Heat Wave

We're having an early heat wave here...and a very dry June. Today it was 98 F and the same or higher is expected for tomorrow. We're just not used to this!

This is Lobivia 'Easter Bonnet', which was flowering recently.

Overlook Park message

On most mornings Lynn-Marie and I go over to Overlook Park and walk a mile before we go have our morning latte. The park overlooks downtown Portland and has a large playground, two baseball fields and a couple of soccer fields. A nice trail is about 1/3 of a mile long and there's some nice shrubbery and a fantastic, old, American Elm.
In addition, homeless people sometimes set up a makeshift tent or sleep under the shrubs. One morning, as we were walking, we noticed these bags next to one of the trash bins.

They'll probably never see this, but this serves as a "thank you" to the homeless couple who cleaned up the mess, including some discarded hypodermic needles, and giving notice to the park cleanup crew so they wouldn't get hurt.
It's a disgrace that, here in one of the most prosperous nations on earth, we have so many people just struggling to survive.
Back to plants in the next post! :)

Metolius River at Camp Sherman

We took a couple of days to get away from everything and went to Sisters, in Central Oregon, and spent a little time over at Camp Sherman on the Metolius River. This is just a short distance downstream from where the river springs from underground, full size. It's designated by the U.S. as a wild and scenic river, thus protecting it from development.

Off topic: Oregon coast images

I just felt it was time for a break. A couple of images from the beautiful Oregon coast.

An Agave is Blooming in Brookings

The newspaper in Brookings, Oregon (on the Southern Oregon Coast) reported on the blooming of an Agave in the downtown area.

Actually there are quite a few agaves planted around Oregon and there are times when they bloom. Most of the information in the article is accurate. I just wish that writers would quit calling all things which are succulent and prickly a "cactus". This is not a cactus, and to call it such just confuses people, making it more difficult to learn how to grow them.
End of rant!

Mountain Meadow

This is actually a wonderful time to go up into the mountains. The flora is outstanding, the air is fresh, and the mosquitoes aren't out in force yet!  ...and then, we can't leave out Osita!

Trip to Sisters, Oregon

These are a few shots that Lynn-Marie took yesterday as we drove up to Three Creeks Lake above the town of Sisters in the Oregon Cascade Mountains. It's still cold up there but it was a fun day for all, a much needed getaway! The ridge in the background is the Tam McArthur Rim. Just beyond it (not visible here) are Broken Top mountain and the Three Sisters (three mountains named Faith, Hope and Charity) all of which are in a wilderness area.

 

This is Kiani, the mother of Osita, one of the two Belgian Tervurens who also enjoyed the outing.

 

Two young deer and their mama were also enjoying the day.

 

Finally, all the way up to the lake. There were only a couple of row boats on the lake (power boats aren't permitted) and one person fishing from shore.

A much needed break from "everything".

If in U.S., VOTE!

If you live in the U.S., it's time to vote. Here in Oregon, where we vote by mail, you now need to take your ballot to a nearby ballot drop-off location.

Those of you who have followed me over the years, know that I'm a supporter of President Obama, and still am. This is my 12th Presidential election, and I believe it's as important as any in the past, or more so. My opposition to McCarthyism at a young age, my concern for international justice stemming from my time in Germany as a part of the American Field Service Exchange programs, my involvement with the American Civil Rights struggle (however meager, though adequate enough to bring about an editorial against my presence in Charleston, SC in 1964), my work with migrant labor through the Valley Migrant League in the 70s, and my ongoing concern for children through the Children's Defense Fund and Stand for Children -- all of these things continue to inform my political activism to this day.

Yes, I hope you will vote for President Obama's reelection. But, no matter what, it's important for you to vote. Don't let any scare tactics or voter ID law keep you from exercising your right to cast that ballot. Our democracy certainly has its flaws, but the ballot box is the only way that change is likely to happen.

There! I can now get off my soapbox and get back to the plants we all love. Tomorrow.

Bananas in Oregon

 

This is the second time our banana trees have produced a flower (along with some tiny little inedible bananas). It's hardly what people really think of when they think of Western Oregon.

But one of the things we do here is shatter stereotypes. We are indeed a place of rainy, gray days. No denying it. Yet, for the past 3 months, we've had no rain...only .6 of a centimeter since July 1. Of course we'll make up for it this weekend when we'll probably get over an inch (2.54 cm) of rain. The cacti are rushing for shelter (mostly in the arms and hands of Lynn-Marie), especially as the temperatures start to fall, but the banana tree is waiting to slurp up all that water! I assume it is; I haven't really asked it. After all it's an Oregon banana.  :)

OCSS Picnic and Open House

Tonight, just a reminder for those in the Portland area that we will be holding our Open House and Annual Picnic at our place on Sunday afternoon. You don' have to be a member of the cactus & succulent society to attend and we'll be open from 2 pm on, with the picnic beginning around 4:00. The meat dish will be provided by the society and the rest of the picnic is potluck. Please bring a dish to share.

The starter went out on the van today when I was away from the nursery, so I was unable to work on getting things ready for most of the afternoon while I waited for the starter to be replaced. And on Friday, we're going to the Oregon State Fair. So please forgive if everything isn't "spick and span." [For those translating from English: neat and tidy, all cleaned up.]

Hope to see some of you there. Ladybug will be here to great you.

Haworthia truncata var. maughanii

I took this picture a couple of weeks ago. It was pretty obvious that Spring was here. The greenhouses were almost getting too hot during the day and the trees are all in blossom. And then tonight. It's snowing. On the first day of Spring, it's snowing. And sticking. About an inch on the ground as I go to bed. Enough already! It's spring!

Oh, and yes, these are specimens of Haworthia truncata var maughanii, growing in one of our haworthia trays. I think they want some sunshine too!

Willamette Valley views

Once in a while I'll depart from photos of succulent plants. I was browsing some old pictures on the  computer and came across these shots of scenes in the central Willamette Valley here in Oregon. We know this area so well we seldom take pictures, but on this April day, we did. This is an area just south of Albany where there's a lot of sheep raising. The third shot down shows the Three Sisters in the background and the last shot shows a stand of old Valley Oak trees.

 

Lynn-Marie's folks owned a farm not far from here but on the other side of the river and north a bit.
Back at you with succulent plants next time.

Portland's Roosevelt High School Thespians

This is a wee bit off topic, but I can't help but share this about my high school alma mater, Roosevelt High School here in Portland. A few years ago they didn't even have a theatre group, but this year they made it all the way to the Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska. It's quite an honor for them.

The review of the play they produced is located here.

Hoya compacta 'Regalis'

Our Hoyas have been outside all summer and enjoying it tremendously, rewarding us with some wonderful flowers. This on is the well-known variegated Hindu rope plant (Hoya compacta 'Regalis').

And for those who might have speculated about the origin of the name of the town of PeDee, Oregon ... speculate no more. An unincorporated community southwest of Monmouth, Oregon with a population of about 25, it was named by early settlers from the Southeast part of the U.S. for the PeeDee River, which was in turn named for the PeeDee Indian tribe. Now you know.

Haemanthus albiflos flowers

For the last few days our deck has been decked out (the English language is such fun isn't it?) with some of our favorite flowers...but then we occasionally been accused of having weird tastes. Also known as the "Elephant's Tongue" or "Shaving Brush" plant from South Africa, this is an easy to grow succulent bulb which prefers moderate temperatures but bright light...and a weird taste for odd flowers!

Sometime tomorrow we'll be taking a drive to PeDee, Oregon to visit a friend. Where's PeDee and how did it get its name? People are often still asking that question even after driving through it..."Did we miss it?" (By the way, it's pronounced PeeDee, and it's located in King's Valley. I'm sure that helped a lot!)

I don't know how it got its name and I'm not going to speculate. Anyone out there know?

A Day with our Grandchildren

This is one of our two granddaughters. She turns 13 this month and we celebrated by taking her and her older brother to the "Fink Family Farm" - a farm some friends of ours have here in Oregon where they have a menagerie of animals (horses, llamas, sheep, peacocks, geese, chickens, milk goats, and a dog, in addition to a large pond and an arboretum which they planted many years ago. We hadn't been out that way for a while ourselves, so it was good to visit and to permit the grandchildren some time out in the country. It was a lot of fun for everyone.

By the way, the photos were taken by our grandson.

Back to succulents tomorrow

Ladybug Update

A couple of people have asked for an update on Ladybug, our mini horse. As most of you know, she's one of the "helpers" at the nursery, but she had a rough last year. A little over a year ago she foundered, with laminitis that made it difficult for her to walk. However with the help of a good vet and an excellent farrier she is totally recovered and is back to her old self. She continues on a low carbohydrate diet, but now regularly pulls a cart and goes for walks to the local park and to the University of Portland campus.

These photos were taken by Lynn-Marie a couple of days ago.
Back to succulent plants tomorrow.

Back at ya!

Well, it's over. It was overcast, cool and at times very rainy. But we made it through the cactus & succulent society sale still kickin' and screamin'. (We set a record for the most rain in June by the middle of the month! And we finally hit 80 degrees F at the latest date ever. If you have access to the gods of weather, please ask for a little of our normal summer weather!)

I have some photos to share; was just too tired to prepare them for the blog. I promise, back to some interesting photos tomorrow. Thanks for your patience.

Angel and Lynn-Marie

We have a new member of our family - "Angel" - a Peruvian Paso. No, this isn't our back yard; it's the Abbey Creek Stables where we board Angel. She just made the huge transition from just outside of Phoenix, Arizona (100+degrees F) to Portland (pushing 70F). Actually, we would like to come up with a new name, maybe in Spanish, to fit her heritage. Any suggestions???

By the way, Jardinera is at a new home; her "spirit" was a little much for our grandchildren!

Road Trip and Drunkard's Dream - Oops! not a good combination!

Haven't had time to do much with photos today. We're heading out on a one day road trip tomorrow to Central Oregon with stops at Mt. Hood, the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Madras, Redmond, Sisters and then back across the Cascade Mountains (through the Santiam Pass), up through the Willamette Valley and home. The main reason for the trip is to take care of some business at Warm Springs (our younger son - adopted - is Arapaho and Warm Springs).

In the meantime a photo from the archives: Hatiora salicornioides 'Drunkard's Dream'. This is an old plant we've had for years and it's flowering now - just didn't have time to take the picture - therefore this one from last year. It's been through a multitude of moves through the years and been banged around quite a bit. But it hangs in there...