Seen before and after work Monday. Oh, the joy of a DSLR and figuring out how to work it!

A curious body at the bus shelter with no intention of boarding the bus when it arrives.



As I witnessed each step, I expected the crow to fly away. Instead, it kept walking along the brick wall that encloses the flower bed.



How about that left leg caught mid air? Cool!



You have to realize that I'm sitting a sidewalk's width away from this bird. Thank goodness I learned how to turn off the camera's focus beep on Saturday because I doubt that I'd have gotten more than one photo. What a neat event to share with one of nature's smarter creatures, the crow.



Walking. We're walking. Said like those White House tour guides you see in movies, the ones who walk backwards at the head of a group of wide-eyed tourists. Of course, this crow is walking forward, like a good crow would.



Just before take off! Is this wide-legged stance the usual pre-take-off stance? I'll have to pay better attention the next time the opportunity arises.



Walking again, along the edge of the roof on the credit union building. I really like the way this one turned out!



And this one, too. Look at those feathers!



And these feathers!



Those teensy little legs and those feathers! Aren't we glad that we don't have to swing our hips this much side-to-side to go forward? The bus drove up and I had to walk onto it and go to work.



After work, I rode the bus two blocks past my street, four blocks past my usual stop, so that I could get in some more steps. Lucky for me, I got to see these fallen rhododendron blossoms through the wrought iron gate. This is at the building where I photographed those peachy colored roses in a shrub/tree on Saturday. See an earlier post to see them.



Naturally, I felt a deep desire to zoom in on the blossoms. First try.



Second try. I'm very happy with both of them. Yea for learning how to use my Olympus. Thanks to my son Leland for his patience as I give it my all, such as it is now and then.

UPDATE and I enjoyed sitting outside for a little while yesterday afternoon

UPDATE: I woke up at 3:15 a.m. today and couldn't go back to sleep, no matter what I tried. I dozed a bit now and then, but when it was time to get ready to go take the group photo, I could tell I wasn't up to it. I had to call and back out which made me very sad. Someone else took a great photo, though--I've seen it on Facebook. I knew someone else would step up! Anyway, I finally fell back into a real sleep, for about two full hours. Therefore, I made it to meet my friend Pat from Seattle with Lamont and Leland at Pine State Biscuits for lunch on SE Division at SE 11th. The hugs, smiles, and talking made me feel wonderful. So did the lunch. She brought an actual photo album and shared with us photos of Canterbury, Brussels, and Alaska--she and her husband, the special man known to me as BobRobert whose house provided the perfect place for my wedding on December 31, 1972--travel every chance they get. Now I'm back home, fooling around with photos and the blog before I go take another nap.



First, while sitting in my folding aluminum lawn chair, I noticed a Red Hat Lady in front of Albertina Kerr. I figured a group had a lunch-get-together planned. The lady on the right must not be of the official RHL age since she's wearing a lavender hat.



Here they are with the lady who had caught their attention in the first photo.



Next I noticed this crow. At first, it was on a line going from a wooden pole over to the building across the parking lot beside where I sat. I couldn't get my camera up quick enough to get a photo of it there because the crow dropped what it held in its mouth. I got this one, by chance, right after it picked up the nut--I guess it's a nut--and before it flew off across the street.



At first I saw this squirrel walking toward me on the low, gray-painted wall that keeps in place the dirt in my building's front yard. Otherwise, it would wash away into the parking lot which is more than three feet lower. Anyway, I slowly reached for my camera and the squirrel--I couldn't believe that it also had a nut in its mouth--took of for the very tall evergreen to my right. Shoot. In a few minutes, I saw the squirrel's shadow on the parking lot as it walked around the pole with the lines going to it--the same lines that the crow had landed on a few minutes earlier. I lifted the camera and watched through it for the squirrel and managed to get this photo before it disappeared into the leaves. It's not a very good photo, but I certainly enjoyed trying to get it.



Three more ladies drove up and made their way into Albertina Kerr. The ones waiting inside greeted them with joy loud enough for me to hear all the way across the street. I remember thinking to myself how good it is to have friends who are happy to be with you.



Last but not least, I got a few photos of Lamont walking toward me from his parked car. He came over with a couple of boxes of sugar cubes (for me to use in my hot tea) and his hair clippers. About a week ago I noticed stray hairs on my head, here and there, growing longer than my stubble and catching the light. I found them disconcerting because I felt like they made me look like a sick ol' lady. He agreed to try to get rid of them for me since, although I am an ol' lady who has cancer, I do not consider myself sick. In treatment, yes. Sick, no. When he finished, my head had shorter stubble and very few stray hairs. Thanks, Lamont.

Busy shopper at the Crow's Nest Supply Banana Trunk Outlet, NE Portland!

Steppin' out to shop till I drop!



Ah, there's what I was lookin' for!



Gotta get myownself completely behind it! Pull, pull, pull for all I'm worth!



Just about got it now! Shiftin' the feet, turnin' the beak!



Step back! Keep on pullin'!



Whoopsie daisy! Readjust. Tighten up.



Good thing I'm a flexible crow! I don't want to let go!



Drat! Seems I don't know my own strength while trying to get some length.



How do I hold onto this and pick up that?



One step at a time, it's old hat!



Gettin' closer now!



X marks the spot!



Operatin' the calculator in my head, along with the slide rule that is my beak. How much more can I hold onto while I pull away, then carry back to the tree today?



Measure twice, cut once. My motto as a nest builder.



Goin' in for the grab!



Pull! Where's the spouse when needed, I ask you!



I'm close to spent, y'all! Whew.



One last look. Could I get a bit more on my own?



Nope, I've finished and flown. Got away without that crazy photographer shootin' me in flight, ha, ha!

Chapman Square, two walkers in the park

November 6, 2008, found a guy on the sidewalk and a crow on the golden-leaf covered grass. The TriMet bus and the red car are driving west on SW Main. The silver-looking cylinders in the background stand guard over the first floor of the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse.

Another sign of spring

Outside my window at work, for the first year, I'm seeing crows in the sweet gum trees. This one in particular found a twig to grab with its beak. Surely it must be building a nest somewhere.

The film on the window made the photos not a clear as they'd have been otherwise, but the film on the window helped me get these photos--the crow didn't get startled and fly away.

Could I look this graceful while holding something in my mouth, balanced three stories up from the sidewalk? No way!


Here's the first one I took. It appears the crow has peeled the outer layer of bark from the twig, there on both sides of the beak.




The crow amazed me, standing there holding the twig, sort of looking around, then turning.


Then it moved a bit to the left.


Still moving, it went closer to the center of the tree.


And then it bent over and put the twig beneath on of its feet!


See? There it is, being held with the crow's right foot!


I couldn't believe it. The crow took the twig back into is beak!






It worked hard to get where it wanted to go, twig in mouth, feathers spread for balance. What tenacity!


Here's the last photo in the series. I think the crow looks jubilant.


A plus for you, at least I hope you think so, is this photo of four crows I saw on April 2. I wonder who's Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister?