Jen

Green Tree Frog giving me some serious side eye for disturbing their nap

Brought plants inside today-
then discovered this little hitchhiker😄

A brown Common Buckeye Butterfly is perched on an orange cosmos flower. It is a dark velvety brown with an assortment of decorations. The top wings have two red bars on each shoulder, and big swirls of ivory near each edge with large eyespots in the middle. The bottom wings each have one large and one medium-sized eyespot with a scalloped band of bright orange underneath. Junonia coenia. Oklahoma Northern Crosstimbers ecoregion 29a.

I haven't seen any Common Buckeyes for several weeks but this one showed up today. We had frost overnight, but it should be warm for a few more weeks. #butterflies #lepidoptera 🦋 🌱 #gardening

"The beautiful Portland Japanese Garden, opened in Portland, Oregon in 1967, was originally designed by Professor Takuma Tono of Tokyo Agricultural University. It features five historic garden spaces that demonstrate different styles of Japanese landscape architecture.''

🙏🏼🌎🕊️

October 29, OHA reported no new COVID deaths in Oregon; the total is 10,888. This is the 3rd week in a row with no deaths, a 1st since the pandemic started. We're in a lull period with low wastewater levels. It's a good time to schedule high-risk activities such as dental visits.

Sweet, sweet boy. So glad for you all that he's improving. May even better days be ahead.

Yellow and orange lichen on gray weathered wood

Common Goldspeck growing on wood deck 🌿

This looks like a concentration camp.

If you’ve got a tree that leans… the Smol Opossums out there appreciate when you leave it… in case they need to climb somewhere quick😄

(our apologies, Smol Opossum... for opening the back door after dark)

In case you're wondering: the bee balm is still going, with bees on. 🌱🐝

🌎 #ecoregion65 #nativeplants

The piece portrays Abraham Lincoln in the likeness of the 1920 marble statue in the Lincoln Memorial. However, this one is cracking at its foundation. With his hand to his face, Lincoln appears exasperated as he sits on his crumbling platform.

At the annual Texas SandFest, in 2019, the winner artwork by British Columbia-based Damon Langlois.

The name of his sand statue:
Liberty Crumbling

Oh, no!! I'm so sorry. I hope things turn out better than you fear.

Martha Kearney: Why I'm concerned about our declining wildflowers The decline in UK wildflower meadows not only threatens wildlife, say experts, but could drive up certain food prices

Martha Kearney: I'm worried about Britain’s wildflowers - so I planted a meadow. 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

YouTube video by Folk Experience The Mamas & The Papas - California Dreamin'

One of the very best.

All the leaves are brown …all the leaves are brown
& the sky is gray …& the sky is gray
I've been for a walk …I've been for a walk
On a winter's day …on a winter's day
I'd be safe & warm …I'd be safe & warm
If I was in LA …if I was in LA
California dreamin'…California dreamin’
On such a winter's day

The Squirrel Portal is open😄

Red continues his house inspections😄

Phony AI videos of Hurricane Melissa flood social media AI-generated videos claiming to show Hurricane Melissa have been circulating on social media, causing confusion. These videos, including sharks in a hotel pool and a damaged airport, are not real.

Although it’s common for hoax photos, videos and misinformation to surface during natural disasters, they’re usually debunked quickly. But videos generated by new artificial intelligence tools have taken the problem to a new level. https://to.pbs.org/47OoBRm

Nuthatch briefly considered stashing his sunflower seed here… but in his experience… snacks are not safe in places that Red frequents😄

"... business leaders must go beyond digital transformation...We must shed the habits of an age obsessed with short-term profit and embrace a model of enterprise that places resilience, inclusivity, and human dignity at its core."

Sadly I've now no faith in business leaders to choose human dignity.

"But let us be clear: this transformation is not automatic and it is not benign. Intelligent systems carry the potential to either amplify humanity or diminish it. If businesses pursue only efficiency, they will replace people. If they pursue meaning and innovation, they will elevate people."

A cute Tufted Titmouse perches along the nature trail in the Fall foliage.

Purple penstemon flowers with golden bearded staminodes

Penstemon secundiflorus, our Sidebells Penstemon, blooming on Tunnel Drive #nativeplants

#FallBackFlowers #FallBack to April 22

Our shepherd was devoted to her (very large) cast iron frying pan.

Dogs.
❤️

This is Finn. He may have plenty of toys, but he refuses to play with anything other than a concrete block. 13/10 to each their own (TT: emilyyheide)

Watching the Oregon ash vanish - High Country News The emerald ash borer is killing the native tree. How do we make the most of the time while it’s still here?

An invasive beetle is poised to destroy Oregon ash forests across the Pacific Northwest. As people prepare for the coming loss, Jaclyn Moyer explores the roles this tree plays in ecosystems and communities around the region.

Ancient elephant migration routes are being blocked off – can anything stop the rising death toll? Human-wildlife conflict has now overtaken poaching as a cause of fatalities – and is deadly for people too. Some villages are finding new ways to live alongside them

Ancient elephant migration routes are being blocked off – can anything stop the rising death toll?

New Report Finds Efforts to Slow Climate Change Are Working—Just Not Fast Enough By virtually every key metric, efforts to fight climate change are going too slowly, according to findings by a coalition of climate groups. In some cases, things are moving in the wrong direction.

By virtually every key metric, efforts to fight climate change are going too slowly, according to findings by a coalition of climate groups. In some cases, things are moving in the wrong direction.

Biggest Meat Producers Unleashing More Methane Than Biggest Oil Firms

The five biggest meat and dairy producers are generating more methane than the largest oil and gas firms, according to a new report.

The Land That Stores Nearly a Third of the World's Carbon Peatlands act as a crucial climate regulator, and are increasingly at the center of conflicts over resource extraction.

The Hudson Bay peatlands store 5x more carbon per acre than the Amazon. Now mining for EV batteries threatens to release thousands of years of stored carbon, turning our climate regulator into a climate bomb. Originally published by @vox.com .

An image of the Andromeda Galaxy

Celestron C11 with Hyperstar 🔭
Andromeda Galaxy 1 hour
#astrophotography