MAY Flowers -- and Showers

We went to see the rhododendrons at Hendricks Park Friday.  Most of last week was colder and wet and so we jumped at the chance to get out when the morning looked at least partly sunny. I have to laugh at myself because last week I wrote  about things getting back to normal after the "Covid Year" and here we are doing the same thing we did around this time last year -- oohing and aahing about May's beautiful rhodies.    But this time, now that we're vaccinated,  we weren't wearing a mask as we walked around the park!   

 

 

Last year, we visited at the exact right time -- it seemed like every bush in the park was in full bloom.  We were a trifle late this time, but there were still many many perfect flowers.  It's very hard to stop taking pictures -- rhododendrons are so photogenic.  Above is in one of  my favorite colors.

 

 

The colorful flowering bushes show up as soon as you turn into the park and surround the parking areas.  But Hendricks is way more than a rhododendron showplace.   It's a gorgeous woodland as well.

 

 

Once you get away from the cars, it is easy to forget that you are within Eugene's City limits.  It's  in the South hills -- the other side of town from where we live, but if it were my neighborhood park I would visit frequently.  (I'm happy to live where I can walk to the River paths however.)   We are lucky in natural surroundings in this corner of Oregon. 

 

 

 

 There are lots of hidden wonders in the park  and I remembered to take pictures of some of them rather than  duplicate the pictures   from last year.

 

 

This Rufous-Sided Towhee showed off his pretty eye.  (Red eyes are attractive on this bird.)  Below is one more shot of perfection:

 

 

Pretty in Pink!

All the pictures in today's post are actually from last week, except for the one just below.  The greenhouse is one of several at the flower farm we visited a couple weeks ago:

 

Johnson Brothers Nursery

I'm still a little uncomfortable shopping, so I didn't take anywhere near as many pictures as I usually do at nurseries or flower shops.      (Sometimes I have been surprised that they don't charge a photography fee.)    And this time we were actually there to buy something.  

 

 

Above are the two hanging flower baskets we brought home that day.    We usually aren't at home in Eugene at prime plant shopping time so we've never had our own flowers at the apartment home where we live now  -- of course last year we were here, but we certainly weren't doing any shopping.    

 You know it's been wet when the neighborhood mallards take up residence in the  backyard:

 

We don't even have a pond or fountain  in the complex where we live -- the grass is just a bit saturated.    Ducks and squirrels were steps away from our back door when I went out to take pictures of the baskets.  The squirrels are a bit confused -- they seem to think it is Springtime.  

 

Hendricks Park

We do need the rain and I'm thankful for it, but also grateful for a blue sky day in between showers.   It was a good week.

 

Linking this week to the following sharing opportunities.  Thank you to the hosts:

 

MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS;   OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  FRIDAY  BLISS; and  SATURDAY CRITTERS;

Comments

[Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie]

Very pretty scenes with the tall trees and flowering shrubs! Funny about the ducks in the wet grass. Beautiful baskets you brought home from the nursery.

[Annie]

What a wonderful visit, Sallie ! Here two the three last weeks were wet and cold. All the plants are waiting for growing and blooming. It's so a great pleasure to go in a nursery shop !
I was very happy to receive your mail. One for me soon !

[John's Island]

Hi Sallie, Thanks for taking us along on your visit to Hendricks Park. You are so right ... rhododendrons are photogenic ... and your photos are great! And the Johnson Brothers Nursery ... looks like a lot of tempting purchases! :-) Love that last picture looking up through the tall trees! Excellent post. Thank you for sharing and thank you for visiting John's Island. Wishing you a fine Memorial Day weekend. John

[Penelope Notes]

Haha … I’ve wondered about that myself when taking pictures in nurseries or even in the flower corner of a grocery store. Luckily, we’re surrounded by colorful blooms out in the fresh outdoor air. Color is everywhere right now in the northwest to offset all the greenery.

[riitta k]

That is a stunning park with rhododendrons indeed! Your favourite is my favourite as well. You found so handsome hanging baskets. Finland is sunny today for a change, not bad! Sending warm greetings over to you Sallie, riitta

[Saun]

The rhododendrons are beautiful, the park sounds amazing! Happy Saturday!

Saun in Ohio

[Anu]

Hello.
Beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing.

[Eileen]

Hello Sallie,

Your photos are beautiful, I love all the pretty colorful blooms.
The Towhee is a beautiful birds and the ducks are cute. The trail in the park looks like a great place for a walk. We are having a rainy Memorial Day weekend here. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend.

[Linda W]

Spectacular scenes! Have a good weekend.

[Candace Uhlmeyer]

It's been so soggy here that most of the flowers are pretty limp--so I enjoyed seeing yours. Like you, I'm grateful for the rain, but at the moment we're a bit overwhelmed. Thanks for the nice photos of pretty things to help us on the Third coast(ish) make it through.

[Joe Todd]

Beautiful photos. Especially like the nursery.

[Nanda]

Beautiful pictures

[Iris Flavia]

Ahhhh, this was a beautiful post! Here it´s still like Autumn...

[Lorrie]

Beautiful rhododendron shots. Visiting a garden is such a wonderful way to spend time in the spring. Everything is so fresh! Yes, who ever imagined that we would be in this pandemic for so long? I'm glad vaccinations are being done here, too, but I am concerned about so much of the world that is going without and wonder how that will affect us all.

[Peter B.]

Nice to have that blue sky in between showers. Really pretty photos!

[tomthebackroadstraveller]

...May looks gorgeous in your neck of the woods.

[Jim, Sydney, Australia]

Good sky shots.

[Beatrice]

Just this week, we visited a public garden about an hours drive away called bedrock Gardens in Lee, NH. There were just as many colorful rhododendrons in bloom. Like yourself, Sallie, I took way too many photos and will have a hard time going through them for a future post. In addition to the flowers there were so many unusual metal sculpture creations and we know we will need to return again.

[Lisa]

Hendricks Park looks lovely and the rhododendrons look amazing! Enjoy your new hanging flower baskets.

[Lady Fi]

Loving your pops of colour! Wetand cold here!

[Citu]

Bellas imagenes, te mando un beso

[klara]

gorgeous images.

[A ShutterBug Explores]

Oh Sallie ~ your post is lovely ~ such beautiful floral photos and love the ducks in the yard ~ Glad you are out and about and enjoying life again ~ Xo

Living moment by moment,

A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

[Veronica Lee]

The park looks beautiful. Love the fabulous shots of the flowers, animals, and birds, Sallie.

[Bob Bushell]

I love the nature in all pictures.

[Amy Franks]

Isn't it nice not have to wear a mask? About the only place they are mandatory here is on public transport which is fair enough. I'm loving your colourful blooming flowers though.

[Diane Bohlen]

The park looks absolutely beautiful. Everything is so lush and green. I guess that's from all the rain. I'm glad you are getting back to normal. We live a fairly normal life but we have been warned by experts that we will get another wave in winter. Our country was good at getting the virus under control but it is bad at getting the population vaccinated, due to Federal Govt stuff ups.

[DeniseinVA]

How lovely this place is Sallie. Great photos of all the gorgeous flowers, animals and birds. I haven't seen a Rufous-Sided Towhee yet. One day I hope! The Johnson Brothers Nursery is huge! I would love to walk around there. Thank you for sharing all of this. It is always so nice to see the part of the country you are living in. One of these days I hope we get back to Oregon, got great memories of our road trips there. Enjoy the rest of your week :)

[Laurie]

Isn't it wonderful to be able to walk around without masks again? Our rhododendrons and azaleas are blooming here in PA too. Well...actually, they are almost finished. Great photo of the towhee. Was he telling you to "Drink your tea?"

[Calendula]

Gorgeous photos, Sallie!

[Linda P]

You had a good week out and about. The woodland area where you can see rhododendrons that are at their best just now is a perfect place for a walk. That garden centre is huge and it looks well stocked.

[Fun60]

I should have gone to Kew Gardens to see the display but am probably to late now. Your photos are a joy to l9k at.

[Heidrun]

I enjoyed reading. There are wonderful captures.
Happy MosaicMonday

[Pat]

I miss rhododendrons as I don't see many here. I had a large shrub when I lived in Brooklyn, NY. They are really beautiful! I'm glad you were able to see them in the park this year maskless. It feels good to be maskless outside but I still wear my mask inside in stores even though our state mask mandate is over. I was surprised that many are also still wearing them.

[Alan]

Your Rhododendrons are gorgeous, such rich luxuriant and abundant color. I love woodland shrubs and blooms. The park is gorgeous.

From what I've seen Oregon is blessed with lots of natural beauty.

[Wiiliam Kendall]

Beautiful!

[bill burke]

Lots of beauty in your area, Sallie. I always liked Eugene when I visited it. Hendricks looks like lovely place to explore with nature putting on a show. Beautiful photos, the first one is my favorite, it's gorgeous to see. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful new week.

[ellen b.]

Hendricks is a very beautiful place to walk through and enjoy. Love all the flowers you photographed!

[Lavender Dreams]

That nursery is gorgeous! And it's fun to see the Towhee...we heard some this morning but they are SO hard to spot! We are BONE DRY here and the grass is parched. Happy Monday!

[Jennifer Jilks]

It's such a colourful time of year! Wonderful photos.

[Sondra]

What a wonderful park full of blooms...and the flower farm, wow! I wish I had a flower farm. I really like the 2 you brought home are you on ground floor? I know you moved but I cant recall the details. We sure could use some rain right about now.
Have a great week.

[EileeninMD]

Hello,

The park looks beautiful, the rhododendron blooms are beautiful. The nursery looks like it has many beautiful plants, I would be tempted to buy too many. The Towhee is a beauty, love the ducks and squirrels too. Have a happy day and a great new week!

[Angie]

Sallie - I would be walking in Hendricks Park every day if I lived near there. I especially liked the photo under your sentence describing it as a woodland park. That Towhee is amazing - I have only seen one once ... I was shocked at that Nursery photo - that has to be the cleanest nursery I have ever seen - it seems you could eat off those floors! Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday with such colorful blooms!

[Margy]

Everything was so green when we got back from Arizona. We just got a call that the park is moving us out of powered storage and into dry storage. They want to expand for more sites with the RV boom that is going on due to COVID right now. We tried to get a mobile RV repair guy we've used to move it for us, but have decided to fly down and do it ourselves next week. Maybe we'll see some cactus blooms as a bonus for getting into high 90-100 degree temps. - Margy

[Martha]

So gorgeous Sallie! We are like you are with still not being too comfortable out there. We will still be very cautious, especially indoors in public. Send us some of your rain please! ;)

[Carol]

azaleas and rhododendrons are so beautiful in bloom