October 12, 2020, 12:15 am —Pacific tree frog … She was in the living room, hopping toward the deck door … SOOO tiny … photo makes her look gigantic … How she got in is a mystery … caught with one of Mom’s 1960s green glasses … before Teeny Tuxedo had a chance to pounce! …
… Just behind her on the kitchen counter … a new batch of Forever stamps … Frogs! … from the Salmon Creek Postal Annex by Safeway … (doing everything we can to support the Postal Service now that current U.S. postmaster general is doing his worst to clog up the works … no postal experience … but a major donor to you-know-who … and right before the Nov. 3 general / presidential election … hmmm … aargh!) …
“Digital illustrations of four North American frogs grace these new stamps: the Pacific tree frog, the northern leopard frog, the American green tree frog, and the squirrel tree frog. Working with a primarily green color palette, the artist captured the essence of each animal with enough important defining features to make each recognizable. The subtle changes to the many green tones—with minimal details including spots, underbelly, and toes in shades of brown—accentuate the differences among the four frogs.” — usps.com
… 2:22 am … Put her safely in one of the blue flower pots on the deck with plenty of leaves … had been raining, hooray! …
Saturday, September 19, 2020, 5:00 pm —Wondrous sound of rain! … wonderfully happy chirp-chirp-chirpy birds … chickadees? … in the butterfly bush (midway point of video) …
… 6:21 pm … best sight of all … wondrous smoke-free blue sky! … (south from deck, clouds moving east) …
Friday, September 18, 2020, 12:38 pm —At last! … after all the hazardous air quality … RAIN!! … clearing out the smoke … butterfly bush raindrops … RAIN!! … so needed for the wildfires across the Columbia in Oregon …
Tuesday, March 17, 2020, 3:12 pm — St. Patrick’s Day … First spring bloom on the deck … anemone … first day working from home … campus closed … Washington state’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” … until … possibly the end of spring quarter, June … two-week spring break begins March 24 …
… Friday, March 20, 2020, 12:49 pm … three days later …
Sunday, September 8, 2019, 7:07 pm — Perkins … not just rain … a downpour! … for a few minutes … and a tiny tornado in Portland area across the Columbia … unusual for this area …
Sunday, September 8, 2019, 2:51 pm —A brown spot in the distance … a rabbit? … 24x zoom … it is! … still as a statue as rain started to fall … enlarge to see first big drops on leaves …
Thursday, June 27, 2019, 12:03 pm —Between showers … last year’s sturdy yellow flowers have returned … Rudbeckia Prairie Sun … in front of fragrant jasmine … 63° …
Saturday, June 29, 2019, 5:12 pm … two days later … afternoon sun … 81° …
Perkins and Teeny Tuxedo 