Drought and Orchids

We had a drought last summer.  I don't know if the drought has been officially declared over yet, but with the amount of rain we've been getting in the hills so far, and the snow in the mountains, I'm guessing it'll be over this year.  But we'll see what kind of weather we get the rest of winter and this coming spring!

The wetter it is, the more the rivers swell.  I've seen Willamette Falls become almost not even a water fall because of how full the river was.  As in, the river's level was as high as the upper part of the falls, so there was no water falling over a ledge anymore.  This past summer, it was just about the opposite.  In my 3 decades of life, I'd never seen the water fall reduce to such a small trickle.  The rock and man-made structures typically hidden by water were completely exposed.  It was so historically low that I decided to document it.  These photos were taken just up the way from the old paper mill, and across the river from the water treatment plant and the old locks.  Take a look:

As usual I had some orchids blooming at various points during the summer.  Here are a couple of my favorites.

Brassavola Nodosa

Cutest Little Bandit

One of my favorite animals as a kid was the raccoon.  They are quite common around here, though I rarely saw them in our yard.  However, almost every time we vacationed at my dad's cousin's cabin on Lake Cushman in Washington, at least one or two raccoons would show up on the property, often in the morning or evening but quite bravely coming up onto the deck as we gawked from the other side of the window.  I was always disappointed that my mom required us to stay a healthy distance away from them.  If I'd had my way, I would have invited them into the cabin to join us for breakfast.

Although my husband and I live in the suburbs, we are only about a half mile from the end of suburbia before it turns into the rural farmland and woods that surround the Portland Metro area.  I would say it's a safe bet that there are lots of raccoons in the area, however I hadn't seen any live ones since moving back here in May 2014.  Until last summer!  We have a giant oak tree with an age that varies depending on which arborist you ask.  They've thrown out estimates anywhere from 150 to 350 years old.  Either way, it's old.  Our back yard, where the oak is, is completely fenced all the way around with a 6-foot solid fence that goes into the ground.  Despite that, a juvenile raccoon decided it was worth the effort to enter, and made its way into the big oak tree to spend some time lazing around high in the branches.  It was a beautiful sunny morning and I had stepped outside to take in the fresh morning air warmed by the sun, when I happened to glance upward and see a little bandit in the branches up above.  I'm lucky I saw it because they are good at blending in.  While it hung out, I was able to observe it and snap a few photos of it from the ground.  It snoozed, moved to a different branch, snoozed some more, and also occasionally watched me as I watched it.  And the whole time it was incredibly adorable.  Feast your eyes on this fuzzy little morsel!

Peek-a-boo!

Look at the dangling feet!!!

What kinds of wild animals do you get near your home?  What are your favorites to observe?

Flowers from Last Summer

I probably say this every time I write a blog post, but I'll say it again.  I haven't posted in way too long and I'm trying to catch up on some photo editing!  The ever-growing stash of photos to edit is continually getting bigger instead of getting smaller, which isn't a good thing.  Maybe I'll make a New Year's Resolution to post twice per month.  Or maybe not.  I've never been big on making resolutions like that.  I'm always trying to improve myself and I don't think it's important to time it relative to the start of a calendar year.

Anyway.  Last spring and summer I had a few orchids blooming and was fortunate to have some beautiful evening sun for "posing" my plants.  I also captured a few roses from the bushes in my yard.  I love roses and would live in the Portland International Rose Test Garden if I could.  What a dream that would be!  Minus the crowds, of course.

If you're reading from my home page, be sure to click "read more" for more photos!

Encyclia Radiata -- a non-resupinate flower (the blooms look 'upside down'
but they are truly right-side up; most other orchids are resupinate, where their
buds rotate during growth so the flowers open upside down)