What's outside of your picture window today?

@colleenyoung
Hi Colleen! Thankyou for being ever vigilant and moving my post to where it belongs. I didn't find it in the newer Mayo Connect newsletter.
Great to be back, and awesome to receive so many welcoming messages! Warm regards, Laurie

@artist01
Thank you Colleen.
Sure is nice having you back, Laurie. I do enjoy seeing various varmints except those on @imallears plate. The last deer I saw was 40 miles away. A friend of mine went whale watching today. I live in the asphalt/cement jungle, but a creek is near, and I have seen opossums, raccoons, squirrels and chipmunks. A couple times a mountain lion came by the creek but I didn't see it.
Stay well,
Jake

Saw a neat Egyptian goose on one of my nature walks this week.

My garden in flourishing this year, and is an inspiration to paint again.

@jakeduck1
Hey Jake!
Great to hear from you! I really missed all you guys.
Hopefully, I can stay well enough now to have another run at it.
Be careful of those mountain lions. Those beautiful animals but they can be very sneaky.
I hope you're keeping well, Jake.
Warmest wishes, Laurie

We have so many more hummingbirds in our backyard compared to the beginning of the summer. I think it’s all the baby birds that hatched recently. We have three feeders for them. At night, we take the feeders down, since bats can drain them completely in one night.

So, yesterday morning I went to hang one of the feeders that was on a table outside and saw a lot of hummingbirds trying to get their first drink.

Today we have RAIN! Much needed, slow, soft, gentle rain. It has been so Hot & dry that even our irrigation had trouble keeping up, so I am very happy, and so are my many gardens.
Sue

Here, on the central Oregon coast, we've had no measurable rain since early April!!!!!! Until about 10 years ago, we had rain now and then throughout the summer, and every morning everything was wet with dew (or mist or light rain), but now it's just dry, dry, dry. We're been on fire alert since May, with outdoor yard debris burning banned. Now, we're on a total burn ban: not even propane grills are allowed. Everyone here remembers 9/7/2020, when nearly 300 homes north of town burnt during the night, most of them homes of low-income tourism workers. Many people left because there wasn't any affordable housing available. Of those that stayed, many are still living in campers, travel trailers, or even tents. So, the fear of fire here is very real. This desert summer follows the single coldest (overall, day in and day out) winter we've had in 61 years, a winter where we had actual snow for the first time...twice. Because our acreage is covered with old growth spruce trees, what I laughingly refer to as "lawn" in the acre I mow is still green, but most yards are brown. Yes, Virginia, there is no such thing as climate change!

How cute! I love hummingbirds! Pretty feeders as well! Thanks for sharing!

Sue, your description of the rain is so inviting. I felt peace just reading that. We don't see much in the way of rain during the summer in S. CA, but they are predicting another El Nino, maybe even more rain than last year which was a lot of us. I love rainy days! That soft, gentle rain you describe is great for nice leisurely walk. It's always cool here when it rains so very refreshing. Ahhhh! Suddenly, those dancing feet are kicking in as I hear, "I'm singing in the rain..." 🙂