An Adventure....sort of.

It was an interesting day and I took some interesting shots...not the best in the world, but interesting nonetheless. A guy at the bird shop told us where to go to possibly see lazuli buntings. Well, I am all for that as they are a pretty bird and I saw one once in our yard, and I would love to see them again. Anyway, the recommended place was at Powell Butte Park in Portland. We had to go to my aunt's place and help her install her dripper to her new bird bath, and once that was accomplished (sort of, it's not working quite like it should..) Powell Butte isn't that far away. So, off we went. Unbeknownst to us, however, is that there is on-going construction to improve the parking and what not and the road to drive up to where the parking lot is has been closed. Note to self: Check the Park Bureau website to see current conditions at hiking trails. So, we walked from a parking lot across from the main street to this park, and hiked about 1/4 mile up the hill to where the "park" is. This would be a fun place to explore when the parking area and the interpretive center is all back up and running...which won't be for months and months. I told Bill that even if Bald Eagles were up at the top of the trail, waiting to eat from my hand; if all the woodland creatures came to gather at my feet posing for photos; if Birds of Paradise were in breathless anticipation of my arrival....I will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER walk up to the park that way again. Bill, my husband who has had heart problems and has lost 20 pounds was easily navigating the trail. I asked the man who was making sure construction trucks and hikers didn't collide if ambulances were allowed on the road...just in case. He laughed. Me, in the throes of nearly complete cardiac failure...and he laughs! The nerve. The good news is that it was much easier coming down the trail and that worked different leg muscles, thereby guaranteeing total leg pain, not just pain in one muscle group. I decided to post something from this hike, and this is Mt. St. Helens, looking across SE Portland, NE Portland, the Columbia River and SW Washington...to bring our local volcano up close and as personal as I can get. There were magnificent clouds today in the distance, as there is more humidity in the air and thunderstorms were probably in the far distance somewhere. All we did was walk up to a certain point, about when I thought oxygen would be a good idea, and then we came back down. Rest assured, I won't be tackling Mt.Everest anytime soon.

Lucky to be alive, we returned home, a cold drink in one hand and the A/C in the car blowing full force at 60 degrees. We sat in the back yard and were treated to the Downy Woodpecker feeding two youngsters. So cute and I was so happy to have seen it. I think that was my reward for my hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro Powell Butte. Also the male Anna's Hummingbird stopped by and I was startled to see that feathers were missing in his wings. Friend Debbi, who takes the most amazing bird images, tells me he is probably molting. All of these, plus a closeup of a robin who wouldn't budge when I tried to chase him out of the birdbath because he wouldn't let the little finches in, are on my photostream on Flickr.

Hope all is well. And thank you for reading all of this, if you did.

PS No, didn't see a lazuli bunting. I saw a robin and a junco. Well, cripes, I have seen plenty of those in my backyard.