Handsome Herbs

There is nothing quite as aromatic as picking and cooking with fresh herbs. The flavors they bring to food make it that much better! This year we planted some common herbs on a sunny southern slope below our house in full view of our kitchen window. We sort of cheated and bought most of the ones you see here, rather than started them from seed ourselves. Maybe we will next year!

 

Mammoth Sweet Basil / Ocimum basilicum 'Mammoth Sweet'

 

 

These little guys are basil that I actually did plant from some seed I had. Only a few germinated from the dozen or so I planted...

 

Genovese O Cummune Basil / Ocimum basilicum 'Genovese O Cummune'

 

 

Italian Oregano / Origanum vulgare 'Italian' 

 

 

Italian Green Parsley / Petroselinum crispum 'Italian Green Parsley'

 

 

Arp Rosemary / Rosmarinus officinalis 'Arp'

 

 

We also bought some peppers from a guy at my dad's work when they were little seedlings. We planted them outside just before our last frost date and they got hit hard. They are just now starting to look much healthier.

 

I believe the two on the left are Green Bell Pepper and the one on the right is Red Bell Pepper.

 

This little guy is finally coming up. I planted some pepper from seed, and this one seems to be the only survivor...

 

Douce D'Espagne (Pimiento) Pepper

 

 

One last note: That Tree Swallow that I have been watching, was perched on top of his little bird house this morning and I got some shots of him in all his shiny glory!

 

 

- Dan

Put a Bird On It!

This morning, after watering the garden and lawn, I sat on the patio. While sitting there I could hear several birds. This got me looking around to discover if I could find the sources. My first thought was to look around at our bird houses to see any activity and sure enough there was this little guy...

 

 

 

 

 

He is a Tree Swallow or Tachycineta bicolor. He has a shiny blue head and white throat. I sat and watched for a while (In truth I was trying to capture an action shot of him or his mate flitting in and out but no such luck). Later though a young juvenile stuck its head out too...

 

 

 

After this I looked out in the lawn and saw a few of these guys...

These are European Starlings or Sturnus vulgaris. At first they look black but their feathers have a very pretty green sheen to them. I think they are nesting in our front porch and they make a racket!

Eventually I made my way to the barn because there are almost always bird nests somewhere on the barn. I started searching and right smack in the top of the eves on the backside I found this:

I thought this was a Barn Swallow, but found out it is actually a Cliff Swallow or Petrochelidon pyrrhonota. Notice the white mark on the forehead. She was not too happy that I was standing right under her nest! She was shrieking at me for a bit, but eventually calmed down and I watched her and another switch in and out a few times... Only just barely got this action shot!

On the way back to the house, I heard some loud shrieking and two Western Scrub-Jays flew over me and onto the dog kennel.

Western Scrub-Jay or Aphelocoma californica.

Sometimes it's interesting to notice the wildlife around you, even if it is just a couple of birds! I am going to keep watching and if I actually manage a decent action capture, I will be sure to share.

By the way, I looked up some of these species on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife website. I found it very helpful. Check it out: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/species/birds/

- Dan