Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: mottled

Hi everyone! We are finally home from our 3-week RV trip to four of Central Oregon's lovely state parks: LaPine, The Cove Palisades, L.L. Stub Stewart and Diamond Lake.What an amazing trip it was! There were so many beautiful places, so many wonderful adventures, and so many "firsts" too! It was also a trip which taught me a few things, but most of all I had to wave goodbye to an internet connection and just forget about it. I also realized that it was just impossible to keep up with a proper journal. It's always a struggle: do you LIVE the adventure or do you DOCUMENT it? It's all a balancing act and part of that balance is just throwing your hands in the air and enjoying the show without taking a single picture or writing a word about it. We were blessed to lose our truck's transmission in a place where we were safe. If asked, "Where would you like to be stuck if you were stranded in your RV for a week while your truck was being repaired?", we'd both say "L.L. Stubb State Park!" Honestly, there were many wonderful parks we would happily hole up in but we sure loved staying at L.L. Stubb with its endless hiking and mountain bike trails, comfortable weather, and gorgeous local. Deep, rich, beautiful forests are not the worst surroundings and in the end we got our truck back in premier condition and ready for years of adventures in the future! I've missed everyone here so very much. Even when there was an internet connection, I rarely had the time to visit which was too bad but what are you going to do, right?! :) I sure do hope that everyone has been doing ok and I look forward to visiting between the ebb and flow of chores around here! Today's picture is a one of a favorite subject: a fern frond! You may know how much I adore them--In fact, I'm infatuated by these lovely plants! When we were in L.L. Stubb State Park, we stayed at two sites. The first five days we stayed at their upper campground, the next five days we stayed at their lower campground. Next to our site was a steep hillside which of course I was soon crawling around on with my camera and macro lens. Why? Well, remember the Foxgloves I shared last? The white ones were waving at me and I couldn't resist. Once I was down there I found bunches of other lovely subjects to photograph. I saw some ferns too but they weren't in great condition. In fact, many fronds were in the process of yellowing and dying back. Then I noticed how colorful they were and took a closer look. HOLY COW, THEY WERE BEAUTIFUL!!! I was totally enchanted, and so today I wanted to share this picture with you so you can see how incredible a dying fern frond can be! :) Pam, you've been on my mind every day too. I hope you are well. I've been thinking a lot about Marie-Claire too and wishing for positive news--if anyone reading this knows how she is doing, I sure would like to know! Sending my biggest *HUGGZ* to everyone this evening!! Explored on 7/6/19; highest placement, #1.

(+2 insets!) It's another drizzly morning and as lovely as can be. The fog was swirling around the Table Rocks when I looked outside and at a comfortable 41°F/5°C I stepped out for my walk feeling energic and happy. Just as I was about to walk down the road for my first lap I heard a sound that filled me with delight. "THE FROGS ARE SINGING!!" I smiled broadly as I heard a handful of frogs croaking down at the seasonal pond. I'd heard the occasional frog here or there but this singing marks the true beginning of breeding season for the Pacific Tree Frogs. For months the frogs and toads will croon to the heavens whenever they feel safe enough to do so. The numbers will increase from the half-dozen of today to a cacophony of perhaps 100 or more at the height of the season. This makes me wiggle with excitement! Oh, how I adore frogs and toads…they are so darn cute! They are so ridiculous looking! And the way their vocal sacks look when they are croaking makes me want to squeal with glee! They think they look cool…I say they look hilarious! :D Whenever I get close to the pond—unless I'm very careful to be as silent as possible—all of the Romeos shut up. Just like the Warner Brother's Frog…they really WERE croaking, I tell you!! Then, after I am far away…CREEEEEEEEK…and one by one they start singing again! Silly froggies. Well, really it's SMART froggies. Best to be silent and live to see another day, right? I had a great idea though and when I heard one frog starting to croak again, I recorded him! You can listen to my audio link to hear our first frog singing this season! Today's picture is for Happy Fence Friday! While visiting my brother and his wife Nathalie in San Anselmo, I wandered around their property and found a tree brimming with gorgeous turning leaves. I was so captivated by this pair that I took pictures from each side! You'll find the front side as an inset. I'm also sharing another fence picture that shows some of the encrusted lichen and moss that I loved so much. Pam, I did a search for fence pictures in your stream and was surprised that you have never participated in the insanity that is Happy Fence Friday! I resisted as long as I could…but well, I couldn't help myself and now I'm one of the gang! :) I did find lots of pictures of yours that have fences though! I really liked this one that featured a trio of lovely critters as well as a fence ! :) I hope you are doing ok today—iand thank you so much for your lovely comment yesterday, it was so wonderful! *big HUGGGGS* from southern Oregon! Explored on 1/25/19, highest placement, #10.

Everyone knows that roses come in lots of beautiful colors. In fact, roses can be found in stunning bi-colors...but have you ever seen a MOTTLED one? Steve and I live near the Harry and David company here in Medford--it's a large specialty food shop--and they have a sprawling garden that's open to the public. The highlight of their flora are their seemingly countless varieties of roses. They literally go on for acres! It is a mind-numbing experience when going on a photo shoot because there are unending perfect subjects to photograph. So when I found myself staring in disbelief at a mottled rose, I could hardly believe my eyes! Turns out there are at least a couple-dozen mottled rose plants there to appreciate, and I DID! :)

2 more pictures above! :) What a pretty plant. They are very hardy too, and I was seriously considering getting some for around here since they grow well, don't need much water, and are deer resistant. However, when I did some reading about this plant, I found out that there is a much higher risk of getting Lyme Disease where these plants grow because they create a cool, moist microclimate that ticks like. Ticks on my property already carry Lyme Disease and the last thing I want to do is increase their population! Also, these plants are invasive and spread easily, forcing out native plants. Maybe not the best choice after all. If you would like to read the article I found, here's a link: Japanese-Barberry--A Ticking Time Bomb

1 more picture above in a note! :) Thanks to Siobhan and Pattycake , I now know these gorgeous leaves are a species of Berberis bush. :D This is another picture I took of this shrub, growing in the parking lot of Costco. I planned to make this my Picture of the Day, but in the end Steve pointed out that the bokeh in the other picture made the image stronger in his mind. What do you think? I have the other version above in a note: which version (if either) do you like better? I have to say, I think I like this one better! :)