Beautiful Bend: 2017

I love to visit my sister and brother-in-law on their beautiful 30-acre ranch in Bend, Oregon. Over the past several years, our family from Alaska, Oregon, and California has descended on Bend, Oregon to attend the high school graduations of their four children. This year, my nephew, Lucas, graduated; in previous years, Sarah, Thea, and Joe graduated. Not only has it become a tradition for celebrating and launching some great kids into adulthood, but it has become a wonderful opportunity for some mini family reunions.

Go Cougars - Class of 2017!

Dessert Bar

This visit the weather was cold, with intermittent sun, clouds, and rain. This is fitting after a long, cold winter with many feet of snow that stayed on the ground, nine "snow days" from school, and blocked driveways (where we got rain in the Bay Area, they got snow)! We heard many harrowing snow stories about folks getting stranded, staying indoors for days, and coping with daily life with so much snow.

Red tractor

Lava rock path	Fire pit by Lucas
Raised bed with annuals	Raised beds and bench storage

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The ranch looked beautiful and green under the changing, and dramatic skies. Current occupants include one cow, three dogs, and a cat (recall from past visits cattle, goats, chickens, and a show llama have resided on the ranch). I love to see all the great gardening ideas (and I know Bend has a challenging climate for gardening)!

BLM land under cloudy skies

The Bureau of Land Management land that borders the property looked lush and healthy; the frogs and birds seem to be just "waking up" from the long winter with croaking and chirping. We saw large birds being driven off by smaller, determined birds protecting their nests, so life is returning.

Sunset House

Big sky over the ranch

Over the graduation weekend, our family had a chance to catch up on each other's lives. The nieces and nephews are working on higher education (Sarah just completed her Master of Arts degree in Education – woot woot). Several spouses, boyfriends, and fiancées have joined the family and bring a new dimension. We learned more family history from Ompa, about growing up on the farm in the Netherlands (Holland), World War II, immigration to Nova Scotia to start a new farm, and then to the United States.

Irrigation lines

Distant mountains

More great conversation occurred around the fire pit that Lucas welded out of an old water compressor. It burned beautifully, and put off a perfect heat. With a full moon and dramatic clouds overhead, heavy blankets and coats supplied by my sister, and s'mores and cigars, three generations (soon to be four) shared stories around the fire, as has been done through the ages.

Fire pit stories	Comradery
Family ties	Generations

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Riparian Refuge

Some of us took a family hike at The Old Mill, along the Deschutes River that winds through Bend. Old Mill is the site of Shevlin-Hixon and Brooks-Scanlon lumber mills, which opened in 1916 and operated for nearly 80 years. Since they closed, the land and river have been restored, and the area is now used for recreation, shopping, dining, and entertainment. The brick buildings, with their three distinctive smoke stacks, remain as key structures of the shopping center.


A bank beaver home, overlooking the Deschutes River and The Old Mill

We took the Mill A route (the red hike) which took us north around the Les Schwab Amphitheater, by the dam near Colorado Avenue which is under construction, and south past the Old Mill. The Colorado Dam Safe Passage Project will provide a safe way for kayakers to travel up and down stream.

Colorado Dam Safe Passage Project

We passed by protected riparian areas on both sides of the bank. The marsh teamed with birds, butterflies and other signs of life. We saw a bank beaver home, but no sign of the resident.

Colorful flags

The trails are very popular with hikers, bikers, and runners, and the river is used for various water sports including kayaking. They can also be used for less ambitious activities, like a nice family stroll!

 

Beautiful Bend: 2015

I love to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and nieces and nephews in Bend, Oregon. On two previous visits my nieces, Sarah and Thea, graduated from high school. This year, my nephew, Joe, graduated. As before, family from Alaska, Oregon, and California descended on Bend to attend the ceremony and celebrate this milestone and accomplishment!

Antique farm gear

Recall my sister and brother-in-law are gentlemen farmers, with a 30-acre spread in Eastern Oregon. The place looked beautiful as always. A few  cattle roamed the green acreage and stopped to graze, or rested in the cool dirt during the heat of the day. They have plenty of fresh grass to eat, and fantastic scenery all around.

Happy cows

Late rains, and an early warm season conspired to make Bend especially green and beautiful this year. Even the Bureau of Land Management land that borders the property was green with temporary grasses. At night, frogs chirped their chorus, by day birds. I love the big sky, and puffy clouds.

The BLM land is lush and green this year

We saw beautiful sunsets, and moon rises; and experienced temperate weather by day, with cool temperatures at night. Best of all, we had the chance to catch up on everyone's news, and spend time together. It was a treat to see my brother and folks from Alaska, as well as extended family from all over Oregon. What a great family (and one more graduation to go in a couple of years)!

Sunset view of the Three Sisters

 

Overfelt Gardens/Chinese Cultural Gardens

My aunt and I recently visited the Overfelt Gardens in San Jose to learn more about Chinese gardens. The 33 acre garden is part of a land gift from the pioneering Overfelt family to the city of San Jose. Miss Mildred Overfelt, a retired school teacher, wanted to provide a place of serenity in the once rural area of San Jose. Our docent provided information about the garden, Chinese Cultural Center, and the Chinese history and worldview that is incorporated into the garden.

Overfelt Gardens – the statue of Confucis the philosoper. 

One of the most noticeable features of the garden is its atmosphere of peace and tranquility. Paths wander through the garden, circumventing the three percolation ponds (fed by the underground aquifer) and reflection pool by the statue of Confucius (drained of water during our visit). The water features host a variety of wild birds; turtles, frogs and fish; and small mammals. Benches, shelters, and pavilions are strategically placed along the paths, overlooking or framing beautiful views. We wandered at a slow pace, drinking in the fragrances and beauty, sometimes conversing and sometimes just enjoying the scene before us. We saw many of the elements of Chinese gardens that we explored in Elements of the Chinese Garden.

• Rock – a beautiful rock that was sent as a gift from the people of Taiwan. Recall that rocks invoke mountain ranges in the landscape.
• Water – the water treatments provide a sense of tranquility., and provide a home and resting place for wild creatures. 
• Plants – the garden is planted with palms, native California oaks, and trees native to China.
• Structure – the buildings provide focal points in the garden, places to gather or meditate. Many of the structures include poetry or inscriptions (like Confucius's Discourse on the Great Harmony, in both Chinese and English), and examples of Chinese architecture (such as tile roofs, ceramic fairies to keep away evil spirits, and a set of marble lions that represent male and female).

We both left the garden feel relaxed and refreshed, wanting to hold on to that feeling of serenity for as long as possible.

The Marsh

On 30 acres, you are bound to have microclimates and little ecosystems. One of my favorite such spots on the ranch is the marsh. Its elevation is slightly lower than the field, so rain and irrigation water accumulates there. This year is no exception.

Stand of cattails in the marsh

My dad and I took an early morning stroll down the road to the marsh under the blue sky. You could feel the hint of the warm day to come, but the air was still cool. We were greeted by a chorus of bird calls. The kids had seen a bird nest or two in the area. We didn’t see any nests, but we were squawked at from the tree tops – no doubt a ruse to lure us away from any nests.

Several types of birds distract us from their nests

The small pond is filled with cattail reeds (Typha spp.) and bordered by water-loving willows (Salix spp.) and grasses. The air hums with insect life and bird calls. At night, the same area is populated by chirping frogs.

Willow trees by the marsh