Pacific Northwest Trip 2026- part 11

Monday morning, Jeremy and Marcus headed to another fair in California and I went for another morning walk, this time by myself.

I walked to the covered bridge that used to be the scene for so many pictures in the past- when it wasn't closed and you could actually reach it. Several of my nieces/nephews got senior pictures there.

I then walked down the road to a walking trail in the area. 

I got my juggling pics and videos.

June 29 was National Waffle Iron Day. Here's how I figure celebrating works sometimes- rationalization. My dad grilled hot dogs for us to have chili dogs. I figure that the grill has a lid that you close just like a waffle iron has a lid that you close. Boom. Celebrated.

After lunch, while Jr. and Jr. Jr. were playing frisbee, 

Jet, Nichole, my mom, and I celebrated National Camera Day by going on a "color walk" photo hunt. It's one of the activities for library Summer reading. Pick a color and take pictures of everything you see of that color as you go. We let Jet pick the color. He picked green. It's Oregon. We didn't take pictures of everything we saw.

When I showed him we could attach his camera to my selfie stick tripod, we was very excited and used it for the rest of the walk.

At one point, my mom showed Jet a line on the road where cracks had been filled in and he followed her following it.

This shows you're never too old to have fun.

 

When we got back to my parents' house, Jet said, "Let's do a family picture." I think he's been around me... and my mom. He set his camera up on the tripod with the timer and got his picture. 

Then when we got inside, he wanted to get another family picture with everyone so I just had everyone gather around Grandpa so he didn't have to move and Jet got his picture(s).

He really wanted to use the remote that goes with my selfie stick tripod, but I let him know it doesn't work with his camera. I let him take a few pictures with my phone on the tripod and he was happy.

Later while we were playing another game, 

Jet set up his camera on the tripod again and took more family pictures.

He even photobombed his own selfie. Did you know you could do that?

Jet certainly celebrated National Camera Day. It was terrific.

Pacific Northwest Trip 2026- part 10

Sunday, June 28 was Mel Brooks' 100th Birthday. I wore my bow earrings.

After church, my mom wanted pictures with the tree they planted for our wedding reception so many years ago. It was itty bitty at the time. It was hit and miss with how the pictures turned out because of Jet. He is still a wiggly little boy.

 

My mom made sure to get her short girl picture. She says she has so many pictures like this of young men this age who she teaches at church or she used to teach and they're getting ready to go on missions. My short mom with the kids who stand heads taller than her. 

I have plenty of those pictures with my own children. My children did not get my (and Grandma's) short genes.

 

That evening, we played Rummikub with Todd. We like playing games with Todd.

One time, everyone was able to put tiles down but Jr. Jr. could not. He kept adding more and more until he couldn't fit them on his board.

After this picture, he picked two more tiles, the last one was one he needed. Right before Jr. Jr.'s turn, Todd put his final tiles down and finished. Oh man. We all looked at Jr. Jr.'s tiles and saw that he was indeed correct. There was nothing he could do to get started. And just to show what could have happened if Todd hadn't put his last tiles down, Jr. Jr. started putting his tiles down and realized he could have gotten EVERYTHING down on that one turn and he would have won. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Sigh.

While we were playing, we noticed the lighting was gorgeous on the trees on a nearby hill. 

We stepped outside to see and realized there was a rainbow (double rainbow). A bunch of us piled outside to get pictures in the rain. It was lovely. Absolutely beautiful.

I can't get over Jet's frolicking. That's how we all felt out there that evening.

Panorama function on my phone for the win.

Panorama function on Jr.'s phone for the weird. 

 

This is what my mom caught.

We had a beautiful end to the day. 

Green Heron

While I was working on my Green Heron article for Utah County Birders newsletter, from time to time I had to leave the laptop to go do other things so my three oldest boys decided to help out with my article. In fact, they decided to write their own articles about the Green Heron. I've included them after my article.

Green Heron

Butorides virescens

by Kristin Telford

photos by Nichole Telford

 

I said previously I’d write about the Green Heron so here we go.

I was not a birder while I was growing up in Western Oregon. I became a birder in Utah about a decade ago. I didn’t realize how many amazing birds I missed in Oregon until I started visiting as a birder and saw birds I didn’t see in Utah. One of those birds is the Green Heron. Smaller than Black-crowned Night Herons, which we do find in Utah, Green Herons are… you guessed it… green. Well, mostly. Their backs are green. The tops of their heads are dark. They have a beautiful chestnut colored neck and front. Juveniles don’t have as much of the striking contrast in color. They are duller with spots on their wings and some streaking down their front.

Like Black-crowned Night Herons, Green Herons will sit hunched up with their neck tucked into their shoulders. Great Blue Herons will sometimes tuck their necks in but will also stretch them up or out. Great Blue Herons are also more noticeable when standing by a pond or stream, due to their size and coloring. Green Herons blend in with the greenery around them and aren’t as easy to spot.

They often are found around ponds and streams where they will hunt for small fish. Where a Great Blue Heron will stand in the water and dart its head in for fish, a Green Heron will often stand on a log or bank of the stream to dart its head in. Another trick a Green Heron might do is to bait the fish. It will drop something on the surface of the water to get the fish to come up and when they do… dart and snap. Besides fish, Green Herons will also eat amphibians, some reptiles, crustaceans, bugs, and even some rodents.

Both male and female Green Herons will participate in nest building. Males will start the nest and later bring sticks for the female to continue the build. Unlike Great Blue Herons, Green Herons will not nest in big groups.  They will lay three to five eggs, once or twice a year, and both male and female will care for the eggs and the babies after they hatch, with defending the nest from predators and feeding the young.

Even if I don’t see Green Herons in Utah, I always expect and enjoy seeing them when I visit Western Oregon. They can also be found in the Eastern part of the U.S., but I spend all my time in the West so that's where I look.

Think about a bird you expect to see when visiting friends or relatives and next time you visit, take a good look at that bird and see if you can learn something new about it.

 

Jr.: 

The mighty hero Green Heron is forever locked in battle with his archenemy, the Fearsome Frog. The battles range from city leveling to completely unobtrusive, which is why they are so easily hidden. The blame has been shifted from those battles to mundane things like winter storms, but the birders of the world know the real truth. Being the Green Heron is a thankless job, but it is one that is sadly necessary. From every lover of peace: Green Heron, If you’re reading this, we appreciate the work you’ve done.

 

Jr. Jr.:

Green herons are often found in or around mountains. Bats can often be found sleeping upside down on the roof of the green heron. Some green herons can link together spanning multiple miles. The largest of which is a whopping 426 miles long. People often travel long distances to enter and marvel at the most exotic green herons whose most common feature is stalagmites and stalactites. These are formed by minerals that pass through the roof of the green heron being carried by water. Green herons can last hundreds of years and some contain ancient bird drawings by people from long ago. So go visit a green heron near you today.

 

 

 

Lucky:

Mwahahahaha, I have usurped the throne of the green heron, just kidding the only reason I’m writing is this is so that my mother will think I’m contributing. I’m actually about to start playing video games. Goodbye. Never mind, my plans have changed, I only have time to finish updating a game that I hope to play. Goodbye… again.

 

 

I'll be honest. Their articles are more entertaining but I decided not to use them for Utah County Birders. My article has more facts. However, there was one year for the newsletter that went out on April 1 that Jeremy wrote a Bird of the Month article about a fictional bird (not a snipe- those are real) as an April Fool's joke.

Pacific Northwest Trip 2026- part 9

For our Utah County Birders newsletter, I wrote a "Bird of the Month" article about the Green Heron. I wrote it while we were in Oregon and spent so much time trying to find photos on our external hard drive that would work.

Since we were in Oregon, Nichole and I decided to go out and see if we could find a Green Heron to photograph since we always see a Green Heron or several when we go to the nature park near where my parents live.

The forecast was for rain and we had plenty during the night. My dad sent us out with a couple umbrellas that stayed in our bags. We didn't get a lot of new rain while we were out but got great pictures of nature after a storm.

If you look very carefully you can see a spider web with rain drops on it. 

 

Unfortunately we didn't see any Green Herons but we did see something I didn't expect- a spotted sandpiper in a wooded area. 

Nichole's picture of the spotted sandpiper

 

I had to send my article in with a good picture of a juvenile Green Heron Nichole took years ago and a not so good picture I (or Jeremy) took of an adult Green Heron years ago. Sigh.

 

I was able to console myself with brownies (even though June 26 was Chocolate Pudding Day. It's still chocolate, right? I'm not going to complain) and playing another game with Todd that night. 

The next day, Nichole and I went to the nature park again and this time we didn't bother with umbrellas.

Guess what. There was a light rain while we were there. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Enough that we didn't stay out long after seeing... a Green Heron. This one was closer to adulthood (more the coloring I wanted) so when we got back I asked if we could use the picture Nichole got that morning instead of the not so great one we had sent in previously for the newsletter. No problem. Yay.  

That day, June 27, was National Sunglasses Day, which we did not wear. One, it wasn't bright enough. Two, they would have gotten wet. 

That evening, instead of playing a game, we introduced my mom and my brother to Seeking Persephone. I needed to watch it in June and introduce someone new. This monthly tradition has been going since December. 

I still love that movie. 

I was wearing my Gentlemen's Gamble shirt earlier that day. "That's a romance shirt." I needed to do laundry, though, so I changed to a different "romance" shirt: my Jurassic Park shirt. C'mon, it's my date shirt.