Getting Outside While We Can

 High winds hit here on Sunday, and are forecast to continue today, with gusts up to FIFTY mph (!).  It is often quite windy here, especially in the Spring, so whenever it is less than 10mph, I try to get out and about as much as possible.

On one non-blustery day we went to my favorite walking spot, the Columbia Point natural area, which Truman strongly objects to as he cannot use his stroller there, and he hates walking the whole way out and back unassisted, poor boy.

Still, I make him go once a week or so, as it's good for him -- he needs to lose a few pounds.

It is truly a lovely spot, and we had just missed a bit of rain, so the clouds were especially fine.

There are lots of trees in this spot that always look a bit creepy to me, kind of dark and barren and gnarled.

We had a creepy tree for one of our Zoom sketch sessions last week, much weirder than the ones at Columbia Point -- more like something out of the Wizard of Oz:

I did that painting digitally using Adobe Fresco.  

We also drew a vivid set of houses from the Venetian isle of Burano, which I did non-digitally using watercolor, though I wasn't terribly happy with the results.  Too brightly colored for my tastes.

Garish!

On another non-blustery day, I took the Hounds to McNary National Wildlife Refuge just for a change of pace, and though I knew the Snow Geese were probably still around, I had no intention of looking for them...but as it happened, I saw a large flock far off in the distance as I pulled into the parking lot.

One minute later, as I was getting Truman's precious stroller set up, a raptor descended on the geese, sending into frenzied flight.  

The Hounds had to wait in the car while I snapped away.

The raptor (it looked to be a Red-tailed Hawk) gave up after five minutes, and the geese settled down, so we were then able to get our two-mile walk in.

Back at the parking lot, I took a couple more pics of the Snow Geese, and called it good.

Our final non-blustery outing of any significance was to a park in Kennewick where a group called the Tri-City Wiener Walkers was to meet up.  We had gone to a walk with them the previous Saturday and enjoyed it, so we tried again.  I think around eight people (and a dozen or so dachshunds) were at the first meeting, but at this second one, only three (including me) turned up (though with a total of six wieners).

It was a lovely day, so we walked all round the park anyway, and the Hounds seemed to be having an okay time.

But I was rather disappointed, as I had discovered after last Saturday's walk that one of the people there was a Good Omens fan.  I had not spoken with her, and was looking forward to chatting this time, but she did not turn up.  Bummer!

Well, the group leader said they would try again next Saturday, and hope for more participation.  I shall try again, and hope to see the Good Omens person there.  

Still no word on my garden landscaping plan -- I've been waiting three weeks now for bids from two different companies.  Phone calls and whining are going to take place today!

Have a great week, and don't let the winds blow you away out there!

Climb Every Mountain

 This is a Chukar:  

It's a type of partridge, about a foot tall, which has resident populations here.  This is not my photo, however, because I never see the darned things.  I hear them (they have a distinctive call), but they refuse to show themselves to me.  I find this most vexing.

This is Candy Mountain.  It's 1,315 feet tall.  One day last week I hiked up to the top because someone reported seeing Chukars near the summit on a regular basis.  It was such a hopeful report that I simply had to go.

There's a well-maintained trail, 1.7 miles of low-grade switchbacks (one way), with occasional handy flat boulders for mature hikers to rest upon, which I did.

There are lovely views --sweeping vistas of the Tri-Cities, and of Badger Mountain next door.  I had already hiked the confusing trails on Badger in search of Chukar, because they are regularly reported there, too.  I have tried that at least five times.  Have I seen them there?  No, I have not.

And did I see them anywhere on Candy Mountain?  Of course not.  I didn't even hear one of the danged birds.

This is the summit.  It was very, very quiet.  During the hour and twenty minutes or so that I hiked up and down I saw and heard a grand total of two Horned Larks, neither of which deigned to stop anywhere long enough for better views or photos.  

So the Chukar continues to elude me.  On the plus side, it was a simple trail, with lots of nice interpretative signage, on a lovely Spring day, and I got in some decent exercise.  Still.  How much climbing do I need to do around here, and how often, before I get to see a Chukar?  

I'm up to six attempts now, and two different mountains.  It does tend to get a trifle repetitive after a while.

And also, there are rattlesnakes living on these things.  Though luckily, actual encounters between hikers and snakes are few and far between.  I carry a walking staff to fend them off even so.  Well, okay, the walking staff is really to help me get up the dumb hill.  But you never know!

When not bemoaning the lack of Chukars, I was busy painting stuff, as usual.  Here is an English country garden in watercolor, with an excess of flowers, because hey, why not?  This is what I'd like my garden to look like someday.

For our sketch group Zoom sessions, we did this old pile of books, for which I used colored pencils:

And we did this run-down water tower, which I rendered in sepia ink and watercolor:

The Hounds got taken on walks, naturally.  We went to a part of the Columbia River Trail near the marina, where I spotted these inviting chairs:

And where the Hounds were able to cool off in the water:

It's quite a lovely area:

We also checked out a new group called Tri-City Wiener Walkers, who met at a park in Kennewick for a stroll with their dachshunds. It was a wildly windy day, and only around eight people turned up, but we had fun meeting them.  

They plan to try again next week, hopefully with better weather.  Pippin and Truman were the only longhaired wieners there, and were much admired.  

So that was my week.  This coming week I hope to hear from the landscape designers who are supposed to give bids on my garden plan.  That should be exciting.  In a good way, I hope.

Have a great week, everyone!

Up in the Air

 Our first adventure last week involved a hike up Badger Mountain (elevation = 1593 ft), one of the many treeless mountains in this area.  (Not far away is Rattlesnake Mountain, the highest (3531 ft) treeless mountain in North America.)

There were several hang gliders heading downward as we arrived -- looked like tons of fun, though hiking up with all that gear did not seem as thrilling a prospect.

Also up in the air, flitting out from the sagebrush to catch insects, was this Say's Phoebe, a member of the flycatcher family.

There are fabulous vistas of the Tri-Cities area.

Pippin came along, though Truman stayed home, as he can no longer handle long walks without his stroller.

Our second adventure involved a search for migrating Sandhill Cranes, which stop over in this area every Spring and Autumn for food and rest.  They reliably hang out in the fields of a cattle ranch a mile or so outside of West Richland, which is where I found them last Spring.  This year I lucked out on my first attempt:

There were cranes on either side of the road, close enough for decent photos.

This bird had an altercation with its neighbor, and briefly flew up in an intimidation move:

Some of the cranes took to flying from one field to the other, allowing me to get some nice flight shots:

Landing shots were trickier, as it was hard to get focused on one bird as it came in, but after several failed efforts, I managed to get a couple:

And I also got one good shot of the birds taking off:

Always a treat to see these large, stunning birds.  

In other, more earthbound news, I drew just one picture that I liked well enough to post -- this toad with its huge mouth gaping, apparently intent on eating what appeared to be a stone -- or perhaps it was merely expressing its displeasure with having the stone in its way.  We'll never know.

And finally, my pursuit of Good Omens home decor continues, with these new Funko Pop collectible figures of Aziraphale and Crowley:

They stand four inches high.  Crowley, the former serpent of Eden, holds an apple, while the angel Azriaphale holds a book -- The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, which figures rather prominently in the series.

The detailing is rather good -- you can read the book title, and Aziraphale has his bow tie, pocket watch, and gold ring.

While Crowley sports his snake tattoo:

And you can see his snake eyes behind his sunglasses:

I do seem to have a special sense of how to decorate a home.  I see no reason to give up toys simply because one grows older, and no reason not to have some fun and whimsicality about one's living space. 

These two are currently standing in front of the TV, though they may wind up moving around from place to place.  We shall see!

Have a fun and whimsical week out there!