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

Our Neighborhood

Crocosmia

I just discovered the name of this flower at the farmer's market last year. I love it. So tropical looking. This one, in my neighbor Shirley's yard isn't quite opened up yet, but I'm sure it will be looking great in the next day or two.

I tried planting a few bulbs in my own yard, they made leaves but no flowers this year. Hopefully they'll do better next year.

Small White Butterfly - Pieris rapae

I was disappointed that this photo didn't come out better. For some reason my camera had a very hard time focusing on the white butterfly. It looked so great among the lavender blossoms... I'll have to walk down the road again and hope the butterfly is back for another try.

Daylily - Hemerocallis

I met a girl my age that lives in our neighborhood. Her name is Liesl. We went walking in the neighborhood park. Afterwards we went back to her house where we barbecued some beef for dinner and I met her husband Derrick. It's nice to have a new friend in the neighborhood.

Hiking Springville to Germantown and Back

Our path today.

Aaron and I hiked a total of about 6.6 miles today.

We started out at Old Springville Road and hiked down Hardesty to Leif Erickson. We followed Leif Erickson all the way to Germantown Road. From there we took the new Canon trail up to Wildwood and followed WW all the way back to Springville.

Stream Violet - Viola glabella

AKA - Yellow Wood Violet

Thyme-Leaved Speedwell - Veronica serpyllifolia

Indian Plum - Oemleria cerasiformis

Western Trillium - Trillium ovatum

Salmonberry - Rubus spectabilis

More Trilliums

English Ivy - Hedera helix

More Salmonberries

Indian Plum

Mud

Red Flowering Currant - Ribes sanguineum

Pileated Woodpecker - Dryocopus pileatus

Aaron saw this one first (and ID'd it).

Unfortunately I made too much noise while catching up and only had the chance to snap this one blurry picture.

Oregon Grape - Mahonia nervosa

Sword Fern - Polystichum munitum

Blue Skies

Licorice Fern - Polypodium glycyrrhiza

Springtime in Salem

State of Oregon Executive Building

I drove down to Salem (about 45 minutes south of Beaverton) to take the free State Employment Application Tips Class because I'm applying for an internship with the DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) this summer.

The class turned out to be surprisingly helpful. The instructor even offered to proofread my application next week and introduced me to the woman who coordinates the internships.

Violet - Viola sp.

The executive building, where I took the class, was located right across the street from the Oregon State Capitol.

I'd never been there before, so I decided to walk around the gardens for an hour or so before returning home.

Seven-spotted Ladybird Beetle -
Coccinella septempunctata

Yes, this is the same kind of ladybug I took a picture of on Monday, but this picture was so nice I just had to post another one.

Deodar Cedar "Rose" - Cedrus deodara

The oblong female cones of the Deodar cedar fall apart and leave interesting "roses" on the ground. The smaller curled one is a male cone.

Spring Snowflake - Leucojum vernum

These are one of my favorite bulbs, but I didn't know the proper name for it. I used to think it was a lily-of-the-valley until I bought some and realized they were different. Then I thought it might be a snowdrop. Now I know.

More Spring Snowflakes.

Lungwort - Pulmonaria officinalis

What an ugly name for such a cute little flower! The foliage on these plants is nice too, green leaves with yellow spots.

Forsythia

Not all of the trees and shrubs were blooming yet, but this Forsythia was certainly attention grabbing. Later, when I was taking pictures of the Saucer Magnolia one of the gardeners asked me if I'd seen the Forsythia yet. I told him it was the first thing I'd seen - impossible to miss.

Squirrel drinking from the Beaver Birdbath

Closeup of Drinking Squirrel

I thought this was a fountain until the squirrel came right up in front of me and started drinking, then I realized it was actually a birdbath.

Rhododendron

It's amazing how these large shrubs had perfect spheres of blooms.

Saucer Magnolia - M. x soulangeana

When these blooms open up, this large deciduous magnolia tree will be amazing.

Salmon Carving on the Capitol Building.

Daffodils

I had to go back to the executive building and put more change in the parking meter. I decided to take a few pictures on the grounds there. I particularly liked this shot of the daffodils with the tree in the background.

Fallen Camellia - Camellia japonica

There were still plenty of blooms still on the tree, but the color combination of the fallen flower and the bark much really caught my eye.

Red Flowering Currant - Ribes sanguineum

Yes, this is the same species of native currant that I took a picture of last week, but they're so pretty. I found several of these bushes growing on the side of the executive building.

Another darker pink Red Flowering Currant.

Winter Daphne - Daphne odora

Reading on Horeseback

I've seen a lot of statues with guys on horseback, but this is the first time I've seen one of them that was reading while doing so.

The text says:

"Commemorating the labors and achievements of the ministers of the gospel who as circuit riders became the friends, counsels and evangels to the pioneers of every american frontier."

Side of the Capitol Building

Pioneers on the Oregon Trail

Front of the Capitol Building

Golden Pioneer

This 22 foot statue on the top of the Capitol Building was designed by Ulric H. Ellerhusen of New Jersey and shipped to Oregon via the Panama Canal.

Iris

Double Daffodil among Blue Hyacinths

Double Daffodil and Pink Hyacinths

Flame Tulips

It's still a bit early for the tulips... these were the only ones up.

Lavendar Hyacinth- Hyacinthus orientalis

I'd forgotten how much I like hyacinths. I had so much fun taking pictures of them that I ended up buying a small pot of them on my way home.

Another Lavendar Hyacinth

Yellow Daffodil