Overdue

I had a library book out that was a couple weeks overdue, but I hadn't returned it because I couldn't find it. Sami found it yesterday.

This morning I woke up early and couldn't sleep. I kept thinking that the overdue library book was giving me bad karma or something, and if I just returned it, maybe the baby would come (I'm 8 days overdue now).

So I had a nice 3.4 mi. walk to the library (photo) and back, and I even tried out the swings in the picture... they were surprisingly stress relieving. Still no baby though.

Lunch with Liesl at Ava Roasteria

Liesl in front of Ava Roasteria

Liesl is one of the girls I met on the pregnancy forum. She actually lives in my neighborhood and we've been out walking together a couple times.

Anyway, I was working from home today and my schedule was flexible so we decided to go for lunch this afternoon and enjoy the sunshine before fall comes.

Goldfinches bathing in the waterfall near our table.

We were sitting outside since it was such a beautiful day and I was able to take this photo right from my seat.

Pretty orange flower in front of the waterfall.

Me in front of the waterfall.

Quick Trip to Commonwealth Park

Sami and I spent most of Sunday indoors, reading and resting and doing things like that.

Late in the afternoon we decided to take a quick trip to Commonwealth Park to enjoy the beautiful weather. It's been a while since we last visited the ducks.

Baby Mallard

Most of the wild ducks were gone for the summer. (We see a lot more species in the winter.) But there were still a bunch of female mallards and a few late-season ducklings.

Sami finds a cat.

Sami claims that he is not a cat person, but I have proof!

He was very worried about this cat and thought we should call the number on the tag. I said I was sure this was a neighborhood cat just having fun chasing the ducks.

Mama duck is concerned by the approaching cat.

She called another female duck over to help her protect the babies.

Sami, the duck whisperer.

Sami's very good at getting close to the ducks without scaring them off. Sometimes he doesn't even have to try - they just come to him.

The family rests peacefully.

There weren't any male mallards left on the lake. Sami felt bad for all the single mamas.

Duckling close-up

We leave the cat to continue its stalking

Nutria

Tualatin Hills Nature Park

Sitka Mountain Ash - Sorbus sitchensis

I was tired and the ground was pretty wet so I asked Aaron to meet me at Tualatin Hills Nature Park instead of our usual Forest Park.

Skunk Cabbage - Lysichiton americanus

This plant really does smell like a skunk. It also produces heat and will melt snow nearby.

Side view of skunk cabbage.

White Fawn Lily - Erythronium oregonum

This one was fenced off. I don't know if there have been problems with people picking them in the park or not.

Bigleaf Maple Flower - Acer macrophyllum

Deer Track

We also saw a raccoon track.

No birds here today.

Red-Tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

Not a good picture, but that's what he was. We also saw a Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) but it kept hopping behind branches and I couldn't get a decent photo of it either.

Easy Walk at Commonwealth Park

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias

Although Sunday was supposed to be rainy, it turned out very nice and we decided to go for an easy walk at Commonwealth Park (map).

Just as we entered the park, a man asked us if we were getting good pictures and pointed us towards this heron way up in a tree.

Double Crested Cormorants - Phalacrocorax auritus

In the water, the cormorants were making a scene, showing off and charging at each other, circling around and going at it again.

We saw this bird at Fernhill wetlands the other day, but didn't get a good picture then.

Ring-Billed Gull - Larus delawarensis

Where did he hide his feet! ?

You've seen pictures of this type of bird from my last trip to Commonwealth. It's got a very distinctive ring on the bill.

There was a small flock of these gulls and they were very tame. Unfortunately lots of people feed the birds here even though it is against the rules.

Sami (and his shadow) taking pictures of the birds.

Since we only have the one working camera, I was picking out different kinds of birds with the binoculars while Sami took most of the photos.

Like last time (click to see more photos), we also saw lots of mallards, domestic mallards, wigeons, and geese. We also saw some coots, and got a slightly better picture than at Fernhill.

Buffleheads - Bucephala albeola

Don't you just love a bird called a Bufflehead?

Anyway, it's the smallest diving duck in North America, and it likes to nest in woodpecker holes.

--------------

Oh, Sami figures my new camera should be a Pansonic Lumix DMC-FZ18, with double the zoom.

Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia

We see these cute birds quite frequently, but they're fast and like to hide in the brush, so it's hard to get a good picture. Sami did a great job with this one.

Farmer's Market

The Beaverton farmer's market opened for the summer today. There were five or six rows of tents and a pretty large selection of veggies, fruits, bread, meats, crafts and plants. This market seemed a bit more expensive than others we've been to, but perhaps the prices will go down as more produce is available later in the season.

The market is the one place here in Oregon where you won't find dogs. According to the farmer's market website, only purse-dogs are allowed. Portland is a dog town, everyone owns dogs and they take them everywhere. There are even pubs like Lucky Lab where you can hang out and drink a beer with your dog.

There was also a band playing at the market. I didn't see them at first, and it sounded like they were a marching band... Yesterday I was sitting at home reading, and I heard a band playing. We do live just down the street from a school, but the music seemed closer than that. I looked out the window and the kids were marching up and down our street. It was kind of funny.

Later in the summer there will be tons of people playing in the Beaverton City Park Fountain. I thought I'd better get a photo of it before the weather got too warm. I also read that there will be movies shown on a big inflatable screen near the fountain later on during the summer. They're all kids movies, but there is an online survey so people can vote for their favorites.

Bike Ride to Beaverton Library

I had a book on reserve, but I forgot to stop by the library on my way home from school today. I decided to dust off my bike and take it for a spin. Our local library (not the one I work at) is only 1.5 miles from our house, so it was a perfect little ride. The Beaverton Farmer's Market starts in a couple weeks and is held right beside the library, so I'm glad it's such a nice and easy trip.