Evergreens in Idaho
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: Ageless and #Evergreen

In keeping with inspiration from July square trees, this week, Sunday Stills focuses on the color evergreen for the monthly color challenge.

You will remember I am now surrounded by evergreen trees, and I couldn’t be happier. Evergreen is considered a dark green and also the name we ascribe to most pine trees and other trees that stay green year-round. Also known as conifers (cone-bearing) their needles are small and waxy enabling pine trees to stay green all year long, unlike deciduous trees that lose their leaves seasonally.

Here is an example to get your creative ideas going. As we headed to Sandpoint, Idaho, we drove by this lovely spot. I love the shape of the towering sugar pines. Image enhanced with Painnt filter.

Writer’s Quotes Wednesdays Writing Challenge

This week Marsha invites us to explore “exploration!” I can’t think of too many places to explore locally that doesn’t include seeing evergreens! I found this quote and it begged to become a meme created from a previous image of mine.

quote meme exploration
Hot air balloon above the evergreens!

An orange dragonfly explored my former garden resting on the evergreen stake.

Orange dragonfly

Come to the woods, for here is rest. There is no repose like that of the green deep woods.

John Muir

Come explore my backyard and neighborhood with me today…most of the evergreens you see are Ponderosa Pines.

Morning walk a block from our home
Suspension Bridge at Bowl and Pitcher
Suspension Bridge at Bowl and Pitcher
Evergreen waters of Long Lake, WA
Evergreen waters of Long Lake

Even the Birds are Evergreen…sort of…

Some new-old pics from my archives of my sweet hummingbirds. Perhaps not truly evergreen in color, but the second one is surrounded by actual evergreens. These are my headshots for Lisa’s Bird Weekly.

Green hummingbird
Evergreen hummingbird

Update: Journey the Bald Eagle, An Ageless and Evergreen Story for Our Times

Journey the juvenile Bald Eagle was rescued three weeks ago when he fledged too soon due to the extreme heat here in Eastern Washington. See my post here.

Juvenile Bald Eagle, Journey Bluebell Court Eagles ©Diana Gigler
Journey

Thanks to the efforts of staff at Birds of Prey Northwest, he was safely placed in a large aviary and treated for heat exhaustion and dehydration. He exercised his wings daily and once our weather “cooled,” he would be ready to fly back to the nest where his parents are waiting for him.

Bluebell Court Eagles ©Diana Gigler
Journey practicing for flight while still in his nest

Well…Friday, July 16th was the day! KREM 2 news in Spokane, WA, covered the story as Diana G of Bluebell Court Eagles (on Facebook) and Janie Veltkamp, MS, Biology, and director of BOPNW, was there to enable Journey’s first flight since he was rescued. He was launched off Diana G’s deck…

Journey’s (and Janie’s) headshot!

Eagle images are shared by Diana G with her permission.

…Success!

…he flew strongly and purposely, never losing altitude, to a nearby pine tree (evergreen!) in the shade. Janie assures us that Journey will return to his nest close by, where his parents will continue to feed him and teach him to hunt!

Another dedicated volunteer of Birds of Prey Northwest, Tina Penny, shared the following images on the Facebook page, Bluebell Court Eagles. She graciously gave me permission to share them.

Eagle released © Tina Penny, Volunteer BOPNW
Journey is released! Image used with permission by © Tina Penny, Volunteer BOPNW
Journey Soars © Tina Penny, Volunteer BOPNW
Journey soars! © Tina Penny

You can view Journey’s flight here.

https://www.krem.com/video/entertainment/places/inland-northbest/journey-the-eaglets-first-flight/293-1c1a5df4-9a73-4f41-b26d-e4630e2a1fdb

As of Saturday afternoon, we are still anxiously waiting if Journey was reunited with his nest and parents.

There are thousands of people following Journey’s story all over the world. The rescues of early fledgling birds of prey has ignited our concern for climate change and our ability to be the stewards of God’s creatures while we all inhabit Planet Earth. BOPNW reported that they have rescued over 20 raptors in the last 2-3 weeks due to the extreme heat. The organization averages 1-2 rescues a YEAR under normal weather circumstances in addition to the other work it does.

If you can, I urge you to donate to your local animal rescue organization or the Birds of Prey Northwest. Journey’s story has opened our eyes to the wonderful folks who give of their own time and resources, like Birds of Prey Northwest, to rescue and reintroduce our incredible (some endangered) raptors back into their own habitats.

And as Sheriff Andy Taylor told us last week, “But Don’t the Trees Seem Nice and Full?”

Also sharing for Lens-Artists Challenge: Getting Away

Last Week’s Links Under the Trees

Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below is the last week’s links from bloggers who shared their favorite photos under the trees. Please take a moment to visit a few, especially those new to Sunday Stills!

Thank you for reading this week! My dad just celebrated his 85th birthday and is visiting this week from Northern California for the first time! I look forward to your creative evergreen images!

Go exploring have a great week
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93 comments

  2. Happy birthday to your Dad, Terri. Your photos are beautiful as usual. I really like the ones of Ponderosa pines, waters of Long Lake, and the hummingbirds. We have a lot of evergreens in my area and for some reasons they make me think of winter. Christmas trees perhaps. The bald eagle story is amazing. I was watching explore.org Live Cam of beluga whales and their annual migration from the Arctic to Churchill River in Manitoba. Fascinating and how fortunate that I can view them from thousands of miles away.

    Here’s my entry for summer “evergreens”:

    Paddling within Toronto Islands

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  12. Terri,
    Journey’s story truly is inspirational. I wish him well and will follow along (wi-fi permitting). As always, your pictures tell a great story, and your morning walk site looks very inviting. My contribution for this week was inspired by both Journey and your pretty evergreens. Here is an image I captured near Whidbey Island, WA a few weeks back.. These handsome fellows sat above our campsite all day. Have a great week! Joe

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    • Wow, gorgeous picture, Joe, like a double whammy! Probably a nesting pair. I guess you are beyond WA by now. Thank you for your kind words and you can join that facebook group, Bluebell Court Eagles if you wish. Happy travels and a great week ahead!

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  13. Wonderful photos, as always. I especially loved Journey’s story and hope he happily lives the life he was intended. I’m surprised that the volunteers expect him to return to his nest, that his parents will feed him. Proves an interesting partnership between human rescuers and wild birds. Seem to understand each other.

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    • Thank you, Shari! It is such an education about raptors and how they not only mate for life like many birds, but they take care of their young and teach them to hunt until instinct kicks in and they go on their own. Some good lessons for all of us here.

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  14. Very fun post Terri! You couldn’t possibly know that we actually live on Conifer lane (although candidly there are lots of trees but none that I’d call conifers). Loved the eagle story. We have a wonderful “Birds of Prey” center nearby and there are always many gorgeous birds there – eagles, owls, hawks, etc etc etc. It’s a great opportunity for photographers as they do photo shoots for us, allowing the birds to fly as we shoot. They either release the birds back to nature when they can, or keep them and care for them if they can’t. It’s a terrific local resource which we truly love.

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    • Conifer Lane, how cool, Tina! I forgot I live in the Evergreen State, LOL! You are lucky to live close to the raptor center. Next time we head toward Idaho, maybe we’ll stop at Journey’s foster home for some photo ops–great idea!

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  16. I really enjoyed seeing your back yard Terri and your lovely big old Ponderos pines! And thanks too for the update on the bald eagle, so good to read. Your collection of photos is great and shows a lot of creativity.

    I’ve posted about our very own evergreen trees here, the humble but ancient gum trees plus a pine tree in focus 🙂

    Shades of evergreen for #SundayStills

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  17. Thanks for the update on Journey. I support the Peregrine Find which supports birds of prey all round the world. I have their calendar on my wall and this month the picture is a selection of 6 different eagles. I hope Journey will find his parents.

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  18. I don’t think there is a more worthwhile endeavor than helping such a noble animal. That love of nature and its inhabitants is why I’m so taken with mountain men, people who live in the mountains without any form of technology, as simply another life form. Thanks for sharing this story and the pictures.

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  19. H Terri,
    Great stuff. I especially enjoyed the saga of the eagle.
    We used to live in Kirkland and Bellevue Washington, but did visit your side of the state a few times. I was on a rooftop in Seattle when Mt. St. Helen’s finally blew and watched the plumb head your way. It was long ago now but I can still recall watching that historic event and be thankful that it did not come our way.

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    • Hi Gary, glad you liked Journey’s story, and we hope to hear more about him. You lived in a nice area of WA, I can’t imagine seeing MSH blow in real life. I lived in Sacramento at the time and the plume was visible. Nice hearing from you!

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  20. A family tradition — going to a tree farm to pick and cut down our own evergreen tree for Christmas. Then in the spring it becomes starter for fires in the pit. Seen here are my daughter and my grandson when he was a little guy a couple of years ago.

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  22. What a wonderful read, Terri. I had no idea how big a junior eagle could be. How much longer before he could be on his own? I wonder how this experience will change his life and his relationship with humans. It’s exhilarating when we have a deep interaction with a wild animal. I love your evergreens, and will have some for you as well. Have fun with your dad. Hope to talk to you soon. 🙂

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    • Thank you so much, Marsha. I never know where my blog will take me–literally on an eagle Journey these days. So emotional! I was struck how much Janie in the cowboy hat (Director of BOPNW) looks so much like you. Hans thought so too, judging by pics he’s seen of you. Journey is big, 10 lbs, I’m told. Female Bald Eagles are 1/3 larger than males and get up to 15 pounds–bigger than my little Aero! BTW, have you heard anything from Lisa?? No posts from her, nothing on Bird Weekly. Hope she’s OK!

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      • I have not heard a thing from her in about a week. Maybe she will join us tomorrow. I don’t know. I imagine she is swamped by her business. It is hard to keep everything up and recover from surgery. If we don’t hear from her tomorrow, I’ll call and make sure she is okay.

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  23. I do hope the special visit from your Dad went well and he enjoyed getting to know your new place and space. It sure sounds like you and your husband found a place to love for this home. Lots of explore outside. I hope the bird is safe too.

    Thanks for your #SundayStills which I also enjoyed making it a two in one for Becky’s #TreeSquare.

    https://www.denysewhelan.com.au/denyse-blogs/two-in-one-treesquare-sundaystills-evergreen-87-2021/

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    • Good Monday morning, again, Denyse, LOL! Thank you for asking about my dad. HE and my step-mom had a long train/bus ride–that’s how they prefer to travel, but we picked them up safe and sound, if tired. We have them all week and they already love the house. Glad you joined the multi-photo challenge club, fun huh? Have a great week!

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  27. Wow! 85! Good health to your Dad, Terri 🤗💕 I half expected to find some green squares in amongst all those trees. 🤣💕 Journey’s parents must have spent a few anxious days. Hope they’re reunited. Here we had more baby flamingos than ever before, probably due to the lack of visitors in Covid times. It’s an ill wind, isn’t it? Glad you’re happy in the new place 💕💕

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  30. What a lovely morning walk, Terri. It looks so peaceful and refreshing, although was that photo taken during the heatwave? I’m a big fan of pine trees. It reminds me of the time we stayed in Mammoth and took a cable car up the mountain. Looking down at those pine trees was an amazing experience.

    When I think of ‘evergreen’, I always picture my favourite plant.

    I hope your heatwave has got a little cooler?
    Have a great week.

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  34. You’ve inspired me (and I know many others) by sharing Journey’s story and regular updates. LIke everyone else following along, I am anxiously awaiting news that he gets reunited with his parents.
    This post was filled with such positive and uplifting evergreen images. Thank you for this!

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  36. Gorgeous scenery Terri. Who doesn’t love Evergreens. When I first saw the title of the blog, the first thing that came to mind was Barbra Streisand’s – Evergreen. I hope you aren’t sweltering on that side of the world. Hugs<3

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  49. Hi Terri! I finally made it over to your Evergreen challenge! Another great one! I do love your walk and can almost smell the Ponderosa Pine! And what a great capture of the dragonfly. Thanks also for the update on the eagles, and how to help. I have an eagle in my story too, though he only shows up at the end. Here’s my hike to Second Beach through Washington’s coastal forest! 🙂 https://catsandtrailsandgardentales.com/2021/07/21/hike-to-magnificent-second-beach/

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