A Touch of Spring

I don't have a big garden here, at least, not in any one area -- plants are spread about here and there in various strips of land alongside the house or the patio or the fences.  Most of the flowering ones are in bloom now, so here is a look.

Lilac:

Dogwood:

Japanese Maple:

Sand Cherry:

Azalea:

Barberry in front, lilac behind:

Roaming wiener dog:

Poor Pippin nearly got lost in the lawn, which got a bit overgrown between mowings:

I also have some roses but they are just starting to bloom now, so I'll save those for later.

Meanwhile, here is Yet Another Dog Walk at the local nature reserve.

This is the Yakima River, which the dogs decided to go wading in, and they got muddy and needed baths afterwards.  Yay.

Finally, this past week, while a little bit too bored one day, I decided to figure out how people make those little animated pictures called GIFs (Graphic Interchange Format).  It took me about twenty minutes to produce my first one:

So that was fun. 

Stay safe and be creative out there!

As Usual, Dog Walks with a Bit of Birding

I just learned that Seattle closed its parks to help with social distancing!  I am so sorry for my friends up that way.  And also glad that such a measure isn't needed here in Richland.

We went to W.E. Johnson Park recently, and I didn't meet a single person there.

I did see a bird or two, though!  This is a Song Sparrow:

That's Truman on the path, wanting me to go the opposite way (towards the car).

And here is a White-crowned Sparrow:

We also took walks along the river at Leslie Groves Park (saw around five people) and Howard Amon Park (maybe ten, but well spread out as it is a very large park).  And one day we visited the McNary National Wildlife Refuge about 10 miles out of town, where we saw two people.

There were still some wintering birds there, including this Scaup:

And this Ruddy Duck:

The irrigation sprinklers created a lovely rainbow.

Truman loves the fact that they recently paved the former gravel path, since now I can use his stroller on it when he needs it.

Buffleheads are one of my favorite winter birds:

I was delighted to see a Yellow-headed Blackbird, as I hadn't seen a single one last year and was worried about them.  But they're still around -- hooray!

It was a fairly short visit, though, as the refuge center (with the only restroom) is closed. Also, there were around three million gnats joining us on our stroll, which may explain the lack of other people....

When we aren't enjoying the local parks, the Hounds and I are lounging in the backyard or, when it gets too hot (80 one day last week!), inside with the A/C on.

Hope you are all doing well!

Slow Days

There are plenty of places around these parts where one can go for a walk without encountering another person, and even if there are other people there is plenty of room to avoid getting close, though this is hard on poor Pippin, who is quite social and loves greeting folks on our walks.

Truman, on the other hand, is very shy and anxious around strangers, so he's been having a grand time of it lately.

After one of our recent strolls, as I was driving home, I noticed storm clouds moving in, so I kept driving around to get some photos.

It never turned into a big storm, just a few rain showers, but the clouds were still dramatic.

This view is from one of the wineries outside of town:

The quietest place we go for walks is the cemetery, which has a pond, and one time the ducks and swans lined up in a nicely symmetrical fashion:

And another spot we like along the river is always a favorite:

The only other person I spotted there that day:

Truman enjoyed the solitude:

As for life at home, it is pretty routine.  Mostly writing, reading, playing the piano, watching old baseball games, and when I get truly bored, playing with Photoshop:

Bird dog:

Wiener's Mother:

Hope you are all staying safe and healthy out there!