Author Archives: makielb

But first – the elves built a lego train and had fun last night. Getting Milly to school and Oscar to day care during the pandemic. And finally a tea party! We might be able to get out later today. The temperature this morning was 31F and everything was covered with ice. I’m not sureContinue reading “Oregon – helping with the kids”

A short walk from where we are staying there re several options for eating. Laughing Planet café was the winner yesterday. Come on – any place where the kitchen is on 55 Godzilla Drive has to be good. The burrito I had was delicious. Today it is 37F and raining, who knows what we’ll do.Continue reading “Oregon – lunch choice”

Yoda on a dreary morning. The view from our rental in Eugene. Facing murals in an alley in downtown Eugene. One of the many window paintings. The windows of an interesting bar. Yet another dragon. Voodoo Doughnuts a must visit. More tomorrow…

The market days started with visits from Milly and Oscar’s elf friends. One day they were playing with little dragons by the advent tree and another they were snacking on twist-twists (we knew from the crumbs). Milly getting a braid, then it was time to head off to the market. Besides shopping and a foodContinue reading “Oregon – Eugene Holiday Market and more”

A 50m Douglas fir separating the park from the nearby homes. Some critters at a building in the park – a European earwig, a False black widow and a moth that is perhaps a Winter moth. There are even liverworts on the trees near the stream. The electric car charging station at Lane Community College,Continue reading “Oregon – a neighborhood park and more”

I can see why there is some much depression in Oregon in the winter. There are so many cloudy and cold rainy days. It makes Michigan look bright and cheerful. On the other hand the high humidity in the winter leads to the tremendous diversity in mosses, liverworts and lichens. For me, it is aContinue reading “Oregon – another rainy day”

We walked the trail at Wild Iris Ridge south-west of Eugene yesterday. The trail was dominated by Oregon white oak and Pacific Madrone, which is pictured above. The trees were covered with lichens, which is typical of trees in Oregon. This is an Usnea called Methuselah’s beard. Another interesting lichen is Lobaria pulmonaria, Lungwort. SpottedContinue reading “Oregon – Wild Iris Ridge (part-1)”

The homeless tents about a quarter mile away. On a cold, rainy day it’s a sad place, but makes me thankful for everything that we all have. Susan and Milly making twist-twist dough. It has to sit in the refrigerator for about two hours. So it’s time for a walk in the rain. On daysContinue reading “Oregon – rainy day”

We found this on a walk in the neighborhood. Note sure what’s going on here, but the mosses seem happy. A nicely branched liverwort that I am working to identify. It is quite nice finding liverworts on the bases of conifers along the streets in Eugene. Getting ready to watch the Red Wings play afterContinue reading “Oregon – discoveries and a hockey game”

When you are half-way across the Continent you want everything that you see to be something that you can’t see back home. But that’s not reality. But seeing birds or plants that care common back in Michigan is still fun. We started a walk the other day with a flock of crows at the corner.Continue reading “Oregon – A walk in Eugene”