Nancy's Corner

May 29, 2016May 29, 2016

Birds plus from my kayak

Once again our kayaks have proven to be good platforms for observing nature. Jane and I have be out almost everyday this week, mostly on the Connecticut River between Wilder, VT and Hanover, NH but also on the North Hartland Lake.

We haven’t seen many wildfowl: just a few mallards, an occasional merganser and a loon.

Ms Common merganser --West Lebanon, NH — Ms Common merganser –West Lebanon, NH

Loon -- Hartland, VT — Loon — Hartland, VT

Mallard pair -- Hartland, VT — Mallard pair — Hartland, VT

We have seen and heard numerous song birds

Grackle --Wilder, VT — Grackle –Wilder, VT

Kingbird -- Hartland, VT — Kingbird — Hartland, VT

Catbird -- Hartland, VT — Catbird — Hartland, VT

Red winged blackbird -- Hartland, VT — Red winged blackbird — Hartland, VT

Song sparrow -- Hartland, VT — Song sparrow — Hartland, VT

Hairy woodpecker -- Wilder, VT — Hairy woodpecker — Wilder, VT

and even frogs singing.

Frog vocalizing -- Lebanon, NH — Frog vocalizing — Lebanon, NH

May 14, 2016May 14, 2016

Early spring flowers

Its spring and the flowers are blooming in Kilowatt Park.

I don't know what this is. May 7 — I don’t know what this is. May 7

Baneberry (Doll's eyes) - May 12 — Baneberry (Doll’s eyes) – May 12

Jack in the pulpit - May 12 — Jack in the pulpit – May 12

April 23, 2016April 23, 2016

Oregon

We took Amtrak from Oakland to Portland, a 17 hour train ride. After spending the night in a roomette, we had breakfast in the dining car and watched the sunrise.

Sun rise with snow on the mountain tops.

As we passed a burn area, the snow started to pile up.

Burn area south of Klamath Falls. — Burn area.

and by the time we reached the height of land south of Klamath Falls, it was several inches deep.

Uri picked us up at the station and took us to our room.

Our room at the Residence Inn at the Lloyd Center.

We spent the next several days roaming the different quadrants of Portland with both sons (Nabil drove up from Berkeley). We visited St Johns, Sauvie Island and watched the birds and boats on the Willamette.

We went up Mt Tabor and looked out to the east and west

and visited a friend in SE.

Another side trip was up the Columbia Gorge where we saw several waterfalls and a peanut mobile.

We went out for brunch every day, both in California and Portland. I tried the homemade hash most days. My favorites ranged from one in Santa Rosa that was just potatoes and chopped corned beef and another that was made from pulled pork with greens on top.

We often went out for an afternoon snack. The doughnuts here were freshly made and were wonderful.

Pip's Original Doughnuts & Chai. — Pip’s Original Doughnuts & Chai.

We hung out at Uri’s house a couple of afternoons.

One of Uri's roommates planting a roadside garden. — One of Uri’s roommates planting a roadside garden.

Mike on Uri's porch — Mike on Uri’s porch

Mt Hood from Uri's house — Mt Hood from Uri’s house

Uri dropped us off at the airport and we flew home.

April 22, 2016April 24, 2016

California birds, etc.

I saw a variety of birds while in California.

Western gull - Berkeley — Western gull – Berkeley

Western grebe - Berkeley — Western grebe – Berkeley

Brewer's blackbird - Berkeley — Brewer’s blackbird – Berkeley

Turkey vulture - Berkeley — Turkey vulture – Berkeley

Seals - Tomales Bay — Seals – Tomales Bay

Immature gull - Berkeley — Immature gull – Berkeley

Great Blue Heron - Berkeley — Great Blue Heron – Berkeley

American coot - Berkeley — American coot – Berkeley

Bufflehead - Berkeley — Bufflehead – Berkeley

Oregon Junco - Berkeley, CA — Oregon Junco – Berkeley, CA

Egrets and a western gull - Tomales Bay — Egrets and a western gull – Tomales Bay

April 22, 2016

California

We are back home after nearly 2 weeks on the West Coast.

We flew out of Burlington on the way to Berkeley, California to visit our son, Nabil.

The first day we met up with our cousins at the carousel in Tilden Park.

Peri grew up near the carousel and would ride it often after school.
We finished up at a Tibetan restaurant, one of many ethnic restaurants we ate at on the trip.

Ethan Frantz looks on as Karl amuses himself at the restaurant.

The next few days Nabil drove us around the area, taking California Rt 1 both north and south of San Francisco.

We spent some time at the Berkeley Marina.

On our travels, we crossed the Bay Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, the Richmond Bridge and the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge as well as the Berkeley Pedestrian Bridge.

We enjoyed the street art.

street art - Santa Cruz — Street art – Santa Cruz

Street art - Berkeley — Street art – Berkeley