As May pushed into June new flowers emerged in the woods. The Dogwoods are fading and the Wild Lilacs (Native Ceanothus) are in full bloom. They range in form from ground cover to large shrubs or small trees; deciduous and evergreen; flowers of creamy white to bright cobalt blue. The ones in my woods are white, soft blue, and a medium blue violet. I do not have any cobalt blue ones. They must be gorgeous. I went out of town for a couple days to spend time with my grandson Sam as it was his 15th birthday. When I left there were no blooms. When I returned I was amazed that the bushes were in full glory. To walk among them sort of set my heart afire. The birds must have felt the same way as they were in full twitter.
One day last week toward evening I was watering the garden and I heard strange clicking sounds coming from the woods, close by, that I had not heard before. I thought, “Oh no, there must be bugs attacking the trees.” Bats make clicking sounds at time so I thought, “Oh no, there are many more bats around than I realized.” Then the following afternoon when I was strolling through the Wild Lilacs I heard clicking sounds everywhere. There flitting among the flowers were Dark-Eyed Juncos. The mystery was solved. I had not heard these small birds before or seen them so they must be moving through the area.
In the Pacific Northwest forests, a common bird that makes clicking sounds is the Dark-Eyed Junco. They are known for their feisty personalities and are often seen in flocks. These birds also produce various other ticking and clicking noises.
Thinking of Sam’s birthday, his request for his birthday was to get his driving permit on that day. So by the end of the day we found ourselves in the car driving the backroads into Vernonia to get ice cream cones with Sam at the wheel. He was doing so great we came home by the highway. You go Sam! Later in the week Sam was having a party with his buddies to honor his birthday.
I purchased a hanging plant from Sophie’s 4-H fund raising event and was happy to be bringing it home. I found a place were I could appreciate it from both outside and inside the house.
A red and purple Fuchsia hanging basket
Random Events:
My granddaughter Teagan has replaced her cat Ziggy, who had died, with an all black kitten, whom they named Paco. I seems to be Latah however who is always playing with Paco. It was, ‘love at first sight.’
Sunday I had just arrived for Mass at St Joseph’s when a man and his wife sat beside me. The man said, “Hi Aunt Bonnie.” The couple, Bob and Ellen, are friends of my nephew Jeremy and his wife Stephanie who live in Vancouver. Bob and Ellen were passing through White Salmon and chose St Joseph’s for Sunday Mass. What a unexpected surprise. After Mass we were able to visit a bit over coffee at Carmen’s Kitchen in Bingen. I had gotten to know Bob a bit years earlier as he and I were sponsors for Jeremy and Steph’s twin sons Owen and Brody’s Confirmation. Ellen took the photos below.
My sister Deb and her husband Rex live next to a park in Jamestown, ND where every year a kite festival is held. Deb sent a video. It seems fish were the theme of the day for the kites. Rex eventually joined the kite flyers with an airplane kite of his own. I can’t seem to find the photo of Rex’s kite. He had it flying right up there amongst the fish. Deb and Rex can sit on their deck and enjoy the kite flying event.
