Duck hunting and peculiar flowers

Ethan is fond of ducks and partly as a consequence of this, and partly because I love the place, we take a fortnightly trip down to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens. It is maybe three miles to the south of us, free of charge after six in the evening, tranquil and beautiful, ridiculously so. I enjoy the scenery and contemplative air; Ethan enjoys chasing the ducks, of which there are many, across a variety of subspecies. As a bonus I get to stop off at Trader Joe's on the way home - an idiosyncratic supermarket which has absurdly good deals on imported cheese. Plus Ethan gets a free balloon.

The volcanic soil and temperate climate mean almost everything grows well in Portland; indeed the challenge appears to be to kill something of rather than sustain it. Despite three years of benign neglect our own garden flourishes despite us; and beyond this, every stroll through the neighborhood reveals a panoply of new and delightful flora, some illustrated below.


Any plans for the weekend, sir? Yes, on Saturday I shall be crayoning the sofa. I will spend Sunday hunting ducks at Laurelhurst Park, prior to collapsing in front of the TV and catching up on Elmo's latest adventures.


Somewhere around here are some ducks...


..lovely duckies...


...and baby duckies...


The ducks have no sense of my presence; I am invisible, a shadow.


Heh Heh Heh!


Behold this remarkable seed pod type thing.


Ditto this, half-way to a dandelion.


Apparently most, if not all, of these things have names.


Not Mars, SE Yamhill Street in fact.