Nature – Page 5

February 15, 2026April 18, 2026

A Garden in Winter

There are a lot of things to like about the High Desert, but it is not a garden friendly environment. The growing season is short and the soil is volcanic sand. While sunshine is abundant, it’s dry and hot in the summer and bitterly cold in the winter.

In our case there are a couple of additional obstacles. Our house sits on a small urban lot, unfenced and landscaped for the desert environment.

Also, we have a mule deer population undeterred by human presence and able to strip a plant to its branches . . . usually just as it’s starting to bloom.

That said, we have attempted to cultivate some crops in small raised beds.

We’ve managed a yearly harvest of garlic, onions and root vegetables. It worked because they store well and aren’t as attractive to the deer.

Our efforts at gardening this side of the Cascades are regulated by how much effort one is willing to expend.

Last year we added vertical planters on our porch, Green Stalk. Basically stackable soil bins that you irrigate via a top mounted reservoir. They sit on rotating bases and occupy very little space.

It also has fitted frost coverings that allow a good deal of protection to overwinter root corps and protect berry plants.

Sealed against winter weather . . . works really well.

In the multiple planting pockets are strawberries, greens, and some root crops which seem to thrive in the relative shade of our patio.

A couple of pockets of petunias produce prolific blossoms attracting pollinators well into the fall. This next season might see the addition of a couple of tomato plants, a patio classic.

We’ve worked gardens on many different scales, sustainable to container . This small patio gardening fits our life these days.

February 8, 2026April 18, 2026

Waiting on Winter

Unseasonable weather on the Crooked River

It was, as usual, bitter cold in January. What the month didn’t offer was snow.

As we move into February, it’s been almost balmy. The wrench in these works was an unhealthy Air Quality Index (AQI) which hung around for weeks, literally. We would trade this for a good snowstorm any day.

A break did come, midweek, for a fishing trip to the Crooked River. Nearly shirtsleeve weather and good air quality made for a nice afternoon.

It was, unfortunately, an aberration and the air thickened the next day.

Fishing was good . . . weather was better

We frequently start winter time expeditions later in the day allowing the sun time to warm things up.

However, departure doesn’t really matter if you can’t get a clean breath of air. Thus, we’ve spent a majority of the week doing indoor things.

Reading material is kept up to date with an online connection, as well as frequent trips to the library. Between books there have been kitchen projects undertaken.

Our sandwich bread recipe has been tweaked, so a fresh loaf gets turned out weekly. Scones, bagels, and cinnamon rolls (Grand Central Baking’s recipe) are also in rotation.

Our small house has been filled with the aroma of something good in the oven or from the stove top. Redress for a lack of outdoor adventures

One interesting recipe we’ve worked out is a meat pie that centers around a potato crust.

We thickened a home canned chicken stew and layered on some additional vegetables and of course some cheese.

The goal was freezable meal portions. Something a shepherds pie recipe never accomplished. The basic recipe (linked below) get’s you a crust to fill with what ever is handy.

In the end you have a hearty meal . . . while waiting for winter to finally get here.

Print Recipe

Crispy Potato Crust

Ingredients

2 ½ lbs Yellow potatoes (yukon gold)
¼ cup Butter melted
30 grams Grated parmesan cheese
60 grams Cheese grated
Oil to coat the pan
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Bake potatoes until done, peel and slice into thin disks.
Coat a high sided pie pan with oil.
Layer the potatoes evenly across the bottom of the pan. Using the flat bottom of a glass, smash the potatoes down and up the edges to create an even layered crust about a quarter inch thick.
Brush the potatoes with butter, season with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle an even coat of parmesan cheese on the potato.
Bake at 400ºF for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown.
Pull from oven, add chopped veggies and filling of choice (quiche recipe, thickened beef stew or pot pie). Top with grated cheese.
Return to 400º oven and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until heated through and the top is browned.
Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then cut into wedges and serve. This is easy to chill/freeze and reheat.

February 1, 2026April 18, 2026

Backyard Habitat

Winter has settled in around us. At the moment, the snow has melted, replaced with a bitter cold and freezing fog shrouds the mornings.

The snow will eventually fall, as will the cold snap break. It is full on winter in Central Oregon.

As I look up from the keyboard to watch morning replace dawn, there is a new addition to the courtyard . . . just beyond the office window.

Between an aspen tree and the house is a bird feeding station. More to the point, an 8-foot metal pole twisted into the ground and adorned with various means of offering food to the local wildlife.

Up to this winter, we have not been feeding birds at this house. At previous dwellings, we had multiple feeding stations. What changed?

In time we took note of our surroundings and started to look more closely at the space around our small home.

This past summer we made additions to the pergola over a southside patio. This turned in to more time spent sitting outside.

Then this winter we started opening the window blinds in our office space. A trio of thirty foot evergreens screen a small courtyard from the alleyway.

An offset of the garage wall from the main house makes up the other two sides of a semi-private space. There is a 20-foot aspen sitting about six feet away from our office window.

This grove of trees offers resting perches and homes to a variety of small song birds. They were joined this fall by a pair of Scrub Jays, who added to the frenetic display.

As we spent more time looking outside, we noticed a couple of large gray squirrels carting whole shelled peanuts from a neighbor’s feeding station.

Hour after hour they scurried across our yard, over the road, and into the wooded lot to the east of us. It just seemed like a good time for us to get in on the action.

Maybe it’s an old age thing . . . but watching little balls of feathers dart from branch to ground and back is relaxing.

Plus , we’re keeping them fed when food sources are scarce. and temperatures dip. It feels great to help our backyard neighbors.

November 23, 2025November 21, 2025

It’s Gotten Cold

Winter seems to be upon us. This week was wet . . . and bone chilling cold.

Each year we seem to need more time to adjust to the season of snow. Usually the transition from fall to winter is enough, but for some reason this season seems particularly short.

Perhaps the days are moving faster?

Either way . . . here we are . . . well into November and still thinking it’s October.

The weatherman suggested that Wednesday would present some sun and perhaps be a bit warmer. So we headed up to the river.

The sun did not break through the overcast sky and it never got warmer than 37º. Thus we only spent a couple of hours on the river.

That said, our time was marked by the presence of a Bald Eagle perched in the Osprey’s snag. So fierce!

We pulled out the Drone for a water survey. The Crooked River is at it’s winter time low level.

Finally, when the chill became too much, we sipped on mugs of hot tea, enjoyed some roasted chicken, and shared a slice of delicious cranberry cake. So, all was not lost.

By December we should have acclimated to winter and be better prepared for frigid days on the high desert.

We know there will be breaks from these arctic fronts, where sun-filled days outnumber the dull gray ones. It’s just this week was particularly dull.

October 5, 2025October 5, 2025

A Short Trip

Lava Butte on the far side of a lava field

Sometimes there are things in your own backyard that should be explored.

Our intent has been to eventually visit all points of interest in the immediate vicinity. This week, one of the last unseen spots was our destination.

Lava Lands Visitor Center is just 20 minutes from our house. We pass it every time we take OR 97 north.

It’s been on the list for years, but there are some small obstacles. The center’s main attraction, a trip to the top of the cone, is closed from November to June.

There is also the added issue that to get to the top of Lava Butte you have to take a bus and we’re not ‘ride the tour bus’ people.

In 1990 a 50,000 acre area around the Newberry Crater was designated a national monument. Newberry is a Shield crater . . . a massive mound rather than the conical spires that are typical of Cascade Range Volcanoes.

The Lava Lands center sits at the north end of a series of volcano centric sites. This is perfect location for geology enthusiasts.

We’ve wandered all but the Lava River Cave (don’t care for caves) and of course Lava Butte.

There are a few weeks on either end of the season when you can get a free pass and drive your own car to the top. This was one of the last weeks you can do that, or so we thought. Government shut-down foiled our plans.

There’s always next June . . . though it was a nice fall day, so we walked the ‘Whispering Pines Trail’ and marveled at the ancient lava flow.